Creative Solutions started as a small software company in 1979, specializing in client write-up software for accounting firms. Over the past 25 years, it has grown to be one of the most respected software application providers to the accounting profession. The company was purchased by Thomson Corporation and has continued to grow and expand its product and service offerings.
Creative Solutions has always been an accountant-centric organization. They have kept a good balance of providing leading-edge technology solutions, while at the same time continuing to support their legacy applications for an extended life cycle. This is invaluable to the practitioner because it allows you to transition your technology deployment at a reasonable pace. Two attributes of Creative Solutions that I find particularly attractive are the breadth of applications they offer and the option to deploy them as in-house systems or to access them via a hosted ASP (Application Service Provider) model.
The first year price of Payroll Solution for the sample firm defined on page 26 would be $3,225. The renewal price would be $1,125. If the firm chose to run this on a network (up to 4 concurrent users), and did not already have the Creative Solutions Accounting network module, it would add $1,000 to the first-year price and $200 to the renewal.
LEARNING CURVE – 5 Stars
The vendor provides a step-by-step tutorial manual to walk users through the entire payroll setup, processing and reporting procedures. The user interface is intuitive, with conventional tabbed folders and dialogue boxes. Just going through the setup tutorial heightens your awareness of just how comprehensive the system is from a feature and function perspective.
Payroll Solution offers a number of features to streamline the data-entry process, including the suppression of fields that you don’t need to use, thereby simplifying the data-entry process to the level of your needs. The system also has an extended series of shortcut keys to speed data entry.
BREADTH & DEPTH OF FEATURES & SERVICES – 5 Stars
The feature set offered in Payroll Solution is very comprehensive. If you integrate it with the numerous other applications available from the company, you can streamline your entire client payroll and financial reporting workflow and increase overall productivity. Some of the more notable features include the following:
Batch creation of salaried or hourly payroll checks with a single mouse click.
User-maintainable federal, state and local tax tables.
Multiple formats for payroll data-entry worksheets.
Electronic filing of 940 and 941 forms to the IRS.
Unlimited number of pay types, deduction types and withholding types.
Net to gross feature allows you to enter a net pay and calculate up to the required gross pay.
Unlimited number of state and local tax withholdings for each employee.
REPORTING CAPABILITIES – 5 Stars
Payroll Solution offers a complete set of payroll forms and reports, along with the ability to create custom reports. You also have the option of running multiple reports simultaneously to speed up printing and production. You have relatively complete control over the format and layout of the check forms. The bottom line is that if the system doesn’t have the report in the form or content you need, you should be able to create it yourself.
INTEGRATION / IMPORT & EXPORT – 5 Stars
Creative Solutions is a significant force in the accounting and tax software industry, and when you look at the list of integrated systems below you will quickly discover why:
PRS Direct Deposit with an optional service to transmit direct deposit files directly from the software.
Payroll Compliance Solution provides you with the functionality to prepare the payroll tax forms and related reports.
Remote data-entry application allows clients to enter their payroll data online.
Remote check printing offers the client the flexibility to print the checks at their own office if they prefer.
State Payroll Tax Solution program assists you in preparing the quarterly payroll tax forms for the state filing authorities.
PRS Payroll Register gives you the power and flexibility to slice and dice the payroll information from the extensive database of information captured.
FileCabinet Solution allows all reports and forms to be easily stored and organized electronically.
NetClient provides a web client portal to transfer and store electronic documents and files via the Internet.
In addition to all of these applications, Creative Solutions offer a wide range of integrated applications for the accounting and tax profession, such as time and billing, 1040 tax software, etc.
CUSTOMER SERVICE & SUPPORT – 5 Stars
When it comes to product support, Creative Solutions has a good reputation. The company has an extensive support system accessible (NetCSI) online 24×7, which includes a knowledgebase and access to ARNE2 (Accountants Resource Network Exchange) that provides an online forum for Creative Solutions customers to exchange ideas, experiences, support tips, etc.
SUMMARY
If you step back and look at the accounting and tax software industry, you’ll quickly realize that there are only a few dominant players in the market that cover the full spectrum of software applications for the practicing accountant, and have the financial and personnel resources to develop, maintain and support all of them effectively. Creative Solutions, as a subsidiary of The Thomson Corporation is one of them.
When it comes to payroll service bureau functionality, Payroll Solution may not quite reach the overall depth of features, functions and support of the leading dedicated payroll service providers such as ADP and Paychex, but as far as accountant-centric software vendors go, they are a clear leader. Payroll Solution is likely to handle any payroll situation your firm encounters.
2004 OVERALL RATING: 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.
Thanks for reading CPA Practice Advisor!
Subscribe Already registered? Log In
Need more information? Read the FAQs
