Payroll Software for Dummies

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Hi, we're a (very) small company with one employee, and no accounting experience other than the standard day-to-day accounting needs, using a specialised software package for our industry, which does not include payroll. Hoping to save a little on accounting bills for this year, and would like to try to run the payroll for our single employee ourselves. Have been looking at various packages, from free to reasonably expensive, but would love to get opinions from others on these, and on the feasibility of someone with no experience of this area taking on the responsibility and running the software.

Have searched the threads & saw a few recommendations, but really need something for dummies, as the title says!

Many thanks.
 
Thesaurus software is reasonable sturdy and cheap - I think you'll have to initially invest time into payroll regardless of the software package but presuming the salary remains constant it should be easy to monitor thereafter. It might be good value to get some help to set it up.
 
Collsoft and SagePay are two other ones - I had to investigate these a year or so ago when I was thinking of replacing an EXCEL spreadsheet.

In the end, continued with the Spreadsheet but they were certainly easy to setup and use although you had make sure you follwed their rules and logic.
 
Thanks for your suggestions, have looked at those two & downloaded the free version of Quickpay to have a look through it, happy to follow any of their rules & logic considering they have more knowledge than me!
 
We have a small business also and used the quickpay free package for the last year. I found it easy to use after a bit of initial learning. We had to pay this year for the new updates, €99 + vat, but I decided it was worth it as I liked the package and did not fancy having to start over on another free package. Also we get support for the year, if needed.
 
Thesaurus is €140, not €120. Quickbooks is accounts software, as far as I'm aware it doesn't do Irish Payroll.

Payback is €130 for a full year's licence, and unlimited companies and employees.
Try it for two free payments: [broken link removed]

I am associated with this company.
 
I've used Collsoft in the past, Irish company, very simple to set up and found the support excellent. think cost is about 120euro.

I now use the free version of Sage Micropay - can use it for up to 5 employees. This is my seond year of using it for just 2 employees.

neither one needs printed payslips, ordinary A4 paper is sufficient for payslips and reports.

not assocated with either of these companies - just happy with their service.
 
I have used payback for years and found it so easy to work with I didn't have to look around any further. It answered all my needs from when I had 1 employee. It expanded easily to meet the requirements of fulltime, parttime and casual workers.
 
I've been using Collsoft for a few years but had a laptop crash this year, and then a change of computer, so became annoyed that I had to beg for a new licence code each time. If I've paid for the software I should be able to use it.
I also realised I now have no access to the back years without having to apply for a new licence for each.
I'm now thinking of changing software. For payback, suggested above, once downloaded and backed up, will a computer crash or change bring problems? Is there a CD to instal from or is it a download with different code each time?
Is there a payroll product that is not "standalone" for each year, but would enable me to look back at previous years without opening a separate programme?
 
Gervan,

It is not unreasonable for Collsoft to require a new licence code in the circumstances you describe because most likely their licencing system is tied to the hardware and they have to ensure that clients are not registering copies for other people. You shouldn't have to BEG for a new licence code because crashes and changes of computer are a common occurence.

There are payroll products that allow you to look back at previous years and a Google search for "Irish Payroll Software" will throw up some sponsored results which include some options that are not mentioned above.

I am associated with one such solution but the posting rules do not allow me to explicitly mention it.
 
Gervan said:
For payback, suggested above, once downloaded and backed up, will a computer crash or change bring problems? Is there a CD to instal from or is it a download with different code each time?
Is there a payroll product that is not "standalone" for each year, but would enable me to look back at previous years without opening a separate programme?
Click to expand...

Payback is not 'standalone' for each year.

For Payback, the same licence will allow you to process payments all the way back to 2004. The 2012 version that we will be releasing next month will allow you to process 2004 - 2012 with the same licence. (For 2004 to 2010 you will have to use this version: [broken link removed], which you do not need a separate licence for.)

We also do licences from the date of purchase, so you get a full 12 months, and not just what is left of the current year.

(If you haven't guessed, I'm affiliated with Payback)
 
We use 'Big Red Book' based in Greystones, and findit very good. The support is excellent and they can remotely access if required. I have not used other systems so cant compare.
 
dobrien64 said:
Surely, this is not completely FREE?
Free when using another Sage product - maybe?
Click to expand...

Seems to be free all right.

Sage Quickpay Free

Sage Quickpay Free is designed for the small business. It is a FREE fully functional payroll solution designed to take care of all Irish Revenue requirements, including PAYE, PRSI, PRSA’s, BIK (Benefit in Kind) and Income Levy.



It is suitable for companies employing up to 5 employees. If after you download Quickpay Free, you would like to upgrade to Quickpay, please call our Product Advice Team on 1890 88 20 60.
Download Quickpay Free Now

Just complete the download form below and we will then e-mail you a link to the Quickpay Free download. Please ensure that the information you provide on this form is accurate as it will be used to set up your user name, password and product registration.
Click to expand...

http://www.sage.ie/payroll/quickpay/quickpay_download.asp
 
My research led me to both Collsoft and Payback but I ended up choosing payback for 2 good reasons:
You can have multiple companies
Your licence lasts for 12 months when you buy it not just the tax year.

All they need to do now is offer an SAAS/online version.

Regards
NumberCruncher
 
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