Patriot Software vs. QuickBooks Self-Employed

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Patriot Software
Score 9.0 out of 10
N/A
Patriot Software headquartered in Canton, Ohio offers Patriot PAY, their benefits administration and payroll software.
$17
per month
QuickBooks Self-Employed
Score 9.0 out of 10
N/A
N/AN/A
Pricing
Patriot SoftwareQuickBooks Self-Employed
Editions & Modules
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
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Patriot SoftwareQuickBooks Self-Employed
Free Trial
YesNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional DetailsPatriot 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
Patriot SoftwareQuickBooks Self-Employed
Top Pros
Top Cons
Features
Patriot SoftwareQuickBooks Self-Employed
Payroll Management
Comparison of Payroll Management features of Product A and Product B
Patriot Software
8.3
15 Ratings
3% above category average
QuickBooks Self-Employed
7.8
3 Ratings
4% above category average
Pay calculation9.515 Ratings10.02 Ratings
Support for external payroll vendors10.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Off-cycle/On-Demand payment8.75 Ratings00 Ratings
Benefit plan administration6.03 Ratings5.02 Ratings
Direct deposit files9.211 Ratings8.03 Ratings
Salary revision and increment management8.213 Ratings8.02 Ratings
Reimbursement management6.36 Ratings8.03 Ratings
Customization
Comparison of Customization features of Product A and Product B
Patriot Software
-
Ratings
QuickBooks Self-Employed
10.0
5 Ratings
35% above category average
API for custom integration00 Ratings10.04 Ratings
Plug-ins00 Ratings10.04 Ratings
Security
Comparison of Security features of Product A and Product B
Patriot Software
-
Ratings
QuickBooks Self-Employed
10.0
8 Ratings
24% above category average
Single sign-on capability00 Ratings10.08 Ratings
Role-based user permissions00 Ratings10.05 Ratings
Reporting & Analytics
Comparison of Reporting & Analytics features of Product A and Product B
Patriot Software
-
Ratings
QuickBooks Self-Employed
10.0
14 Ratings
27% above category average
Dashboards00 Ratings10.012 Ratings
Standard reports00 Ratings10.014 Ratings
Custom reports00 Ratings10.08 Ratings
General Ledger and Configurable Accounting
Comparison of General Ledger and Configurable Accounting features of Product A and Product B
Patriot Software
-
Ratings
QuickBooks Self-Employed
10.0
15 Ratings
30% above category average
Accounts payable00 Ratings10.09 Ratings
Accounts receivable00 Ratings10.010 Ratings
Cash management00 Ratings10.09 Ratings
Bank reconciliation00 Ratings10.010 Ratings
Expense management00 Ratings10.014 Ratings
Time tracking00 Ratings10.07 Ratings
Fixed asset management00 Ratings10.04 Ratings
Multi-currency support00 Ratings10.02 Ratings
Multi-division support00 Ratings10.02 Ratings
Regulations compliance00 Ratings10.03 Ratings
Electronic tax filing00 Ratings10.013 Ratings
Self-service portal00 Ratings10.08 Ratings
Global Financial Support00 Ratings10.02 Ratings
Primary and Secondary Ledgers00 Ratings10.02 Ratings
Intercompany Accounting00 Ratings10.03 Ratings
Localizations00 Ratings10.03 Ratings
Journals and Reconciliations00 Ratings10.06 Ratings
Enterprise Accounting00 Ratings10.02 Ratings
Configurable Accounting00 Ratings10.04 Ratings
Centralized Rules Framework00 Ratings10.03 Ratings
Standardized Processes00 Ratings10.05 Ratings
Inventory Management
Comparison of Inventory Management features of Product A and Product B
Patriot Software
-
Ratings
QuickBooks Self-Employed
10.0
3 Ratings
35% above category average
Inventory tracking00 Ratings10.03 Ratings
Automatic reordering00 Ratings10.03 Ratings
Location management00 Ratings10.03 Ratings
Manufacturing module00 Ratings10.02 Ratings
Order Management
Comparison of Order Management features of Product A and Product B
Patriot Software
-
Ratings
QuickBooks Self-Employed
10.0
5 Ratings
30% above category average
Pricing00 Ratings10.04 Ratings
Order entry00 Ratings10.04 Ratings
Credit card processing00 Ratings10.05 Ratings
Cost of goods sold00 Ratings10.03 Ratings
Order Orchestration00 Ratings10.02 Ratings
End-to-end order visibility00 Ratings10.03 Ratings
Order exception Resolution00 Ratings10.02 Ratings
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Patriot SoftwareQuickBooks Self-Employed
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Paypro Workforce Management
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Score 9.5 out of 10
Accounting Seed
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User Ratings
Patriot SoftwareQuickBooks Self-Employed
Likelihood to Recommend
9.7
(20 ratings)
10.0
(15 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.0
(1 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Usability
9.3
(10 ratings)
9.4
(2 ratings)
Support Rating
8.8
(10 ratings)
10.0
(2 ratings)
User Testimonials
Patriot SoftwareQuickBooks Self-Employed
Likelihood to Recommend
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.
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Intuit
QuickBooks is a great tool for new SoleTraders that need basic accounting software and require digital invoicing for their clients to send via email and access key features via a mobile app on the go. QuickBooks is a straightforward tool to use with a simple design and learning curve for business owners that are not very tech-savvy. For businesses that operate on a larger scale and need to provide access to other users on their team, QuickBooks is limited. This type of business may also require more insights into the business outside of accounting, and QuickBooks won't be able to supply insights outside of that.
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Pros
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.
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Intuit
  • QuickBooks Self-Employed does keep a running total of your income and estimated taxes. Of course, this requires that your entries are accurate.
  • The mileage feature is particularly helpful. One just needs to either use the phone app in conjunction with QuickBooks Self-Employed, or keep a log of all mileage.
  • When tax time comes around, it's easy to use TurboTax software and import your data from QuickBooks.
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Cons
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.
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Intuit
  • Doesn't integrate with Mint, which I use for my home expenses. I think this would be a nice addition to the program, so I could keep track of my whole financial situation.
  • A Windows 10 app would be a nice addition to the program, so I could access it securely from my desktop.
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Likelihood to Renew
Patriot Software
It works well because it is cheap for us.
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Intuit
No answers on this topic
Usability
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.
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Intuit
I have been using this software for several years now and it has always put out my data in beautiful generated reports that I can use for verification purposes with my financial institute and the IRS. It has all the tools I need to run my business without loosing track of anything
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Support Rating
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.
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Intuit
I have never faced any difficulties that required me to contact QuickBooks customer service. QuickBooks has plenty of online tutorials, blog posts, and helpful tips and advice for almost any issues you may face using the desktop or app version of the software. Even if you can not find the right answer on the QuickBooks webpages, there are loads of YouTube videos from experts.
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Alternatives Considered
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.
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Intuit
FreshBooks limited my ability to categorize transactions, specifically removing duplicates or excluding them. I selected QuickBooks Self-Employed because it allowed me to be in control of items. Sometimes accounting is just making sure things are organized the way YOU think, and FreshBooks wasn't doing that for me.
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Return on Investment
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.
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Intuit
  • Overall, tagging expenses and mileage has saved me thousands in taxes, for a relatively low cost of around $8/mo.
  • QuickBooks allows me to get invoices to clients quickly and accept online payments, which helps with cashflow.
  • The app has stopped tracking mileage automatically on my device, so I worry that sometimes I am not tracking business miles effectively, which could end up costing me at the EOY.
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ScreenShots

Patriot Software 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.