Paychex vs. QuickBooks Desktop for Mac

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Paychex
Score 6.8 out of 10
N/A
Paychex Flex, of Paychex' Online Payroll Services, is a cloud-based human resource management and payroll platform. Paychex offers core and specialized services, and scales to meet the needs of small businesses, SMBs, and large enterprises.N/A
QuickBooks Desktop for Mac
Score 7.9 out of 10
N/A
Quickbooks Desktop for Mac is an accounting software designed for Mac users. It is designed to integrate with Apple iCloud. It provides core accounting features in line with the rest of the Quickbooks Desktop product line.N/A
Pricing
PaychexQuickBooks Desktop for Mac
Editions & Modules
Paychex Flex Pro
Custom Pricing
per month/+$4 per employee
HR Pro
Custom Pricing
HR PEO
Custom Pricing
Paychex Flex Select
Custom Pricing
Paychex Flex Enterprise
Custom Pricing
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
PaychexQuickBooks Desktop for Mac
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeRequiredNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
PaychexQuickBooks Desktop for Mac
Considered Both Products
Paychex
Chose Paychex
I used another payroll company years ago and I didn't feel like our business really mattered to them. Even though I don't use many of the different services, I've been with Paychex for over 10+ years and counting.
Chose Paychex
I have used other large-scale systems in the past that would be too much overhead for our small organization. I like to keep us lean and focused and spend as little time and resources on overhead as possible. This lets us operate without adding people to handle this function.
QuickBooks Desktop for Mac

No answer on this topic

Features
PaychexQuickBooks Desktop for Mac
Human Resource Management
Comparison of Human Resource Management features of Product A and Product B
Paychex
6.7
272 Ratings
19% below category average
QuickBooks Desktop for Mac
-
Ratings
Employee demographic data7.8219 Ratings00 Ratings
Employment history8.1242 Ratings00 Ratings
Job profiles and administration7.8177 Ratings00 Ratings
Workflow for transfers, promotions, pay raises, etc.7.8172 Ratings00 Ratings
Organizational charting1.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Organization and location management7.5158 Ratings00 Ratings
Compliance data (COBRA, OSHA, etc.)6.7146 Ratings00 Ratings
Payroll Management
Comparison of Payroll Management features of Product A and Product B
Paychex
7.7
313 Ratings
5% below category average
QuickBooks Desktop for Mac
9.0
13 Ratings
17% above category average
Pay calculation8.0295 Ratings8.511 Ratings
Off-cycle/On-Demand payment7.1153 Ratings00 Ratings
Benefit plan administration6.9174 Ratings7.98 Ratings
Direct deposit files8.3294 Ratings10.010 Ratings
Salary revision and increment management8.0209 Ratings8.57 Ratings
Reimbursement management7.7118 Ratings10.09 Ratings
Leave and Attendance Management
Comparison of Leave and Attendance Management features of Product A and Product B
Paychex
7.3
159 Ratings
11% below category average
QuickBooks Desktop for Mac
-
Ratings
Approval workflow7.3113 Ratings00 Ratings
Balance details7.5151 Ratings00 Ratings
Annual carry-forward and encashment7.0119 Ratings00 Ratings
Employee Self Service
Comparison of Employee Self Service features of Product A and Product B
Paychex
7.8
270 Ratings
5% below category average
QuickBooks Desktop for Mac
-
Ratings
View and generate pay and benefit information7.7248 Ratings00 Ratings
Update personal information7.9260 Ratings00 Ratings
View company policy documentation7.7121 Ratings00 Ratings
View job history7.9184 Ratings00 Ratings
Asset Management
Comparison of Asset Management features of Product A and Product B
Paychex
4.9
43 Ratings
49% below category average
QuickBooks Desktop for Mac
-
Ratings
Tracking of all physical assets4.943 Ratings00 Ratings
HR Reporting
Comparison of HR Reporting features of Product A and Product B
Paychex
5.9
177 Ratings
24% below category average
QuickBooks Desktop for Mac
-
Ratings
Report builder6.3147 Ratings00 Ratings
Pre-built reports6.3165 Ratings00 Ratings
Ability to combine HR data with external data5.191 Ratings00 Ratings
Onboarding
Comparison of Onboarding features of Product A and Product B
Paychex
6.4
173 Ratings
22% below category average
QuickBooks Desktop for Mac
-
Ratings
New hire portal6.7165 Ratings00 Ratings
Manager tracking tools6.1109 Ratings00 Ratings
