This report resulted from an investigation by Best Fit Software Consultancy into ABC Building Company’s needs for payroll software. It describes the selection process undertaken and the recommended package.

ABC Building company has specific requirements for its payroll package. They are described in the Systems Requirements section of the report.

Ten payroll packages were examined for this report. Only two packages met the mandatory requirements of the business, INPAYROLL and BUILDPAY.

A detailed comparison of INPAYROLL and BUILDPAY was undertaken. Both packages would meet the needs of the business as both are good quantity software packages. INPAYROLL offers advantages because of its superior user interface, documentation, support for networking and lower cost.

INPAYROLL is the recommended software package.

Best Fit Software Consultancy was approached by ABC Building Company to recommend software for use in computerising the payroll operations in the business. ABC expects an expansion in the number of staff employed by the company and requires a computerised payroll package that facilitates prompt payment of staff. This report sets out the selection process undertaken by our company and recommends a package for use.

Payroll software is required that meets the special requirements of building companies, or which can easily be adapted to the needs of such companies. The payroll processing at ABC Building Company incorporates the following features:

• All staff are paid weekly.
• Timesheets are brought to the office on Wednesday morning and staff must be paid on Thursday.
• Currently, about 40 pays are calculated each week, but a doubling of this number is expected.
• Staff are paid on an hourly rate, and the hourly rate must be stored to four decimal points.
• Overtime is paid at time-and-a-half or double time.
• In addition to amounts paid for hours worked, field staff are eligible for allowances.
• Tax and superannuation contributions are deducted for all employees. No other deductions are made by the company.
• A payroll slip is prepared for each employee showing how the pay is calculated.
• Records are maintained so that monthly and annual reports can be prepared for the Tax Office and the Superannuation Board. These records also allow group certificates to be produced at the end of each year.

The payroll software needs to perform all of these functions and produce reports for managers and information for job-costing purposes.

Following an interview with the Manager of ABC Building Company, we examined the forms and files currently used by the payroll clerk to calculate the weekly pays. This provided a clear understanding of the requirements for the payroll software.

Based on company requirements, an evaluation matrix was prepared to provide a basis for comparing software packages.

Information was then sought from software vendors about payroll packages which could meet company needs. Ten packages were identified and examined to establish whether they met company requirements. Eight packages were then excluded because they did not perform Australian tax calculations, did not cater for the pay rate accuracy required or the range of allowances required by the company.

A detailed comparison was then undertaken of the two remaining packages including a demonstration of both packages.

Ten software packages were identified and reviewed during the selection process. Each of the packages was then examined against the following mandatory criteria:

• Must conform to Australian tax deduction rules
• Hourly pay rates must be stored to four decimal points
• Must cater for a range of allowances
• Must be compatible with Microsoft Windows software.

Eight of the packages did not meet all these criteria, leaving only two packages for detailed consideration.

The INPAYROLL package is produced by Innovative Software, a Queensland-based company which produces a range of software for small business. The payroll software is not designed specifically for building companies. However, over 20 building companies are currently using it.

INPAYROLL will perform all the calculations needed in payroll processing. However, it will not allow the storage details of hours worked on sites. Hence, it cannot easily provide details of salaries paid against jobs, a facility needed in the job-costing system.

It does, however, provide a highly flexible report generation which could, for example, allow for easy analysis of allowances paid to employees. The quality of the documentation is outstanding and the user interface of a high standard. INPAYROLL has been designed to run on IBM-compatible computers, either stand-alone or connected in a local area network. This could be an advantage in that two staff could enter timesheets at the same time. Other people who use the software commented favourably on the technical support provided by a toll-free number.

The BUILDPAY package is produced by Building Software Pty Ltd, a Victorian-based company which specialises in software for the building industry. Over 100 small building companies use this software.

BUILDPAY will perform all the calculations needed in the payroll processing. As it has been specifically designed for the building industry, it is set up to complete all the payroll processing needed in a company like ABC Building Company. For example, allowance codes exist for all allowances used in the building industry. It also allows site details to be stored. Reports can be produced showing salary costs by jobs (or sites). If the company’s job costing and quoting software is used, data can be automatically transferred from the payroll software to job costing.

BUILDPAY only operates on stand-alone personal computers and not on a local area network. It will not allow two people to process timesheets at the same time. This feature is planned for a future release (the job costing software produced by the company already provides this facility).

Other BUILDPAY customers commented that the support was efficient and any difficulties had been rectified quickly. All commented that it met their requirements exactly. Many of the customers were also using Building Software’s job costing, quoting and accounting software.

INPAYROLL and BUILDPAY were compared using criteria from the identified client requirements. The table below lists the criteria and the rating given for each package against the criteria.

Both packages were strongly supported by people who already use the software. The difference in purchase cost is minimal. The higher-cost of BUILDPAY is expected given that the software is developed for a specific industry.

Both software packages meet the requirements of ABC Building Company and both would provide a satisfactory solution to the business’s requirements. INPAYROLL is recommended because of its superior user interface, documentation, support for networking and lower cost.