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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    FreeAgent

    Score5.5 out of 10
    N/AFreeAgent is an cloud-based accounting system designed for small businesses and freelancers. FreeAgent supports many core accounting features and bank reconciliation, payroll, tax management, project level accounting, and multiple currency support. It is mobile-accessible, and integrates with many apps.

    $13.50

    per month

    Patriot Payroll

    Score8.6 out of 10
    N/APatriot Software headquartered in Canton, Ohio offers Patriot PAY, their benefits administration and payroll software.

    $17

    per month

    Pricing
    FreeAgentPatriot Payroll
    Editions & Modules
    FreeAgent
    $13.50
    per month
    FreeAgent
    $135
    per year
    Basic Payroll
    $17/mo + $4 per employee/contractor
    Accounting Basic
    $20/mo (unlimited use)
    Accounting Premium
    $30/mo (unlimited use)
    Full Service Payroll
    $37/mo + $4 per employee/contractor
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    FreeAgentPatriot Payroll
    Free Trial
    YesYes
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional Details—Patriot Software has two payroll options to choose from: Basic Payroll, and Full Service payroll software. Both start with a simple three-step payroll process. With the Full Service Payroll, Patriot will collect, deposit, and file federal, state, and local payroll taxes on the customer's behalf; end-of-the-year payroll tax filing is included at no extra charge. Print W2s on 8 x 1/2 x 11 plain white office paper to hand to employees, or post to the free employee portal. Also, Patriot Software offers free direct deposit.
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    FreeAgentPatriot Payroll
    Considered Both Products
    FreeAgent
    No answer on this topic
    Patriot Software
    No answer on this topic
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    No answers on this topic
    100%
    Would buy again
    10 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    No answers on this topic
    100%
    Delivers good value for the price
    10 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    No answers on this topic
    100%
    Happy with the feature set
    10 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    No answers on this topic
    100%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    9 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    No answers on this topic
    100%
    Implementation went as expected
    9 Answers
    Features
    FreeAgentPatriot Payroll
    Payroll Management
    Comparison of Payroll Management features of FreeAgent and Patriot Payroll
    Feature
    FreeAgent
    8.6
    13 Ratings
    13% above category average
    Patriot Payroll
    8.3
    15 Ratings
    0% above category average
    Pay calculation8.012 Ratings9.515 Ratings
    Benefit plan administration8.56 Ratings6.03 Ratings
    Direct deposit files8.92 Ratings9.211 Ratings
    Salary revision and increment management8.86 Ratings8.213 Ratings
    Reimbursement management8.78 Ratings6.36 Ratings
    Support for external payroll vendors00 Ratings10.01 Ratings
    Off-cycle/On-Demand payment00 Ratings8.75 Ratings
    Customization
    Comparison of Customization features of FreeAgent and Patriot Payroll
    Feature
    FreeAgent
    6.7
    13 Ratings
    12% below category average
    Patriot Payroll
    -
    Ratings
    API for custom integration4.59 Ratings00 Ratings
    Plug-ins8.912 Ratings00 Ratings
    Security
    Comparison of Security features of FreeAgent and Patriot Payroll
    Feature
    FreeAgent
    8.5
    14 Ratings
    4% above category average
    Patriot Payroll
    -
    Ratings
    Single sign-on capability9.013 Ratings00 Ratings
    Role-based user permissions8.013 Ratings00 Ratings
    Reporting & Analytics
    Comparison of Reporting & Analytics features of FreeAgent and Patriot Payroll
