Compare Prices for Payroll Software

Basic Payroll Software Features

A subset of business accounting software, payroll software typically utilizes the following features:

• Employee information, including employment and tax information, emergency contact info, availability, attendance, and training history. Quick access to this information helps you schedule the right employees at the right time, and to identify employees with less than stellar attendance.

• Electronic time and attendance recording that integrates automatically with  your payroll systems. With no more manual recording of hours and transferring hours into payroll by hand, you’ll have fewer payroll errors and more accurate employee timesheets.

• Payment generation on an hourly or salaried basis. This includes sick days, vacation days, and other benefits that can otherwise make it a chore to accurately calculate payroll.

• Integration tools to transfer payment records to other programs and modules, such as your accounting software.

• Report generation and printing.

• Database backup and restore features that protect your employee and business information in the event of computer malfunction.

Finding the Right Provider

When shopping for payroll software, look for a brand that comes with excellent technical support for the life of the product. Payroll is one of the most important functions of any accounting business software package, and if you don’t have sufficient technical support, your business could flounder.  The software company should provide 24/7 technical service, emergency assistance, and a clear estimate of how quickly problems are solved.

• Be sure to consider if payroll outsourcing is right for you, as well; check out Payroll Outsourcing Top Features. 
• Look for payroll software that has an intuitive, easy-to-use interface. No matter how good the software is, if it’s hard for your employees to navigate, they won’t use it. Before you buy, take advantage of free trials or demos to test the software’s usability and estimate the learning curve required for effective implementation. Many brands offer employee training on the use of the software in order to ease its transition into your company’s infrastructure.

If your business needs payroll software, you should also take a look at payroll services.