The company's net income rose to $209.1 million for the most recently ended period up from $171.3 million a year ago. Revenue of $723 million compared to $666.8 million in last year's corresponding period.

Paychex got the extra earnings bump as taxes fell to $88.4 million, down 8 percent from $97.6 million. CFO Efrain Rivera said during this week's earnings webcast that stemmed from the company's realization its customer-facing software qualified for a federal tax break designed for technology companies. The decline stemmed from applying the benefit to prior tax years.

CEO Martin Mucci said payroll revenue was $432.5 million, an increase of 5 percent from the same quarter a year earlier, driven by growth in revenue per check and the client base with revenue per check growth stemming from price increases. Prices increased within what the company described as 2-percent-to-4-percent range.

The company says it sees continued increases in the formation small businesses and growth in hiring in the segment that exceeds pre-recession levels.