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PAYROLL Reviews 2014 Review of Professional Payroll Systems By Bill Kennedy, CPA, CA The Afordable Care Act and changes to the minimum wage in many states and for many federal contractors has made payroll compliance more complex than ever. For 2014, the ACA (aka ObamaCare), and its health insurance exchanges and tax credits, had the biggest impact on payrolls across the country: • Market reforms to health (HR), f lex ible spending (FSA) and other healthcare arrangements, • Minimum value determination, and • Increasing tax credits when the employer contributes at least half of the employee-only premium Tank goodness there is some relief i n t h e i n f o r m a t i o n a l r e p o r t i n g requirements, which go into full efect in 2015. CPA Practice Advisor reviewed the k e y p a y r o l l s o f t w a r e p a c k a g e s designed for accounting and payroll service providers, with the exception of CompPay/BenefitMall. Since merging in 2013, they have been working on a new version to comple- ment the enhanced online usability and real-time calculations of the new version of BenefitMall, released in July, 2014. On the whole, this was a consolida- tion year for payroll systems, with developers focusing on improving the online calculations and user experi- ence of their cloud based solutions. Tis year's reviews include: • AccountantsWorld Payroll Relief • ADP Run for Accountants • A d v a n c e d M i c r o S o l u t i o n s 1099-Etc • CCH Small Firm Services Payroll • Cougar Mountain Denali Payroll • Intuit QuickBooks Enhanced Payroll for Accountants • Paychex Online • Real Business Solutions Payroll Mate • SurePayroll • Tomson Reuters Accounting CS PR • ZenPayroll ● Bill Kennedy, CPA, CA is founder of Energized Accounting , an accounting and consultancy group focused on helping small businesses. REVIEW CRITERIA BASIC SYSTEM FUNCTIONS • General Navigation/Ease-of-Use • Designed for Accounting Professionals • Concurrent Users • Scalability (number of payrolls handled) • Multiple Pricing Options • Multi-Client Management • Payroll Tax Tables (for all states, jurisdic- tions, municipalities) • After-the-Fact Payroll • Multi-State Taxes • Direct Deposit • Common Paymaster Calculations REPORTING & MONITORING • Compliance Due Date Tracking • Quarterly & Annual Forms for all States • E-fling & Payment • Customizable Reports • Dashboards for Employee Management • Worker's Comp Tracking INTEGRATION/IMPORT/EXPORT • Integration w/same vendor modules • Integration w/external programs (GL export, etc.) • Built-in Timesheet Management • Time Clock Import • Timesheet Integration • Data Import/Export Formats Supported HELP/SUPPORT • Built-In Support Features • System Updates (best if downloadable or automatic download) • Support Website/Documentation • Templates For Creating Employer Instructions To Employees • Live Support (includes phone) - Weight 40% • Live Support Days/Hours/Location • Dedicated Account Rep Assigned CLIENT SELF-SERVICE FEATURES • Employee Self-Service Portals • Client Portals for Data Entry & Reporting • Firm-Branded • Paycheck Stub & W-2 Portal Delivery ADVANCED FEATURES • Union/Specialized Payroll Calculation Rules • State Overtime Calculation for Special- ized States • Tracking/Reporting of project/job costs for GL Reporting • Certifed Payroll • Industry Support • HR Features/Compliance Tools • Electronic New Hire Reporting/Termina- tion Reporting • Two-Factor Authentication into Website 10 September 2014 • www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com