Today's Technology for Tomorrow's Firm.
Issue link: https://cpapracticeadvisor.epubxp.com/i/382390
14 September 2014 • www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com PAYROLL Reviews BEST FIRM FIT • Smaller frms that want to extend a payroll service to their clients. STRENGTHS • L o w p r i c e a n d i m m e d i a t e installation • Simple set up • E x p o r t t o Q u i c k b o o k s a n d accounting packages a l low ing text fle or Excel import • Reports are available in Excel, text and PDF formats POTENTIAL LIMITATIONS • Suppor t i s l i m ited to t he fol- lowing payroll forms: 941, 940, 944, W-2, W-3, California DE-9, California DE-9C, Texas C-3 , Texas C-4, New York N YS-45, Illinois 941 and Illinois UI-3/40 • Report customization is limited • Some advanced features require a sofware upgrade SUMMARY & PRICING Payroll Mate is an easily down- loaded payroll solution designed to be fast and easy. Tough not spe- cifically designed for accounting professionals, the sofware works well for a frm with smaller clients. One feature, single sign on access, allows accounting professionals access to all payroll clients on the Paychex Online platform removing the need for multiple user name and login combinations. Te basic price is a one-time $99 charge for up to 10 companies with up to 75 employees each. Te user needs to purchase a new $99 license each calendar year, but afer that, all updates during the year are free. A d d i t i o n a l c o m p a n i e s a n d employees can be purchased by upgrading to the Pro edition. www.RealTaxTools.com Real Business Solutions Payroll Mate Read the full review and see expanded ratings for this product online at: www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com/11675614 3.5 2014 OVERALL RATING How Payroll Mate Fills a Valuable Niche at Accounting Firm Pete Demian is a no-nonsense kind of guy. A CPA with more than 20 years in practice, his Cranford, New Jersey firm (www.taxprocpa.com) serves hundreds of small businesses and individual clients, providing everything from tax services and wealth management, to business consulting, audits and financial management. Another key component of his firm is providing payroll services to his employer clients, a function he says his clients greatly appreciate and which helps strengthen relationships with them since he interacts with them more frequently than if he were only providing tax or periodic write-up services. CHOOSING A PAYROLL SYSTEM For many years, he used one of the biggest names in the small business payroll field, but he says he got fed up with the pricing and increasing com- plexity of the system. "I needed a more reliable solution that was more affordable and didn't have a yearly subscription model," Demian said. So after searching online for alternatives, he found Payroll Mate from Real Business Solutions (www.RealTaxTools.com). "Payroll Mate and W2 Mate are definitely more cost-effective for when I have certain types of clients, such as household employers, that I only need to produce a few forms for." Payroll Mate costs $99 per year, giving profes- sionals a full-featured, multi-client payroll solution with the ability to process live or after-the-fact payrolls for businesses in all 50 states and D.C., along with forms 940, 941, 943, 944, W-2, W-3 and state forms. Data can be exported directly to QuickBooks and Sage 50. The W2 Mate system costs only $39 and is designed to provide forms W2 and 1099 for unlimited recipients and payers. It also offers various export options. GETTING UP AND RUNNING WITH CLIENTS Having used Payroll Mate for about five years, Demian says the system works well alongside the other programs he uses in his firm, and that it was easy to learn and get started with. "When on- boarding clients, it has features that automatically run calculations, and it is accurate and fast, which lets us get year-to-date information instantly, and simplifies transferring those YTD transactions." While Demian uses cloud-based programs for some of the services he provides his clients, he says he likes that Payroll Mate is locally installed. "When entering data and moving to reporting and other functions, it's much faster than cloud-based systems and more intuitive." A PARTNER FOR PAYROLL SERVICES Over the years he has used the system, he says he has only needed to contact customer support a couple of times, but each time, the staff was very responsive and they were able to help resolve the issue very quickly. He also noted that the company is continually enhancing Payroll Mate based on the needs and requests of users like him. Free trials of both Payroll Mate and W2 Mate are available at www.RealTaxTools.com. "Payroll Mate is easy to run and use, and is definitely cost-effective. It definitely helps takes the labor out of managing my payroll functions." S P O N S O R E D C O N T E N T READ THE 2014 REVIEW OF RBS PAYROLL MATE www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com/11675614 FIRST-HAND