QuickBooks Payroll Reviews

“Account notices sent wrong”

Pros

When everything is functioning properly, it does the job just fine. Unfortunately, the customer service is absolutely terrible.

Cons

Things went badly when QuickBooks sent notices to a completely incorrect email address that wasn't even remotely mine, warning me about something we were supposedly doing wrong. Because we never received those messages, they ended up terminating my account for not responding to their warnings.

“quick payroll with useful tracking”

Pros

Running payroll in QuickBooks Payroll is pretty easy and it covers all the basic payroll functions without any trouble. Vacation tracking is simple to manage, the reporting tools handle the essentials and for a smaller company the whole payroll process usually takes only about five minutes.

Cons

There were a few issues with tax payments in the online version and the reporting features felt somewhat limited. Customer support was also just average and often took longer than it should have to resolve what seemed like simple mistakes and even then the problems were only handled correctly about half the time.

“reliable payroll for small teams”

Pros

Despite hearing from plenty of people that QuickBooks Payroll is not a real payroll platform, I really haven't run into any major issues with it. Our setup is pretty simple and easy and we're dealing with dozens of employees rather than hundreds so within that kind of environment it performs very well. It takes care of most of the tax reporting almost automatically and while there is still a little manual work involved, it's minimal. For a small company without a lot of extra resources, it gives us a practical way to manage payroll without much hassle. Direct deposit for employees also works well and has been handled reliably.

Cons

Most of my complaints are tied to QuickBooks products in general rather than Payroll alone. The interface isn't always very user friendly and sometimes you have to dig through odd navigation paths just to locate a specific feature. Pulling annual forms for employees and government filing is consistently frustrating especially since it's something done only once a year and by the time it comes around again, it takes a while to remember where everything lives in the system. Support can be inconsistent too. At times you get someone helpful who understands the issue and resolves it fairly quickly and other times you end up with an agent who doesn't seem to grasp the problem even after several explanations. Another annoyance is that I still have to keep track of payroll processing dates myself. QuickBooks knows when payroll needs to be run but it doesn't send any reminder or notification so I have to monitor that manually. Every now and then that means payroll gets submitted too close to a holiday and employees end up being paid a day late. A timely reminder from QuickBooks about the last day to process payroll on schedule would be a big help especially with everything else that has to be managed.

“All-in-one payroll favorite”

Pros

QuickBooks is really like the industry standard and its payroll tools live up to that. Having everything in one platform is a huge plus and the system is user-friendly, basic and great to work with.

Cons

I haven't run into any issues with QuickBooks at all since I started using it.

“all-in-one payroll convenience”

Pros

Everything I need is built right into the software. I can pay bills, review assets and liabilities and stay on top of my finances all in one place.

Cons

At this point I haven't come across any issues with the product.

“payroll fixes are frustrating”

Pros

Running payroll and getting employees set up in QB Payroll is fairly easy and doesn't take much effort.

Cons

Trying to fix a payroll mistake or process an off-cycle payroll is almost impossible which makes those situations very frustrating.

“Fantastic payroll with handy tracking”

Pros

QuickBooks Payroll is really simple to work with and the vacation and sick time tracking is something I genuinely appreciate.

Cons

I do wish it included more HR-related features that could be useful for the company.

“budget-friendly inside qbo”

Pros

Keeping payroll inside the QBO environment is affordable and convenient which makes it simple to access without needing a separate system.

Cons

Quite a few parts of this software feel frustrating to work with. It's very out-of-the-box and doesn't offer much room for customization. If your payroll needs are standard, it works fine but it's not a strong fit when you need anything beyond the basics.

“payroll done right”

Pros

Out of all the payroll tools I have worked with, QuickBooks Payroll has been the most user-friendly by far. It isn't the cheapest option but the time and frustration it saves more than make up for the cost. Anytime I run into an issue, a single call to support takes care of it because they're consistently helpful. Honestly if you want payroll handled properly, I don't see a better option.

Cons

I really don't have any complaints. On the rare occasion something has come up, I have contacted support and they've stayed with it until everything was fully resolved.

