Regardless of the nature or size of your business, having an accounting and payroll software in place is one vital move towards smooth and effective business operations. A payroll system enables organizations to maintain proper employee records and manage business accounts to determine every employee’s remuneration for a given period.
Doing all this the manual way is not only challenging in terms of technicality but can take a significant amount of time and accuracy isn’t guaranteed. A payroll system simplifies every task by automating calculations and processing the entire payroll.
When it comes to the best payroll system, there are always two most popular choices amongst many business owners and HR practitioners, Patriot software and QuickBooks. The two software elicits a strong basis for endless debate on which one is better. We analyzed regular features between the two and came up with the following comparison.
General Information
To begin with, we will help you understand the general outline of each software.
Patriot Software
The Patriot software is an affordable payroll solution that is available in two versions; Basic payroll and Full-Service versions.
The basic payroll version enables businesses to run all the primary payroll functions except for the tax deposits and filing, which calls for a separate subscription. On the other hand, the full-service version handles all the Basic functions together with the tax deposits and filing in one package.
QuickBooks Payroll
This payroll software pioneered the use of windows that resembled real life-forms. It provides one massive platform that offers a variety of features that every organization needs to manage payroll and employee information.
With their latest Pay Now Link, you are now able to connect their invoices to credit cards and link them to your bank accounts. The payroll system also features auto payroll, health benefits, tax penalty protection, and HR support.
While they both meet the requirement for top payroll software, each of these has its unique factors that make them preferred software for specific organizations. We compare the common aspects and discuss what makes each a better option.
Payment Options – QuickBooks vs Patriot
The effectiveness of payroll software is a factor to consider when you want to procure one. However, its acquisition should not introduce ways of unnecessary costs to the business. There should be a perfect blend between value for money and the effectiveness of the tool.
The two software, Patriot software and QuickBooks provide 30 days free to give potential users a sneak pick on what they expect from the paid packages. They differ on the payment periods, the number of features you can access in each category, and the respective amounts you need to pay.
Patriot software only has monthly payments that come in two forms. You can either have the lowest priced Basic Payroll that goes for $10 per month plus $4 per month for every employee or opt for the full-service payroll that demands a $30 monthly payment. The first choice limits you to only four tools, while the second option gives you the full package of five products.
The Patriot software solutions are highly scalable, and it is vital to do the necessary upgrades to full-payment plans if you are using the basic package. Through the more advanced options, the software allows you to buy add-on Attendance and HR/Time modules for only $5 and $4 per month.
With QuickBooks, you get Monthly payments, one-time payments, quoted-based and annual subscriptions. The monthly option is subdivided into four sub-categories to target customers of different financial muscles. All these are in smaller sub-categories that fit into various subscriber’s financial ability.
Here is a breakdown of the monthly pricing module for QuickBooks;
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Self-Employed
It is the most affordable package with the least features from the software and is ideal for freelancers or the self-employed group. It only costs $5 per month and gives you access to only the basic features such as tracking income expenditure, maximizing tax deductions, sending budget estimates, and organizing receipts.
- Simple Start
This plan cost only $7 per month and comes with additional benefit on top of those in the simple start. These extra features enable you to manage bills, track employee time/Billable time, and also to include up to three users who can access and manage your books.
This small business package comes with add-ons for a full-serviced payroll at additional costs. The plan is an ideal product for small and startup businesses.
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Essentials
The essential package is available at a monthly fee of $17 and adds three more features to what you get with the essentials plan. You can track profits and inventory, plus you have the authority to manage your bills through the software.
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Plus
It is themost expensive and comprehensive of all the QuickBooks monthly packages. It costs $25 and allows you to add up to five users on the platform. With this model, users can manage up to 1099 contractors with a single subscription.
- Who Wins?
In this category, QuickBooks triumphs over the Patriot software because the former has a wide variety of payment plans. Moreover, even the monthly options are more affordable than the latter, with the least costing $5 compared to Patriot software’s $10.
The annual and one-time payment options also give QuickBooks and edge since the plans are ideal for the long term budgeting of a business entity.
Integration – QuickBooks vs Patriot
Both have their limitations and advantages when it comes to integration. First, Patriot software is limited in terms of the number of sub-systems that it connects. There are only seven integrations available for this software. However, it shows some positives with its diversity. It is compatible with other foreign systems.
The number of other software that can integrate into patriot software is;
- Plaid (banking integration)
- QuickBooks Desktop (iif file)
- QuickBooks Online
- Card Connect
- Patriot Accounting Software
- Patriot time and attendance software
- Patriot HR
QuickBooks is compatible with a variety of software. It connects with both QuickBooks editions and other Intuit industry-specific solutions as below;
- QuickBooks Online
- QuickBooks Premier
- QuickBooks Enterprise solutions
- QuickBooks Accountant QuickBooks for Mas
- Construction accounting software
- Manufacturing accounting software
- Nonprofit accounting software
QuickBooks is also compatible with other add-ons like Shoeboxed, Bill.com, TSheets, jobber, Method CRM, and Mavenlink. It is, however, selective with online Integrations as it can only connect withapplications by QuickBooks such as QuickBooks Payroll and QuickBooks payments.
