APS, Inc. — APS OnLine - CPA Practice Advisor

From the Sept. 2010 Review of Professional
Payroll Systems.

The
APS OnLine 5.0 payroll processing, HR and time and attendance system is a SaaS
solution built using Web 2.0 technology. It is designed for single or multiple
business entities ranging from 10 to 2,000 employees. The service includes live
payroll processing capabilities, direct deposit and cash cards, time & attendance,
tax compliance, reporting, document management functions and benefits administration.
For the purposes of this review, the system is primarily a fit in our Outsourced/Referral
model, where employers generally manage their own payroll processing and the
accountant has the ability to view online reports and pull financial data into
a GL. The company also offers a model that fits the Partially Assisted professional
payroll model, as well, with accounting firms managing all of the day-to-day
functions and payroll runs, but with the vendor performing all compliance and
reporting functions.

BASIC SYSTEM FUNCTIONS:
The system’s workflow and familiar user interface makes it rather simple
to use. APS OnLine is a full-featured payroll processing system with an extremely
flexible set up. It handles an unlimited number of jobs/departments, along with
pay rates and payroll deductions. Adding clients is quite simple in that APS
handles the initial company setup and can also provide assistance on adding
employee-related data.

Payrolls can be generated for all of the 50 states, and the tax rates are
updated as changes are released to ensure accurate forms and reporting. Payroll
taxes are remitted electronically by APS to the proper taxing authority. In
addition to electronically submitting taxes, APS also takes full responsibility
for all Federal, State and Local tax returns as well as year-end processing.
Copies of all payroll tax reports and W-2 reprints are available online and
can be printed at no charge.

REPORTING & MONITORING:
With more than 100 standard reports that are easily customized, reporting tasks
are quite easily accomplished with this system. Actually customizing reports
is quite intuitive and simple using the vendor’s proprietary Report Builder
with built-in report templates. Frequently used or favorite reports can be saved
to the reporting console. All payroll, HR, and time and attendance data is stored
in a centralized SQL database, which enables reporting across each functional
area of the system. The Global Reporting feature allows companies with multiple
entities to run reports across their entire organization. Documents and files
related to individual employees can be attached to the employee record for future
reference. Skills associated with each employee can be entered, as well, which
helps companies determine which skills are available in the workforce.

INTEGRATION/IMPORT & EXPORT:
The program can import payroll data from virtually any system capable of exporting
data to structured text formats. Web services are also available for integration
with time and attendance and employee-related demographic data. Data can be
exported to a GL report for import into most accounting programs. Power users
that want to build their own exports can do so using the Report Builder and
exporting to Excel.

HELP/SUPPORT:
APS OnLine provides traditional built-in Help functions and an index, along
with form instructions and some guidance. Initial system training is done in
short phases and is based on the number of users and system configuration. Email
and phone-based technical support is included with a dedicated support person
assigned to each customer.

CLIENT SELF-SERVICE FEATURES:
APS OnLine offers an employee self-serve option through eSELFSERVE.com. This
option enables employees to view their pay history, print paystubs, review and
update information, access W-2s, download company forms, enroll in benefits
and training courses, and request time off.

SUMMARY & PRICING
The APS OnLine system is a best fit for businesses who want a web-based single
system option for payroll, time & attendance and HR. The Accountant Services
option lets professionals offer APS’ online program under their firm’s
name, providing multi-client management functions for managing client and employee
data and running payrolls, with APS once again handling the back-end issues
of compliance and liabilities payments.

Pricing is determined by the number of employees, services provided and the
number of payrolls submitted. Pricing for a 250 employee bi-weekly payroll ranges
from $1.50 to $3.00 per employee for a payroll-only client to a payroll, HR,
and time and attendance client, respectively. Discounted pricing is available
to Accountant Partners.

2010 OVERALL RATING: