survey results: payroll software and services 2008

with over 200 responses so far, the trendlines are becoming clear.

[this post was updated july 31, 2008, to include new verbatim responses.]

get the 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 payroll study 2008: join the survey; get the results.

roughly 46% of cpas are “very satisfied” or “completely satisfied” with their payroll system. but a significant number are not so happy, including 8% who are “not very satisfied.”

even if they’re relatively happy with their payroll system, most cpas (62%) could be looking for a new solution in the next 18 months.

web-based systems are emerging as an increasingly popular option, now garnering overwhelming acceptance. some 32% would be “totally comfortable” doing payroll online.

got payroll? who ya gonna call? the answer is local firms, with 83% of cpas saying the payroll future belongs to local firms. if, that is, they want it.

what do you think? please join the survey and get the results or just leave a comment.

here’s sampling of the comments collected so far in the survey, to the question:

if you could wave a magic wand and change just one thing about your current payroll system, what would it be?

the responses:

  1. better integration with general ledger
  2. more payroll clients
  3. ease of timeclock data into payroll system…
  4. make it easier to offer direct deposit (initiate ach trx’s)
  5. ad hoc reporting
  6. ease of transferability
  7. that the feds would come up with a universal way for everyone to file all payroll reports online
  8. generating report
  9. cost
  10. much better customer support. the firm handling ours does not understand the needs of employees who have had an error in their checks
  11. find the right employee to manage the service
  12. making it easier for payees to access the information about their earnings
  13. simpler to use
  14. eliminate intuit charges for direct deposit
  15. better interface for paperless tax payments and filings for state compliance.
  16. move to real time processing of transactions and away from batch processing so that i have real time costs analysis
  17. allocation of salaries/wages across departments
  18. better knowledge of payroll tax changes.
  19. have access to hr info
  20. easier set up of required payments.
  21. that it works like it is supposed to and when we call for tech support not to get, “no one else has that problem.”
  22. more effective report generation and data download
  23. add service bureau software capabilities
  24. go from manual to web-based.
  25. manual entry
  26. flexibility in report writing
  27. ease of use; profitability
  28. lower cost
  29. have a complete systtem that in completely within our general ledger system
  30. reporting flexibility
  31. improved customer service
  32. get rid of it!!!
  33. make it easier to use
  34. make it better and easier to use, accumulate data
  35. making it user friendly
  36. i would like a dynamic software product that would keep up with changes and handle the complex local taxes in ohio.
  37. flexibility
  38. focal point customer service. no gambling by calling 800#.
  39. more flexibility in handling garnishments
  40. improve ease of extracting payroll information reports.
  41. hr manager – she is a pain