Patriot Payroll Review

Pros

• Inexpensive
• Easy to use
• Excellent customer service
• Excellent payroll tax support

Cons

• Limited functionality for advanced users
• Extra charge for timekeeping and HR

What Is Patriot Payroll?

Patriot Payroll is a full-service payroll solution with direct deposit, check-printing, tax support, multistate payroll, unlimited payroll runs, employee management, strong reporting, and much more. Patriot Payroll is an affordable, cloud-based software best suited for small businesses with up to 500 employees that plan on staying small or don’t need robust human capital management.

While it has some limited functionality, especially in human resources and reporting, Patriot Payroll integrates with Patriot Software’s Time & Attendance, HR, and accounting solutions to create an all-in-one business software solution.

When you choose Patriot Payroll, you don’t get a ton of bells and whistles of similar, more complex programs like Gusto or QuickBooks, but you do get a reliable payroll and HR suite with all the basic features needed to manage and pay your employees.

Patriot Payroll Pricing

Patriot Payroll offers pricing that is consistently below the average payroll software pricing. The software only lost points for its limited plan flexibility. A discounted annual plan may have provided even more savings for customers.

Patriot Payroll’s pricing starts at $17/month +$4/month per person. You’ll get clear pricing, no setup fees or hidden charges, a free 30-day trial, and a free self-guided demo of the program. While it isn’t an entirely free payroll software solution, its pricing makes it one of the cheapest payroll options available.

Here’s a look at Patriot Payroll’s pricing plans:

The key difference between Patriot’s Basic Payroll and Full Service Payroll options is tax filing. If you don’t want to file your payroll taxes yourself and you’d rather outsource that aspect, then skip down to the Full Service product.

Basic Payroll

Patriot Payroll’s Basic Payroll includes:

• Free payroll set up
• Secure employee portal
• Unlimited payroll runs on all pay frequencies
• Customizable hours/deductions
• Mobile-friendly (no app required)
• Time-tracking integration
• HR integration
• Electronic or printable W-2s
• Pay contractors
• Two- or four-day direct deposit
• Multistate payroll processing
• PTO accruals
• Optional 1099 e-filing (extra fees)

Full Service Payroll

Patriot Payroll’s Full Service Payroll plan includes everything in the Basic Payroll plan, plus:

• Tax filing and reporting services (federal, state, local, and payroll taxes)
• Tax filing accuracy guaranteed

Extra Patriot Payroll Costs & Fees

Patriot Payroll is a notably inexpensive payroll software option. However, for businesses that want to extend the software’s functionality, add-on services and features, such as time tracking, accounting, multistate payroll tax filing, and HR, will drive costs up (but not by too much).

Outside of functionality boosts, Patriot Payroll charges extra for premium customer support options and post-run payroll corrections. However, these fees are usually experienced as one-offs and rarely encountered.

Is Patriot Payroll Easy To Use?

Patriot Payroll is very easy to use on a daily basis, and offers an interactive demo option for those who want to take the software for a test run. However, its rating in this category was significantly impacted by the software’s lack of third-party integration options and manual onboarding processes.

Although third-party integrations are lacking, Patriot’s cloud-based software offers seamless integration with other Patriot products, including Patriot Accounting, Patriot Time, and Patriot HR. These integrations make Patriot a solid competitor with the industry standard, QuickBooks.

The interface is clean and modern, not cluttered, and easy to navigate. The goal of Patriot Payroll is to create an easy process that anyone can command, and user reviews state that it has accomplished this goal.

Patriot Payroll Features

Patriot Payroll covers the payroll essentials.

While there is a lack of time off request management, tax form mail delivery service options, advanced hiring tools, benefits administration, and niche features, the software still offers everything you need to run payroll for your business. When combined with Patriot’s Time & Attendance and HR software service add-ons, Patriot Payroll becomes a solid contender in the small business payroll and HR software space.

Mid-sized businesses or companies with accountants or bookkeepers with program preferences might find the features limited. But for bookkeepers/accountants looking for simple software to teach their clients, Patriot is a great option.

Patriot Payroll Home Dashboard

Drill down into Patriot’s specific payroll features below.

Payroll Processing

Once your employees are enrolled, their hours and pay scales set, and your pay dates set, running payroll is simple. Patriot Payroll’s payroll processing features include:

• Unlimited payroll runs
• Support for employees and contractors
• Direct deposit and paper check printing
• Edit hours and currency
• Custom deductions (no remittance)
• Garnishments (no remittance)
• Supports multiple pay rates and schedules
• Workers’ compensation integration
• Two- or four-day direct deposit
• Free payroll setup
• Multistate payroll
• Time off accrual
• Patriot Time & Attendance integration
• Patriot HR integration
• Department costing

Patriot Payroll Run Payroll Dashboard

Employee Management & PTO

Patriot Payroll has a few features to help you manage your employees and contractors from a single interface. You can add information to an employee’s file, including job title, payment information, time off, tax documents, and benefits.

