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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Paychex

    Score6.9 out of 10
    N/APaychex 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 Premier

    Score8 out of 10
    N/AQuickBooks Desktop Premier is an installed version of QuickBooks for general business, contractors, manufacturing and warehouse accounting, as well as nonprofits, professional services, and retail.N/A
    Pricing
    PaychexQuickBooks Desktop Premier
    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 Premier
    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 Premier
    Considered Both Products
    Paychex Inc.
    Chose Paychex
    I changed from Paychex Preview to Paychex Flex and have not evaluated other products.
    Incentivized
    Chose Paychex
    They used ADP before I started, but the previous office manager did tell me that Paychex was more streamlined, more user friendly, and she loved the features that Paychex had to offer over ADP. I will say in my experience, that customer service is a lot quicker with Paychex.
    Incentivized
    Chose Paychex
    Most of the reporting is a little easier to find and create in Paychex Flex. Most of the web interfaces for submitting payroll are fairly easy just like Paychex Flex.
    Incentivized
    Chose Paychex
    Client chose Paychex.
    Incentivized
    Chose Paychex
    n/a
    Incentivized
    Chose Paychex
    I do not recall the names of the software systems but they didn't compare in ease of use or functionality.
    Incentivized
    Chose Paychex
    I was not here when the decision was made to move to the Paychex Flex system. I had used Paychex as a payroll processing company at a previous job, so it has been interesting and beneficial to see the other things they can offer. It is also a much better team behind it than …
    Incentivized
    Chose Paychex
    Paychex Flex is geared towards a larger and more sophisticated organization than Xero. Xero is really only the better solution to an organization that was previously keeping its books in Excel. Paychex Flex helps companies program future payroll decisions and inputs ahead of …
    Incentivized
    Intuit
    No answer on this topic
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    88%
    Would buy again
    269 Answers
    82%
    Would buy again
    14 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    90%
    Delivers good value for the price
    242 Answers
    88%
    Delivers good value for the price
    14 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    92%
    Happy with the feature set
    283 Answers
    94%
    Happy with the feature set
    16 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    88%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    203 Answers
    87%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    13 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    89%
    Implementation went as expected
    218 Answers
    93%
    Implementation went as expected
    14 Answers
    Features
    PaychexQuickBooks Desktop Premier
    Human Resource Management
    Comparison of Human Resource Management features of Paychex and QuickBooks Desktop Premier
    Feature
    Paychex
    7.0
    282 Ratings
    16% below category average
    QuickBooks Desktop Premier
    -
    Ratings
    Employee demographic data7.7228 Ratings00 Ratings
    Employment history7.9252 Ratings00 Ratings
    Job profiles and administration7.7185 Ratings00 Ratings
    Workflow for transfers, promotions, pay raises, etc.7.8183 Ratings00 Ratings
    Organizational charting4.66 Ratings00 Ratings
    Organization and location management7.1166 Ratings00 Ratings
    Compliance data (COBRA, OSHA, etc.)6.4151 Ratings00 Ratings
    Payroll Management
    Comparison of Payroll Management features of Paychex and QuickBooks Desktop Premier
    Feature
    Paychex
    7.6
    323 Ratings
    8% below category average
    QuickBooks Desktop Premier
    8.5
    54 Ratings
    12% above category average
    Pay calculation8.0305 Ratings9.252 Ratings
    Support for external payroll vendors6.56 Ratings00 Ratings
    Off-cycle/On-Demand payment7.4160 Ratings00 Ratings
    Benefit plan administration7.2182 Ratings8.425 Ratings
    Direct deposit files8.3302 Ratings8.242 Ratings
    Salary revision and increment management8.0216 Ratings8.333 Ratings
    Reimbursement management7.4124 Ratings8.336 Ratings
    Leave and Attendance Management