    Feature
    FreeAgent
    6.4
    23 Ratings
    20% below category average
    Patriot Payroll
    -
    Ratings
    Dashboards7.121 Ratings00 Ratings
    Standard reports7.621 Ratings00 Ratings
    Custom reports4.410 Ratings00 Ratings
    General Ledger and Configurable Accounting
    Comparison of General Ledger and Configurable Accounting features of FreeAgent and Patriot Payroll
    Feature
    FreeAgent
    8.7
    25 Ratings
    13% above category average
    Patriot Payroll
    -
    Ratings
    Accounts payable8.020 Ratings00 Ratings
    Accounts receivable8.522 Ratings00 Ratings
    Cash management8.520 Ratings00 Ratings
    Bank reconciliation9.020 Ratings00 Ratings
    Expense management8.924 Ratings00 Ratings
    Time tracking9.018 Ratings00 Ratings
    Fixed asset management8.611 Ratings00 Ratings
    Multi-currency support8.110 Ratings00 Ratings
    Multi-division support9.05 Ratings00 Ratings
    Regulations compliance8.78 Ratings00 Ratings
    Electronic tax filing9.120 Ratings00 Ratings
    Self-service portal9.011 Ratings00 Ratings
    Journals and Reconciliations8.01 Ratings00 Ratings
    Inventory Management
    Comparison of Inventory Management features of FreeAgent and Patriot Payroll
    Feature
    FreeAgent
    7.4
    4 Ratings
    2% above category average
    Patriot Payroll
    -
    Ratings
    Inventory tracking7.72 Ratings00 Ratings
    Automatic reordering8.21 Ratings00 Ratings
    Location management4.51 Ratings00 Ratings
    Manufacturing module9.11 Ratings00 Ratings
    Order Management
    Comparison of Order Management features of FreeAgent and Patriot Payroll
    Feature
    FreeAgent
    8.1
    13 Ratings
    9% above category average
    Patriot Payroll
    -
    Ratings
    Pricing8.19 Ratings00 Ratings
    Order entry6.82 Ratings00 Ratings
    Credit card processing8.25 Ratings00 Ratings
    Cost of goods sold9.13 Ratings00 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    FreeAgentPatriot Payroll
    Small Businesses
    QuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
    Score4.2 out of 10
    RUN Powered by ADP®
    Score9 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    MYOB
    Score8.3 out of 10
    APS
    Score5.7 out of 10
    Enterprises
    Microsoft Dynamics GP
    Score5.4 out of 10
    ADP Streamline Payroll
    Score6.1 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    FreeAgentPatriot Payroll
    Likelihood to Recommend
    8.0
    (25 ratings)
    9.7
    (20 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    Usability
    8.5
    (6 ratings)
    9.3
    (10 ratings)
    Availability
    8.9
    (5 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Performance
    9.1
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Support Rating
    1.0
    (1 ratings)
    8.7
    (10 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    1.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    CPA Rating
    9.1
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Product Scalability
    8.2
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    FreeAgentPatriot Payroll
    Likelihood to Recommend
    FreeAgent
    For micro and small business it is a great solution. The new requirements for MTD for landlords could also be met with this software. Groups and more complex businesses could not use the accounts and tax returns features, however they still could use it for bookkeeping and then export the data to other tax and accounts production software.
    Read full review
    Patriot Software
    Patriot PAY is well-suited to a company that has a 10-day window between the end of the pay period and the payday. The company size makes very little difference and it is easy to use for any company. It is also very progressive in development and improvement. If a company has a small window for turn-around, but fairly consistent payroll amounts (such as a lot of salary workers), Patriot PAY might also be a good fit for them.

