Migrate your Checkwriters data
All-in-one payroll and HR platform built for mid-market teams that prioritizes human support over self-service automation. Strong on compliance and employee self-service, light on developer-facing APIs.
In its favor
Why people choose Checkwriters
The signal that keeps Checkwriters on the shortlist. Sourced from G2, Capterra, and customer scoping calls.
Responsive US-based customer support with a named team, not a call center — G2 reviewers repeatedly cite getting a real person on the phone within minutes as the primary reason they stay
Consolidated HR and payroll in a single platform eliminates the need to reconcile data across multiple systems for mid-market teams
Multi-state payroll handling with automatic tax compliance means growing companies can add employees in new states without manually reconfiguring payroll
Employee self-service portal reduces HR administrative burden by letting workers manage their own pay stubs, W-2s, and time-off requests
Concierge onboarding with dedicated specialists who handle data imports and training for new customers transitioning from prior payroll providers
The UI is described as clumsy for repetitive tasks — entering hours day-by-day with mandatory save steps is a recurring frustration for payroll managers
Limited configurability for complex compensation scenarios — multi-tier pay structures, spot bonuses, and off-cycle adjustments require manual intervention
Reporting capabilities feel constrained compared to dedicated BI tools — custom Report Writer builds are possible but require HR Admin access and significant setup
Some customers report the platform feels dated compared to newer HRMS options, particularly around mobile experience and modern UX patterns
Billing model lacks transparency — pricing is not publicly published and negotiations happen on a per-customer basis, which creates uncertainty for buyers evaluating the platform
Reasons to switch
Why people leave Checkwriters
The recurring reasons buyers give for replacing Checkwriters. Presented as facts, not knocks.
Platform scorecard
Strengths, weaknesses, and where Checkwriters fits
Grades across six dimensions, plus a SWOT-style view of where the platform shines and where it falls short.
SWOT — strengths, weaknesses, and use-case fit
Strengths
Weaknesses
Where it works
Where it struggles
Pricing tiers
Checkwriters pricing overview
Checkwriters publishes no public self-service pricing; all tiers require a sales quote. Pricing appears to be per-feature, per-month with a base starting around $1,000/month for small-to-mid-market organizations. Implementation fees apply for onboarding and certain modules. The platform targets mid-market organizations (50–1,000 employees) rather than small businesses or large enterprises.
HR Essential
Tier 1 of 4
Contact sales (~$1,000+/month base)
What's included
Need help selecting your HRMS?
Book a free 30 minute consultationPricing is informational. FlitStack AI does not bill on Checkwriters's schedule — see our quote-based pricing →
What gets migrated
Checkwriters object support
Object-by-object support for Checkwriters migrations. Per-pair details surface during scoping.
Employees
Fully supportedEmployees are the primary record in Checkwriters. Core fields (demographics, hire date, job title, department, location) map cleanly between HRMS systems. We preserve employment status and re-hire flags during migration.
Payroll Rates and Earnings
Mapping requiredRates are stored with effective check-date ranges — a rate with end date 12/31/2100 indicates it is currently active. We handle the effective-date sequencing so the destination reflects the correct active rate at migration cutover.
Accruals
Mapping requiredPTO, sick time, and other accrual balances are tracked per employee. Some accrual types carry forward balances; others reset annually. We flag the accrual policy type and carry forward logic before mapping to the destination schema.
Deductions and Benefits
Mapping requiredPre-tax and post-tax deductions, benefit elections, and deduction histories are stored with effective date ranges. Benefit plan enrollment records must be paired with the correct carrier and plan ID in the destination.
Time-Off Requests
Mapping requiredTime-off requests, approvals, and balances flow through Checkwriters. Historical request records include status, dates, and approver. We map request status and preserve running balances in the destination.
Custom Fields
Mapping requiredCustom fields are created at the company level and assigned to employee profiles. Field types include text, date, dropdown, and numeric. We discover all active custom fields and map them dynamically to matching destination properties.
Documents
Mapping requiredEmployee documents (offer letters, signed agreements, I-9s, performance records) are stored in the Document Center. Documents may have visibility restrictions. We extract file references and restore them in the destination with appropriate access controls.
Pay Stubs and Historical Payroll
Mapping requiredPay stub history is accessible by employees and admins. Historical payroll data including earnings, taxes, and deductions can be exported via the Report Writer. We sequence historical payroll records chronologically and flag year-end W-2 and 1099 data separately.
Report Writer Exports
Mapping requiredReport Writer allows admins to build custom reports across multiple report types and export to Excel or PDF. We can extract the report definitions and reproduce the data pull in the destination if the same report types are supported.
Onboarding Workflows
Mapping requiredOnboarding is a feature available on HR Premier and above. It includes document e-signature collection and step tracking. We flag whether completed onboarding tasks reconstruct in the destination or must be re-initiated.
