2018 Review of CenterPoint Payroll

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From the 2018 reviews of professional payroll systems.

CenterPoint Payroll, from Red Wing Software has been available for years as a comprehensive on-premise application, but now can be accessed from the cloud with the new CenterPoint Accounting and Payroll in the Cloud option. The on-premise and the cloud application are identical, so users will receive the same features and functionality, no matter what deployment option they choose. Designed to work with other CenterPoint Accounting applications, CenterPoint Payroll can also be utilized as a stand-alone product.

CenterPoint Payroll is well suited for both small businesses as well as accounting firms that offer payroll services to their clients, and with a cloud application now available, offers more flexibility than ever before.

CenterPoint Payroll contains an intuitive user interface offering a variety of payroll options including Pay Employees, Time Sheets, Reprint Checks, Calculate Paid Leave, and Leave Adjustments. A drop-down menu and a series of function icons offer a quick shortcut to other menu options. Users can enter a variety of preferences on the Pay Employee screen, choosing the employees they wish to pay using various selection criteria. Once employees are chosen, users can import timesheets directly into CenterPoint Payroll, or enter payroll information for each employee chosen.      

CenterPoint Payroll contains a good selection of payroll reports, including an Employees Report, an Earnings Report, Local Taxes, a Leave Report, and a Deductions and Benefits Report. Users can easily customize any standard report to suit their needs. Regularly run reports can be saved as favorites, with users able to create a report folder for better report organization. All CenterPoint reports can be exported to Microsoft Excel for further customization, or saved as a PDF.

CenterPoint Payroll offers tax tables for all 50 states, and supports all federal tax forms including 940, 941, 943, and 1099 forms, as well as W-2’s. The product also includes both TIN and SSN number verification, and easily handles multi-state tax filing. CenterPoint Payroll also supports more than 200 state tax forms including tax deposit, unemployment, and new hire reports. As an added bonus, users can set up a custom reminder in CenterPoint Payroll that will flag users when payroll and tax due dates approach.

CenterPoint Payroll supports electronic tax form filing, though users can choose to print returns on plain paper for mailing if desired.

CenterPoint Payroll can import time and attendance from just about any timeclock application, or users can utilize the optional CenterPoint Online Timeclock module. Mentioned earlier, CenterPoint Payroll can be used as a standalone application, or coupled with other CenterPoint applications such as CenterPoint Accounting for greater system functionality. Add-on modules are also available, with all CenterPoint modules integrating seamlessly.   For those using other accounting applications, CenterPoint Payroll can produce journal entries that can be exported to third party applications if desired.

Publish Pay Advice is an online portal that CenterPoint Payroll users can utilize to access paystubs, along with other payroll information, such as available vacation time. A notification email is sent to employees once a new pay stub has been generated, with both current and former employees able to simply use their own personal login to access the information. At this time, CenterPoint Payroll does not offer any HR tools or functions.

CenterPoint Payroll offers users excellent help functionality throughout the application. The Getting Started option provides new users with detailed instructions on data transferring, and an in-depth payroll training video. The Help center also offers a variety of how-to videos, as well as access to training videos on demand, and classroom training options. The CenterPoint Customer Care option is available in varying levels and offers unlimited phone support, email support, as well as any software enhancements and updates.

CenterPoint Payroll is well-suited for small to mid-sized businesses that currently use Red Wing Accounting Software, though the Payroll module can be used as a stand-alone application as well. Pricing for CenterPoint Payroll is customized for each user, and is available upon request from Red Wing Software, with all add-on modules priced separately.

2018 Rating – 4.75 Stars