2015 Review of SurePayroll

• User friendly interface and quick payroll processing capability
• Offers an Accountants Center
• Easy access to product from anywhere
• Offers a good selection of payroll related add-on products

Potential Limitations:

• Payroll clients need to have less than 100 employees

Basic System Functions: 5 Stars

Originally geared for small businesses with less than 100 employees, SurePayroll for Accountants is designed for the accounting professional. The Partner Dashboard provides firms with easy access to all clients from one screen, allowing them to access all payroll reports and accounts, process payroll, and manage client billing directly from the dashboard.

The user interface is exceptionally simple to manage, and the product even offers a One-Click Payroll option; ideal for clients where payroll stays fairly consistent. Users simply enter the recurring data into SurePayroll, and choose default options such as direct deposit or print checks. When payroll is ready to be run, just click on the One-Click Payroll option that is displayed on screen to quick process payroll, with reports available immediately afterwards.

While SurePayroll can handle an unlimited number of clients, each of those clients’ needs to have less than 100 employees. Pricing options are flexible and dependent on the number of clients and employees. Users can also easily enter correct check totals, or add manual checks to the system for proper recording. All tax calculations, forms, and tax payments are handled by SurePayroll automatically.

The product easily handles multi-state payroll processing and tax liability, and offers a free direct deposit feature. Free mobile apps are also available for both iOS and Android devices, making payroll entry even more convenient.

Reporting & Monitoring: 4.75 Stars               

SurePayroll processes all tax payments and related filings for each client. The product supports federal, state, and some local tax jurisdictions, and tax payments are processed electronically. All federal 940 and 941 payments are archived for easy future access.

SurePayroll also contains a reminder function that provides firms with a handy reminder for each client’s payroll run dates, as well as any tax-related due dates. Other system reminders can be added as desired.

Payroll reports are automatically generated in SurePayroll. Report options include Payroll Process reports such as a Payroll Summary, Year-to-Date totals, Employee Detail, and Benefits. Both annual and quarterly reports are available as well. There is limited customization capability for system reports, but reports can be exported to Excel, PDF, and as a text file. Users can also save specific reports in a defined group, which will automatically process with each payroll run. SurePayroll also integrates with The Hartford to provide a workers compensation plan that is ideal for small businesses. This service is optional, and not included in the payroll processing cost.

Integration/Import/Export: 4.5 Stars

SurePayroll offers integration with several small business accounting applications such as QuickBooks, Intacct, AccountEdge, Xero, LessAccounting, and Sage 50. SurePayroll is designed as a standalone payroll solution, but does offer a few integration points. Direct integration is provided for popular small business accounting software such as QuickBooks and Sage 50 – US (formerly Peachtree)..

The product offers easy time clock integration with over 15 of the most widely used time and attendance applications including TimeTrex, Timeco, SpringAhead, BuddyPunch, Nettime, and NovaTime. SurePayroll also offers add-on products for managing 401K, Health Insurance, and Pre-Employment Screening, as well as the Workers Compensation integration mentioned earlier.

Help/Support: 5 Stars

SurePayroll offers good help functionality throughout the product, including quick access to Online Help, which provides both telephone and email support options. Users also have access to a variety of short videos, links to state tax information, and a searchable knowledgebase. A live chat option is also available to users.

A SurePayroll account representative is assigned to each SurePayroll for Accountants subscriber, providing firms with a reliable contact within the company that can help to address any future issues.

All system updates are completed automatically by SurePayroll, ensuring that all users have access to the most up-to-date tax and compliance information available.

Client Self-Service Features: 5 Stars

SurePayroll provides portals to accounting firms that they in turn can provide to their client and their client employees. Firms can choose the amount of access each client is provided. Portals can be custom branded to reflect the brand of the accounting firm, and firms can allow clients and employees to access the system to enter time, approve time, and add and update employee information as needed.

After each payroll, an email is sent to each employee, where they can access current and prior pay stubs, W-2 and/or 1099 information. Employees can also access payroll information using the free SurePayroll mobile app.

Advanced Features: 4.5 Stars

SurePayroll offers firms access to the SureAdvisor, which provides a set of HR tools that firms can easily access to stay current on all HR related compliance issues, including poster compliance. SureAdvisor also offers access to How-to-Guides and various business forms. SureAdvisor is part of the payroll application, and is available at no extra charge.

Summary & Pricing

SurePayroll for Accountants is a web-based product designed for accounting professionals. Custom branding is available for accountants to utilize if desired. Pricing for SurePayroll is based on four separate tiers, and are dependent on the number of clients that the firm currently has. Pricing includes unlimited payroll processing for each client, direct deposit, and SureAdvisor. Discounted wholesale pricing is available for firms using SurePayroll for Accountants, with firms able to easily enroll in the service online. Firms interested can all contact SurePayroll directly to receive a quote.

2015 Overall Rating: 4.75 Stars