    Comparison of Leave and Attendance Management features of Paychex and QuickBooks Desktop Premier
    Feature
    Paychex
    7.2
    163 Ratings
    13% below category average
    QuickBooks Desktop Premier
    -
    Ratings
    Approval workflow7.5117 Ratings00 Ratings
    Balance details7.6155 Ratings00 Ratings
    Annual carry-forward and encashment6.3122 Ratings00 Ratings
    Employee Self Service
    Comparison of Employee Self Service features of Paychex and QuickBooks Desktop Premier
    Feature
    Paychex
    7.2
    280 Ratings
    14% below category average
    QuickBooks Desktop Premier
    -
    Ratings
    View and generate pay and benefit information8.1258 Ratings00 Ratings
    Update personal information7.6270 Ratings00 Ratings
    View company policy documentation7.4128 Ratings00 Ratings
    Employee recognition5.55 Ratings00 Ratings
    View job history7.6193 Ratings00 Ratings
    Asset Management
    Comparison of Asset Management features of Paychex and QuickBooks Desktop Premier
    Feature
    Paychex
    6.4
    46 Ratings
    23% below category average
    QuickBooks Desktop Premier
    -
    Ratings
    Tracking of all physical assets6.446 Ratings00 Ratings
    HR Reporting
    Comparison of HR Reporting features of Paychex and QuickBooks Desktop Premier
    Feature
    Paychex
    6.1
    182 Ratings
    22% below category average
    QuickBooks Desktop Premier
    -
    Ratings
    Report builder6.5152 Ratings00 Ratings
    Pre-built reports6.8170 Ratings00 Ratings
    Ability to combine HR data with external data5.095 Ratings00 Ratings
    Onboarding
    Comparison of Onboarding features of Paychex and QuickBooks Desktop Premier
    Feature
    Paychex
    6.9
    180 Ratings
    15% below category average
    QuickBooks Desktop Premier
    -
    Ratings
    New hire portal7.0172 Ratings00 Ratings
    Manager tracking tools6.7116 Ratings00 Ratings
    Performance and Goals
    Comparison of Performance and Goals features of Paychex and QuickBooks Desktop Premier
    Feature
    Paychex
    6.2
    3 Ratings
    26% below category average
    QuickBooks Desktop Premier
    -
    Ratings
    Corporate goal setting4.82 Ratings00 Ratings
    Individual goal setting5.73 Ratings00 Ratings
    Line-of sight-visibility5.42 Ratings00 Ratings
    Performance tracking8.82 Ratings00 Ratings
    Performance Management
    Comparison of Performance Management features of Paychex and QuickBooks Desktop Premier
    Feature
    Paychex
    5.8
    3 Ratings
    31% below category average
    QuickBooks Desktop Premier
    -
    Ratings
    Performance plans6.03 Ratings00 Ratings
    Performance improvement plans6.03 Ratings00 Ratings
    Review status tracking5.73 Ratings00 Ratings
    Review reminders5.73 Ratings00 Ratings
    Multiple review frequency5.73 Ratings00 Ratings
    Succession Planning
    Comparison of Succession Planning features of Paychex and QuickBooks Desktop Premier
    Feature
    Paychex
    4.6
    4 Ratings
    52% below category average
    QuickBooks Desktop Premier
    -
    Ratings
    Create succession plans/pools3.62 Ratings00 Ratings
    Candidate ranking4.12 Ratings00 Ratings
    Candidate search5.53 Ratings00 Ratings
    Candidate development5.23 Ratings00 Ratings
    Recruiting / ATS
    Comparison of Recruiting / ATS features of Paychex and QuickBooks Desktop Premier
    Feature
    Paychex
    5.4
    73 Ratings
    38% below category average
    QuickBooks Desktop Premier
    -
    Ratings
    Job Requisition Management5.138 Ratings00 Ratings
    Company Website Posting5.235 Ratings00 Ratings
    Publish to Social Media5.729 Ratings00 Ratings
    Job Search Site Posting6.137 Ratings00 Ratings
    Duplicate Candidate Prevention4.635 Ratings00 Ratings
    Applicant Tracking4.741 Ratings00 Ratings
    Notifications and Alerts6.267 Ratings00 Ratings
    Customization
    Comparison of Customization features of Paychex and QuickBooks Desktop Premier
    Feature
    Paychex
    -
    Ratings
    QuickBooks Desktop Premier
    7.5
    24 Ratings
    1% below category average
    API for custom integration00 Ratings8.017 Ratings
    Plug-ins00 Ratings7.024 Ratings
    Security
    Comparison of Security features of Paychex and QuickBooks Desktop Premier
    Feature
    Paychex
    -
    Ratings
    QuickBooks Desktop Premier
    8.3
    58 Ratings
    1% above category average
    Single sign-on capability00 Ratings8.450 Ratings
