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Whether you’re ready to outsource your business’s payroll for the first time or are thinking of switching providers, it’s important to know how popular providers compare to CSI Accounting & Payroll.
Why? Because CSI may not be the right fit for your payroll needs, and other providers have built names for themselves for a reason. (Plus, we know you’re going to do your research anyway.)
Today, we’re looking at a solution that many of our clients have used in the past: Intuit QuickBooks Payroll. We reference each provider's website and external review sites like Google and Trustpilot. You’ll walk away with a better idea of the right solution for you by comparing:
- Features.
- Reputation.
- Cost.
Summary
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Intuit QuickBooks Payroll |
CSI Accounting & Payroll |
|
Features |
Full payroll suite |
Full payroll suite |
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Reputation & Ratings |
1.1 out of 5 stars (Trustpilot) |
4.9 out of 5 stars (Google) |
|
Cost |
Tiered, often has new client deals |
Pay per feature |
Features
CSI Accounting & Payroll uses a payroll platform called iSolved. When you compare iSolved to Intuit QuickBooks Payroll, the features match all the way down the line.
They both handle the basics and the “nice to have” features:
- Payroll processing.
- Direct deposit.
- Tax calculations and filing.
- PTO tracking.
- Multi-state payroll capabilities.
- Employee self-service portals.
- Mobile access.
- New hire onboarding.
- Payroll reporting.
But this doesn’t say much. The software isn’t really where Intuit QuickBooks Payroll and CSI Accounting & Payroll differ. Once you read the reviews and learn about reputations, you’ll see that most of the differences are in the service.
Reputation
Intuit QuickBooks Payroll's Reputation
Reviews for Intuit QuickBooks Payroll are mixed. Since this is just a SaaS (software as a service), there are no physical locations to tie Google reviews to. That means there’s no Google star rating to reference. However, Trustpilot gives Intuit an overall 1.1 out of 5 stars. Keep in mind, this is an overall rating for Intuit and does not solely reflect on their payroll service.
The positive reviews across message boards like Reddit praise the software features and the seamless integration with Intuit QuickBooks for bookkeeping. It seems that this is the primary reason why small business owners use Intuit QuickBooks Payroll. We’ve heard over and over how much small business owners like it when services are bundled, and in this instance, payroll is an easy add-on service.
The negative reviews say that customer support can take hours of phone queues and transfers. If anything goes wrong, it’s a huge pain to fix. Other negative reviews mention a distaste for how the different tiers of service are set up, locking up certain features that are wanted or needed when the other features in a tier aren’t wanted or needed.
If you already use Intuit for QuickBooks, are handling things well with little support needed, and aren’t concerned about running into errors, then Intuit QuickBooks Payroll is a great option!
CSI Accounting & Payroll's Reputation
Reviews for CSI Accounting & Payroll are largely positive, with our Google listings for our Minnesota and Maryland locations both averaging 4.9 out of 5 stars. We do not have a Trustpilot listing yet.
The positive reviews of our payroll service don’t mention iSolved. They mention the quality of service going “above and beyond,” and they mention their dedicated Payroll Specialists by name because they develop close relationships with them.
We don’t get negative reviews about our payroll service because we’re so focused on accuracy, error resolution, and customer service. We have only a handful of bad reviews, but they all mention our monthly accounting service. This article explains what those reviews have in common.
If your main concern is having direct support when you need it, then CSI Accounting & Payroll is a great option! Read more about CSI’s reviews, testimonials, and reputation here.
Cost
Intuit QuickBooks Payroll's Costs
Intuit offers different tiers of software and service at different price points. This won’t be comparing apples to apples, since Intuit’s pricing also includes access to their bookkeeping software.
This information is published by Intuit and may be subject to change; check it out on this page. At the time of this article being written, the three tiers are as follows:
- Workforce Payroll + Simple Start ($88/mo. + $6.50/employee/mo.). It’s summarized as “Pay your team and get basic accounting tools.”
- Workforce Payroll + Essentials ($125/mo. + $6.50/employee/mo.). It’s summarized as “Pay your team, track billable hours, and pay bills in one place.”
- Workforce Premium + Plus ($203/mo. + $10/employee/mo.). It’s summarized as “Pay your team, get HR & benefits, and track projects or products.”
This is where the concerns about locked-up features arise. You don’t get a customized solution, and even if you need only one feature in a higher tier, you need to pay for all of the other features in that tier, too. For example, the Simple Start and Essentials tiers don’t have time tracking capabilities. If this is a feature you need, then it’s straight to the Plus tier for you!
On a more positive note, Intuit QuickBooks Payroll appears to offer great promotional pricing for new clients for the first few months. At the time this article was written, there was a 50 percent discount for the first three months.
Overall, the cost is low. If you’re comfortable managing most aspects of your bookkeeping and payroll on your own, it could be a great deal for you.
CSI Accounting & Payroll's Costs
We price our payroll service differently. No tiers! We go by the individual features you want and need.
For this reason, we need to talk about our pricing differently. An average month of payroll fees can range from a little under $100 to $500+, and the average payroll client sits at a fee of around $275 per month.
Estimate your investment here:
That can be higher than what Intuit QuickBooks Payroll charges, and remember, the comparison isn’t apples to apples because CSI doesn’t include your bookkeeping software in your investment (unless you’re also a monthly accounting client and let us switch you to Xero.)
So why does CSI’s payroll service generally cost a little bit more than Intuit’s? Because it’s not just a SaaS (software as a service) like Intuit is. It’s an actual service. You have a dedicated Payroll Specialist, and you have their direct phone number and email. You get support every step of the way, giving you total peace of mind.
If that sounds like what you need, you might find the best value with CSI Accounting & Payroll.
Get Hands-on Payroll Support With CSI!
Now that you know about CSI Accounting & Payroll versus Intuit QuickBooks Payroll when it comes to their features, reputation, and cost, are you ready to check out payroll services with CSI?
To see if we can be a good fit for your business, click the button below for a free consultation:
Not ready to talk? That’s okay! First, make sure you’ve remembered to try our Pricing Calculator.
