QuickBooks Desktop Pro vs. SurePayroll

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
QuickBooks Desktop Pro
Score 8.0 out of 10
N/A
Quickbooks Desktop Pro is accounting software from Intuit, Inc. It includes core accounting features, plus analytics and exportable reports. It is offered in on-premise and SaaS forms.N/A
SurePayroll
Score 2.5 out of 10
N/A
SurePayroll offers an online payroll service that lets small business owners run payroll anywhere, anytime. The vendor automatically pays and files federal, state and local payroll taxes.N/A
Pricing
QuickBooks Desktop ProSurePayroll
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
QuickBooks Desktop ProSurePayroll
Free Trial
NoYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
QuickBooks Desktop ProSurePayroll
Considered Both Products
QuickBooks Desktop Pro

No answer on this topic

SurePayroll
Chose SurePayroll
QuickBooks was not user-friendly, tech support was nonexistent, and I still had to file federal and state filings. SurePayroll takes care of all that for me.
Chose SurePayroll
I've used ADP previously. I've used Paychex, which SurePayroll is now part of. None of the solutions are perfect, so I'll stay with SurePayroll until something better comes along.
Top Pros
Top Cons
Features
QuickBooks Desktop ProSurePayroll
Payroll Management
Comparison of Payroll Management features of Product A and Product B
QuickBooks Desktop Pro
9.3
65 Ratings
22% above category average
SurePayroll
4.0
14 Ratings
70% below category average
Pay calculation9.961 Ratings4.714 Ratings
Benefit plan administration9.835 Ratings4.77 Ratings
Direct deposit files9.853 Ratings4.613 Ratings
Salary revision and increment management9.949 Ratings4.412 Ratings
Reimbursement management7.350 Ratings4.210 Ratings
Support for external payroll vendors00 Ratings1.010 Ratings
Off-cycle/On-Demand payment00 Ratings4.27 Ratings
Customization
Comparison of Customization features of Product A and Product B
QuickBooks Desktop Pro
7.9
39 Ratings
11% above category average
SurePayroll
-
Ratings
API for custom integration8.032 Ratings00 Ratings
Plug-ins7.836 Ratings00 Ratings
Security
Comparison of Security features of Product A and Product B
QuickBooks Desktop Pro
8.5
93 Ratings
6% above category average
SurePayroll
-
Ratings
Single sign-on capability8.975 Ratings00 Ratings
Role-based user permissions8.188 Ratings00 Ratings
Reporting & Analytics
Comparison of Reporting & Analytics features of Product A and Product B
QuickBooks Desktop Pro
8.4
108 Ratings
10% above category average
SurePayroll
-
Ratings
Dashboards9.693 Ratings00 Ratings
Standard reports7.5108 Ratings00 Ratings
Custom reports8.1106 Ratings00 Ratings
General Ledger and Configurable Accounting
Comparison of General Ledger and Configurable Accounting features of Product A and Product B
QuickBooks Desktop Pro
8.0
112 Ratings
8% above category average
SurePayroll
-
Ratings
Accounts payable9.7107 Ratings00 Ratings
Accounts receivable7.5109 Ratings00 Ratings
Cash management2.397 Ratings00 Ratings
Bank reconciliation9.7108 Ratings00 Ratings
Expense management8.899 Ratings00 Ratings
Time tracking8.747 Ratings00 Ratings
Fixed asset management5.964 Ratings00 Ratings
Multi-currency support7.927 Ratings00 Ratings
Multi-division support5.652 Ratings00 Ratings
Regulations compliance7.239 Ratings00 Ratings
Electronic tax filing8.050 Ratings00 Ratings
Self-service portal9.738 Ratings00 Ratings
Global Financial Support7.015 Ratings00 Ratings
Primary and Secondary Ledgers8.837 Ratings00 Ratings
Intercompany Accounting7.438 Ratings00 Ratings
Localizations8.517 Ratings00 Ratings
Journals and Reconciliations9.665 Ratings00 Ratings
Enterprise Accounting9.733 Ratings00 Ratings
Configurable Accounting8.141 Ratings00 Ratings
Centralized Rules Framework7.824 Ratings00 Ratings
Standardized Processes9.748 Ratings00 Ratings
Inventory Management
Comparison of Inventory Management features of Product A and Product B
QuickBooks Desktop Pro
6.7
56 Ratings
5% below category average
SurePayroll
-
Ratings
Inventory tracking6.553 Ratings00 Ratings
Automatic reordering6.132 Ratings00 Ratings
Location management6.229 Ratings00 Ratings