Here’s a look at Patriot Payroll’s other employee management and PTO features:

• Set and manage PTO policies
• Set sick and vacation days
• Employee self-service portal
• Downloadable employee pay stubs and tax forms
• New hire onboarding support
• Employee lists
• Contractor lists

Patriot Payroll Employee List

Time Tracking

Through Patriot’s Time & Attendance add-on service, businesses can easily manage and track employee and contractor time. The solution integrates with Patriot Payroll for a comprehensive overview of your employee and contractor time.

Patriot’s Time & Attendance software features include:

• PTO accrual
• Overtime law compliance support
• Send notifications to submit timecards
• Batch approvals
• Set custom overtime rules
• Online employee clock-in/out portal
• Support for manual time entry
• Support for time punches

Patriot Payroll Timecard Dashboard

Payroll Tax Support

Patriot Payroll offers two levels of tax support: Basic and Full Service. Full Service Payroll offers full tax support and tax filing on behalf of their clients, while Basic Payroll customers will have to handle payroll taxes on their own.

Here’s a look at the payroll tax support features you can expect from Patriot Payroll:

• Optional 1099 filing (add-on fees for Basic Payroll customers)
• Print or download W-2 forms
• Net-to-gross payroll tool
• Collection and filing of state workers’ compensation insurance for businesses based in Wyoming or Washington
• File and deposit federal, state, and local payroll taxes (Full Service only)
• Submit Forms 940, 941, W-2, and W-3s (Full Service only)
• Tax filing accuracy guarantee (Full Service only)

Patriot Payroll Tax Overview

Reporting

Patriot’s reporting section has all the necessary reporting features for basic payroll, plus accounting and HR reports, depending on your service package. There aren’t many customization options for reports, so businesses with certain reporting needs might find the options lacking.

Patriot Payroll’s reporting features include:

• Eight built-in payroll reports
• 50 total reports spanning accounting, payroll, time, HR, and 1099 contractors
• Basic report customization

Patriot Payroll Reports Home Dashboard

HR & Onboarding

Patriot’s HR and onboarding features are offered as add-on HR software services. The HR and onboarding features aren’t as robust as other payroll software solutions but offer all the basics.

Here’s a look at Patriot Payroll’s HR and onboarding features:

• Digital document storage
• Designate managers and their direct reports
• View and manage employee information
• Advanced HR reports
• New hire reporting

Patriot Payroll Employee Documents Manager

Benefits Administration

Patriot Payroll does not offer benefits administration services beyond allowing users to track employee contributions to retirement accounts via its reporting system. Patriot does offer a free integration with Next Insurance which provides pay-as-you-go workers’ compensation insurance, and has partnered with Vestwell to offer retirement plan options.

Patriot Customer Service

Patriot Payroll offers free payroll setup, phone and live chat support on Mondays-Fridays from 9 AM-7 PM EST, webinars, and more.

A quick call to Patriot’s customer service line got my questions about the product answered without any fuss, and reviews suggest that Patriot Payroll’s solid customer service is the norm.

For the price and what it offers, Patriot is easily the best choice for small business owners who want something simple and someone available to help troubleshoot issues within the program.

Patriot Payroll Software Reviews

Customer reviews are overwhelmingly positive, with users appreciating the software’s ease of use and feature set.

When users have migrated from other products (namely: QuickBooks, Gusto, ADP, and Paychex), they express an easy transition that saves them money and headaches.

The software received an average 4.7/5 star rating spanning thousands of reviews. While the complaints are few, some negative experiences include frustration at the lack of features and reporting options.

Negative Patriot Payroll Reviews & Complaints

• Limited features
• Limited integrations

Positive Patriot Payroll Reviews

• Super easy to use
• Value for the money
• Top-notch customer service

Patriot Software Integrations

Patriot Payroll does not have many third-party integrations and lacks an API. Currently, Patriot Payroll integrates with QuickBooks Desktop, QuickBooks Online, QuickBooks Time, Vestwell, and Next Insurance.

Patriot encourages businesses to expand functionality through its accounting, HR, and time-tracking add-ons. However, these add-ons will increase your monthly payment.

Security

While Patriot doesn’t take a deep dive into its security features, the software does ensure that customers know that their data is well-protected.

Here’s a look at some of Patriot’s data security practices:

• Data encryption
• Annual security audits
• Adherence to data privacy and security laws

The Final Verdict: Is Patriot Payroll Worth It?

When Patriot says it designed its products with small business owners in mind, it shows. The software is easy to use and offers everything you need to efficiently run payroll.

It’s a little frustrating that time-keeping/attendance and the HR reports are add-ons. However, with that said, even the add-ons are priced affordably.

Patriot Payroll is a great option for anyone looking to switch from software like QuickBooks to try something less expensive and more user-friendly.