Paylocity vs. QuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Paylocity
Score 8.2 out of 10
N/A
Paylocity provides 24/7 access to your online payroll and human resource data management. Paylocity offers highly customizable payroll functionality, as well as HR, benefits administration, and time and talent management programs.N/A
QuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
Score 6.6 out of 10
N/A
A now discontinued accounting solution, QuickBooks Self-Employed featured tools to help the self-employed drive growth and financial stability. It is replaced by the more advanced QuickBooks Solopreneur.N/A
Pricing
PaylocityQuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
PaylocityQuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
YesNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
PaylocityQuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
Considered Both Products
Paylocity
Chose Paylocity
I haven't used other products besides Paylocity. Paylocity is a great product, and highly recommend it.
Chose Paylocity
Paylocity is much more user friendly and has better reporting. The Service Team at Paylocity is really what makes the most difference. They Service Team is very quick to repsond and that is vital when processing payroll. ADP is best suited for larger companies and QuickBooks …
QuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)

No answer on this topic

Features
PaylocityQuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
Human Resource Management
Comparison of Human Resource Management features of Product A and Product B
Paylocity
7.9
1477 Ratings
3% below category average
QuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
-
Ratings
Employee demographic data8.41407 Ratings00 Ratings
Employment history8.21360 Ratings00 Ratings
Job profiles and administration7.91267 Ratings00 Ratings
Workflow for transfers, promotions, pay raises, etc.7.71279 Ratings00 Ratings
Organizational charting7.51179 Ratings00 Ratings
Organization and location management8.01159 Ratings00 Ratings
Compliance data (COBRA, OSHA, etc.)7.5988 Ratings00 Ratings
Payroll Management
Comparison of Payroll Management features of Product A and Product B
Paylocity
8.3
1415 Ratings
2% above category average
QuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
7.8
3 Ratings
3% above category average
Pay calculation8.71382 Ratings10.02 Ratings
Support for external payroll vendors7.9699 Ratings00 Ratings
Off-cycle/On-Demand payment8.71079 Ratings00 Ratings
Benefit plan administration7.6957 Ratings5.02 Ratings
Direct deposit files8.91376 Ratings8.03 Ratings
Salary revision and increment management8.31113 Ratings8.02 Ratings
Reimbursement management7.8703 Ratings8.03 Ratings
Leave and Attendance Management
Comparison of Leave and Attendance Management features of Product A and Product B
Paylocity
7.6
1197 Ratings
7% below category average
QuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
-
Ratings
Approval workflow7.71065 Ratings00 Ratings
Balance details7.41144 Ratings00 Ratings
Annual carry-forward and encashment7.7914 Ratings00 Ratings
Employee Self Service
Comparison of Employee Self Service features of Product A and Product B
Paylocity
8.4
1423 Ratings
2% above category average
QuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
-
Ratings
View and generate pay and benefit information8.61387 Ratings00 Ratings
Update personal information8.71411 Ratings00 Ratings
View company policy documentation8.11151 Ratings00 Ratings
Employee recognition8.21047 Ratings00 Ratings
View job history8.51239 Ratings00 Ratings
Asset Management
Comparison of Asset Management features of Product A and Product B
Paylocity
7.4
459 Ratings
8% below category average
QuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
-
Ratings
Tracking of all physical assets7.4459 Ratings00 Ratings
HR Reporting
Comparison of HR Reporting features of Product A and Product B
Paylocity
7.3
1317 Ratings
3% below category average
QuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
-
Ratings
Report builder7.31264 Ratings00 Ratings
Pre-built reports7.51283 Ratings00 Ratings
Ability to combine HR data with external data7.2841 Ratings00 Ratings
Onboarding
Comparison of Onboarding features of Product A and Product B
Paylocity
8.2
1235 Ratings
3% above category average
QuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
-
Ratings
New hire portal8.31225 Ratings00 Ratings
Manager tracking tools8.1995 Ratings00 Ratings
Performance and Goals
Comparison of Performance and Goals features of Product A and Product B
Paylocity
7.7
701 Ratings
4% below category average
QuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
-
Ratings
Corporate goal setting7.6561 Ratings00 Ratings
Individual goal setting7.8647 Ratings00 Ratings
Line-of sight-visibility7.7501 Ratings00 Ratings
Performance tracking7.9656 Ratings00 Ratings
Performance Management
Comparison of Performance Management features of Product A and Product B
Paylocity
7.6
877 Ratings
4% below category average
QuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
-
Ratings
Performance plans7.4800 Ratings00 Ratings
Performance improvement plans7.4694 Ratings00 Ratings
Review status tracking7.7807 Ratings00 Ratings
Review reminders7.8814 Ratings00 Ratings
Multiple review frequency7.7689 Ratings00 Ratings
Succession Planning
Comparison of Succession Planning features of Product A and Product B
Paylocity
7.6
471 Ratings
3% below category average
QuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
-
Ratings
Create succession plans/pools7.3323 Ratings00 Ratings
Candidate ranking7.5381 Ratings00 Ratings
Candidate search8.0427 Ratings00 Ratings
Candidate development7.6350 Ratings00 Ratings
Recruiting / ATS
