Evolution Payroll Review: Advanced Payroll Processing Capabilities Explored

published on 30 January 2024

Handling payroll can be an extremely complex and time-consuming process, especially for growing businesses.

Luckily, Evolution Payroll offers an advanced payroll solution that can automate and optimize the entire payroll process to save you time while ensuring compliance.

In this review, we’ll explore Evolution Payroll’s key capabilities, including configurable pay rules, seamless accounting integrations, robust reporting, and more. You’ll see how Evolution Payroll goes beyond basic payroll to provide the specialized tools and support growing businesses need.

Introduction to Evolution Payroll

Evolution Payroll is an automated payroll processing and tax filing service that aims to save businesses time and money when managing payroll. With features like easy integration with popular accounting software, mobile access, and advanced analytics, Evolution Payroll targets growing companies looking to optimize efficiency.

Overview of Evolution Payroll

Evolution Payroll provides a suite of capabilities to completely automate payroll processing, tax payments, filings, and more. Key features include:

  • Automated payroll runs configured based on pay schedule
  • Direct deposit setup for employee payroll
  • Automated federal, state, and local tax filing and payments
  • Integration with accounting software like QuickBooks and Xero
  • Mobile app for access and approvals on-the-go
  • Advanced reporting and analytics for data-driven insights

By handling all payroll activities through Evolution Payroll, HR departments can eliminate manual processes and focus on more strategic tasks.

Key Benefits

The main benefits of using Evolution Payroll include:

  • Time savings from automatic handling of payroll runs, tax filings, reporting, and more
  • Cost reduction since automating processes is more affordable than manual payroll
  • Improved compliance through automated tax calculations and filings
  • Increased efficiency and productivity by eliminating repetitive administrative tasks
  • Valuable insights with real-time analytics and reporting for data-driven decisions

Ideal Customer Profile

Evolution Payroll is designed for growing organizations with complex payroll and HR needs, especially those that:

  • Have over 50+ employees
  • Manage payroll across multiple states
  • Have remote employees
  • Use independent contractors
  • Want analytics to identify cost-savings opportunities

For these businesses, Evolution Payroll can optimize efficiency, compliance, and reporting while enabling strategic HR growth.

Core Payroll Processing Features

Evolution Payroll offers robust core payroll processing capabilities to handle complex pay rules and calculations for businesses.

Configurable Pay Rules Engine

The software includes a flexible pay rules engine that supports setting up customized pay types, pay frequencies, reimbursements, bonuses, commissions, and more. Users can configure complex earnings and deductions rules to automatically calculate regular and supplemental pay. This eliminates the need for manual calculations and ensures accuracy.

Key features include:

  • Support for an unlimited number of earnings and deductions pay rules
  • Options for flat amount or percentage-based pay rules
  • Ability to set up tiered bonus structures based on performance goals
  • Commissions tracking with accruals and true-ups
  • Reimbursements for expenses like travel, cell phone, etc.

With the built-in pay rules engine, Evolution Payroll can handle even the most complex payroll needs.

Automated Tax Calculations

Evolution Payroll fully automates federal, state, and local payroll tax calculations each pay period. As tax rates and regulations change, the software is continually updated to remain compliant and accurate.

Key features include:

  • Automatic federal income tax withholding calculations
  • State income tax withholding for all 50 states
  • Support for 20,000+ local tax jurisdictions
  • Tax table updates released as laws and rates change
  • Built-in tax penalties safeguards

This eliminates the need to manually update tax rates or tables regularly. The system stays up-to-date on the latest regulations to guarantee proper tax calculations.

Built-In Compliance

Evolution Payroll is designed to keep employers compliant as regulations change around year-end tax documents, ACA reporting, and more.

Features include:

  • Easy creation, e-filing and printing for W-2 and 1099 forms
  • ACA measurement, tracking, and 1094/1095 reporting
  • On-demand audit reports for DOL, IRS, unemployment agencies
  • Automated garnishment processing and reporting

Staying on top of evolving compliance demands can be challenging. With Evolution Payroll's built-in compliance tools, users can reduce risk and avoid penalties for non-compliance.