    Companies with tight turn-around times or payrolls that vary significantly in direct deposit amounts might have difficulty using Patriot PAY.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Pros
    FreeAgent
    • Accounting! As you'd expect. Makes it much simpler andmore cost effective. In-coming and out-goings are recorded and assigned to projects and accounts. My accountant can access my books and reconcile so much more easily than trawling through spreadsheets.
    • Time billing - time spent on projects/client work is recorded and is ready to be invoiced as required. Saves so much time and prevents inaccuracies.
    • Invoicing - again, it should do this well and it does. Non payment reminders are automatic and clients have no excuses for not knowing the status of their account.
    • Account dashboard - gives me an instant overview of the health of the business (am I on track to meet my yearly targets) and my accounts.
    Read full review
    Patriot Software
    • It is simple, intuitive and straightforward in its design. Someone with little experience with roles in human resources roles, bookkeeping or payroll can quickly learn how to set-up the software and run payroll regularly by reading through the support portion of the site, or by contacting the helpful staff at Patriot. Patriot staff have walked me through issues or guided me on the phone as I learned how to use a function of the software.
    • Patriot provides comprehensive quarterly tax filing records, including 941s, state unemployment compensation tax payments, state employer's tax and local employer's tax filings. You can also generate payroll or tax deposit reports over a specific time period or per employee.
    • The support and FAQ pages available on Patriot are very practical and written in an easy to understand manner. Using the information provided there, I was able to properly set up new employees according to local and state filing requirements.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cons
    FreeAgent
    • Reporting on financials, time tracking and project status is a little poor. It's adequate for what what we need, but would be great to see more advanced features.
    • API is quite closed so cannot integrate with our other project management tools.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Patriot Software
    • Connecting with outside software - we have an issue of Patriot not recognizing donors when connected to other websites when all the information is the same minus a middle initial
    • Giving an error page when something small is off. Instead of giving an easy to fix error notification, Patriot brings the user to an error page and they have to reenter everything.
    • Fixing dates easily. If a date is entered incorrectly, 8/13/21 instead of 2021, an error pop up appears but the user has to click enter/okay many times or refresh the page in order to fix this issue.
    • Enter vs Tab key - Patriot loves the tab key but if the user clicks enter instead, many times it brings them to the home page.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Likelihood to Renew
    FreeAgent
    We have used Freeagent for many years now and it serves us well for our needs. To change it would mean a lot of work, and this would most likely only happen if the cost became prohibitive to us.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Patriot Software
    It works well because it is cheap for us.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Usability
    FreeAgent
    It is a great software that does everything we need for small business clients. It allows to keep the books in a cloud from bookkeeping to accounts production and tax returns, all in one software. There are no major drawbacks and I would highly recommend it for most of our clients.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Patriot Software
    I think it is great once things are setup as for general user looking to look for simple things like a copy of a paystub or a current pay rate for an employee. However, to find specialized things like a state withholding number or payroll integration settings those do require a bit more digging to find or possibly a call to customer service for help.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Reliability and Availability
    FreeAgent
    Based in a cloud and never had any issues with down time. I can access from any device
    Read full review
    Patriot Software
    No answers on this topic
    Support Rating
    FreeAgent
    I have never personally used support
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Patriot Software
    Generally speaking it is pretty good that when I need to call somebody up for a payroll question I can generally within five minutes get somebody on the phone and they can help me resolve the problem or specify where specifically I need to go or contact to find my answers. However, that being said, for my specific situation as a partner my assigned contact has not always been very responsive.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Implementation Rating
    FreeAgent
    Did not participate
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Patriot Software
    No answers on this topic
    Alternatives Considered
    FreeAgent
    I have used and tested out many other systems. I was looking at Xero for my accounting system but at the time I chose FreeAgent because of the way it handles the recording of dividends and the inbuilt time recording. The others I trialed were good and many of them cheaper. FreeAgent best suited my requirements at the time.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Patriot Software
    I briefly used Intuit Online Payroll, and it was expensive, had no support, and was very frustrating to use. I also used 3 local tax companies for payroll - they were extremely expensive and messed up all of the time. Their employee turnover was very annoying (and it seemed to happen every other month) and each employee did things differently. When I let one of my employees go, the last company paid them after termination (2 weeks of salary), and had to get into a legal battle because the employee would not give the money back.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Return on Investment
    FreeAgent
    • Professional and uniform offering providing great confident customer service. My clients love it, whether they use it a little or a lot. It's a great piece of software - while sophisticated, it's straightforward to use.
    • Time saving and efficient use of my team's time. Being able to easily share and compare work / tasks.
    Read full review
    Patriot Software
    • It boosts my time available for client-facing activities by not having to spend as much time processing payroll.
    • It helps me deliver accurate reports to my CPA at tax time regarding employee wages and employer taxes.
    • Through the online portal, I can easily track year-to-date taxes my company has paid.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    ScreenShots

    Patriot Payroll Screenshots

    Screenshot of the 3-step process to carry out payrollScreenshot of the Payroll interface, which can be used run payroll on any device with internet or data connection. There is no need to download and maintain a separate payroll app.Screenshot of a payroll report, to sort by work location, employee, and date range.