2019 Review of AccountantsWorld Payroll Relief

www.accountantsworld.com

From the 2019 review of professional payroll systems.

Designed specifically for accounting professionals, Payroll Relief from AccountantsWorld offers online payroll processing for firms that offer payroll services to their clients. Payroll Relief can be used as a stand-alone application or integrated with other AccountantsWorld applications.

Like all AccountantsWorld applications, Payroll Relief is best suited for small to mid-sized firms. Payroll Relief can be used on any type of device, including desktop and workstation computers, tablets, or mobile devices.

Payroll Relief uses exception-based data entry for payroll, which allows users to only enter any changes or exceptions to the regular payroll, rather than entering all payroll data. In addition, the application offers two data entry options for clients. Firms can provide their clients with a custom spreadsheet that can be used to enter payroll data, later importing the spreadsheet directly into Payroll Relief. The other option is to provide clients with access to Payroll Relief’s data entry screen, where they can enter payroll data themselves. Firms have the option to determine the access level for each client individually, allowing some firms to handle complete data entry, while others may only have access to payroll related data such as reports and paystubs. For firms that only process payroll reporting, AccountantsWorld offers the After-the-Fact-Payroll module, which includes both payroll and tax compliance. In addition to standard payroll, Payroll Relief also supports contractor payroll as well.     

Payroll Relief easily handles multi-state payroll as well as multiple payroll schedules and multiple checks per employee. Check printing options in Payroll Relief include printing and distributing checks to clients, or emailing a PDF of all processed paychecks for clients to print on-site.

An employer dashboard in Payroll Relief allows users to easily monitor payroll data for each client, with each client dashboard displaying information such as pay day reminders, taxes due, and forms due, including the ACH Transactions screen, which allows users to review electronic fund transactions for each client. Users can also view a list of all active clients from the Payroll Snapshot screen, with the current status of each client available.

Payroll Relief includes tax tables for all 50 states, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico, and offers state and local tax compliance as well. All electronic filing for federal and most state forms is included in Payroll Relief, along with year-end processing and filing of W-2’s, 1099 MISC and 1096 forms. 

Payroll Relief includes a good selection of payroll, compliance, employee and employer reports. Users can also create report sets for each client, making it easy to process the required reports each pay period. Users can also easily email reports to clients directly from the report screen. All Payroll Relief reports can be exported to Microsoft Word and Excel for customization, archived in Cloud Cabinet, or saved as a PDF.  

Payroll Relief integrates seamlessly with other AccountantsWorld applications such as Accounting Power, After-the-Fact Payroll, and Practice Relief. Integration with popular third-party accounting applications such as QuickBooks and Sage 50 Accounting is also available. In addition to importing time data from spreadsheets, Payroll Relief also offers integration with time and attendance applications such as Swipeclock or Advantek.

Payroll Relief offers an unlimited number of client portals, with portal access levels determined on a per-client basis, as mentioned earlier. Options include complete access to payroll related features such as time entry to access only to payroll related information such as paystubs and W-2s. The product currently does not include any HR tools or resources.  

Payroll Relief offers both telephone and email support, which is included in the cost of the application. A professional development consultant is assigned to each Payroll Relief user, which can be particularly useful during the transition or setup process. A variety of training videos and context-sensitive online help is also available, as are a series of both live and recorded webinars that cover various product features and functionality.

Designed for accounting Professionals, Payroll Relief from AccountantsWorld offers top-notch payroll processing capability for firms offering payroll services to their clients.  Payroll Relief can be used as a stand-alone payroll application, or integrated with other AccountantsWorld applications. Those interested in Payroll Relief should contact AccountantsWorld for current pricing and to obtain a quote for their firm.   

2019 Overall Rating – 4.75 Stars