“Payroll processing made effortless”

Pros

Running payroll was incredibly simple and whenever questions came up, support was always there and ready to help.

Cons

When a mistake happened, the window to correct it was pretty limited.

“reliable setup and helpful reports”

Pros

Getting started with QuickBooks Payroll was very easy and using it day to day has been simple. It also includes a wide range of reporting features that do a good job of supporting business needs.

Cons

One gap we noticed is vacation tracking. We weren't able to find a report for that feature which has been a downside.

“clear payroll tools”

Pros

Using this software is not a problem. The main screen puts the most important details right in front of you so everything is simple to view and navigate.

Cons

Honestly I have not come across anything I dislike about this product. It gives us everything we need from a payroll platform.

“Time-saving payroll for small teams”

Pros

It saves a lot of time and effort and it works really well for a small business.

Cons

Nothing comes to mind right away, though I do wish direct deposit was available.

“payroll savings and compliance win”

Pros

Switching to QuickBooks Payroll meant we no longer needed to rely on an accountant to manage payroll and it has given us a reliable way to pay employees accurately, stay compliant with taxes, print W-2s and weekly payroll checks and keep all the financial records we need. Compared with the prices we were quoted by several accounting firms, the cost of this software is minimal. The biggest advantage for our organization is that it delivers professional-quality results without requiring the user to have much accounting experience. Between the money it saves us and the confidence it gives us in staying compliant, moving to QuickBooks Payroll has been one of the best decisions we've made for the business.

Cons

Honestly our only real frustration is that we didn't start using this software much sooner. After talking with colleagues at similar facilities, I have noticed that many of them still aren't using it and don't seem to realize how much it could help their operations. I really wish Quicken would do more targeted outreach to show our industry just how valuable this software can be.

“SIMPLE tax automation”

Pros

Payroll entry is pretty easy and the system automatically calculates the taxes for you.

Cons

It is a bit on the expensive side but it feels worth the cost for the peace of mind that the taxes are being handled correctly.

“QBO integration and useful reports”

Pros

The integration with QBO works really well and the reports and payroll details are excellent.

Cons

Support can be inconsistent. Quite often, the agent doesn't seem to understand Canadian payroll very well and just follows a scripted list of questions.

“feature-packed payroll support”

Pros

QuickBooks comes with quite a wide range of features you can actually make use of, like access to a certified HR advisor. They also offer benefits plans you can bundle into your package and there are live bookkeeping experts available to help you keep your records in order which is really valuable if bookkeeping isn't an area you feel fully confident in yet.

Cons

It honestly makes more sense to go straight for the Elite package because otherwise customer support tends to point you toward buying an add-on anytime you ask about something you assumed was already included in the software. That even applies to support itself. The 24/7 Expert Product Support is only included with the Elite plan which costs $125 per month but it does cover all payroll needs.

“Frustrating loss of payroll control”

Pros

For the past four years, QuickBooks Payroll has been easy to use which is something I have really appreciated. That said the latest update has made the system much harder to work with than before. I am no longer able to handle customizations myself. For example, I cannot exempt employees from certain taxes that our church is not required to pay. Instead of managing those changes directly, I now have to contact customer service every time and rely on them to make the adjustments.

Cons

A big downside is that there's no way to customize payroll exemptions yourself or override reminder notices. Our accountant handles all of our payroll reporting but QuickBooks won't let us mark those tasks as completed unless they were done through their own system. To get those reminders off my Home Screen, I have to call support and ask them to archive them since they cannot even mark them complete either. I am paying QuickBooks to provide software, not to act as my accountant so it's frustrating to feel like they're imposing restrictions on how I use the system.

“time-saving invoicing anywhere”

Pros

Being able to create and send invoices from both the QuickBooks browser version and the mobile app saves me a lot of time and that makes a huge difference in my day-to-day work.

Cons

The mobile app does need some improvement because it can freeze up from time to time.

“payroll made simple”

Pros

Running payroll with this is very easy, almost like a payroll-for-beginners version that takes the stress out of the process. It's simple enough that just about anyone could use it for their company without much trouble.

Cons

I really don't have any complaints at this point. I am a big Intuit fan and already rely on them for all of my payroll needs.