Intuit QuickBooks payroll is a nightmare. Don’t ever use it. The service is TERRIBLE!
If you encounter a problem processing payroll–and rest assured, you will–you will have to call its Manila connection, where you will have to endure a 20 minute wait on the phone before talking to someone who cannot assist you. And even if you reach someone in the states, you are forced to jump through hoops to try to get it resolved, if you are fortunate enough to get it resolved.
I found the service AWFUL! And you cannot file a complaint because the customer service representatives refuse to give their last names, and, besides, you have no one to complain to.
My grade for Intuit QuickBooks payroll? F-
About William Brighenti
William Brighenti is a Certified Public Accountant, Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor, and Certified Business Valuation Analyst. Bill began his career in public accounting in 1979. Since then he has worked at various public accounting firms throughout Connecticut. Bill received a Master of Science in Professional Accounting degree from the University of Hartford, after attending the University of Connecticut and Central Connecticut State University for his Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degrees. He subsequently attended Purdue University for doctoral studies in Accounting and Quantitative Methods in Business.
Bill has instructed graduate and undergraduate courses in Accounting, Auditing, and other subjects at the University of Hartford, Central Connecticut State University, Hartford State Technical College, and Purdue University. He also taught GMAT and CPA Exam Review Classes at the Stanley H. Kaplan Educational Center and at Person-Wolinsky, and is certified to teach trade-related subjects at Connecticut Vocational Technical Schools. His articles on tax and accounting have been published in several professional journals throughout the country as well as on several accounting websites. William was born and raised in New Britain, Connecticut, and served on the City's Board of Finance and Taxation as well as its City Plan Commission.
In addition to the blog, Accounting and Taxes Simplified, Bill writes a blog, "The Barefoot Accountant", for the Accounting Web, a Sift Media publication.
Accountants CPA Hartford, LLC
I have been closely following the “debate” about Quickbooks for 20 years (both desktop and “cloud” versions). What I have learned is not pretty. The first (and VERY important) problem is the underlying database. Quickbooks uses a “hybrid” database which is very unreliable. It often fails. To their credit Quickbooks includes a tool for “rebuilding the database”. But that doesn’t always work. Then you are in REAL trouble. When you call Quickbooks for ANY reason there FIRST priority is to sell you something. They will answer most of your questions by saying “you need to upgrade to a newer or more “robust” (read “expensive”) version. Many years ago Intuit stopped developing the underlying code for Quickbooks and ever since then all they do is “fluff it up” every year. They they come up with even MORE ways to FORCE people to upgrade. If you think you are going to pay for the software ONCE and never again…you are misinformed. Now I understand that everyone is just trying to make a living. But the BIG problem with Quickbooks is that it is POORLY DESIGNED. The longer you use it the slower it will be UNLESS you open up a fresh new company every year. And that often involves a lot of data entry for an ongoing company. OK. “So what do I do?” you might ask. If you are a REALLY small business you could start off with “Gnucash” which is a totally FREE accounting program (it really is free…no kidding)which you can download right now for windows, mac and linux. BUT. Gnucash leaves out many, many features so it is not exactly “user friendly”. A better solution is to go to Ebay and get “Peachtree Accounting” (year 2004 through 2012…after that they removed some of the features). You will have to run it on XP or Windows 7 which means it will be offline. That means you will not have some of the features like “downloading your bank statement” or “emailing invoices and receipts”. But you can do those things by having a 2nd computer right next to your accounting machine. That has the very IMPORTANT virtue of isolating your accounting program from ANY AND ALL “updates” and “upgrades” for the operating system or the Peachtree program. Updates and “upgrades are a MAJOR cause of problems in accounting programs (especially Quickbooks). When you get the program you will need to register it with Sage by calling them. If they tell you “it’s too old to register” then hang up and try again later. Eventually you should (no guarantee) get someone who will give you the company number and registration number you will need (in addition to the serial number which will come with it). Do NOT lose the three numbers. I repeat. Do NOT lose the three numbers. Also back up, back up, and back up regularly. You are now all set for a lifetime of free bookkeeping software.