QuickBooks Payroll vs Patriot Payroll

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Our analysts compared QuickBooks Payroll vs Patriot Payroll based on data from our 400+ point analysis of Payroll Software, user reviews and our own crowdsourced data from our free software selection platform.

Product Basics

Quickbooks is an Intuit payroll and accounting solution designed to meet the needs of both small and medium-sized, growing businesses. There are a variety of plans, starting with small packages built for independent contractors and self-employed individuals. It handles payment, calculating and filing taxes, benefits management, direct deposits and more.

The variety of products and packages enables users to find a solution that fits a company’s unique needs. Quickbooks offers specialized features for organizations in a variety of fields, including manufacturing and retail. Overall, it serves 1.4 million businesses.
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Patriot Payroll is a full-service accounting and payroll software that offers a variety of integrative add-ons to users. The system’s core functions assist with core payroll tasks, while the add-on features enable the system to function as a full HR suite. This web-based payroll solution processes the payment, calculates taxes, creates reports, runs time and attendance and manages invoices.
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$37.50 Monthly
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Tailored to your specific needs
$21 Monthly
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Tailored to your specific needs
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Windows
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Linux
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Chromebook
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Linux
Android
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On-Premise
Mobile
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Mobile

Product Assistance

Documentation
In Person
Live Online
Videos
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Documentation
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Live Online
Videos
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Email
Phone
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FAQ
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Knowledge Base
24/7 Live Support
Email
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24/7 Live Support

