QuickBooks Payroll vs Aurion

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Our analysts compared QuickBooks Payroll vs Aurion based on data from our 400+ point analysis of Payroll Software, user reviews and our own crowdsourced data from our free software selection platform.

Product Basics

Quickbooks is an Intuit payroll and accounting solution designed to meet the needs of both small and medium-sized, growing businesses. There are a variety of plans, starting with small packages built for independent contractors and self-employed individuals. It handles payment, calculating and filing taxes, benefits management, direct deposits and more.

The variety of products and packages enables users to find a solution that fits a company’s unique needs. Quickbooks offers specialized features for organizations in a variety of fields, including manufacturing and retail. Overall, it serves 1.4 million businesses.
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Aurion is a cloud-based HRIS platform for compensation management, time tracking and employee operations. It offers HTML5 elements and a 24-hour self-service portal on any device. All management solutions are ISO certified and STP compliant. It accommodates small and large businesses and bases pricing on company requirements and number of employees.
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Product Insights

  • Save Time: Connects with bank accounts and syncs with various apps to help streamline payroll processing. Saves users more than 40 hours monthly on average and spares them from tedious manual data entry.
  • Save Money: Saves the average users more than $3,500 annually through its assistance with tax filing and other processes.
  • Easy-to-Use: Provides a simple interface so HR managers and others can store and access relevant accounting information easily. Centralizes and organizes data, making it simple to access.
  • Simplified Administration: Manages benefits, payments, time tracking, workers’ compensation, inventory, compliance and other essential business functions from one location. Simplifies processes and handles all of them through one solution.
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  • Streamlined Operations: Hire faster and increase employee engagement by collecting employee data for performance career management. Save time during the workday by automating workflows and approval processes. 
  • Better Tailored Solutions: Meet the needs of any department by choosing between outsourced or in-house software management. Make informed finance management choices with expert advice and personalized services from legislation experts. 
  • Heightened Security: Secure the user experience under industry-leading security accreditation. Protect vulnerable data with multiple forms of verification. 
  • End-to-End Employee Support: Increase employee productivity and streamline record keeping in a centralized dashboard. Increase employee satisfaction with faster compensation and personnel processing. 
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  • Payroll Processing: Operate 24-hour direct deposit. Pay employees, access integration services for employees, calculate taxes automatically and file taxes directly through the system. Automate payments to save time.
  • Benefits Management: Administrate workers’ compensation, health insurance, retirement plans and more. Covers workers’ compensation through AP Intego. Offers medical, dental and vision insurance through SimplyInsured. Compare different plans to judge the coverage, value and deductibles and make informed decisions. Calculates deductions for health, medical and dental automatically. Deducts and calculates contributions for 401(k)s from each employee paycheck.
  • Mobile Capabilities: Create, track and send invoices via smartphone as well as payment reminders.
  • Workers’ Compensation: Manage workers’ comp, understand state requirements and laws and pick a policy through AP Intego. Provides a free quote and automates premiums.
  • Inventory: Import information from Excel and sync with Amazon, Etsy and other similar websites to track products, cost of goods, create purchase orders and manage vendors.
  • HR Management and Compliance: Provides HR resources and consultation to help with compliance through Mammoth Inc. Creates forms from templates for onboarding checklists, employee handbooks and job descriptions. Aids in creating policies, obeying HR laws, hiring and conflict management.
  • Time Tracking: Track and add billable hours to invoices. Review and put a stamp of approval on employee timesheets. Provides tracking through TSheets. Link hours to specific jobs, save time during payment processing and see real-time insights into employee work hours. Approve and enter employee time cards.
  • Reporting: Run and export a variety of reports. Create customizable reports for balance sheets, expenses and tracking profit and loss. Create, export, print and customize reports to share with accountants or critical stakeholders. Covers deductions, tax liability, contributions, more than one worksite, summary for taxes and wages, vacation, workers’ compensation and sick leave.
  • Taxes: Helps users find tax deductions. Store photos of receipts, share books with accountants and sort business expenses by tax categories to help streamline tax filing.
  • Penalty Payments: Covers payments of up to $25,000 if errors in local, state or federal taxes result in a penalty. Communicates with the IRS. Reviews taxes with experts before sending them to the IRS to cut off issues before they start. Doesn’t cover specific penalties in some situations such as fraud, insufficient funds, healthcare administration, employee classification and several others.
  • Project Tracking: Track project details such as labor costs, expenses and profits.
  • Payroll Plans: Offers three separate plans for payroll needs.
    • Core: Provides core functionality such as payment and calculating payroll taxes.
    • Premium: Covers team management and provides more powerful tools and services for payroll.
    • Elite: Gives access to experts on-demand to answer payroll questions. Gives access to tax penalty protection.
  • Implementation: Aids in transferring current payroll information to the new system. Provides expert support to help users with initial setup and compliance.
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  • Strategic Recruiting: Publish job vacancies, track time taken to fill positions and schedule interviews from one location. Collaborate with new applicants by automating responses to frequently asked questions. View resumes with highlighted performance indicators to make informed hiring decisions. 
  • Compensation Planning: Develop payment plans adjusted for salaried, hourly or commission wages. Accurately disburse superannuation benefits and reduce tax discrepancies by streamlining compliance. 
  • Timekeeping Tracker: Customize timesheets and scale shift availability using the Timekeeper Workbench. Automate timesheet approvals or capture and upload timestamps from swipe cards and other tracking devices. 
  • Career Development: Increase employee engagement by using 360-degree feedback to submit evaluations. Identify skill gaps or assign training using employee advancement tools. Create and monitor individual professional development plans. 
  • Mobile Accessibility: Access a full range of features on any device 24/7. Download pay stubs, apply for leave and view employment information in real time through the mobile app. 
  • Integration: Save time by integrating with existing management systems. Configure timekeeping solutions with external rosters from Time Target or Kronos to adjust employee status. Import employee time and leave data through one-way integrations with Tanda. 
  • Security Standards: Provide secure solutions that are ISO-certified and ASAE accredited. Prevent theft or fraud using effective security controls like code, fingerprint or face ID to sign in to the app. 
  • Expert Guidance: Consult with trained experts who provide data and comprehensive support for compliance, wage and security concerns. 
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Product Ranking

