Analysis
NAICS 541214 is the 2022 national industry for payroll services, part of 54121 (Accounting, Tax Preparation, Bookkeeping, and Payroll Services). Census lists 3 example activities under it in the official index.
By establishments it ranks 4th of the 4 codes at this level within Accounting, Tax Preparation, Bookkeeping, and Payroll Services, with 4.1% of them.
County Business Patterns counts 5,556 US establishments in this code in 2023, employing 309,518 people at an average annual payroll of $66,265 per employee (45th percentile of national industries). 46% of the establishments have fewer than five employees, which is close to the national mix.
Census lists 5 related activities that belong elsewhere, most often in 541211, 541213, 541219 and 522320. Businesses that do several things are classified by their primary activity, the one that generates the most value, so check those boundaries before settling on this code.
Its index entries, the activities Census uses to assign businesses to this code, include motion picture production payroll services, payroll processing services and talent payment services.
For example, businesses of CPAs are classified in 541211 (Offices of Certified Public Accountants) instead.
Official definition
This U.S. industry comprises establishments (except offices of CPAs) engaged in the following without also providing accounting, bookkeeping, or billing services: (1) collecting information on hours worked, pay rates, deductions, and other payroll-related data from their clients and (2) using that information to generate paychecks, payroll reports, and tax filings. These establishments may use data processing and tabulating techniques as part of providing their services.
Source: US Census Bureau, NAICS 2022 Manual.
Not this code if…
| The business mainly does | Use instead |
|---|---|
| Establishments of CPAs | 541211 Offices of Certified Public Accountants |
| Establishments of non-CPAs providing tax return preparation services only | 541213 Tax Preparation Services |
| Establishments of non-CPAs providing accounting, bookkeeping, or billing services along with payroll services | 541219 Other Accounting Services |
| Processing financial transactions (except central bank) | 522320 Financial Transactions Processing, Reserve, and Clearinghouse Activities |
| Providing data processing services (except payroll processing services and financial transaction processing services) at their own facility for others | 518210 Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services |
Index entries (3)
- Motion picture production payroll services
- Payroll processing services
- Talent payment services