App developers who want to build integrations between their systems and customer data then connect the two with RES-based API can do so with the help of QuickBooks API.
Who Wins?
While both show some degree of diversity and restrictions, QuickBooks reigns supreme with this comparison. It is more is open to functioning together with other software. Patriot software is more rigid. It relies on several QuickBooks software for connectivity.
Product packaging vs. features
If you are looking to choose between Patriot software and QuickBooks, then it is necessary to base your comparison from this point of view. Like we said earlier in this article, Patriot Software only packages its products in two categories, with the basic plan being the lowest and Full-Service being the most expensive and most advanced option.
The Basic plan limits to the following features
- Free expert support
- The convenience of unlimited running payroll 24/7
- Free direct deposit
- Free employee portal
- Free workers’ comp integration
- Fast, unlimited, flexible, and Customizable payroll
- Printable W-4s
In addition to all the features on that basic package, the Full-Service Payroll plan gives you additional services that include filing and depositing state taxes, Federal taxes, local taxes, and Year-end taxes. This more advanced option also allows you to file W2 and W3 forms with a lot of ease.
On the other hand, QuickBooks gives you a variety of subscription options. All these options have different features customized to meet every type and size of business. They also allow business owners to upgrade to more features whenever they outgrow their current subscription level.
Here is a breakdown of three of the key features you will come across its various payment plans.
- Income and Expense Tracking
QuickBooks has its transaction sort out into different categories for quick editing, reviewing, and approval when the need arises. The software automatically learns the changes you make and updates them accordingly. It also allows you to customize categories for expenses.
- Bill Management
The bill management feature enables you to record and track bills from checks and direct deposits. It also helps in managing purchase orders and recurrent expenses through guidelines. Furthermore, you can synchronize Apple, Google, and other third-party apps with the software for easy payment and invoice.
- Comprehensive Reporting
QuickBooks allows users to track business transactions using a profit and loss ledger, balance sheets, and other comprehensive dashboard features. You can also customize your financial reports for better references.
- Who Win?
If you want versatility and flexibility in features, then QuickBooks is better. The packages are self-explanatory. The breakdown not only makes it easy to pick and budget for what you want, but you can also upgrade to more advanced features as your business grows.
The Technical Details
Apart from the features and pricing system, as a software buyer, you should get concerned with the connectivity and user interface of products. You need to know the number of devices you can install the software in, what after-sales support the vendors offer the limits as well as the software limits in terms of business model and size.
We discuss more on the four technical details for these two market leaders below;
- Support Services
The customer support platform of a company, especially subscription-based software providers, is a prudent feature to any business owner with intentions to procuring such services. You have to know when and how you will reach the respective vendor in case of issues like system downtime when you want to make payment inquiries.
With such, both vendors offer email, phone, live support, video tutorials, and knowledge base training. However, it is only QuickBooks that offer ticket support.
- Who Wins?
Both have well-established and supportive customer service centers as well as friendly staff who are always ready to guide and answer user queries at any time of the day. However, the ticket support system gives QuickBooks a little competitive edge.
Supported Language
The number of languages a software supports determine how diverse and inclusive it is. Both Patriot Software and QuickBooks rank low on this as they only support English. It is limiting, especially to the potential non-English speaking users.
- Who Wins?
There is no winner when we compare the two in terms of the language they support. We, however, note that one language is not diverse enough for such popular software companies.
Target Customers
The type of business a Payroll and Bookkeeping software serves determines how big and reliable it is. In our comparison, QuickBooks targets all types of businesses, from self-employed, small, medium to large enterprises.
On the other hand, Patriot Software targets the same except for large enterprises.
Who wins?
QuickBooks carries the day with the inclusion of large enterprises in the fold.
Desktop & Mobile Platforms Plus Deployment
Another vital factor to consider when you want to purchase any Accounting software is the number of electronic devices it supports. A system that supports several platforms is easier to manage. It also simplifies display and financial reporting.
Talking of that, Patriots Software supports several devices such asWindows Mobile, iPhone/iPad, Mac, Web-Based, Android, Linux, and Windows operating systems.
QuickBooks also supports all these platforms except for Windows Mobile. You can download the QuickBooks accounting software free of charge from your Apple or Android device. When we compare the two in terms of deployments, QuickBooks is Cloud-hosted and is also available for one premise environment. Patriot Software supports Cloud hosting.
Who Wins?
On this front, Patriot Software takes the day, thanks to the fact that it supports Windows mobile systems. However, QuickBooks is more advanced in terms of On-Premise deployment.
Final Verdict
In all our comparisons, QuickBooks tend to win over Patriot software. It has more features, gives a variety of product packages, and has a well detailed and elaborated payment methods.
However, this does not make Patriot an inferior software. Both are helpful for any business entity. They portray precision and accuracy in financial and HR dealings and give the best reporting framework.
Regardless of which software come on top, they are both vital tools for making payments and tracking financial flow compared to any manual process. They both apply a simple principle that aims to simplify financial reporting while minimizing manual efforts.