Product Insights

  • Save Time: Connects with bank accounts and syncs with various apps to help streamline payroll processing. Saves users more than 40 hours monthly on average and spares them from tedious manual data entry.
  • Save Money: Saves the average users more than $3,500 annually through its assistance with tax filing and other processes.
  • Easy-to-Use: Provides a simple interface so HR managers and others can store and access relevant accounting information easily. Centralizes and organizes data, making it simple to access.
  • Simplified Administration: Manages benefits, payments, time tracking, workers’ compensation, inventory, compliance and other essential business functions from one location. Simplifies processes and handles all of them through one solution.
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  • Accuracy: Define tax settings during the setup process. Calculate taxes automatically along with standard payroll processing, eliminating the chance of human error. Get the system tested and audited regularly.
  • User-Friendly: Guide users through the payroll process, making it easy to use. Take advantage of the free trial to see if it’s a good fit. Adopt it quickly to cut down on lost revenue due to training.
  • Easy-to-Customize: Customize payroll settings and choose from a variety of payment methods. Accommodate many types of business and specific payment structures.
  • Scalability: Adjust pricing and other capabilities to meet the needs of businesses of any size. Users can also cancel any month with a penalty. Allow a company room for growth while ensuring it’s not too expensive.
  • Better Security: Use encryption and systems that are bonded and audited to keep data safe. Ensure data integrity.
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  • Payroll Processing: Operate 24-hour direct deposit. Pay employees, access integration services for employees, calculate taxes automatically and file taxes directly through the system. Automate payments to save time.
  • Benefits Management: Administrate workers’ compensation, health insurance, retirement plans and more. Covers workers’ compensation through AP Intego. Offers medical, dental and vision insurance through SimplyInsured. Compare different plans to judge the coverage, value and deductibles and make informed decisions. Calculates deductions for health, medical and dental automatically. Deducts and calculates contributions for 401(k)s from each employee paycheck.
  • Mobile Capabilities: Create, track and send invoices via smartphone as well as payment reminders.
  • Workers’ Compensation: Manage workers’ comp, understand state requirements and laws and pick a policy through AP Intego. Provides a free quote and automates premiums.
  • Inventory: Import information from Excel and sync with Amazon, Etsy and other similar websites to track products, cost of goods, create purchase orders and manage vendors.
  • HR Management and Compliance: Provides HR resources and consultation to help with compliance through Mammoth Inc. Creates forms from templates for onboarding checklists, employee handbooks and job descriptions. Aids in creating policies, obeying HR laws, hiring and conflict management.
  • Time Tracking: Track and add billable hours to invoices. Review and put a stamp of approval on employee timesheets. Provides tracking through TSheets. Link hours to specific jobs, save time during payment processing and see real-time insights into employee work hours. Approve and enter employee time cards.
  • Reporting: Run and export a variety of reports. Create customizable reports for balance sheets, expenses and tracking profit and loss. Create, export, print and customize reports to share with accountants or critical stakeholders. Covers deductions, tax liability, contributions, more than one worksite, summary for taxes and wages, vacation, workers’ compensation and sick leave.
  • Taxes: Helps users find tax deductions. Store photos of receipts, share books with accountants and sort business expenses by tax categories to help streamline tax filing.
  • Penalty Payments: Covers payments of up to $25,000 if errors in local, state or federal taxes result in a penalty. Communicates with the IRS. Reviews taxes with experts before sending them to the IRS to cut off issues before they start. Doesn’t cover specific penalties in some situations such as fraud, insufficient funds, healthcare administration, employee classification and several others.
  • Project Tracking: Track project details such as labor costs, expenses and profits.
  • Payroll Plans: Offers three separate plans for payroll needs.
    • Core: Provides core functionality such as payment and calculating payroll taxes.
    • Premium: Covers team management and provides more powerful tools and services for payroll.
    • Elite: Gives access to experts on-demand to answer payroll questions. Gives access to tax penalty protection.
  • Implementation: Aids in transferring current payroll information to the new system. Provides expert support to help users with initial setup and compliance.
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  • Payroll Processing: Use payroll with three steps and local, state and federal taxes. Create invoices, see the payment history, pay bills, print records and add employees. Accept payments from credit cards, make and send out estimates, import bank interactions, reconcile accounts and manage documents and receipts. Manage garnishments, PTO and print W-2s.
  • Invoice Management: Create and store invoices as well as setting up recurring invoices, reminders and more.
  • Tax Calculation: Calculate, file and pay taxes. Use the basic subscription package to assist with tax calculations; however, it can’t help filing or paying taxes.
  • Time-Off Tracking: Track time-off balances and activity through the employee portal.
  • Year-End Reports: Generate printable W-2, 940 and 941 documents. File W-2’s and W-3’s electronic.
  • Time and Attendance: Add-on time and attendance services for an additional fee that will enable the system to assist with clock-in and clock-out functionality and allow users to access time cards electronically.
  • Core HR: Add core HR functions to the payroll solution for an additional fee. This add-on allows users to track employment history, census data and share documents with employees.
  • Accounting: Operate cash-based and or accrual accounting. Help accountants with their tasks.
  • Reporting: Download reports in PDF or CSV format in a year-to-date format. Filter by checks, employee, location or totals. See contributions, deductions, earnings, employer payments, hours and withheld taxes. Understand potential issues with a tax liability report.
  • Multiple Devices: Use the program on a variety of devices, including mobile and tablets.
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Product Ranking

#47

among all
Payroll Software

#17

among all
Payroll Software

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Analyst Rating Summary

84
65
38
45
92
40
74
48
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Mobile Capabilities
Dashboard and Reporting
Payroll and Tax Management
Time and Attendance Management
Payroll and Tax Management

Analyst Ratings for Functional Requirements Customize This Data Customize This Data

QuickBooks Payroll
Patriot Payroll
+ Add Product + Add Product
Benefits Management Dashboard And Reporting Expense Management Mobile Capabilities Payroll And Tax Management Platform Capabilities Security And Compliance Time And Attendance Management 38 92 74 94 91 75 80 91 45 40 48 61 88 65 80 44 0 25 50 75 100
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100%
42%
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58%
80%
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80%
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90%
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10%
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40%
87%
3%
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87%
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13%
78%
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22%
67%
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33%
80%
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88%
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12%
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50%
37%

Analyst Ratings for Technical Requirements Customize This Data Customize This Data

64%
0%
36%
43%
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57%

User Sentiment Summary

Great User Sentiment 626 reviews
Excellent User Sentiment 1898 reviews
89%
of users recommend this product

QuickBooks Payroll has a 'great' User Satisfaction Rating of 89% when considering 626 user reviews from 4 recognized software review sites.

