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Intuit Online Payroll (discontinued) vs. Payroll by Wave

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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Intuit Online Payroll (discontinued)

    Score8.4 out of 10
    N/AIntuit Online Payroll was a small business payroll option available as a standalone SaaS solution, that Intuit announced it was discontinuing in favor of Quickbooks Online Payroll, available via Quickbooks.

    $22.50

    per month

    Payroll by Wave

    Score10 out of 10
    N/AWave Accounting headquartered in Toronto now offers Payroll by Wave, a payroll app for small businesses.N/A
    Pricing
    Intuit Online Payroll (discontinued)Payroll by Wave
    Editions & Modules
    Core
    22.50 + $4 per employee
    per month
    Premium
    37.50 + $8 per employee
    per month
    Elite
    62.50+ $10 per employee
    per month
    No answers on this topic
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    Intuit Online Payroll (discontinued)Payroll by Wave
    Free Trial
    NoNo
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional Details
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    Intuit Online Payroll (discontinued)Payroll by Wave
    Considered Both Products
    Intuit
    No answer on this topic
    Wave
    Chose Payroll by Wave
    All the services we researched were quality options however given our size at the time I settled on Payroll by Wave apps based on cost and how easy it was to run Payroll.
    Incentivized
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    50%
    Would buy again
    4 Answers
    100%
    Would buy again
    5 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    50%
    Delivers good value for the price
    4 Answers
    100%
    Delivers good value for the price
    5 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    63%
    Happy with the feature set
    5 Answers
    100%
    Happy with the feature set
    5 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    57%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    4 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Implementation went as expected
    71%
    Implementation went as expected
    5 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Features
    Intuit Online Payroll (discontinued)Payroll by Wave
    Payroll Management
    Comparison of Payroll Management features of Intuit Online Payroll (discontinued) and Payroll by Wave
    Feature
    Intuit Online Payroll (discontinued)
    7.3
    10 Ratings
    13% below category average
    Payroll by Wave
    9.4
    5 Ratings
    13% above category average
    Pay calculation8.99 Ratings10.05 Ratings
    Support for external payroll vendors2.26 Ratings9.03 Ratings
    Off-cycle/On-Demand payment9.33 Ratings9.03 Ratings
    Benefit plan administration8.95 Ratings9.01 Ratings
    Direct deposit files3.89 Ratings9.05 Ratings
    Salary revision and increment management9.27 Ratings9.55 Ratings
    Reimbursement management8.78 Ratings10.02 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    Intuit Online Payroll (discontinued)Payroll by Wave
    Small Businesses
    Patriot Payroll
    Score8.6 out of 10
    Patriot Payroll
    Score8.6 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    APS
    Score5.7 out of 10
    APS
    Score5.7 out of 10
    Enterprises
    ADP Streamline Payroll
    Score6.1 out of 10
    ADP Streamline Payroll
    Score6.1 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    Intuit Online Payroll (discontinued)Payroll by Wave
    Likelihood to Recommend
    3.0
    (17 ratings)
    10.0
    (6 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    Usability
    3.8
    (2 ratings)
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    Support Rating
    1.5
    (5 ratings)
    8.9
    (2 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    Intuit Online Payroll (discontinued)Payroll by Wave
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Intuit
    I believe the ideal scenario is when you are already using the Intuit family of products and the payroll bolts on to your existing QuickBooks infrastructure. Payroll software products have been around a long time, and this is a very competitive niche. Most of the companies do a good job of filing taxes promptly, reporting W-2 items properly, providing good reports, etc. Where you might really get some extra efficiency and benefit is the fact that the payroll is woven into the accounting system, creating one seamless enterprise solution. Also, where it might be less appropriate is in a really simple use case such as a one person company where there aren't complex fringe benefits to deal with. In that scenario, you can set up the ACH debits directly with the state agency and the IRS and possibly file your own 941, 940, W-2/W-3 and state equivalent forms. Of course, if you're willing to do this and are good with details, you can save yourself some money.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Wave
    Great for small business payroll needs. Reports and taxes are taken care of, everything is automated and once you're set up it's literally just a matter of minutes to run payroll each time. You also get email reminders which is helpful. There are premium features available for companies with larger/more robust needs, and I would definitely recommend looking into this software if you are searching for a user friendly payroll solution
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Pros
    Intuit
    • Integration with QuickBooks Desktop. This is the key strength of IP... it is a complete, native integration and let's you maintain all employee records and time keeping in QuickBooks
