The rock of wages
Sage, arguably the best-known name in desktop accounting,
has found the transition to cloud-based services awkward. However, this
inexpensive web-based service could give its online offerings a kick-start.
Payroll is an easy-to-use payroll processor. Its default window shows a summary
with details of your last pay runs and a countdown-style reminder of when the
next payment records are due.
Versions of the program offer support for between five and
15 employees. For each, you can create and edit employee details, such as tax
information and working pattern.
The main Payroll Summary window on the iPad less you see when the next payroll
summaries are due
Payroll supports both weekly and monthly pay runs. In both
cases, it’s a simple step-by- step process of confirming the pay date, and for
each employee adding absences such as sickness and maternity or paternity leave
(Payroll uses the gender of the employee to automatically offer the correct
option), and other additions or deductions.
We found it inflexible - there’s no ability to create other
forms of absence such as unpaid leave - but it’s simple and clear. For example,
it’s good to see the total employer costs of the pay run, and a small graph of
pay trends that appears at the end of the pay run is a great way to highlight
monthly payment variations that might indicate user error.
As well as monthly runs, you can prepare a year-end return
to submit P14/P35 returns online to Revenue and Customs and print P60
certificates for employees. As with the monthly runs, this is simple, requiring
you to fill in a checklist confirming values and employees and then submitting
directly.
The good news is that as a web service, Payroll works
equally well on Mac and iPad. We couldn’t say the same for the iPhone: the
layout isn’t suitable for such a small screen, with buttons and tabs too
difficult to reliably select.
SageOne
While SageOne Payroll will work as a standalone application,
it’s designed to complement its online accounts offering, SageOne Accounts.
Like Payroll, this tenner- a-month service is aimed at small businesses with
limited accounting experience and has easily of use in its favor. But it’s
nowhere near as feature-rich as its rival FreeAgent (freeagentcentral.com).
At as little as £6 per month - and free until July - Payroll
has cost, ease of use, and an excellent free support option in its favor. That
makes it a compelling option for those with simple payroll needs.
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Details
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Price
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$8/month inc VAT for up to five employees; $15 per month
for up to ten; $23 per month for up to 15; free of charge until 1 July 2012
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From
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SageOne
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Info
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sageone.com
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Needs
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Mac or iOS device with a modern web browser
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Pro
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simple * inexpensive con limited features
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Rates
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4/5
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