Payroll Apps: A Win-Win-Win for Your Firm, Your Clients and Their Employees
As advanced and streamlined online payroll systems have allowed accountants to bring payroll back as a profitable service in their firms, many of the leading providers of those payroll programs have started offering mobile apps for smart phones that allow...
“As a trusted service-provider for accountants, it is not enough to be online anymore – it’s about business on the go,” Alter added. “Many of today’s accounting professionals and their clients do as much of their business from their phones as they do from their office. The same is true for their employees who need to access paycheck, vacation and other benefit information 24/7 from anywhere. Providing resources like our payroll apps make it easy for our customers to work quickly and efficiently. Life and work move at light speed. As service providers we must continue to innovate to keep pace.”
Managing payroll for multiple clients used to be a tedious challenge with a lot of manual data entry, but the advent of online programs and now the addition of apps for these payroll systems continues to make payroll services more streamlined and profitable, whether managing dozens or even hundreds of client payrolls.
Here are some of the more notable payroll apps on the market, with insight on the benefits they provide to firms, clients and employees, the devices they are designed for, plus other information.
ADP Mobile Payroll
www.ADP.com/mobilepayroll
Features: ADP launched its first mobile payroll app in October 2010, and has since continued to add numerous features. The key day-to-day functions that the system allows users to manage, include starting new payroll runs, processing regular runs, confirming check dates and enter data such as hours, earnings, deductions, holiday time and other factors.
When a payroll is ready, the system offers a preview feature that calculates totals and offers details, and reports can be generated and viewed before the run is finalized, including payroll liability and the amount to be debited from the associated bank account. When the payroll is ready and ultimately approved by the user, all direct deposits and other payment functions are automatically processed.
The app also includes employee management tools that include the ability to sort staff by hourly, salaried and contractors. A built-in HR dictionary offers insight into staff management policies, and an HR Checkup Tool provides additional tips.
Devices Supported: iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, Android or BlackBerry.
Price: Free.
PayChex Online Mobile App
www.PayChex.com
Features: Paychex offers apps specifically designed for tablets, giving users the ability to access and run payrolls from anywhere and in as little as two taps on the screen. After signing into the app, you can enter employee hours and other information, or carry it forward for salaried workers. Management users can also create and change passwords and access rights for other employees who have access to the payroll system.
Additional features include the ability to view the payroll journal prior to submitting, check the payroll cash requirements necessary for the payroll run, add new employees and contractors, and run all standard payroll, quarterly and annual reports.
With the single sign-in function, users can also quickly access and manage related functions, such as retirement and health benefits, flexible spending accounts, COBRA administration and an online time and attendance system.
Devices Supported: iPad and Android tablets.
Price: Free.
SurePayroll Mobile Payroll
www.SurePayroll.com
Features: SurePayroll was the first to develop an app for managing payrolls, and won an Innovation Award for it in 2010. Since then, the company has added apps for employees. The employer/payroll provider app offers full access to the online SurePayroll system, letting users run payrolls from start to finish, including entering employee or contractor data, creating new employees or contractors, starting or stopping a direct deposit, entering and managing deductions and personal or sick time, and accessing employee contact data. Prior to finishing a payroll, users can preview it and view payroll summary reports. Previous reports can also be viewed at any time.
SurePayroll’s employee-focused app makes it easy for workers to quickly view their current and previous paychecks, including details on vacation or sick time, earnings, taxes, deductions and YTD totals.
Devices Supported: iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch and Android Phones and Tablets.
Price: Free.
Execupay Mobile Payroll
www.ExecupaySoftware.com
Features: ExecuPay, which has offered full payroll processing solutions to service providers with up to several thousand client businesses, has recently re-entered the professional accounting market with a payroll solution designed for firms with dozens to a few hundred clients. The web-based system is based on the enterprise version, but tailored to the more specific needs of accounting practices, and includes full multi-client capabilities with client portals and employee self-service.
