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2009 Product Review: QuickBooks Premier Accounting Payroll Software by Intuit

Posted by AccountingWEB in Payroll Tax on 09/18/2009 - 17:11

Intuit has a fairly long history of providing accounting solution software programs for both accountants and their clients. QuickBooks is one of their flagship products and an industry standard for small businesses. Intuit QuickBooks Payroll Services offers two ways to do payroll. Both start with you (or your client) inputting the paychecks but in the first option you track, prepare, and pay the payroll taxes and do the filings and in the other option you create the paychecks but Intuit handles the taxes and filings.

Assisted Payroll is the package for those who wish to have Intuit handle the taxes. It provides a “No Penalty Guarantee” that taxes will be paid on time and correctly. A payroll specialist helps you to set up the employees from the beginning. The cost is $60 per month plus $1 per check. It is not recommended for a business with over 150 employees.
 
Enhanced Payroll is for those who would like to prepare and pay their own payroll taxes. The tax tables are downloaded so the withholdings can be automatically calculated once the hours are entered. It has the capability to file and pay the taxes online. It handles payroll for up to 800 employees, a QuickBooks limitation. It is an affordable package,
1-3 employees $249 annually, 4 or more $349 annually. (This is active employees at a time, not a W-2 limitation)
 
According to Intuit, Enhanced Payroll for Accountants makes it easier for accountants to serve their clients in additional ways – by preparing Client-Ready reports. These reports help clients understand all the details of their payroll with seven pre-configured reports that print out on standard paper.
 
 
Either payroll software can be added on to any version that is QuickBooks 2007 or higher. QuickBooks Payroll can handle up to 3 EINs per payroll license. It is designed for the individual company to manage their payroll.
 
One of the nice things about the QuickBooks Payroll Service for QuickBooks users is that its format is the familiar format they are used to.
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Comments From Intuit

QuickBooks Enhanced Payroll for Accountants lets accountants offer end-to-end payroll processing as a profitable, value-added service to their clients.

QuickBooks Enhanced Payroll for Accountants offers all the benefits of QuickBooks Enhanced Payroll and allows accountants to process payroll for up to 50 clients with a single subscription. With Enhanced Payroll for Accountants, accountants also have an efficient method for processing After-the-Fact payroll.

This greatly improves the experience for accountants who are asked by their clients to calculate how much to pay in federal/state tax liabilities, prepare payroll tax forms and review and correct any errors in payroll preparation.

In addition, Enhanced Payroll for Accountants makes it easier for accountants to serve their clients in additional ways – by preparing professional payroll statements and analyses.

Product Features:

After-the-Fact Payroll
With Enhanced Payroll for Accountants, accountants also have an efficient method for processing After-the-Fact payroll. This greatly improves the experience for accountants who are asked by their clients to calculate how much to pay in federal/state tax liabilities, prepare payroll tax forms and review and correct any errors in payroll preparation.

  • Accountants can enter After-the-Fact Payroll through one simple spreadsheet-style data entry screen and customize the data entry columns so they match the sequence of data provided in a client’s payroll data records.
  • Data from each employee’s last paycheck can be automatically copied into the current period.
  • QuickBooks automatically identifies errors in gross-to-net calculations and in fixed-percent withholdings, such as Social Security or Medicare.

Client-Ready Reports
In addition, Enhanced Payroll for Accountants makes it easier for accountants to serve their clients in additional ways – by preparing Client-Ready reports. These reports help clients understand all the details of their payroll with seven pre-configured reports that print out on standard paper, including:

  • Payroll activity by employee: provides details of payroll expense items for a given pay period, month, quarter or year-to-date. This includes a by-employee view of earnings, employee-paid taxes, additions/deductions (401-K, insurance and company-paid taxes & contributions).
  • Payroll expense analysis: These reports help you and your client review payroll expenses by expense item and over time.
  • Payroll tax reports: help your client understand payroll taxes accrued, paid and any unpaid tax liability.

Auto-Fill Preparer ID
With Auto-Fill Preparer ID accountants can auto-fill the primary signature, third party designee, and paid preparer information on federal and state tax forms. QuickBooks will automatically copy the contact information provided to any applicable tax form that the accountant completes. For the accountant who must file forms for numerous clients on numerous occasions each year, this feature is a significant efficiency improvement.