Recruiting / ATS
Comparison of Recruiting / ATS features of Product A and Product B
Paychex
5.2
70 Ratings
40% below category average
QuickBooks Desktop for Mac
-
Ratings
Job Requisition Management5.536 Ratings00 Ratings
Company Website Posting5.234 Ratings00 Ratings
Publish to Social Media4.728 Ratings00 Ratings
Job Search Site Posting5.235 Ratings00 Ratings
Duplicate Candidate Prevention4.734 Ratings00 Ratings
Applicant Tracking4.839 Ratings00 Ratings
Notifications and Alerts5.964 Ratings00 Ratings
Customization
Comparison of Customization features of Product A and Product B
Paychex
-
Ratings
QuickBooks Desktop for Mac
7.5
12 Ratings
1% below category average
API for custom integration00 Ratings7.08 Ratings
Plug-ins00 Ratings8.011 Ratings
Security
Comparison of Security features of Product A and Product B
Paychex
-
Ratings
QuickBooks Desktop for Mac
10.0
22 Ratings
20% above category average
Single sign-on capability00 Ratings10.022 Ratings
Role-based user permissions00 Ratings10.019 Ratings
Reporting & Analytics
Comparison of Reporting & Analytics features of Product A and Product B
Paychex
-
Ratings
QuickBooks Desktop for Mac
6.7
24 Ratings
15% below category average
Dashboards00 Ratings5.021 Ratings
Standard reports00 Ratings8.024 Ratings
Custom reports00 Ratings7.024 Ratings
General Ledger and Configurable Accounting
Comparison of General Ledger and Configurable Accounting features of Product A and Product B
Paychex
-
Ratings
QuickBooks Desktop for Mac
7.6
26 Ratings
0% below category average
Accounts payable00 Ratings8.126 Ratings
Accounts receivable00 Ratings7.625 Ratings
Cash management00 Ratings5.520 Ratings
Bank reconciliation00 Ratings9.526 Ratings
Expense management00 Ratings8.522 Ratings
Time tracking00 Ratings7.514 Ratings
Fixed asset management00 Ratings7.016 Ratings
Multi-currency support00 Ratings5.011 Ratings
Multi-division support00 Ratings6.012 Ratings
Regulations compliance00 Ratings10.011 Ratings
Electronic tax filing00 Ratings10.017 Ratings
Self-service portal00 Ratings7.615 Ratings
Global Financial Support00 Ratings5.08 Ratings
Primary and Secondary Ledgers00 Ratings8.515 Ratings
Intercompany Accounting00 Ratings8.116 Ratings
Localizations00 Ratings8.07 Ratings
Journals and Reconciliations00 Ratings9.519 Ratings
Enterprise Accounting00 Ratings8.57 Ratings
Configurable Accounting00 Ratings6.511 Ratings
Centralized Rules Framework00 Ratings6.511 Ratings
Standardized Processes00 Ratings7.015 Ratings
Inventory Management
Comparison of Inventory Management features of Product A and Product B
Paychex
-
Ratings
QuickBooks Desktop for Mac
7.4
17 Ratings
1% above category average
Inventory tracking00 Ratings9.516 Ratings
Automatic reordering00 Ratings6.512 Ratings
Location management00 Ratings7.011 Ratings
Manufacturing module00 Ratings6.510 Ratings
Order Management
Comparison of Order Management features of Product A and Product B
Paychex
-
Ratings
QuickBooks Desktop for Mac
9.1
20 Ratings
20% above category average
Pricing00 Ratings9.019 Ratings
Order entry00 Ratings9.518 Ratings
Credit card processing00 Ratings9.019 Ratings
Cost of goods sold00 Ratings9.018 Ratings
Order Orchestration00 Ratings9.07 Ratings
End-to-end order visibility00 Ratings9.09 Ratings
Order exception Resolution00 Ratings9.08 Ratings
Best Alternatives
PaychexQuickBooks Desktop for Mac
Small Businesses
Dayforce Powerpay
Dayforce Powerpay
Score 9.3 out of 10
QuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
QuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
Score 6.0 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Paypro Workforce Management
Paypro Workforce Management
Score 9.1 out of 10
Zoho Books
Zoho Books
Score 9.1 out of 10
Enterprises
PeopleStrong
PeopleStrong
Score 10.0 out of 10
SAP Cloud ERP
SAP Cloud ERP
Score 8.6 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
PaychexQuickBooks Desktop for Mac
Likelihood to Recommend
6.2
(321 ratings)
8.1
(34 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
1.2
(44 ratings)
8.0
(9 ratings)
Usability
6.7
(264 ratings)
6.1
(8 ratings)
Availability
5.5
(12 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
Performance
7.1
(12 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
6.1
(264 ratings)
7.0
(4 ratings)
In-Person Training
4.5
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Online Training
8.3
(4 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
5.3
(13 ratings)
