2016 Review of Intuit Online Payroll for Accounting Professionals

Product Strengths:

• Integration with QuickBooks products
• Pricing drops significantly with an increase in clients
• Offers online/mobile system access

Potential Limitations:

• Product does not offer HR tools

Designed for professional accounting firms that wish to offer payroll services to clients, Online Payroll is available at wholesale pricing, with the cost dropping significantly as more accounting firms add more clients.

From the 2016 Review of Professional Payroll Systems.

Basic System Functions: 5 Stars

Easy online access to the product, as well as the availability of mobile apps, makes system access both easy and convenient. The Client Overview screen offers quick access to all payroll clients, with users able to choose the client they wish to process. Users can also access their own company payroll from this screen as well. Clicking on a client will bring up a to-do screen that lists the series of outstanding tasks that need to be completed for the client. Online Payroll also offers complete branding capability, so if clients are provided with access to the payroll system, they will be presented with the branded firm name on the login screen.

The system automatically sends out an email when a client’s payroll is due to be processed. The payroll processing screen is easily navigated, with users able to process hourly employees, while salaried employee history is saved from payroll to payroll to reduce data entry. Once data entry is complete, users can just click on the Create Paychecks tab to process payroll. The product supports both regular paychecks and direct deposit, and handles after-the-fact payroll as well, as well as multiple hourly rates for each employee, cash and tip income, as well as HSA contributions and other user-defined reimbursements. Paycheckrecords.com allows users to easily email client employees when paycheck stubs are ready for accessing.  

Intuit Online Payroll provides excellent incentives for accountants to manage multiple clients, including reduced costs, and tax tables are available for all 50 states. Multi-state tax processing and payments are fully supported in the product, and like the payroll processing reminder, users receive an email when taxes are due in order to avoid costly penalties.

Reporting & Monitoring: 4.75 Stars

Online Payroll offers a good selection of real-time reports that provide accountants with vital payroll and tax information, with available reports including Tax Liability, Tax and Wage Summary, Total Pay, Tax Payments, and Vacation and Sick Leave. There are also a variety of employee related reports that can be processed as well. Desired reports can be saved as a group and run after each pay cycle, with the ability to customize the report groups by client. All reports can also be easily exported to Excel for further customization if desired.

The product handles all payroll tax compliance and payment, with users able file and pay taxes electronically. Users have the option to pay taxes at any time up till the due date, with users able to electronically file and pay state taxes for states that support electronic filing. For states that do not offer electronic filing, a tax coupon is created that can be mailed with the tax payment. Conveniently, all tax payment data can be easily exported to accounting software applications as well as seamless integration with all QuickBooks financial products.

Forms such as W-2’s are also processed electronically, with users able to quickly review forms and click submit to file. Users can also offer access to clients, so employees can access information such as Sick and Vacation Time as well as both current and historical paystubs.

Integration/Import/Export: 4.5 Stars

Online Payroll for Accounting Professionals offers seamless integration with QuickBooks products including QuickBooks Desktop, QuickBooks Online, and QuickBooks for Mac, as well as other popular accounting applications such as Quicken and Sage 50. Easy integration with Intuit Time Tracking makes it easy to import time data directly into the product using one of two time tracking methods: Online Time Sheets or Online Time Clock. Users can also import time data directly into the product from an Excel spreadsheet, and payroll data, as well as all system reports, can be exported to Excel as well.

Help/Support: 4.75 Stars

U.S. based support is available for accounting firms using Intuit Online Payroll for Accountants. Support is provided by payroll industry experts, with the support available during regular business hours. Email support is also available, and the product offers a brief product demo as well as a variety of search topics and FAQ’s for browsing.

All product updates are handled automatically in the system, so users will have access to the most recent information. There are also various marketing resources available for users to use, including customizable templates that can be utilized to attract new clients.

Client Self-Service Features: 5 Stars

Online Payroll offers an employee portal that users have the option of offering to their clients. Clients and client employees can have no access, limited access, or complete access to all payroll functions. The portal is branded with the name of the firm, clearly visible. Using the portal, client employees as well as firm employees can access both current and historical paystubs as well as W-2’s and other information as needed. Time data can also be entered through the portal, but all employee changes such as tax withholding or deduction information must be handled through the client, not the employee

Advanced Features: N/A

Intuit Online Payroll for Accountants does not currently offer any HR related tools that are designed to integrate with the product.

Summary & Pricing

Intuit Online Payroll Accounting for Professionals is designed specifically for professional accountants. Users can easily access the product online or via a mobile device, and a client portal is included with the product. Pricing begins at $35.00 per client per month, along with a $2.00 monthly fee per employee. That cost drops significantly as more clients are added, so that a firm with 51 payroll clients would pay $9.99 per month per client plus $.50 monthly fee per employee. Intuit is offering free direct deposit and no fees for the first client for 30 days.

2016 Overall Rating: 4.75 Stars