Alternative to Quickbooks w/Payroll service?

[BillK]

Hello there. I'm currently a Quickbooks Pro 2007 user - and I subscribe to their payroll service and do my own paychecks for my office with it. (I own an insurance agency)

I'm growing weary of Intuit's "sunset" policy on their programs (my QB Pro 2007 is done next year apparently) and the $229/year tax table service charge.

The only thing I use QB Pro for is doing my payroll and printing payroll related checks (and maybe 4-5 other categories of checks rarely). I have 4 employees and we have a total of 5 checking accounts for my office - only the Payroll account is on Quickbooks - all the others are old fashioned "by hand" ledgers.

I print my employee's paychecks weekly - do a monthly payroll report and fax it to my accountant - he then tells me what I owe for my 941 taxes, state unemployment taxes etc and I print those checks out through QB (I also do several other checks with QB such as my vehicle payment and an "bonus" checks for my employees).

Is PayWindow an alternative for me given how I use my current version of Quickbooks? Or will it not work since I do more than "just" paychecks with my Quickbooks installation?

Thanks in advance for any replies.

Bill

[Paul Mayer]

If you are just using QuickBooks for payroll, then toss it out and download PayWindow. Even if you want to keep QuickBooks, PayWindow is your answer.

Since PayWindow is a stand-alone payroll system, it is really all you need for what you described.

[BillK]

Thanks for the fast reply Paul.

So I'd continue to use Quickbooks for printing my car payment, tax payments, employee bonuses etc - and use PayWindow for paychecks only?

I'm assuming PayWindow will generate a monthly payroll report similar to QB that I can fax over my my accountant?

Sure would be nice to get away from Intuit completely.

[Paul Mayer]

Thanks for the fast reply Paul.

So I'd continue to use Quickbooks for printing my car payment, tax payments, employee bonuses etc - and use PayWindow for paychecks only?

I'm assuming PayWindow will generate a monthly payroll report similar to QB that I can fax over my my accountant?

Sure would be nice to get away from Intuit completely.

Yes that sounds like a good plan. See this FAQ on getting started:

http://zpay.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=1386

And see this page on the reports available:

http://zpay.com/report-descriptions.htm

Note in particular the two reports you should print each pay day, the 80 column report and the employer totals report. You can even save them as PDF file to email to your accountant.

[hotboi]

Im sort of in the same situation. I only use QB for payroll, nothing else. However, QB Payroll does what I need and it keeps me current. I'm only looking for an alternative b/c I hate the yearly prices. Does this program remind me when taxes/payroll is upcoming or overdue? Does it print federal forms that I can mail in (940, 941/944, w2, w3)? I love the fact that I can mail in w2, w3 forms that I printed from my printer at the end of the year. The same with 941's every quarter. Also how does it handle Child Support? Can I set it up as a deduction w/ a reminder to pay before 7 days.

P.S. I didnt like the idea of paying $345 for Mag-filer.

[Paul Mayer]

You are lucky as QuickPay actually can be even much more expensive with the number of employees and such it can go over $2,000.00 a year. That's why we are an affordable replacement. Instead of the "full price" we charge $45 each year for the annual upgrade.

We do not have "reminders", the Employer Totals report shows you your tax liabilities for the Pay Period, Month to Date, Quarter to Date and Year to Date. It is up to you to print that report each pay day and pay the taxes.

You can set up miscellaneous deductions. We have a FAQ on Child Support which you can see here:

http://zpay.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?2630

Also if you do not have over 250 employees, there was no reason to use Mag-Filer for your reporting W2's.

Here is a FAQ that tells about our reports and forms and links to a page where you can see examples.

http://zpay.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?716

But since we sell through Shareware, you can actually download and install PayWindow on your computer and see everything first had before you pay. You have 30 days from the time you install it and if you like it during the 30 days you come back and pay for it, if not simply uninstall it.

[peterni]

I used to pay weekly. Now I pay every two weeks. Employees hated it for a month or so, then got used to it. Cut my work in half.