5.0
(1 ratings)
Configurability
5.0
(9 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Ease of integration
9.1
(3 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
5.9
(12 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
2.2
(33 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
3.2
(34 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
PaychexQuickBooks Desktop for Mac
Likelihood to Recommend
Paychex Inc.
Paychex is great option for smaller employers as the site offers perk benefits to employees at no cost to the employer. I don't see anything like this being offered at competitors such as ADP RUN/Total Source, Bamboo, Trinet, Justworks or Gusto. Also, the initial set up is relatively easy and the dedicated support for set up is great along with our regular dedicated payroll support.
Read full review
Intuit
If you're a freelancer or running a very small business where you do your own bookkeeping I think this is a great option, especially if you're familiar with accounting and bookkeeping in general. If you're not so familiar with bookkeeping, I would say that the learning curve is too steep and you might want to look elsewhere for a more intuitive solution
Read full review
Pros
Paychex Inc.
  • It provides a well account of Retirement Plan Account Information.
  • Alerts are sent to email when there is new information to access.
  • Employee access both online and thru app.
  • Paperless options.
  • Easy and quick access to paystubs and tax forms.
  • Easy employee retirement management.
Read full review
Intuit
  • The program is very easy to learn, the interface is incredibly user-friendly and there are tons of free resources and tutorials available
  • It makes managing payroll really easy for the employee and accountant on staff. No more lost time sheets or late paychecks!
  • Managing bills and paying them has become streamlined and it's great having everything in one place so we don't lose track of things.
Read full review
Cons
Paychex Inc.
  • I understand logging you out is a security function, but I'd prefer it not to log you out so soon.
  • The training we received for the team's meeting was subpar, in my opinion. Probably better geared for people with little to no computer experience. Very slow pace; we could have easily received all of this from some tutorials in a few minutes.
Read full review
Intuit
  • The #1 complaint is that setting it up right is a challenge. People waste time trying to figure it out only to realize that they don't know accounting so of course they don't know how an accounting program should be set up. Like any time you are in over your head, reach out to your network and find someone who can log onto your computer and walk you through it.
  • If you need to track the cost of wages to jobs you can't do it with the online payroll, but check for yourself because it's a function that landscaping companies and construction businesses usually need, so maybe they have added it by now. That would really help!
  • It's premise-based software and that means you take on the role of hardware admin, and it's a lot of work for what is increasingly becoming a smaller gap in the functionality between QuickBooks for Mac and QuickBooks Online.
  • QuickBooks for Mac 2015 has been updated consistently over the last 3 years and continues to provide for the bookkeeping needs of small companies using Macs in their offices. However, it has limited job costing functionality. It is similar in functionality to the 2010 version of QuickBooksPro which runs on Windows.
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Likelihood to Renew
Paychex Inc.
Overall I like the features that Paychex Flex offers. I am sure that there are other features that I am unaware of, so I am excited to see if there is more that Flex is capable of to make my job easier. The basic features are really user friendly and easy to access. If there ever is an issue customer service is great
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Intuit
I haven't spent that much time with the newer versions of QuickBooks for Mac, but I think I'm seeing it make the much-needed improvements. For example, something as simple as undoing the previous reconciliation was a terrible chore, and I'm glad that feature has been included in the newer versions of QuickBooks for Mac
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Usability
Paychex Inc.
