An Overview of QuickBooks Assisted Payroll

Small business owners are under a constant time crunch. They need to be very careful about how they spend time because there’s never enough of it. Between putting out daily fires, managing day-to-day operations, and executing on a vision for the future, savvy business leaders know they need to save time wherever they can. Payroll tends to be one of those areas where owners spend an inordinate amount of time. That’s because along with simply paying employees, employers need to make sure they are set up for payroll taxes, that they have all employee tax information recorded – and that they are protected from costly and time-consuming errors like inaccurate tax filings. In fact, according to a survey and report from QuickBooks Payroll, business owners are spending almost 5 hours calculating, filing, and paying payroll taxes every pay period – and that comes out to a whopping 21 days per year. Fortunately, QuickBooks offers Assisted Payroll, which aims to take the paperwork off your plate. 

Assisted Payroll promises a fast payroll process with guaranteed tax accuracy, all tied in with QuickBooks to make the entire time tracking and payment process more streamlined. Leveraging such a system can help you to spend more time focusing on growing your business and less time on cumbersome payroll and tax paperwork, reporting, and confidentiality. 

QuickBooks Assisted Payroll Features

Generally speaking, what you can expect from QuickBooks Assisted Payroll is: 

• A guarantee of on-time and accurate payroll tax management, filing, and payment. 
• Peace of mind that all payroll and associated tax processes are completed in a thorough, confidential manner that protects you from future issues. 
• An onboarding team that guides clients step-by-step through setup and answers any questions they might have.
• 24/7 support through payroll specialists that can be reached anytime. 

More specifically, users should expect better accuracy and less busywork across the entire payroll workflow, enabled by: 

• Advanced features for payroll taxes – QuickBooks guarantees no late fees or penalties, and they offer payroll-detailed and job costing reporting. 
• Increased capacity – Supporting up to 250 employees, Assisted Payroll includes user permission settings to keep payroll information confidential. 
• Accessibility – Free direct deposit and online access for employees to view their pay stubs. 
• Onboarding experts – U.S.-based onboarding experts offer step-by-step guidance through the setup and ongoing support as needed. 
• Integration with QuickBooks Time®. That means that employee time data automatically appears in QuickBooks for easier payroll.
• Necessary payroll steps, including paying both W-2 and 1099 employees, instant paychecks, free tax, and year-end forms. 

Simply put, all you need to do is make sure employees’ hours are entered into QuickBooks and Assisted Payroll will handle the rest.

Pricing and how to get started with QuickBooks Assisted Payroll

Intuit Assisted Payroll is usually added as an “alacarte” option meaning that you add it as a separate subscription to the version of QuickBooks that you are using.  The cost is normally around $109.00 per month + $2 per employee per payroll.  If you are interested in adding Assisted Payroll, give us a call because we are usually able to add a substantial discount to the first-year subscription cost. Additionally, depending on the QuickBooks software that you are currently using, we can potentially bundle the payroll costs into your software subscription which can save not only in the monthly charge but also reduce the per-employee cost from $2 to $1.  This can make a big difference if you are paying lots of employees frequently.  If you already have Assisted Payroll, give us a call as there is a good chance that we can bundle everything to reduce costs for you as well!

Have questions?  Need help?

If you’re interested in learning more about how Assisted Payroll or any of the other QuickBooks payroll options can work for your business, we can help.  With over 13 years of experience with QuickBooks products, we can help guide you to the best solution – optimize purchasing, pricing, and sales, call our experts directly at 866.949.7267 or click here to test drive QuickBooks Enterprise free for 30 days.