Cougar Mountain Software — CMS Professional 2012 Payroll

Cougar Mountain Software - CMS Professional 2012 Payroll
800-388-3038
www.cougarmtn.com 

Best Fit: Users who want an on-premises application for processing large payrolls and those who use other Cougar Mountain Software offerings. It’s also a good fit for those who want to prepare and transmit their own payroll tax filings or outsource to a third party (Aatrix).

From the Sept. 2011 Review of Professional Payroll Programs

CMS Professional Payroll is the in-house payroll solution provided by Cougar Mountain Software. Although designed to integrate directly with other products within the Cougar Mountain Software family, CMS Professional Payroll can be used as a standalone payroll solution for businesses of all types and sizes. CMS Professional Payroll offers an easy-to-navigate interface and a number of customization options to provide everything businesses need to efficiently pay employees and manage taxes.

BASIC SYSTEM FUNCTIONS:

Navigation is typical of a Windows-based software package. Users navigate through a series of drop-down menus and icon shortcuts. Three user-license tiers are available for purchase: single, four-user and

unlimited. With a multi-user license, many users can be in the same file concurrently, but may not edit any employee or item associated with a currently running payroll batch. The multiple user-licenses allow users full access to separate files at any time.

Data entry is presented intuitively and, for the most part cannot be modified. However, certain custom fields do exist. Many data-entry screens are navigated through use of tabs on the bottom portion of the screen. These tabs are logically categorized and guide users to the appropriate data-entry points. Attachments, such as pictures, PDF files or word processing files, can be attached to the master record. This is especially useful for employees, with the ability to attach current Forms W-4 or I-9, as well as any employment agreements.

An unlimited number of separate businesses may be set up within the system. Multiple department codes, pay frequencies and job cost records may also be attached. No limit is placed on the number of employees contained within each client file, but to avoid a significant loss in performance, it is recommended that users prepare payroll in batches of less than 1,000 employees.

CMS Professional Payroll provides a wizard to guide users, step-by-step, through the payroll process, and checks off items as they are completed. This process also allows payroll to be run in multiple batches with multiple pay frequencies, as well as offering the ability to only run payroll for certain departments or even specific individuals.

CMS Professional Payroll offers full support for all federal, state and local taxes. Each employee, however, may only be attached to a maximum of three separate states and one locality. Additionally, employees may have multiple income and deduction items attached to their paychecks. Support for up to 99 items is available for pay rates, deduction, benefit and garnishment. Direct deposit capabilities are included with support for up to four bank and investment accounts.

REPORTING & MONITORING:

Many popular payroll reports are included with CMS Professional Payroll, and can be filtered through a number of date and field options. For true custom reporting, R&R ReportWorks∞ Infinity, an add-on product, allows users to create specialized reports and modify paycheck design layouts to meet their needs. R&R ReportWorks∞ Infinity also allows branding through the addition of business or firm logos. Many reports can be exported to text formats, and PDF export capabilities are available through an add-on product.