Intuit QuickBooks Payroll services Review:
Is It Better Than Other Payroll Services in the Market?
We really liked:
- Facilitates automatic payment disbursement
- Automatically calculated taxes and forms
- Automated payment of taxes
Best for:
If you use the QuickBooks accounting software, then you will benefit from using the quickbooks payroll software. That’s because the payroll software’s tracking, inventory management, and payment process integrate with the accounting software.
One thing to watch out for:
- The software can be glitchy and slow
QuickBooks Payroll Overview
When you run a business, your top priority should be equipping the right tools at an affordable price, and with a vast market that offers a lot of options to choose from, you may be asking yourself, “why choose Intuit QuickBooks?”
Intuit QuickBooks is known as a top choice amongst payroll brands.
Once you enter your employee payroll data into the QuickBooks system, you can use the direct deposit system or print the paychecks on the laser printer. You can also transfer your payroll data from your QuickBooks account to Intuit Payroll Assisted for direct deposit transactions and tax compliance. You can try Payroll Assisted for two months and then pay a monthly fee, which starts at $69 per month. Intuit does not charge you extra fees for New Employee Reporting or direct deposits.
Some users have experienced technical difficulties when trying to set up their employee database. And unfortunately, the reviews for QuickBooks customer service are just as mixed as the software performance reviews. However, users will need to check out the software for themselves to see if it is right for them.
QuickBooks Payroll Features
Payroll Entry
You or your payroll administrator can enter the payroll for all employees based on their salary or the total hours they worked during a pay period. Their Auto Payroll option allows you to review your payroll and make any necessary changes before you process the checks for salaried and in-state employees – e-services must be enabled for this feature to work.
Tax & Paycheck
If you’re a small business owner, you don’t need to be an expert on payroll taxes because the software automatically calculates and files the federal, state, and local taxes, which will save you a lot of time, energy, and even costs! Their payroll vendor can then use your establishment’s power of attorney to send an electronic payment to the government.
Or, you can choose to print out a spreadsheet that contains the breakdown of the payroll data for your state’s tax and employment departments and send it to your accountant. You are not forced to use QuickBooks Payroll to file your business or personal taxes.
Health care, 401(k) plans, and other deductibles are automatically deducted from paychecks. Your payroll administrator can set up a wage garnishment to be automatically deducted from an employee’s paycheck. Quickbooks also automatically deposits paychecks into employees' bank accounts.
Web Portal and Payroll Reports
Employees can access current and past pay stubs, W-2 forms, and additional salary information. Users can create and download payroll history reports, bank transactions, paid vacation and sick leave, tax payments, contractor payments, and more.
We compared QuickBooks to other vendors, such as Heartland, Ceridian Dayforce, and Paychex Flex. QuickBooks is very upfront about its pricing, where its competitors require prospective customers to contact them for a quote.
- Heartland beat QuickBooks in customer service, ongoing product support, and feature updates and roadmaps.
- QuickBooks outranked Ceridian over customer service, ease of use, and product support.
- Paychex beat QuickBooks over ongoing product support but tied with feature updates and roadmaps.
QuickBooks Pricing
QuickBooks offers three tiers of service for small to medium-sized businesses. They offer a 30-day free trial plan so that you can test to see whether or not their services work for your company. They also offer a 50% discount for up to three months.
You can choose to sign up for the accounting service and add the payroll service when you place your order. You can also choose from one of the three payroll plans and add the accounting service.
Every payroll service tier comes with full-service payroll features that include automated taxes and forms, auto payroll, 1099 E-File & Pay, and expert product support. Here are the differences and their monthly price, after the 3-month 50% discount expires.
Core Plan – $45/mo.
You'll get the basic features, plus the option to set up a 401(k) and health benefits plans for your employees.
- Auto Payroll
- 1099 E-File & Pay
- Expert Product Support
- Next-day direct deposit
The Core plan files for one state only. That means you'll have to pay an additional fee of $12 for any out-of-state employees.
Premium Plan – $75/mo.
You get the basic features, the 401(k) and health benefits. The plan also includes:
- Same-day direct deposit
- Expert review
- Track time on the go.
Unfortunately, once the discount period ends, you'll have to pay an additional $8 per employee to use this service.
Elite Plan – $125/mo.
You'll get everything that the Core and Premium plans offer plus:
- Expert setup
- Track time and projects on the go
- 24/7 expert product support
- Tax Penalty Protection
- Personal HR advisor
The Elite plan is your best option if you hire out-of-state employees because you won't have to pay an extra charge.
QuickBooks Free Plan
Their limited-time offer is valid for all QuickBooks products except the QuickBook Live Bookkeeping. New customers can choose the 30-day free trial or sign up for a discount for three months of service. New customers must provide their credit card number when signing up for the free account and make sure to cancel their subscription before it ends if they decide that QuickBooks doesn't offer what they need.
QuickBooks Ease of Use
The Intuit site offers straightforward navigation and fast-loading pages. Intuit lists the features of each plan in simple, easy-to-understand language. If you have a presale question, you can call a sales representative at the number posted on the top of the page. Or, you can send an email inquiry to the Support department by clicking the Support link at the top of the page.
Setting up an account takes about five minutes. Follow the steps below to get started.
- Go to the site.
- Click on the Plans & Pricing tab.
- Read the lists under each personal plan and choose the one you need. See more about these tiers here.
- Next, choose the Payroll plan you need by clicking the Add to Plan button.
- The next screen will show you an itemized list of everything you are about to order. Click the checkout button to approve the order.
- Enter your email address, mobile number, and password. Then click the One More Step button.
- Fill out your billing information and place the order.
Should you experience a problem, you can submit a support ticket or call their customer service department to resolve the issue. This process can take up to 30 minutes, but they will do their best to take care of your request.
If you decide that you aren’t happy with QuickBooks, you can cancel your service at any time.
QuickBooks on Mobile
QuickBooks offers mobile apps for both iOS and Android devices. The interface is intuitive and allows you to pay your employees directly from your phone or tablet. This is very convenient if you like to work on the go. In addition, you have the option to review paychecks before you submit them for payment.
Detailed payslips provide a breakdown of the gross pay, plus tax and other deductions. You can also use the app to file your payroll and end-of-year taxes with a few clicks. Transactions take about a minute, and the app didn’t seem to drain any of our devices while we were using it.
However: it’s not all rose-tinted. Some users have reported experiencing problems with glitches, such as repeated quests for sign-ins. Other issues involved payroll submission, even with a full-service payroll. For example, if you hire contractors, you won’t be able to include them on your payroll list. But, we’d still say the app is useful, despite the above potential glitches, which we didn’t personally experience.
Also, the features are limited compared to the online or desktop version. You won’t have access to a memo to write notes that you may want to add to a paycheck. The app does not allow you to correct any errors that you may find with an employee’s name, address, etc., either.
QuickBooks: Bottom Line
QuickBooks Payroll is perfect for small businesses that already use Quickbooks because both are designed to work seamlessly. In addition, many people have found the software easy to use and consider it a vital component of their business.
If you are considering using payroll software for your business, we suggest that you take advantage of the free trial to get a feel of the software first. If you use payroll software and are looking for a change, QuickBooks Payroll may provide the solution you need. Their mobile app will sweeten the deal because it will allow you to pay your employees, whether you're at the office or on the other side of the globe.