Employee usability is very good and user-friendly. For the most part, the employer usability is good, but for complicated rules and policies, it requires technical assistance, which in our case, was clunky and slow in implementation. Once is place, everything works as it should
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Intuit
The Mac version is OK overall. I find the Windows versions to be much more robust but Mac is quite good for Mac users. Though I think die hard Mac users should consider QuickBooks Online instead as there is a new QB for Mac app that makes using QBO much better!
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Reliability and Availability
Paychex Inc.
We have not experienced any difficulties with unplanned outages. Notifications are always made for outages, and they do not effect normal business operations.
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Intuit
I've been using the QuickBooks online version for a little over 6 months now (upgraded from Mac desktop) and I haven't had any access issues. There have been times when it was down for service/upgrade however there is always plenty of notification time given by the Quick Books Online Support team. These upgrade maintenance time frames are always over night hours and on the weekends so everything can be worked around very easily.
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Performance
Paychex Inc.
Unless there is lag time within the internet, the Paychex Flex website loads exceptional fast, pages load quickly and reports that I need to print or download load quickly. If I need to create a specialized report, once I complete it I receive an e-mail telling me my report is ready to be downloaded. Changing between web pages is fast as well.
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Intuit
No answers on this topic
Support Rating
Paychex Inc.
Chat has been helpful but the person I chat with isn't always able to help me with my questions. Phone support is ok, depending on your payroll specialist. We have a great one currently, but the few before that were never available and did not return calls.
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Intuit
Fortunately, I haven't had to reach out much for support.
Read full review
In-Person Training
Paychex Inc.
We did online training only
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Intuit
No answers on this topic
Online Training
Paychex Inc.
It was easy to understand and follow along. I do like the informational videos that we can utilize before we opt to call in for customer service support. It has made a difference since sometimes that resolves the issue I may have had and saved myself a phone call to Paychex support.
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Intuit
No answers on this topic
Implementation Rating
Paychex Inc.
Implementation was very smooth. The most cumbersome task was entering the current employees into the system during initial set up, but Paychex staff handled most of that and verified against prior system reports as well as internal reports provided to ensure 100% accuracy.
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Intuit
No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
Paychex Inc.
We still use QB Desktop Pro to maintain a Check Register / Overall Balance for the company, but once having tried QB Payroll Online for about 3 months prior to finding Paychex Flex I can tell you that there's just no comparison. QB online is VERY EXPENSIVE and not so user-friendly. I hated every minute of those 6 payrolls we ran through QB online.
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Intuit
I love using Quickbooks compared to other software we've tried. QuickBooks Online and TSheets interface. Customer service and problem resolution are generally excellent, with well-trained and proficient agents taking calls or on chat. Ease of use and accessibility via the mobile app. Great courses were available to help with learning the basics and some advanced accounting background. I love learning! Online accessibility - it can work anywhere with an internet connection. Linking to bank and credit card accounts is handy.
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Scalability
Paychex Inc.
I generally do payroll at the office, however I have had to go remote due to internet issues and also had to take payroll on vacation with me. Very easy to log in wherever you are and manage your TAA and payroll
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Intuit
No answers on this topic
Return on Investment
Paychex Inc.
  • With Paychex Flex we have been able to improve our compliance with required documentation for new/rehires
  • Moving everyone to direct deposit and mobile clock in/out eliminated lines at punching stations and paycheck pickup stations
  • Lost checks is a thing of the past
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Intuit
  • It has allowed us to offer multiple bookkeeping softwares for clients that do not want to change from what they have been using.
  • Payroll filing has given us ease of mind because we can physically make the filings rather than waiting on payroll software to make them for us.
Read full review
ScreenShots

Paychex Screenshots

Screenshot of Paychex Payroll DashboardScreenshot of Employee Background ChecksScreenshot of Paychex HR DashboardScreenshot of Paychex Flex Perks