2011 Review of Cheque-Mate International, Inc. — Cheque-Mate Payroll Solutions

Cheque-Mate International, Inc. - Cheque-Mate Payroll Solutions
800-755-7846
www.chequemate.com

 Best Fit: Payroll processors with large numbers of payroll clients who need an application with an inexpensive entry point but do not need general ledger (GL) integration.

From the Sept. 2011 Review of Professional Payroll Programs

In business since 1983, Cheque-Mate International has evolved its payroll solution, Insta-Pay, to be a solution for large-volume payroll practices. Insta-Pay’s core design is to allow accounting professionals to spend less time with data entry and to perform quick and accurate payroll runs. Insta-Pay is a full-service payroll system for accounting professionals managing all aspects of client payroll, including data entry, payment processing and compliance reporting.

BASIC SYSTEM FUNCTIONS:

When Insta-Pay is opened, a login screen appears for users to enter their login credentials. Once inside the software, a client list is displayed to allow users to select the desired client. The user interface presents a series of traditional Windows drop-down menus, as well as a set of large icons across the top of the screen. The icon set is static and cannot be altered to include other shortcuts or preferred tasks. Wizards are used to add employees or perform most setup tasks. These wizards perform much of the backend configuration required to ensure that all payroll items are setup correctly in the system.

Once set up, the software is designed for quick data entry and payroll processing. Insta-Pay can support an unlimited number of employees, but is designed to handle a normal payroll run of around 100 employees to prevent degradation of software performance. Currently, Insta-Pay supports 38 state and local tax jurisdictions. Any jurisdiction not currently included may be added through requests to the Cheque-Mate support staff. Once these additional jurisdictions have been added, all subscribers to Insta-Pay will receive the functionality through available updates. Each employee paycheck may have any number of deductions and additions. Insta-Pay supports multiple payroll frequencies and job costing.

New for 2011 is the addition of Windows 7 support. Insta-Pay will work on both 32- and 64-bit operating systems, except Windows 7 Home Edition, which may affect some users. Also new for 2011 is the Call Calendar. The Call Calendar is designed for those with multiple payroll clients and shows upcoming client payroll runs. The Call Calendar can be customized based on date queries as well as each payroll clerk’s client responsibilities or client grouping. A list of companies, contact names and phone numbers are listed on the report, making it easy to contact clients for accumulating information.

Direct Deposit is supported and allows an unlimited number of bank and investment accounts. Employees without bank accounts can receive a traditional paper check or opt to receive a prepaid debit card. Insta-Pay offers after-the-fact payroll abilities, but the software is primarily designed for live payroll. User-level security allows for client-level login activity. Also, an audit trail is turned on by default and shows any changes made throughout the system along with the user login ID.

REPORTING & MONITORING: