PayCycle Plus - Dec/Jan '03

PayCycle Plus

For start-ups or firms with less than 25 employees, payroll can be a challenge. Small firms usually don’t have the benefit of an in-house payroll department, so the job falls on the office manager. Firms experiencing the challenges of beginning a new practice usually don’t have the time or the expertise to process payroll, much less learn a new system. That is when a service like PayCycle Plus comes in handy.

Unlike traditional payroll services, PayCycle is 100 percent online. All you need to process payroll is Internet access. The absence of expensive software or system requirements make PayCycle particularly attractive to new firms with limited funds to spend on computer hardware and software. I would recommend a high-speed Internet connection because processing payroll using a dial-up connection can be time-consuming.

One of PayCycle’s best features is the “To-Do” screen, which appears once you are signed into the system. This screen lists all of the necessary tasks that are to be completed prior to entering payroll information.

Tasks such as choosing a federal tax deposit schedule, entering pay schedules, setting up employee accrual rates for sick and vacation times, and entering deduction expenses will need to be completed prior to running an actual payroll on PayCycle.

The “To-Do” screen is of particular importance if you are a new user, as it guides you through system setup.

Once you click on a particular task, a menu bar on the left side of the screen appears. A payroll menu at the top of the screen provides quick clicking access to your “To-Do” list or “Payday,” which is where all payroll information is entered for each pay period.

Once all of the initial setup work is completed, you can enter employee information. The “Add Employee” screen contains three options. You can enter new employee information; add tax, deduction and pay information; or print new employee forms.

The process of entering new employee information takes a while, as this area is split into several individual data entry screens. After each screen is completed, you must save the information and transmit it to PayCycle for processing before you can go on to the next screen. Consolidating these multiple entry screens down to one or two screens would speed up the entry process considerably.

When you are ready to run a payroll click on “Payday.” Employees who are due to be paid appear on the screen. Each employee has a check mark next to his or her name. If you don’t want to pay a particular employee, simply remove the check mark. Enter hours worked, along with vacation and sick time, if applicable.

Click on “Create a Check,” and check information will appear on the screen. You then have the choice of approving the check, or deleting it and starting over. If you approve the check, PayCycle asks you if you wish to print the check. The catch is that you can only print checks if you have QuickBooks or Microsoft-compatible voucher checks.

Firms that use other accounting software programs are given the option to enter payroll information manually into another software program, or to write the checks by hand. Does anybody write checks by hand anymore? If I’m paying for a payroll service, the last thing I should have to do is write checks by hand.

The developers of PayCycle do suggest employees be paid by direct deposit, which I suspect is to avoid the check printing issue altogether. Granted, most employees do take advantage of direct deposit if it’s offered, but there are always employees who prefer to receive an actual paycheck.
Another problem I have with PayCycle is although it does process all federal and state tax forms, printing, signing and mailing most forms, along with the tax deposit payments are the sole responsibility of the customer. Again, one of the main reasons a firm opts for an outside payroll service is to relinquish the responsibility of handling things such as tax deposits and filings. PayCycle fills out the forms, but if you forget to print them, they don’t get done. And that means a hefty fine.

There are a lot of features that make PayCycle attractive, particularly to a new firm. You can be up and running almost immediately, training is minimal, and the cost is attractive for the budget conscious. PayCycle utilizes an excellent reminder system, and the screens are interactive, with To-Do reminders present on most screens. There also are links to screens that provide valuable information, such as how and when to file tax forms.

PayCycle isn’t suitable for firms that have complex pay needs, including varying pay rates for employees. Each employee has a limit of two different rates that can be used as needed.

The pay type and deduction types are limited, so if you offer a complex benefit structure, PayCycle will not be able to accommodate your needs. But if you are a small firm or a new firm with a limited budget, PayCycle could be invaluable to you and your staff.

PayCycle Inc.
(866) 729-2925
www.paycycle.com

Price: $39.99 per month for up to five users; 99 cents for each additional employee.
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Reviewed by Mary Girsch-Bock, a technical writer and independent software consultant based in Albuquerque, N.M.

Dec/Jan '03 Issue

PROS
PayCycle can be up and running within minutes, and the cost makes it accessible to small companies with limited cash flow.

CONS
Check information can only be exported and printed on QuickBooks-compatible checks, which doesn’t help users of other systems. Tax forms and deposits are handled by the customer, not PayCycle.

VERDICT
I recommend PayCycle, but on a limited basis only. PayCycle is easy to implement, affordable and requires little, if any, training time. However, the system is generic and has significant limitations.