2014 Review of Intuit Enhanced Payroll for Accountants & QuickBooks Online Payroll

Upon entry to the system, users are displayed a dashboard that lists details and due dates of upcoming tasks. Processing payroll is straightforward and only requires basic time entry through manual data entry or through the available time import module. Each employee may include multiple earnings and deduction item codes and all calculations and limitations are handled by Intuit. Once the payroll run is complete, paychecks may be printed on either pre-printed or blank check stock. Alternatively, each paycheck may be direct deposited to the employee’s bank account for free. Payments to independent contractors may also be processed via paper check or direct deposit.

Online Payroll for Accountants may be accessed through mobile apps for iOS and Android devices. Users process full payroll and accompanying tax payments. Additionally, all tax deposit confirmations and past payroll runs are available. Users are also prompted for any overdue tax payments and forms and may view basic contact and pay information for employees.

Reporting & Monitoring: 4.75 Stars

Online Payroll for Accountants is a fully outsourced payroll solution and as such processes all federal payroll compliance filing and tax payments. State payroll compliance filing and tax payments are processed as required and allowed. All federal and state tax payments are processed through electronically. Annual W-2s are filed electronically with the Social Security Administration at no additional charge.

Pay day, tax deposit and form filings email reminders are provided to both the accounting professional and client. A client level to do list is maintained on the client dashboard to help track other important deadlines for each payroll client. State required new hire and employer registration forms are provided and may be filed out directly to the service, through the client or accounting professional will need to file these as appropriate.

Several reports are provided with the solution and may be filtered by date and other options based on company setup. Reports may be saved and grouped together and processed upon completion of each payroll run. All reports may be printed directly from the system or exported to Excel for further manipulation.

Integration/Import/Export: 4.5 Stars

Online Payroll for Accountants integrates directly with the entire line of QuickBooks accounting products, including QuickBooks for Mac and QuickBooks Online. Support is also provided for the most current versions of Quicken and Sage 50 US (formerly Peachtree) products. Other products may achieve integration through the available Excel file export utility.

For a nominal monthly fee per employee, payroll clients may allow their employees to track hours worked through the provided employee portal. All time data entered transfers to Online Payroll for Accountants automatically to help reduce the amount of data entry.

Help/Support: 4.75 Stars

Online Payroll for Accountants includes full U.S.-based customer support with the service. Telephone support is provided by payroll experts and is available 5 days a week, while email support is available 7 days a week. Inuit also maintains self-guided help through its website through a frequently asked question page and a searchable knowledgebase.

Updates to the system are controlled by Intuit and require no user involvement. As forms and calculations are updated, all payrolls are automatically processed under these updates. With the service, Intuit also provides accounting professionals a wide range of customizable tools to help promote and grow their payroll business.

Client Self-Service Features: 5 Stars

Online client collaboration features and an accompanying employee portal are included with the service. The client side collaboration is presented in a firm branded website. All client access rights are controlled by the accounting professional and may be tailored to the level of desired client level participation.

The employee portal provided allows employees to view current and previous paystubs and annual W-2 information. Employees may enter time information through the available time tracking module. Currently, the employee portal does not provide for employees to adjust contact or withholding information.

Summary & Pricing

Intuit Online Payroll for Accountants is an Internet-based solution designed for accounting professionals to efficiently process small business payroll. The solution provides a platform for accounting professionals and their clients to collaborate as much or little as necessary. Pricing is presented in a wholesale approach and is dependent on the number of clients processed. Pricing is a flat rate per payroll client plus a nominal monthly fee for each employee. The time tracking capabilities are available for $2 per month per employee.

Best Firm Fit 

Accounting professionals looking for an Internet-based payroll solution to process small business payroll.

Strengths

• Upfront pricing model to aid in service pricing
• Strong mobile platform to accompany service
• Ability to tailor collaboration efforts with clients

Potential Limitations

• No HR functions provided

New in 2014

In the latest version, Intuit has streamlined the Payroll Centre, improved the workflow and made access easier to important payroll tasks.  More data entry fields have been configured as drop-down menus for faster and more accurate data entry.  Also added is a feature that sets monthly limits on deductions and remittances so that non-monthly payroll runs don’t over-deduct.

2014 Overall Rating: 4.75 Stars