Performance Reviews
Not in this platformPerformance review templates, writing-assist suggestions, and completed review records exist as upgrade features. These are stored in a proprietary format tied to Checkwriters' review workflow engine and are not exportable via documented API endpoints. We do not migrate performance review content — we recommend a manual re-initiation in the destination.
Benefits Administration
Mapping requiredBenefit plan enrollments, carrier connections, and deduction elections are stored per employee. We map active enrollments to destination plan equivalents. Open enrollment periods and qualifying life events must be handled separately from standard migration timing.
| Object | Support | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Employees | Fully supported | Employees are the primary record in Checkwriters. Core fields (demographics, hire date, job title, department, location) map cleanly between HRMS systems. We preserve employment status and re-hire flags during migration. |
| Payroll Rates and Earnings | Mapping required | Rates are stored with effective check-date ranges — a rate with end date 12/31/2100 indicates it is currently active. We handle the effective-date sequencing so the destination reflects the correct active rate at migration cutover. |
| Accruals | Mapping required | PTO, sick time, and other accrual balances are tracked per employee. Some accrual types carry forward balances; others reset annually. We flag the accrual policy type and carry forward logic before mapping to the destination schema. |
| Deductions and Benefits | Mapping required | Pre-tax and post-tax deductions, benefit elections, and deduction histories are stored with effective date ranges. Benefit plan enrollment records must be paired with the correct carrier and plan ID in the destination. |
| Time-Off Requests | Mapping required | Time-off requests, approvals, and balances flow through Checkwriters. Historical request records include status, dates, and approver. We map request status and preserve running balances in the destination. |
| Custom Fields | Mapping required | Custom fields are created at the company level and assigned to employee profiles. Field types include text, date, dropdown, and numeric. We discover all active custom fields and map them dynamically to matching destination properties. |
| Documents | Mapping required | Employee documents (offer letters, signed agreements, I-9s, performance records) are stored in the Document Center. Documents may have visibility restrictions. We extract file references and restore them in the destination with appropriate access controls. |
| Pay Stubs and Historical Payroll | Mapping required | Pay stub history is accessible by employees and admins. Historical payroll data including earnings, taxes, and deductions can be exported via the Report Writer. We sequence historical payroll records chronologically and flag year-end W-2 and 1099 data separately. |
| Report Writer Exports | Mapping required | Report Writer allows admins to build custom reports across multiple report types and export to Excel or PDF. We can extract the report definitions and reproduce the data pull in the destination if the same report types are supported. |
| Onboarding Workflows | Mapping required | Onboarding is a feature available on HR Premier and above. It includes document e-signature collection and step tracking. We flag whether completed onboarding tasks reconstruct in the destination or must be re-initiated. |
| Performance Reviews | Not in this platform | Performance review templates, writing-assist suggestions, and completed review records exist as upgrade features. These are stored in a proprietary format tied to Checkwriters' review workflow engine and are not exportable via documented API endpoints. We do not migrate performance review content — we recommend a manual re-initiation in the destination. |
| Benefits Administration | Mapping required | Benefit plan enrollments, carrier connections, and deduction elections are stored per employee. We map active enrollments to destination plan equivalents. Open enrollment periods and qualifying life events must be handled separately from standard migration timing. |
Gotchas
What to watch for in Checkwriters migrations
Issues we've hit on past Checkwriters migrations, tagged by severity. FlitStack AI handles every one — surfacing them up front because buyer engineering teams want to know.
Payroll item effective dates use check-date ranges, not calendar dates
Custom fields require permission-level access to discover
Payroll cannot be submitted while errors exist, only warnings are bypassable
Performance review content is not exportable via documented API
Historical payroll data must be pulled via Report Writer, not API
| Severity | Issue |
|---|---|
| Medium | Payroll item effective dates use check-date ranges, not calendar dates |
| Medium | Custom fields require permission-level access to discover |
| High | Payroll cannot be submitted while errors exist, only warnings are bypassable |
| High | Performance review content is not exportable via documented API |
| Medium | Historical payroll data must be pulled via Report Writer, not API |
Leaving Checkwriters?
Where Checkwriters customers move next
5 destinations Checkwriters can migrate to.
How a Checkwriters migration works
Four steps, Checkwriters-specific
Connect
Not publicly documented into Checkwriters. Scopes limited to read-only on the data we move.
Map
We translate Checkwriters-specific structures (custom fields, objects, value lists) to the destination's model.
Sample
Test with a 50–200 record subset to validate Checkwriters quirks before production.
Migrate
Full migration with Checkwriters rate-limit handling. Rollback available throughout.
FAQ
Checkwriters migration FAQ
Answers to the questions buyers ask most during Checkwriters migration scoping. Not seeing yours? Book a call.
Can't find your answer?
Walk through your Checkwriters migration with a real engineer — 30 minutes, free, written quote within 24 hours.
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Ready when you are
Migrate Checkwriters.
Without the rebuild.
Free scoping call with a migration engineer. Tell us about your Checkwriters setup and destination — written quote back within a business day.