Manufacturing module8.216 Ratings00 Ratings
Order Management
Comparison of Order Management features of Product A and Product B
QuickBooks Desktop Pro
7.3
70 Ratings
1% below category average
SurePayroll
-
Ratings
Pricing6.650 Ratings00 Ratings
Order entry7.449 Ratings00 Ratings
Credit card processing7.148 Ratings00 Ratings
Cost of goods sold9.058 Ratings00 Ratings
Order Orchestration9.018 Ratings00 Ratings
End-to-end order visibility9.021 Ratings00 Ratings
Order exception Resolution3.216 Ratings00 Ratings
Best Alternatives
QuickBooks Desktop ProSurePayroll
Small Businesses
Dext Prepare (with Receipt Bank)
Dext Prepare (with Receipt Bank)
Score 9.1 out of 10
Patriot Software
Patriot Software
Score 9.0 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Accounting Seed
Accounting Seed
Score 8.3 out of 10
Paypro Workforce Management
Paypro Workforce Management
Score 9.5 out of 10
Enterprises
Oracle Fusion Cloud ERP
Oracle Fusion Cloud ERP
Score 8.1 out of 10
Infor Human Resources
Infor Human Resources
Score 7.3 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
QuickBooks Desktop ProSurePayroll
Likelihood to Recommend
5.6
(124 ratings)
1.3
(24 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
10.0
(18 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
Usability
8.2
(31 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Availability
8.3
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
2.3
(29 ratings)
9.2
(5 ratings)
In-Person Training
10.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
9.0
(6 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
8.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
QuickBooks Desktop ProSurePayroll
Likelihood to Recommend
Intuit
I am only going to recommend it because it is currently ubiquitous, and most accountants prefer it at the moment. I do not stand by the company, and will not use the product any longer than I have to. [I believe] the support is lousy, the product is overpriced, but it does the basics of what we need. I'm very happy for all those outside Intuit who make their living supporting QuickBooks Desktop Pro; third-party support is desperately needed. They also doubled their prices for software upgrades this year, and require those who don't pay double what the last upgrade cost, to subscribe every year for $200. If one does not subscribe beyond the first year, one will not be able to use the software beyond the first year. They are moving to a rental model even for those who refuse to use the LOUSY QuickBooks online. They were good company once. Now they just turn out bloatware that everyone uses, so the rest of us have to. I look forward to the day that an honest, better-priced competitor wipes the floor with Intuit.
Read full review
Paychex, Inc.
We use SurePayroll to make monthly payrolls in our company, as well as to close the month and year with all the income and expenses and most importantly to make tax payments. The application is perfect for making payrolls when the personnel adapted for it is not in the head office, SurePayroll has an application for mobiles that allows to make these operations remotely. The application is perfect when you want to make immediate payments, at the time of loading the payroll to the system, it proceeds to automatically perform transactions for each employee entered without any error.
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Pros
Intuit
  • It is easy to manage and adjust inventory on hand.
  • It is easy to make reports and customize them to your needs.
  • We also use it to pay our employees directly.
  • It is easy to make year-to-year comparisons to see where we can make improvements and the current financial situation.
Read full review
Paychex, Inc.
  • Super easy interface - honestly running payroll couldn't be easier on their site.
  • Incredible customer service - VERY knowledgeable, professional and friendly. They will walk you through anything you need to do on the site and understand payroll, tax and benefit issues.
  • Tax filing and payments and year-end paperwork for 1099 contractors and W-2s. They make it so easy.