Payment Distribution Capabilities

Evolution Payroll offers robust payment distribution capabilities to meet the needs of diverse workforces. With multiple payout options, companies can pay employees however best suits them.

Direct Deposit

Seamless direct deposit enables companies to deposit funds directly into employee bank accounts. This allows fast, no-fee payouts in a secure digital format. Employees get access to wages quickly without trips to the bank.

Direct deposit removes mailing and handling costs, saving companies money over printed checks. It also provides visibility into payments, with confirmation when deposits hit employee accounts.

Physical Checks

For employees without bank accounts, Evolution Payroll can print and mail paper checks. This ensures all staff get paid, regardless of banking status.

Checks contain check stubs detailing hours, wages, deductions, and more. Though mailing costs more than direct deposit, it bridges the gap for unbanked employees.

Pay Cards

In between bank accounts and checks lie pay cards. These reloadable debit cards allow wages delivery without a formal bank account. Employees can use cards to make purchases and withdraw cash.

Companies save on mailing fees since pay cards get administered digitally. Employees without bank accounts can avoid check cashing fees by using pay cards instead. This makes pay cards an attractive middle ground option.

Time & Attendance Integration

Evolution Payroll integrates with various time tracking apps and devices to easily transfer employee hours into the payroll system. This eliminates the need for manual data entry, saving time and reducing errors.

Time Tracking Apps

You can connect popular time tracking apps like TSheets, TimeStation, and Homebase to automatically pull employee hours into Evolution Payroll each pay period. The integration maps the data so it flows directly into the appropriate fields.

Benefits include:

  • Eliminates duplicate data entry and risk of manual errors
  • Saves administrative time tracking and transferring data
  • Provides oversight into employee hours with reporting
  • Works with many leading time tracking apps

To set up the integration, simply connect your Evolution Payroll and time tracking accounts. There is no coding required.

Geofencing & GPS

Evolution Payroll also offers integration with geofencing and GPS based time clocks like GeoForce. This uses phone GPS or wifi networks to track when employees clock in and out based on location.

Key features include:

  • Employees clock in/out by arriving at or leaving job sites
  • No need to remember to open an app and track time
  • Location tracking provides oversight over employee activities
  • Data flows automatically into payroll each period

Using geofencing simplifies compliance with job costing and prevailing wage requirements. Managers have transparency into employee location data.

Schedule Syncing

For businesses that use scheduling platforms like Homebase, HotSchedules, or Deputy, Evolution Payroll enables two-way syncing between the schedule and payroll.

Benefits of syncing schedules include:

  • Scheduled hours flow into payroll to calculate pay
  • Last minute schedule changes are captured
  • Employees can view schedules in real-time
  • Managers save time on administrative tasks

Syncing scheduling and payroll eliminates redundancies and provides greater oversight into labor data. This helps optimize staffing to control costs.

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Real-Time Reporting & Analytics

Real-time reporting and analytics provide businesses with valuable insights into their payroll data. This enables data-driven decision making to optimize labor costs and productivity.

Custom Reports

Custom reports allow users to filter payroll data by date range, department, location, job, and other parameters. Businesses can build reports tailored to their specific needs and questions. For example, a retailer may want to analyze the labor costs for each department over the holiday season. Key benefits include:

  • Analyze payroll expenses by any dimension like department, job, project, etc.
  • Identify trends overtime to guide budgeting and forecasting
  • Data exports to use payroll insights across other systems

Labor Cost Analysis

Understanding where payroll dollars are going is key for businesses to control expenses. Detailed labor cost analysis provides visibility into how much is spent on:

  • Employee wages and salaries
  • Overtime
  • Payroll taxes
  • Benefits like health insurance

This enables businesses to benchmark expenses and make adjustments to align with budgets or strategic priorities.

