“Transparency Sure, But a Time Suck?”
Once again, we are back to take a look at another payroll software solution. Today, we’re going to be taking a gander at Patriot Payroll software.
Out of the gate, in this Patriot Payroll Software Review we should mention that one of it’s more popular features among it’s users appears to be the set-up wizard that the site comes equipped with. This seems especially true for smaller businesses or companies who are very new to using this type of application, and are just getting started for the first time.
According to the company, Patriot Software Payroll Full Service is able to help you with the process of taking care of your payroll requirements from beginning to end. It not only manages the fundamental operations involved in recording employee data, but it also aids you in defining deductions and contributions, scheduling payroll processes, and automatically submitting payroll taxes.
There’s more transparency with their pricing…
As compared to a few of the other payroll software companies we’ve looked into, Patriot does
seem to be more up-front and transparent about how much it costs. They do give you more of an idea of what you’ll be looking at price-wise month to month, without the need for scheduling an appointment with them, or going through their options on the phone.
In doing this, there would be less chance or pressure on you to be Up-sold, so I guess we need to give them a few kudos for that anyhow.
In addition, they also claim to update their software platform a minimum of twice per day.
They also mention that the end-user would never know or notice something not working up-to-par while they’re using the platform, since it’s all happening in the background. We’ve not seen another company make this type of claim before, but it’s an interesting one anyhow.
Perhaps they feel it’s a selling feature for them?
Hmm well, we’re not going to try to guess at that one. Of course, we all know the most important thing would be how well their software performs for it’s users with it’s payroll features and benefits, so let’s dig into that a bit more.
Let’s peak into their monthly plans…
Patriot Payroll Software’s Monthly Plans
Patriot Payroll software comes available with 4 monthly plans.
Here are the plans available:
- Basic Payroll – $10/month – PLUS $4 Per Employee/Contractor
- Full Service Payroll – $30/month – PLUS $4 Per Employee/Contractor (instant access to full service features)
- Full Service Payroll with HR Software – $36/month – PLUS $6 Per Employee/Contractor
- Full Service with HR Software and Time and Attendance – $42/month – PLUS $8 Per Employee/Contractor
Fairly common with some other pricing models among payroll software’s – we can see that it has a plan suitable for several different types of businesses, depending on your current needs… and of course, is scalable as your business needs or growth expands.
In saying that, you’ll notice that if you’re looking for any type of HR control software, these are only available as add-ons with their more robust plans.
The Basic Plan covers things like:
Payroll that is adaptable and customizable -Deductions and contributions for your 401(k), health insurance, wage garnishments, and other items may all be customized.
W-2s that may be printed – You can print your W2-s in several different formats.
Accruals for time off – create time-off accrual rules that will automatically compute time-off hours throughout the payroll.
Multi-level payment rates – You may add up to five pay rates for each hourly employee by incrementing the amount. You may distinguish pay rates for workers by utilizing a description on each rate.
Payroll reports that are right at your fingertips – With a few keystrokes on your keyboard, you can access, download, and print a variety of payroll reports for year-to-date payroll records, payroll runs, and more.
Also, unlimited payroll runs are part of the Basic Plan package too.
However, if you’re needing to actually automatically file your taxes and what not, then you’ll have to move up to their Full Service Payroll plan.
The Patriot Full Service Payroll Plan
Here’s some of the features available with their most popular full service plan:
Patriot provides no-cost expert assistance – You can get help by phone, email, or chat from Patriot’s United States-based support team.
Free payroll setup – You have the choice of being able to use their support services to get you up and running, or you can also use their set-up wizard.
Employee portal access – Give your staff access to their pay stubs, time off balances, and electronic W-2s without fear of theft.
Workers Comp integration features – Easily automate your workers’ comp insurance payments making sure it’s paid on time in a no-stress manner.
Zero cost direct deposit – always a desired feature, Patriot offers no-cost direct deposit
Unlimited payroll runs
Flexible Pay Frequencies – You can pay employees in different categories on a weekly, biweekly, semi-monthly, or monthly basis as needed.
Other common payroll functions – Multiple locations are supported by this system, it’s Mobile friendly, Integration of accounting software, does a multitude of pay rates and money types, does Payroll for the payment of contractors, HR Integration and inclusion, and optional 1099 e-filing.
In addition to all of the above, Patriot takes care of the following for you with their Full Service Plan.
- They deposit federal, state and local taxes;
- take care of your 5 year-end payroll tax filings at no additional cost;
- provide a full guarantee of the accuracy with the filing the taxes.
Any gripes about their service?
One of the common threads we found when checking out customers feedback is that Patriot took quite a lot longer to set-up than what they initially envisioned. Whether it was through using the set-up Wizard, or in having their team help you with it… the time required did feel
cumbersome to several of them.
The Conclusion
While it does seem clear that Patriot Payroll Software and it’s company does have it’s fair share of satisfied customers and clients, we do find that it falls short in comparison to our
Top Rated payroll software solution Gusto.
It was good to see that they are more transparent by providing more understanding of their pricing structure, however, with the additional time factor for set-up that’s been experienced by several customer experiences it’s tough to give them our full recommendation.
Of course, it’s always a safe bet to do a bit of digging and see what company and it’s products will meet your needs best. Here’s to some happy digging. 🙂