#47

among all
Payroll Software

#85

among all
Payroll Software

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Analyst Rating Summary

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Analyst Ratings for Functional Requirements Customize This Data Customize This Data

QuickBooks Payroll
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Benefits Management Dashboard And Reporting Expense Management Mobile Capabilities Payroll And Tax Management Platform Capabilities Security And Compliance Time And Attendance Management 38 92 74 94 91 75 80 91 0 25 50 75 100
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Analyst Ratings for Technical Requirements Customize This Data Customize This Data

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User Sentiment Summary

Great User Sentiment 626 reviews
Excellent User Sentiment 1 reviews
89%
of users recommend this product

QuickBooks Payroll has a 'great' User Satisfaction Rating of 89% when considering 626 user reviews from 4 recognized software review sites.

100%
of users recommend this product

Aurion has a 'excellent' User Satisfaction Rating of 100% when considering 1 user reviews from 1 recognized software review sites.

4.7 (17)
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4.0 (25)
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4.5 (550)
5.0 (1)
3.5 (34)
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Awards

SelectHub research analysts have evaluated QuickBooks Payroll and concluded it earns best-in-class honors for Mobile Capabilities.

Mobile Capabilities Award

Aurion stands above the rest by achieving an ‘Excellent’ rating as a User Favorite.

User Favorite Award

Synopsis of User Ratings and Reviews

Excellent Functionality: Over 90% of users that discussed functionality were happy with the features, including the tax filing, automation and employee salaries and hours functions.
Simple to Use: Reviewers that talked about the ease of use felt it had a simple and intuitive interface over 80% of the time.
Manage Salary and Hours: More than 80% who discussed the employee time tracking and salary functions felt it worked well.
Affordable: Just under 70% of users who discussed price felt it was an affordable option.
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Streamlined Onboarding: Aurion streamlines the onboarding process for new employees, automating tasks like tax file number declarations and superannuation choices, which reduces paperwork and manual data entry for HR teams.
Automated Award Interpretation: Aurion's built-in award interpretation engine ensures compliance with complex Australian awards and agreements, automatically calculating correct pay rates, allowances, and entitlements, minimizing the risk of errors and underpayments.
Employee Self-Service: The employee self-service portal empowers employees to manage their personal information, leave requests, and payslips, reducing administrative burden on HR staff and providing employees with greater control over their data.
Comprehensive Reporting: Aurion offers a wide range of reporting options, allowing HR and payroll teams to gain insights into workforce costs, leave liabilities, and other key metrics, facilitating informed decision-making.
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Bad for Large Organizations: Over 90% of reviewers that discussed using the system for big organizations felt the system wasn’t complex enough.
Mixed Customer Service: Users were split on customer support quality, with 52% approving and 48% disliking the service.
Issues with Price: While overall, reviewers that discussed price felt it affordable, over 30% were displeased and said they got overcharged or billed after they’d already canceled.
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Limited Customization: Users have expressed frustration with the inflexibility of the platform, particularly when it comes to tailoring the system to their specific needs. For example, setting up unique pay rules or generating custom reports can be cumbersome.
Complex User Interface: Navigating the software can feel overwhelming due to its intricate design and multiple layers. This complexity can make simple tasks time-consuming and lead to user errors.
Integration Challenges: Seamlessly integrating Aurion with other business systems, such as time and attendance or HR platforms, has proven difficult for some users. This lack of smooth integration can create data silos and increase manual workarounds.
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Quickbooks Payroll is part of the Intuit suite of programs. Commenters felt it was easy to use, train and adopt with a simple interface that worked well. They found it affordable and found the integrations of time tracking with employee salaries made running payroll a quick process. Commenters said it was reasonably priced and the features worked well. The most popular functionality included automation, tax calculations and filing, and its ability to centralize and organize data. The largest complaint by far was that this program isn’t complex enough for larger organizations. Reviewers recommended only using it for small organizations. Reactions to customer service were very mixed. Reviewers who were satisfied said the support workers got back to them quickly, were friendly, helpful and called back promptly. Other users had adverse reactions say the staff was incompetent, complaining that there was only chat support and complained of always getting different answers. While most were pleased with the price, some reported getting overcharged and said it was difficult to cancel with charges showing up well after they’d terminated the service. Quickbooks Payroll is a good choice for small and medium-sized businesses. Be sure to understand what functionality comes with which pricing plan before purchasing.

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Is Aurion the real deal, or is it just a flash in the pan? User reviews from the last year paint a somewhat mixed picture. While some users praise Aurion for its robust features and comprehensive reporting capabilities, others find it clunky and difficult to navigate. One recurring theme is that Aurion is a powerful tool, but it comes with a steep learning curve. Users appreciate the software's ability to handle complex payroll scenarios, such as multi-state taxes and union dues, but they also point out that it can be time-consuming to set up and configure. Compared to competitors like ADP and Paychex, Aurion is often perceived as a more customizable solution, but one that requires more technical expertise. This makes it a good fit for larger organizations with dedicated HR and IT staff, but perhaps not the best choice for small businesses looking for a plug-and-play solution. Ultimately, Aurion is a powerful payroll and HR management tool that can deliver significant value, but only if you're willing to invest the time and resources to learn its intricacies.

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Top Alternatives in Payroll Software


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Paychex

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