Read full review
Cons
Intuit
  • QuickBooks Desktop Pro has been around for a few years and after an update[,] they force you to look at the changes/updates before you can use [them] after updating.
  • QuickBooks Desktop Pro does not have 2FA.
  • QuickBooks Desktop Pro should offer a way to store backups to a personal cloud without having to map a local network drive.
Read full review
Paychex, Inc.
  • My chief complaint is the software sometimes requires me to have a code sent to my phone before I can continue with some process. That in itself is fine. The problem is the check box that lets SurePayroll remember the computer doesn't actually do that. I select that check box every time, but the software doesn't remember me or my computer.
  • Fees have creeped higher every year over the last two or three years. I feel like I'm nitpicking here, though. What I spend for the service is reasonably priced for the amount of headaches it prevents.
  • I have a case where an employee is sometimes salaried and sometimes contract. There's not a way to handle that without terminating him when he needs to switch.
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Likelihood to Renew
Intuit
We've used the program for more than 20 years in our firm both with clients and as our software. For the cost and value of the program it works well for our firms needs and desires for an accounting software program. At this point to switch would not make sense.
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Paychex, Inc.
The service works well and the price is worth it.
Read full review
Usability
Intuit
It is a great software that does everything a small business needs it to do, but there are just a few bugs and quirks that make additional software necessary. The slowness of the software occasionally might eventually be overshadowed by the quickness of cloud-based software though.
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Paychex, Inc.
No answers on this topic
Reliability and Availability
Intuit
I haven't experienced a time when QuickBooks Pro was unavailable when I needed it in the entire 20 years of using the software
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Paychex, Inc.
No answers on this topic
Support Rating
Intuit
The support team is not always easy to use or able to understand the problems. There are some difficulties understanding [...] the issues the purchaser has and the solutions are sometimes hard to implement. A lot can be avoided if the users have adequate training and security is set up correctly at implementation.
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Paychex, Inc.
SurePayroll was great when we had questions or needed support, ie. if we messed up with a payroll, needed to submit tax documents or get documents. The ease of communication between us and the organization was great and they made it easy for users to call in with support requests.
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In-Person Training
Intuit
Best thing I ever did was to attend a two day training seminar on QuickBooks, I learned an immense amount in a short time with hands on training by experts. I strongly recommend such training for anyone using any part of the software. It will pay for itself in the first month.
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Paychex, Inc.
No answers on this topic
Implementation Rating
Intuit
We implemented the software ourselves. The training we received on the software was done by taking a community course teaching us how to use QuickBooks. It allowed me to get started with some basics of how to use the program and have not needed much assistance since completing the course work.
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Paychex, Inc.
No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
Intuit
Zoho had great end-user support and it was almost as simple to learn and was as easy to use. But its reports were not as [customizable] as QuickBooks Desktop Pro, and its job cost and department accounting [were] more cumbersome than QuickBooks Desktop Pro was. In addition, while I like an underdog (Zoho) the fact is that it is easier to find staff that [is] comfortable with QuickBooks Desktop Pro than anything else on the market.
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Paychex, Inc.
SurePayroll offers a comparable service at a better rate. They are better designed for small companies who need to save money any way they can. Their fees are more appropriate than ADP but the service offerings are just as good.
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Return on Investment
Intuit
  • QuickBooks Desktop Pro is a no hassle accounting solution that ticks a lot of boxes. It almost never disappoints and organizations will usually keep using it for many years. If anything, the only time I've seen an organization migrate away from it is if they have specific accounting needs, or if the organization has grown to the point that they need a more robust accounting solution. Even then, QuickBooks can usually be maintained within another accounting software system for specific functions, like A/R & A/P for example.
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Paychex, Inc.
  • SurePayroll helps us process payroll quickly and effortlessly 97% of the time.
  • On the rare occasion when there is an issue SurePayroll needs to address, it can take hours and hours of time over many months to get that issue resolved. Through the process, SurePayroll employees have always been professional and courteous in their communication.
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