For a small business already keeping its books in Wave, payroll has to do more than produce a payslip. Wages, tax liabilities and the bank withdrawal need to reconcile. Wave’s payroll bookkeeping connects those records inside the accounting system.
That makes Wave a sensible starting point for an existing employer running a straightforward local team. Borderless AI becomes relevant when the next employee works abroad and your business needs someone to act as their legal employer.
The decision can be to keep Wave and add an EOR for that hire. Replacing a working domestic payroll process is a separate decision.
What each service is for
Wave’s payroll service is built around US and Canadian employers. Borderless AI’s EOR service covers employment agreements, onboarding, payroll, taxes and benefits without requiring the customer to establish its own entity in the hiring country.
An EOR fee therefore buys a different responsibility from a payroll subscription. If your business already has the employer infrastructure overseas, assess payroll services on that basis before adding EOR.
Wave Payroll pricing: is it free?
Wave Payroll is a paid subscription. Its published regional rates, checked October 19, 2026, are:
The currencies come from Wave’s product page; its billing guide explains the charging rules. An employee can count as active even when omitted from a particular pay period. Required sales tax is additional.
For five active employees and no contractors, the published rates produce a monthly service cost of US$70 or C$55, before sales tax. That is subscription arithmetic, not the total cost of employing five people.
Wave now advertises tax service in all 50 US states. The older distinction between tax-service states and a cheaper self-service state plan is no longer the current public offer. Existing customers should check their account terms.
For Borderless AI, request an EOR quote for the hire’s country and employment package. Compare the service fee separately from wages, employer contributions and benefits. A payroll subscription and an EOR employment budget do not have interchangeable totals.
Does Wave Payroll work in Canada or the UK?
Wave’s Canadian offering covers provinces and territories except Quebec and includes CRA remittances. US payroll tax handling has its own terms, including an exclusion for automatic 1099 filing. Generating a contractor’s form and filing it are separate tasks.
Wave lists US and Canadian payroll editions, rather than a UK payroll edition. A UK business shopping for UK payroll should therefore start with a provider that supports that requirement.
Buyer location also does not determine the right employment service. A Canadian company hiring a person abroad needs to establish who will employ that person where they work. A Canadian payroll subscription alone does not answer that question.
Why an existing Wave user might keep it
The strongest case for Wave is the connection between the pay run and the books. Its Payroll Liabilities account records approved wages and taxes, while direct deposit creates a settlement transaction through the clearing account. Manual wage or tax payments still need appropriate categorization.
For an owner or bookkeeper already reconciling in Wave, this is a concrete reason to retain it. Before changing providers, compare the actual work required to close the books each month.
If overseas employment is added, agree with your accountant how the EOR invoice will be recorded, how costs will be allocated and which supporting reports are needed. Request a sample invoice and reporting export before committing. That makes the finance workflow part of the buying decision.
Can Wave handle an overseas employee or contractor?
Wave supports employee and contractor payments within its payroll offering. That does not make its contractor-payment feature a route for employing someone overseas.
For a genuine independent contractor, evaluate the payment service for the worker’s country and the commercial relationship. For an overseas employee without a suitable local employer, Borderless AI’s EOR model addresses the missing employment responsibility. Confirm availability for the particular country and role before making an offer.
If Wave already handles the home team well, keeping it while using Borderless AI for an overseas employee can be the practical choice. The reason to add Borderless is the employment need, not a larger feature checklist.