Overtime Tracking

Overtime can be a major yet hard to manage expense. Robust overtime tracking provides insights such as:

  • Which employees accumulate the most overtime
  • Overtime costs by department
  • Trends in overtime usage over the year

Armed with this data, managers can identify problem areas and adjust schedules or staffing to better control overtime spending. This leads to notable cost savings over time.

Accounting Software Integrations

Seamlessly connect payroll data with popular accounting platforms.

QuickBooks Integration

The Evolution Payroll software offers seamless integration with both QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Desktop editions. This allows automatic syncing of payroll data between the two systems, eliminating the need for manual data entry and reducing the chance of errors.

Specifically, the integration enables:

  • Automatic transfer of payroll data like paychecks, liabilities, and expenses into QuickBooks after each payroll run
  • Easy mapping of payroll accounts in Evolution to accounts in QuickBooks
  • Ability to view payroll reports and tax forms directly within QuickBooks

The integration works bi-directionally, so any changes made to employee records or payroll items in Evolution will flow through to QuickBooks as well. Everything stays in sync automatically without any manual exporting or importing of data required.

Xero Integration

For businesses using Xero for accounting, Evolution Payroll delivers a bi-directional connector to share data between the two platforms. This removes duplicate data entry and keeps both systems up-to-date in real-time.

Key features of the Xero integration include:

  • Automated transfer of payroll data after each pay run, including paycheck amounts, tax payments, deductions, reimbursements, etc.
  • Mapping of accounts between Evolution Payroll and Xero
  • Access to payroll reports and tax forms directly in Xero for simplified reporting
  • Ability to view employee payroll information like pay history within Xero

As with QuickBooks, any updates made to payroll records in Evolution will automatically flow through to Xero to keep everything synchronized. This saves significant time and eliminates potential errors from manual data transfers.

Sage Intacct Integration

For larger enterprises using Sage Intacct software, Evolution Payroll offers a specialized connector to integrate payroll data. This enables the automatic flow of relevant payroll information into Sage Intacct for reporting and analysis purposes.

The integration provides:

  • Seamless transfers of paycheck data, tax liabilities, expenses, and other payroll transactions into Sage Intacct
  • Easy mapping of accounts between the two systems
  • Consolidated reporting with access to payroll reports directly within Sage Intacct

Keeping payroll and accounting data connected through Sage Intacct eliminates time-consuming manual processes while ensuring accuracy and consistency of information across both systems.

Customization for Specialized Needs

Adapt and scale Evolution Payroll to match complex or niche requirements.

Rule Configuration Tools

Evolution Payroll offers user-friendly rule configuration tools that empower businesses to build customized pay rules tailored to their unique needs. Instead of being limited by rigid off-the-shelf solutions, you can use the intuitive drag-and-drop interface to define specialized calculations, deductions, reimbursements, and more.

Whether you operate in a niche industry like entertainment, construction, or healthcare, or simply have specific rules around overtime, bonuses, or commissions, Evolution Payroll provides the flexibility to model complex pay structures. You can create an unlimited number of custom rulesets and assign them to appropriate employee groups. As your business evolves, rules can be easily amended without starting over.

With customizable pay components and calculation logic, Evolution Payroll removes the barriers to supporting specialized payroll requirements. You gain finer control over how pay is processed to suit your exact specifications.

API & SDK

For advanced customization and integration capabilities, Evolution Payroll offers a full-featured API and software development kit (SDK). This allows technical teams to programmatically interact with the platform to pull data and automate workflows.

Common API/SDK use cases include:

  • Building custom interfaces or experiences in other apps
  • Importing data from other systems like HRIS or timekeeping
  • Automating payroll tasks like submitting timecards or updating employee profiles
  • Integrating payroll with other business processes
  • Analyzing payroll data using business intelligence tools

The RESTful API provides access to all areas of Evolution Payroll using predictable URLs and standard HTTP requests. Detailed documentation makes integration straightforward even for non-developers. The SDK includes client libraries for popular programming languages like JavaScript and Python for faster, easier integration.

