Paylocity – WebPay

From the September 2009 Review of Professional
Payroll Programs

Paylocity
offers a collection of online programs and services for payroll, payroll tax
compliance, human resources, and time and labor tracking. The web-based Paylocity
WebPay system is geared both toward small to mid-sized business users and professionals
providing services to multiple clients. The system can be used to process payrolls
for businesses with any number of employees assigned across multiple departments,
and supports all states and multi-state employees. Direct deposit, e-filing
and electronic payments are included with the program, along with human resources
functions that enable management of benefits and retirement plans, and tracking
of EEO information, rate histories, application management and other data. Pricing
is based on payroll frequency, number of employees, and the products/services
selected, starting at $45 per business per month for simple needs.

DATA ENTRY & KEY FEATURES:
After logging in, the primary interface for users managing multiple employers
is a selection list that offers basic sort and filter options. When working
within a specific client, the interface doubles as a company intranet (a feature
more useful if the system is being used in-house) by providing employees with
company news, access to benefits information, a handbook, mission statements,
a company directory and other information. From this main screen, depending
upon access rights, users can select from key business management functions
from a left-side menu that houses options for Employees, Payroll, Company, Applicant,
Tax/Finance, Reports, Tools and Notifications.

When setting up business information and employees,
users can create system defaults that help streamline both setup tasks and payroll
runs by automatically populating certain fields. Employees can be hourly, salaried,
tipped or commissioned, with the ability to assign multiple rates and other
factors, including shift differentials, overtime, double overtime, bonuses,
mileage reimbursement, per diems and advances. Employee information screens
provide a tabbed view of personal information, work information, payroll setup,
history, time off and custom data tracking, each with additional options within
these areas. Payroll setup, for instance, offers access to setting employee
pay rates, viewing rate histories, editing their tax and earnings information,
allocating labor, setting reminders, managing direct deposit accounts or applying
deductions. Paylocity WebPay allows any number of deductions to be set up at
the company level, then selected and modified at the employee level. These can
include standard items such as pre-tax insurance and retirement accounts, or
post-tax items such as union dues, garnishments, loan repayments and uniform
charges.

To run payrolls with WebPay, users simply select the
batch they want to process or click the payroll entry link to create a new one.
Employee time data entry and review is performed using a multi-employee spreadsheet
view that self-populates hours if the option is turned on, and offers selection
lists for items such as department, job codes and other entry fields. Data-entry
tasks are fluid and intuitive, with the program offering topical Help related
to the task the user is performing. Client-side access to the system is standard,
and employers can also opt to allow employees to use self-service portals for
viewing historical check stubs and W-2s, and also for making HR requests for
time off and other issues. In addition to its payroll and HR functions, WebPay
includes an audit trail, check reconciliation functions and tax liability management
features.

REPORTING CAPABILITIES:
Paylocity WebPay includes a strong reporting utility that includes more than
100 traditional earnings, wages, deductions, benefits, departmental costing,
payroll summaries and other output, all of which can be customized using the
program’s report writer or by exporting them into Excel format for further
data manipulation. The program offers e-filing and electronic payment to most
taxing entities that allow it, but can also generate all federal and state payroll
tax and employment reports and forms. Reports and forms can also be output into
PDF, HTML, XML and image formats. 5

INTEGRATION/IMPORT & EXPORT:
A built-in GL interface allows integration between WebPay and QuickBooks, MAS
90/200, Peachtree, Dynamics GP and various other accounting applications. The
program can also import data from most time clock systems, and can share data
with 401K, insurance, time management and healthcare applications. Paylocity
offers some of these benefits programs, as well.

RELATIVE VALUE:
WebPay provides a comprehensive online payroll management and human resources
application that includes virtually every option a business needs, including
multi-state capabilities, direct deposit, benefits management, electronic compliance
and employee portals. The system also provides good security controls and an
audit trail, along with a GL interface for transferring data to most small business
accounting programs. The system is geared more toward direct use by businesses,
but also offers a multi-client management console that enables professionals
to service multiple businesses.

2009 Overall Rating: