Founded in 1983, PenSoft is a privately held company based in Newport News, Virginia. The company has grown an average of 30% per year since 1990. They have approached the market by offering their payroll package in separate industry-focused versions for distribution, restaurants/hotels, distributors/ manufacturers, accounting and healthcare.
The PenSoft system is designed for use on your in-house computer system. The cost of the software for the proposed firm (see page 26) would be $2,099 for the first calendar year and $1,099 for renewal the next calendar year.
The software will complete all the requested features outlined in the proposed firm except deposits handled by vendor. Tax tables are kept up-to-date throughout the year, and updates are automatically sent to affected subscribers, ensuring tax compliance throughout the year.
LEARNING CURVE – 4 Stars
The user interface is well organized and easy to follow. Not much more needs to be said. The user manual can serve as a pretty good reference guide for the setup and operation of the system.
BREADTH & DEPTH OF FEATURES & SERVICES – 5 Stars
The system offers an extensive set of features and functions including the ones listed here:
Support for up to 256 deduction and tax types.
Support for direct deposit.
Tax tables provided for all 50 states, with tax updates sent out automatically.
Creates EFTPS files.
Individual check memo field for printed checks.
Supports accrual tracking and reporting.
Supports job cost tracking.
‘Cloning’ of previous payroll data, allowing entry to be limited to current pay period exceptions.
Supports shift differential premiums.
Provides integrated customer payroll service invoicing.
Certified payroll reports for government contracts.
Option to enter payroll in after-the-fact mode.
10 separate timesheet data-entry modes are available.
REPORTING CAPABILITIES – 5 Stars
The reporting features of the system are very comprehensive with 10 report categories, each containing multiple reports. For each report, you can go directly to a report layout function to customize the heading information, fonts and page setup. Most reports also allow access to a report setup function that allows you to specify whether or not to print optional information. The Report Stack function allows you to designate a group of reports to be printed as a batch, and you can create multiple stacks and assign names to them.
INTEGRATION / IMPORT & EXPORT – 4 Stars
PenSoft allows data export to a number of accounting packages, most of which seem to be lower-end packages, such as QuickBooks, Peachtree and MS Money. The company also offers a PrePaid Cash Card that allows you to pay employees by loading funds into a special credit or debit card as an alternative to direct deposit processing.
CUSTOMER SERVICE & SUPPORT – 5 Stars
PenSoft offers unlimited support (included with license fee) through four options; e-mail, fax, phone and online knowledgebase. In addition, the system has a built-in back-up command to selectively backup a company’s data files.
SUMMARY
The PenSoft system is a pretty complete payroll system with a solid track record. It offers every indication of being a reliable and robust package. Where it falls a little short is in the overall breadth of applications that would have the potential to extend it beyond a basic payroll processing system.
2004 OVERALL RATING: 4.5
Review Attributes
In order to maintain as much consistency
in our reviews as practical, the
payroll software solutions were
rated on the following five areas:
Learning Curve; Breadth & Depth of Features & Services; Reporting Capabilities; Integration/Import & Export; and Customer Service & Support.
We also looked at the vendor’s
history and vision in terms of the
company’s experience, resources
(personnel and financial) and reputation
in the profession and the extent
to which they are focused on payroll
services. We also considered how
the vendor approaches the accountant’s
role in the payroll service delivery
model.
The user interface is the primary
attribute evaluated to rate the
system’s Learning Curve. If
the software has an easy-to-follow
and intuitive interface, it received
the highest rating. On the other
hand, if it is not readily apparent
how and where to find features and
functions in the system, even though
the feature set may be complete,
we assessed a lower rating. This
is a key factor to evaluate because
of the intensive interaction of
the system that is required by your
staff and, in some cases, your clients.
The functionality of a payroll system
is a key characteristic to evaluate
because it will directly influence
the range of clients to which you
will be able to provide payroll
services, as well as the scope of
the services you will be able to
offer. Functionality is measured
in large part by the Depth &
Breadth of Features & Services.
How many options does the package
offer? Does it provide features
that meet the needs of a growing
company such as EFTPS (Electronic
Federal Tax Payment System)? MICR
(Magnetic Character Ink Recording)
and Direct Deposit? An extended
set of these types of features resulted
in a very high ranking in this category.
The following questions all relate
to the rating of the software’s
Reporting capability. What types
of reports does the system produce?
What is the content? How are they
designed? What flexibility is offered
in the sorting, selection and design
of the report contents?
Integration/Import & Export
assesses the packages ability to
integrate with other software applications,
such as client write-up, the client’s
accounting system, HRIS (Human Resource
Information Systems) and other applications
to minimize data entry and optimize
the potential to leverage the information
flow into and out of the payroll
system.
The true measure of a software’s
value is not limited to the program
itself, it is heavily influenced
by the vendor’s ability to
help you use and apply it. All it
takes is one frustrating afternoon
of system problems on a day when
multiple client payrolls need to
get out the door and you can’t
get the help you need from the vendor
to leave you with a long-lasting
distaste for the entire system.
We have done our best to rate the
vendor’s ability to deliver
Customer Service & Support,
but at the end of the day you need
to conduct your own due diligence
on this attribute and talk to a
few client references about their
experience with the vendor in this
area. It is one thing for a vendor
to say what kind of support they
offer, it is quite another to deliver
it. We have included the vendor’s
direct support of the accountant
in terms of marketing and practice
aids to help establish a payroll
service bureau style offering in
this category.
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