With an extensible open API and SDK, the custom integration possibilities are endless. Evolution Payroll provides the hooks you need to weave payroll into your existing tech stack.

Add-Ons Marketplace

To supplement the built-in customization tools, Evolution Payroll offers an Add-Ons Marketplace with over 250+ specialized third-party integrations. You can browse or search the marketplace to find add-ons that provide niche functionality like:

  • Industry-specific payroll features
  • Advanced reporting and analytics
  • Employee rewards and incentives
  • Applicant tracking systems
  • Shift scheduling
  • Time and attendance tracking
  • And much more

Add-ons integrate seamlessly with one-click installation. All marketplace solutions meet Evolution Payroll's strict quality standards for security and reliability.

With the Add-Ons Marketplace, you can instantly expand system capabilities to support nearly any unique payroll need. The extensive catalog provides an efficient way to plug gaps without investing development resources.

Expert Support Resources

Evolution Payroll provides exceptional support channels for a smooth payroll processing experience. Their dedicated team is available to offer guidance, answer questions, and ensure customers get the most out of the platform.

Dedicated Account Reps

Every Evolution Payroll customer is assigned an account representative who serves as the main point of contact for support. These knowledgeable reps can walk users through setup, configuration, reporting, and any other aspects of the system. They provide personalized one-on-one guidance tailored to each company's specific needs and use cases.

Having a dedicated rep eliminates hassles and speeds up issue resolution compared to generic support. Reps develop familiarity with each customer's account details, requirements, and challenges over time through ongoing communication. This enables them to provide more relevant recommendations and proactively head off potential problems.

24/7 Phone & Chat

In addition to account reps, Evolution Payroll offers 24/7 phone and live chat support. Users can get quick answers to common questions or urgent issues any time of day or night. Whether needing help running payroll, fixing an error, understanding a report, or troubleshooting problems, agents are available around the clock.

Chat and phone support provide an instant channel to get simple payroll clarifications or temporary workarounds when account reps are unavailable. This ensures minimal downtime or blocks for customers even outside normal business hours.

Proactive Outreach

Staying on top of payroll changes, meeting compliance requirements, and optimizing system usage over time can be challenging. To help, Evolution Payroll has a proactive outreach program where reps periodically check in with customers directly.

They may highlight new features that could provide value based on the customer's configuration and needs. Or notify them of recent regulatory updates applicable to their location and industry that could impact payroll workflows. This takes the burden off customers to stay on top of every minor system change or tax code tweak.

Proactive outreach prevents customers from missing out on key platform enhancements, falling out of compliance, or failing to capitalize on certain capabilities. It helps them continuously improve and evolve payroll processing alongside regulatory and system changes over time.

Conclusion & Next Steps

Key Takeaways

Vintti provides a streamlined solution for businesses seeking specialized accounting talent. By leveraging their extensive network and expertise, key benefits include:

  • Cost Savings: Reduce recruitment costs by up to 50%
  • Quality Candidates: Access pre-vetted, expert accounting professionals
  • Simplified Process: Vintti manages everything from sourcing to on-boarding
  • Reliability: Dependable support from an established industry leader

Sign-Up Process

Getting started with Vintti is straightforward:

  1. Visit vintti.com and click "Get Started"
  2. Provide details on your hiring needs and candidate requirements
  3. Get matched with qualified candidates within 5 business days
  4. Interview your shortlist of applicants over video call
  5. Extend an offer to your selected candidate

Implementation Timeline

Once you've extended an offer, Vintti will handle the rest. Expect:

  • 1 Week: Candidate accepts offer
  • 2 Weeks: On-boarding and training completed
  • 3 Weeks: Candidate begins working seamlessly as your full-time remote accountant

With Vintti's expertise, you can have a specialized accounting professional integrated into your team in less than a month.

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