With over 200 responses so far, the trendlines are becoming clear.
[This post was updated July 31, 2008, to include new verbatim responses.]
Get the CPA Trendlines Payroll Study 2008: Join the survey; get the results.
Roughly 46% of CPAs are “very satisfied” or “completely satisfied” with their payroll system. But a significant number are not so happy, including 8% who are “not very satisfied.”
Even if they’re relatively happy with their payroll system, most CPAs (62%) could be looking for a new solution in the next 18 months.
Web-based systems are emerging as an increasingly popular option, now garnering overwhelming acceptance. Some 32% would be “totally comfortable” doing payroll online.
Got payroll? Who ya gonna call? The answer is local firms, with 83% of CPAs saying the payroll future belongs to local firms. If, that is, they want it.
What do you think? Please join the survey and get the results or just leave a comment.
Here’s sampling of the comments collected so far in the survey, to the question:
If you could wave a magic wand and change just one thing about your current payroll system, what would it be?
The responses:
- Better integration with General Ledger
- More payroll Clients
- ease of timeclock data into payroll system…
- Make it easier to offer direct deposit (initiate ACH trx’s)
- Ad hoc reporting
- ease of transferability
- That the Feds would come up with a universal way for everyone to file all payroll reports online
- Generating Report
- cost
- much better customer support. the firm handling ours does not understand the needs of employees who have had an error in their checks
- Find the right employee to manage the service
- Making it easier for payees to access the information about their earnings
- simpler to use
- Eliminate Intuit charges for direct deposit
- Better interface for paperless tax payments and filings for state compliance.
- Move to real time processing of transactions and away from batch processing so that I have real time costs analysis
- Allocation of salaries/wages across departments
- Better knowledge of payroll tax changes.
- Have access to HR info
- Easier set up of required payments.
- That it works like it is supposed to and when we call for tech support NOT to get, “no one else has that problem.”
- More effective report generation and data download
- Add service bureau software capabilities
- Go from manual to web-based.
- manual entry
- flexibility in report writing
- ease of use; profitability
- lower cost
- Have a complete systtem that in completely within our general ledger system
- reporting flexibility
- Improved customer service
- Get rid of it!!!
- Make it easier to use
- Make it better and easier to use, accumulate data
- making it user friendly
- I would like a dynamic software product that would keep up with changes and handle the complex local taxes in Ohio.
- Flexibility
- Focal point customer service. No gambling by calling 800#.
- More flexibility in handling garnishments
- Improve ease of extracting payroll information reports.
- HR Manager – she is a pain