    • Job Costing. Another key differentiation -- some payroll outsources say they do true job costing (by work or item code). Don't believe them. If its' not integrated with your accounting system, you will not get "TRUE" job costing. You can get costs ASSIGNED to jobs (which may be fine), but you won't get item level detail in QuickBooks from anyone but Intuit.
    • Variety of Payment options. Use Direct Deposit or manual checks... or whatever you want. Since its in QB, you can make payments any way you want.
    • Cash Flow. This is both good and bad, but IP will not take taxes out of your bank account until they are due. That's different than some other providers that want assurance that you have the tax payments available at the moment you push "SUBMIT."
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Wave
    • An intuitive, clear UI helps you know where everything is, what options are at your disposal. Calendars and timelines show that Wave really thought out how to provide you with useful tool.
    • Pay day can be automated and straightforward.
    • Wave onboarding provides guidance at what information to input next until you are all set up.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cons
    Intuit
    • My biggest issue is that they do continue to raise their prices on a regular basis and it makes people feel stuck when there are so many clients already using the system.
    • They do not support roaming employees, so employees that cross over into various tax jurisdictions in one pay period pose a challenge for calculating taxes and pay.
    • The setup can be a bit daunting still if you are not familiar with the system or the various taxes and requirements for reporting.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Wave
    • Implement an employee time clock option through a separate link which automatically applies to the weekly time sheets.
    • Option to further customize payroll statements
    • Add a per employee payroll dashboard with the option to review rolling, quarterly, and weekly snapshot. Info to include gross pay, employer paid tax, employee paid tax, etc...
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Likelihood to Renew
    Intuit
    Works perfectly as advertised. Our simple needs are well taken care of.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Wave
    No answers on this topic
    Usability
    Intuit
    I would rate it a 0. It gets worse and worse all the time. It seems like every time I go into IOP to run a payroll for one of my clients, I have one more problem.
    Read full review
    Wave
    Very simple & straightforward system to learn and when time is always of the essence the efficiency is much appreciated
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Support Rating
    Intuit
    The customer support personnel have always walked me through the steps they need to take to assist me. Never rushed through anything. Always exceptionally thorough, answering all my questions and even sharing my screen visually (I have control, not them). It actually helps me to resolve future issues and questions, if they should arise.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Wave
    Quick response times, personalized service. They offer in-depth videos and guides for helping to get set up. Any time I have a question about taxes or reporting, they answer quickly and give comprehensive answers. Members of the team with whom I've interacted have been courteous, friendly, and helpful. Overall, great support.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Alternatives Considered
    Intuit
    It's a payroll software with decent customer support readily available and direct integration with my accounting tools. This made it a prime fit for me, and made payment and tax reporting relatively simple, and errors readily correctable. It does not have time tracking, and I still believe that this software is overpriced, but it's the best fit for me right now.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Wave
    First is the cost. Since QuickBooks removed the inhouse solution and moved everything to the cloud, the cost for a small business is prohibited. Wave is reasonable in cost. Support for QB isn't great they are always trying to upsell and commit. Wave support in comparison is 100% better, and most of the answers are in their manual
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Return on Investment
    Intuit
    • Positive: Less of a learning curve to train payroll accountants, as they are already familiar with using Intuit. Also, in general there are a larger pool of candidates who know this system than many of the other "niche" lesser known payroll products.
    • Positive: More options to choose from depending on the level of service needed. For example, there is a Full Service offering if needed. This might apply to an organization that doesn't have the resources available or an internal person who has the time/bandwidth to handle the entire company's payroll. Thus, it is possible to cherry pick the level of service needed depending on the type of company/situation.
    • Positive: Good audit trail. This can be extremely important and cost efficient when a business is going through an external audit by an outside CPA firm and the payroll accounting function is undergoing testing (ie. less time required by the external auditor would likely lower their bill for their services).
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Wave
    • Peace of mind that all the payroll tax-related stuff is taken care of accurately and on time.
    • Easy to use interface saves time and helps ensure I am paid on time.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
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