Patriot Accounting and Payroll review

Patriot is an online solution for handling both accounting and payroll tasks. It’s ideally suited to small business owners thanks in particular to its highly praised support, which can help provide ongoing help and also assist your business in configuring the system to work in the first place. The company itself has been around for over three decades, so it clearly has plenty of experience on both the accounting and payroll fronts. 

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The real bonus with Patriot, however, is that it seems to have retained its original roots feel, with a keenness on providing a great level of customer service and support. Adding to that ongoing appeal is Patriot’s easy-to-use design and a user interface that aims to provide business owners with an affordable accounting solution that’s reasonably stress-free too.

Patriot: Pricing

Patriot continues to offer consistent pricing across its product portfolio, which allows business owners to choose from the package that suits their needs the best. Currently, there are two accounting packages, with Accounting Premium being the most popular choice. This comes with all the features required for tracking business expenses, money and invoices. It currently costs $25 per month. A cheaper alternative is Accounting Basic, which costs $15 per month and lets you keep a less comprehensive record of money going in and out of your business. 

Meanwhile, the payroll side of things features a full service payroll package, which starts at $30 per month, plus $4 per employee/contractor. This package can let you run payroll, while Patriot takes care of payroll taxes. There’s a basic payroll edition too, which effectively does the same job, but you handle both payroll and payroll taxes yourself. This package starts at $10 per month plus $4 per employee/contractor.

Patriot: Features

Despite its value appeal Patriot still comes armed with plenty of features, with some of the key options outlined below. On the accounting front, this is topped by that free expert support, while functionality is extensive too. Features include unlimited payments to vendors, the ability to create and print 1099s and 1096s, optional 1099 e-filing, expense and income tracking, the option to produce unlimited customer invoices, accept credit card payments, record payments, import bank transactions automatically and integrate your accounts with payroll. 

Therefore, the payroll aspect adds another level of value, so if you’re combining the two there’s free expert advice and setup. That's before we get to free direct deposit, the ability to set up an employee portal, workers’ comp integration, unlimited payrolls, the ability to handle all pay frequencies, cover multiple locations, make use of customizable hours, money and deductions alongside integration with other accounting software packages. The whole system is mobile-friendly too, which makes it convenient for people on the go.

Patriot: Performance

Users report that Patriot runs like a dream, which is hardly surprising given that the company has been plying its wares for so long. Given that the service handles a lot of data, particularly when it comes to employee details, Patriot also goes to great pains to remind us that security is its number one priority. Data is encrypted, audited annually and the company also adheres to all federal privacy, anti-fraud and security laws.

Patriot: Ease of use

Setting up any accounting or payroll product for the first time can be daunting, so Patriot gains praise for its ability to get you started and keep things ticking over further down the line. The company has done a great job in making improvements to the usability of the software, especially now that it has implemented a beefy setup wizard that can help new users get up and running faster. 

If you’ve got employees to think about and want to be sure that information input into the system is correct and where it should be then this wizard is a real bonus. Of course, setting things up is always going to be the hardest part of the process due to the need for adding employee data for the first time. However, Patriot has really come up trumps with the latest incarnation of its package.

Patriot: Support

The level of support that comes with the Patriot experience is what seems to drive many of its customers to keep using the online accounting and payroll service. Knowing that you’ve got people who can talk you through the various processes, features and functions is a valuable asset and Patriot consistently secures positive results on this front. 

While it is possible to soldier on and do everything yourself, with the benefit of plenty of online guidance, the support options are plentiful, including free phone, email and chat availability whenever you need them. However, the icing on the cake is having the ability to call on a Patriot expert to get you through any tricky stages, with the opportunity for hands-on, live help proving invaluable.

Patriot: Final verdict

Patriot is an excellent software option for business users searching for a duo of solutions on the accounting and payroll front. The company has had a long time to perfect its formula, and while it continues to make improvements including within the user interface, the core tools inside this package come very recommended. The pricing is competitive, the user experience makes it one of the easiest to understand packages out there and the way it uses support is a real bonus. 

In addition, having team members on hand to smooth the transition into using it makes Patriot very appealing. Overall then, this is an accounting and payroll package that should be investigated, especially if you're looking for the extra benefit of that hands-on, real-time support.

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