Comparison of Recruiting / ATS features of Product A and Product B
Paylocity
8.0
829 Ratings
4% above category average
QuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
-
Ratings
Job Requisition Management8.1712 Ratings00 Ratings
Company Website Posting8.2741 Ratings00 Ratings
Publish to Social Media8.0577 Ratings00 Ratings
Job Search Site Posting8.1709 Ratings00 Ratings
Duplicate Candidate Prevention7.6610 Ratings00 Ratings
Applicant Tracking8.2768 Ratings00 Ratings
Notifications and Alerts7.9766 Ratings00 Ratings
Customization
Comparison of Customization features of Product A and Product B
Paylocity
-
Ratings
QuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
10.0
5 Ratings
27% 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
Paylocity
-
Ratings
QuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
10.0
8 Ratings
20% 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
Paylocity
-
Ratings
QuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
10.0
14 Ratings
25% 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
Paylocity
-
Ratings
QuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
10.0
15 Ratings
27% 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
Paylocity
-
Ratings
QuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
10.0
3 Ratings
31% 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
Paylocity
-
Ratings
QuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
10.0
5 Ratings
29% 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
Best Alternatives
PaylocityQuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
Small Businesses
Dayforce Powerpay
Dayforce Powerpay
Score 9.4 out of 10
Zoho Books
Zoho Books
Score 9.1 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Paypro Workforce Management
Paypro Workforce Management
Score 9.2 out of 10
Zoho Books
Zoho Books
Score 9.1 out of 10
Enterprises
PeopleStrong
PeopleStrong
Score 10.0 out of 10
Oracle Fusion Cloud Enterprise Performance Management
Oracle Fusion Cloud Enterprise Performance Management
Score 7.6 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
PaylocityQuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
Likelihood to Recommend
8.4
(1475 ratings)
10.0
(15 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
8.8
(166 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Usability
8.3
(281 ratings)
9.4
(2 ratings)
Availability
8.9
(35 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Performance
8.4
(34 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
7.0
(148 ratings)
10.0
(2 ratings)
In-Person Training
8.1
(6 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Online Training
7.9
(29 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
7.0
(92 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Configurability
6.9
(25 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Contract Terms and Pricing Model
8.3
(24 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Ease of integration
7.2
(28 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
8.2
(34 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Professional Services
8.7
(18 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
7.3
(34 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
8.4
(31 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
PaylocityQuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
Likelihood to Recommend
Paylocity
Paylocity makes record keeping and payroll so simple. The times are able to be imported from time keeping saving tons of time and frustration. Going from manual entries to a more automated system has saved so much time. Whether a company is small or large or there are multiple companies that you take care of the system will work for you.
Read full review
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.
Read full review
Pros
Paylocity
  • Payroll is made pretty easy. I love that we have the ability to log into payroll, we just upload the information from commissions, things like that where there are exceptions to a regular payroll run. It may make it very easy to do that, just a quick upload. Additionally, when we're in the payroll grid, it gives us the ability to just make quick changes to people's pay or their tax schedule, tax withholdings, things like that without having to go through a lot of different screens. It's just very easy to access just for the click of a button. Love that.
  • We talked about performance reviews, talked about payroll with benefits administration, it allows us to utilize EDI feeds with our benefit vendors so it creates a seamless, but we just enter the information into Paylocity and then it seamlessly provides that information to our vendors. That's been really helpful. And adjusting benefits is also very easy within Paylocity. I love the recent edition of compensation analysis information, so I'm able to go into the compensation module and look for jobs that are similar to a job title at our company. I can enter the job description, I give them what state that the person or the job is in, and it pops out compensation data. It gives me different options, so titles that might be similar. So if there's not something that's an exact fit, I'm able to find something really, really close. It's been a huge upgrade because before that I was having to use a different vendor and paying $400 per job and now it's significantly less expensive to Paylocity and I'm still getting great quality data. It's been very helpful.
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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.
Read full review
Cons
Paylocity
  • I'd like to see a forum in which users could discuss the platform, raise both questions and concerns. I feel that changes are done without enough input from users.
