Paylocity - WebPay

From the September 2009 Review of Professional Payroll Programs

Paylocity offers a collection of online programs and services for payroll, payroll tax compliance, human resources, and time and labor tracking. The web-based Paylocity WebPay system is geared both toward small to mid-sized business users and professionals providing services to multiple clients. The system can be used to process payrolls for businesses with any number of employees assigned across multiple departments, and supports all states and multi-state employees. Direct deposit, e-filing and electronic payments are included with the program, along with human resources functions that enable management of benefits and retirement plans, and tracking of EEO information, rate histories, application management and other data. Pricing is based on payroll frequency, number of employees, and the products/services selected, starting at $45 per business per month for simple needs.

DATA ENTRY & KEY FEATURES:
After logging in, the primary interface for users managing multiple employers is a selection list that offers basic sort and filter options. When working within a specific client, the interface doubles as a company intranet (a feature more useful if the system is being used in-house) by providing employees with company news, access to benefits information, a handbook, mission statements, a company directory and other information. From this main screen, depending upon access rights, users can select from key business management functions from a left-side menu that houses options for Employees, Payroll, Company, Applicant, Tax/Finance, Reports, Tools and Notifications.

When setting up business information and employees, users can create system defaults that help streamline both setup tasks and payroll runs by automatically populating certain fields. Employees can be hourly, salaried, tipped or commissioned, with the ability to assign multiple rates and other factors, including shift differentials, overtime, double overtime, bonuses, mileage reimbursement, per diems and advances. Employee information screens provide a tabbed view of personal information, work information, payroll setup, history, time off and custom data tracking, each with additional options within these areas. Payroll setup, for instance, offers access to setting employee pay rates, viewing rate histories, editing their tax and earnings information, allocating labor, setting reminders, managing direct deposit accounts or applying deductions. Paylocity WebPay allows any number of deductions to be set up at the company level, then selected and modified at the employee level. These can include standard items such as pre-tax insurance and retirement accounts, or post-tax items such as union dues, garnishments, loan repayments and uniform charges.

To run payrolls with WebPay, users simply select the batch they want to process or click the payroll entry link to create a new one. Employee time data entry and review is performed using a multi-employee spreadsheet view that self-populates hours if the option is turned on, and offers selection lists for items such as department, job codes and other entry fields. Data-entry tasks are fluid and intuitive, with the program offering topical Help related to the task the user is performing. Client-side access to the system is standard, and employers can also opt to allow employees to use self-service portals for viewing historical check stubs and W-2s, and also for making HR requests for time off and other issues. In addition to its payroll and HR functions, WebPay includes an audit trail, check reconciliation functions and tax liability management features.