    Role-based user permissions00 Ratings8.249 Ratings
    Reporting & Analytics
    Comparison of Reporting & Analytics features of Paychex and QuickBooks Desktop Premier
    Feature
    Paychex
    -
    Ratings
    QuickBooks Desktop Premier
    8.3
    69 Ratings
    6% above category average
    Dashboards00 Ratings8.758 Ratings
    Standard reports00 Ratings8.468 Ratings
    Custom reports00 Ratings7.766 Ratings
    General Ledger and Configurable Accounting
    Comparison of General Ledger and Configurable Accounting features of Paychex and QuickBooks Desktop Premier
    Feature
    Paychex
    -
    Ratings
    QuickBooks Desktop Premier
    7.8
    72 Ratings
    2% above category average
    Accounts payable00 Ratings8.370 Ratings
    Accounts receivable00 Ratings8.571 Ratings
    Cash management00 Ratings8.765 Ratings
    Bank reconciliation00 Ratings8.769 Ratings
    Expense management00 Ratings8.768 Ratings
    Time tracking00 Ratings7.535 Ratings
    Fixed asset management00 Ratings6.249 Ratings
    Multi-currency support00 Ratings7.623 Ratings
    Multi-division support00 Ratings8.239 Ratings
    Regulations compliance00 Ratings8.224 Ratings
    Electronic tax filing00 Ratings7.836 Ratings
    Self-service portal00 Ratings5.923 Ratings
    Global Financial Support00 Ratings6.09 Ratings
    Primary and Secondary Ledgers00 Ratings7.014 Ratings
    Intercompany Accounting00 Ratings7.917 Ratings
    Localizations00 Ratings7.66 Ratings
    Journals and Reconciliations00 Ratings8.725 Ratings
    Enterprise Accounting00 Ratings8.313 Ratings
    Configurable Accounting00 Ratings7.915 Ratings
    Centralized Rules Framework00 Ratings7.210 Ratings
    Standardized Processes00 Ratings8.315 Ratings
    Inventory Management
    Comparison of Inventory Management features of Paychex and QuickBooks Desktop Premier
    Feature
    Paychex
    -
    Ratings
    QuickBooks Desktop Premier
    8.0
    43 Ratings
    9% above category average
    Inventory tracking00 Ratings8.342 Ratings
    Automatic reordering00 Ratings7.321 Ratings
    Location management00 Ratings8.825 Ratings
    Manufacturing module00 Ratings7.722 Ratings
    Order Management
    Comparison of Order Management features of Paychex and QuickBooks Desktop Premier
    Feature
    Paychex
    -
    Ratings
    QuickBooks Desktop Premier
    8.2
    47 Ratings
    10% above category average
    Pricing00 Ratings7.937 Ratings
    Order entry00 Ratings7.838 Ratings
    Credit card processing00 Ratings9.134 Ratings
    Cost of goods sold00 Ratings8.943 Ratings
    Order Orchestration00 Ratings7.58 Ratings
    End-to-end order visibility00 Ratings8.59 Ratings
    Order exception Resolution00 Ratings7.56 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    PaychexQuickBooks Desktop Premier
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    Score9.3 out of 10
    QuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
    Score4.1 out of 10
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    Zoho People
    Score8.6 out of 10
    MYOB
    Score8.3 out of 10
    Enterprises
    PeopleStrong
    Score10 out of 10
    Microsoft Dynamics GP
    Score5.4 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    PaychexQuickBooks Desktop Premier
    Likelihood to Recommend
    6.8
    (338 ratings)
    8.2
    (75 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    7.2
    (48 ratings)
    7.5
    (14 ratings)
    Usability
    7.2
    (279 ratings)
    8.9
    (26 ratings)
    Availability
    5.2
    (12 ratings)
    10.0
    (6 ratings)
    Performance
    7.0
    (12 ratings)
    9.0
    (5 ratings)
    Support Rating
    6.5
    (278 ratings)
    4.0
    (13 ratings)
    In-Person Training
    4.5
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Online Training
    2.7
    (4 ratings)
    1.0
    (1 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    5.1
    (13 ratings)
    7.2
    (7 ratings)
    Configurability
    5.0
    (9 ratings)
    9.0
    (2 ratings)
    CPA Rating
    -
    (0 ratings)
    8.1
    (27 ratings)
    Ease of integration
    9.1
    (3 ratings)
    7.0
    (1 ratings)
    Product Scalability
    5.3
    (12 ratings)
    9.0
    (5 ratings)
    Vendor post-sale
    5.7
    (34 ratings)
    6.0
    (1 ratings)
    Vendor pre-sale
    6.2
    (35 ratings)
    6.0
    (2 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    PaychexQuickBooks Desktop Premier
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Paychex Inc.