  • Improving hold time recently with customer service.
  • Accuracy of new 'graphic' payroll report - the new report is not complete when payroll is done, so it is unusable from my perspective. I rely on the preprocess payroll register. This is one of those 'improvements' that have not been positive in my experience.
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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.
Read full review
Likelihood to Renew
Paylocity
There are several technical issues we have experienced this past year with the employee onboarding process that we are still waiting to have resolved. Overall our experience with Paylocity has been positive, and we love how user-friendly and easy to navigate the system is. It has made all of our HR processes much more streamlined and efficient.
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Intuit
No answers on this topic
Usability
Paylocity
I love Paylocity. As I have stated before I love the user friendliness of the system. I have used more than four different payroll systems during my career, and I have found Paylocity to be the most user friendly of all the systems I have used. I was able to catch on within two days of my training. The system has a lot of features I use on a daily basis and over the years I have not had a desire to change systems.
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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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Reliability and Availability
Paylocity
Over the last 3 years, we've only had one major service issue that rendered Airbase unusable for us for about 24 hours. That said, they navigated the SVB bank crisis very well and made sure funds were available during that time.
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Intuit
No answers on this topic
Performance
Paylocity
We had some minor hiccups throughout the year but they have all been fixable. Paylocity integrates well with our 401k provider, Principal, and our benefits, OneDigital. It makes it simple to house everything and have it all connected. It doesn't slow anything down to have Principal integrated. It makes it more efficient
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Intuit
No answers on this topic
Support Rating
Paylocity
It is very hard to get answers to your questions, you cannot speak to someone without days of requesting assistance or answers and then eventually can get a call back and then it is usually resolved fairly quickly. But NOT easy to get that help.
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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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In-Person Training
Paylocity
I didn't have in-person training, but I'm sure it was just as great as any other training/assistance Paylocity provides. Paylocity customer service is always available. You never have to be on hold and their answers are always accurate and timely. Documents in the help section are helpful as well. My in-person training was conducted y one of our employees who was involved in the initial set-up and training of all employees. She was excellent.
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Intuit
No answers on this topic
Online Training
Paylocity
Our rep was very thorough and made sure we fully understood the software before turning us loose alone. Paylocity was very good to do periodic check ins to ensure we understood the features and answered any questions we had. The training reps are very well trained and are very patient with clients.
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Intuit
No answers on this topic
Implementation Rating
Paylocity
Implementation was a bit bumpy and Paylocity team not always available for next steps and/or questions. I feel like Paylocity could have done a better job in their fact finding as far as what we were currently doing, our payroll policies and needs, etc. so that we would have run into less issues as we moved forward.
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Intuit
No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
Paylocity
There is no comparison. Paylocity offers so much more to its clients. Their pricing is unbeatable and they provide a much bigger variety of features and customization. I had to use 6 different platforms to cover all necessary areas for our business, when I am now solely using Paylocity for everything.
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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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Contract Terms and Pricing Model
Paylocity
Everyone wants a good deal of course. We thought we did ok and felt you still made your money also
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Intuit
No answers on this topic
Scalability
Paylocity
We have gone from a medium sized company to a larger company with no issues whatsoever with Paylocity being able to keep up or do what we need it to do for the size of our needs. In fact, it does more than we even use at this juncture
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Intuit
No answers on this topic
Professional Services
Paylocity
Some are knowledgable others not as much and sometimes instead of helping you fix the issue will just give you some directions and expect you to try to figure it out yourself. Also, when your Account Manager needs to escliate the issue to another group, it can take a long time for them to get to your issue and there's no commuication.
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Intuit
No answers on this topic
Return on Investment
Paylocity
  • Paylocity has helped us with recruitment by streamlining the process and making it efficient. It is saving me time.
  • Paylocity has also helped us with compensation so we can create a fair and robust compensation plan.
  • I also like using the data insights feature, which helps me keep track of over time, payroll and benefits costs, and retention numbers. This also saves me time as it is all in one place.
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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

Paylocity Screenshots

Screenshot of a view of real-time employee data and performance metrics used to uncover and analyze trends. This creates an impactful understanding of the business, increase retention, understand labor costs, and plan for changes.Screenshot of where to automate manual processes with Paylocity's self-serve automation engine, Workflows. Users can implement routines for time-consuming manual tasks.Screenshot of where to manage and comply with employment law. Paylocity's HR Compliance solution helps users to stay on track and view important employee compliance items, from Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO), healthcare, and compensation.Screenshot of how Paylocity Recruiting can automate hiring processes. amplify outreach, showcase a company's culture, and build stronger candidate connections to swiftly fill positions.Screenshot of recognition and rewards in Paylocity.