96%
of users recommend this product

Patriot Payroll has a 'excellent' User Satisfaction Rating of 96% when considering 1898 user reviews from 4 recognized software review sites.

4.7 (17)
5.0 (14)
4.0 (25)
4.8 (358)
n/a
4.8 (1513)
4.5 (550)
n/a
3.5 (34)
4.3 (13)

Awards

SelectHub research analysts have evaluated QuickBooks Payroll and concluded it earns best-in-class honors for Mobile Capabilities.

Mobile Capabilities Award

Patriot Payroll stands above the rest by achieving an ‘Excellent’ rating as a User Favorite.

User Favorite Award

Synopsis of User Ratings and Reviews

Excellent Functionality: Over 90% of users that discussed functionality were happy with the features, including the tax filing, automation and employee salaries and hours functions.
Simple to Use: Reviewers that talked about the ease of use felt it had a simple and intuitive interface over 80% of the time.
Manage Salary and Hours: More than 80% who discussed the employee time tracking and salary functions felt it worked well.
Affordable: Just under 70% of users who discussed price felt it was an affordable option.
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Excellent Customer Service: Over 90% of users that discussed the support loved the customer service.
Useful Features: Users said the system had good functionality in over 90% of comments that discussed it.
Simple UI: More than 80% of reviewers who talked about the navigation said the solution was easy to use.
Affordable: Commenters felt the price was appropriate in over 80% of the comments that mentioned it.
Fluid Implementation: Over 80% of reviewers that discussed setup felt the implementation process was smooth.
Tax Forms: Users found the tax forms easy to find and fill out in more than 80% of comments that discussed it.
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Bad for Large Organizations: Over 90% of reviewers that discussed using the system for big organizations felt the system wasn’t complex enough.
Mixed Customer Service: Users were split on customer support quality, with 52% approving and 48% disliking the service.
Issues with Price: While overall, reviewers that discussed price felt it affordable, over 30% were displeased and said they got overcharged or billed after they’d already canceled.
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Long Lead Time Direct Deposit Issues: Over 70% of users who talked about direct deposit complained about the long lead time.
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Quickbooks Payroll is part of the Intuit suite of programs. Commenters felt it was easy to use, train and adopt with a simple interface that worked well. They found it affordable and found the integrations of time tracking with employee salaries made running payroll a quick process. Commenters said it was reasonably priced and the features worked well. The most popular functionality included automation, tax calculations and filing, and its ability to centralize and organize data. The largest complaint by far was that this program isn’t complex enough for larger organizations. Reviewers recommended only using it for small organizations. Reactions to customer service were very mixed. Reviewers who were satisfied said the support workers got back to them quickly, were friendly, helpful and called back promptly. Other users had adverse reactions say the staff was incompetent, complaining that there was only chat support and complained of always getting different answers. While most were pleased with the price, some reported getting overcharged and said it was difficult to cancel with charges showing up well after they’d terminated the service. Quickbooks Payroll is a good choice for small and medium-sized businesses. Be sure to understand what functionality comes with which pricing plan before purchasing.

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Patriot Payroll is a straightforward payroll app with some HR core functionality mixed in. Users like its ease of use and felt the support was responsive, understood the problem well and gave them enough resources. The features were well-reviewed, especially the insurance forms and tax filing abilities, making it administratively advantageous. The users loved the implementation process, which they said went smoothly, guided by the knowledgeable support team. Overall, reviewers felt it was within an appropriate price range for its functionality. On the downside, users didn’t like that the direct deposit required four days of lead time for regular ACH funding. This software may be a good option for small businesses looking to bring their payroll online.

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