    It is best suited for payrolls from 1 to 150 employees, because their constant attention and flex system are easy to use. Any problem is taking care by your Paychex Agent, and they always listen to you. Better yet, when you become a client with more than 5 years, you get special discount on your renewal. Honestly, I can't not think on nothing that will be less appropriate.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Intuit
    We really think that ANY typical business would be a reasonable fit for QuickBooks Desktop Premier. While not necessary, even a comparatively unexperienced accounting person could look at the "Home" screen and follow their nose thru typical daily accounting processes without much detailed knowledge. Reporting is simple, looking up customer info and prior transactions is simple, looking up vendors and prior payments is simple... all in all, quite straightforward. I really can't think of an instance where it would be 'less appropriate'.
    Incentivized
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Intuit
    • Employment - it makes creating paychecks a snap and tracks taxes.
    • Invoicing - they have a straightforward approach to creating invoices and you can even email them to your customers.
    • Customers - the program makes tracking customer information and balances easy.
    Incentivized
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Intuit
    • Support for older versions of QuickBooks ends after three years, then users must purchase the newest version at full price. Renewals should be deeply discounted for existing users.
    • I would like to see better in-product inventory tracking, so we can choose LIFO or FIFO rather than the ambiguous "average cost" method.
    • I would like to be able to assign payroll taxes to jobs for better job costing.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    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
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Intuit
    Because we have been extremely happy with the product and our organization tends to be creatures of habit. We rarely leave a product that works this well for the latest and greatest. Typically we follow the "if it's not broken, don't fix it rule". While QB does make changes we typically just roll with it. If we do find something we don't like we work through it until we fully understand its functionality.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Usability
    Paychex Inc.
    Once you are set up in the system, it is very user-friendly and usability is on par with my expectations. Onboarding new employees is simple, employee access is simple and easy for them to use. Tax documentation, reporting, and entering payroll is easy and user-friendly. Running reports and finding information necessary to keep the flow moving foward is easy to do
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Intuit
    We switched to a more "robust" software program with the hiring of a new CFO. The migration of historical data and ancillary information has been cumbersome and riddle with errors and issues. In hindsight much of what the new software program was touted to accomplish is not come to fruition. QB Desktop Premier was sufficient for the organization needs
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Intuit
    This is very reliable software, the desktop version is fast. If there is a problem, it is most likely on your own hardware!
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Intuit
    It takes forever to load.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Support Rating
    Paychex Inc.
    The dedicated support we are given is good and very responsive. If there is a change to the dedicated support, we are notified quickly and have temporary support in place while we wait for our new rep. The phone support is knowledgeable and quick to help if there is an immediate need. However, the chat support can be the slowest option and doesn't always launch so I rarely use it.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Intuit
    This is where QuickBooks falls short. Many times my staff has had questions that have not been able to get resolved easily with a chat or call. I personally have had more general questions that have not been answered easily as well. I think QuickBooks needs to provide the resources of having readily accessible help in order to make it simpler to get solutions.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    In-Person Training
    Paychex Inc.
    We did online training only
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Intuit
    It is important to do your research. There are tutorial videos online that could help new user of this accounting system. These tutorials are straightforward and easily understandable.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Alternatives Considered
    Paychex Inc.
    In addition to the ones listed above, we also used BenePay, a local payroll company. We found Paychex Flex priced in the middle, with ADP the most expensive and too complicated, with many features that were unnecessary for us. We found that Paychex Flex's features and reporting to be sized right for our size (around 30 employees). Paychex Flex also offered a very reasonable service to apply for the ERTC
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Intuit
    QuickBooks Premier handles most of my business functions efficiently in one package. It is not my "everything." I use Replicon for time rather than QuickBooks. I don't want my WIP data interfering with my accounting. I use PaySimple for it's web interface and back office processing. I don't have security issues since I don't have any credit card data in my possession. With today's identity theft environment, I have to protect myself as much as I can. Not having credit card data in my accounting software lets me sleep much better at night. Quicken will do basic accounting but does not have all the double entry accounting systems contained in QuickBooks. QuickBooks Online does much of the basic business functions but I don't like the pricing structure. As a professional accountant, that is very important to me. Bill.com provided a good service but the ability of QuickBooks to add bills and receipts to transactions makes it redundant.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    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
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Intuit
    They're getting better. Still room for improvement.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    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
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Intuit
    • Most of our business clients use QuickBooks which makes it efficient for us to work on clients that use the program. We can import QuickBooks data into our software which adds efficiencies to our tax practice.
    • Having staff that are familiar with the software enables our firm to provide quality service to the clients that use QuickBooks.
    • We receive referrals from satisfied QuickBooks clients.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    ScreenShots

    Paychex Screenshots

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