Cougar Mountain Software — Cougar Mountain Payroll

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From the September 2006 Review of Boutique Payroll Systems

Cougar Mountain offers a suite of accounting systems for businesses and nonprofits, along with its Cougar Mountain Payroll, which is operable either as an integrated component of the vendor’s accounting system or as a stand-alone system. The program can support any number of companies with an almost unlimited number of payees, including regular employees and contract workers, and it supports all states and prepares forms 1099, 1096 (1099 & 1096 — AP module), 940, 940EZ, 941, W-2, W-3, and state quarterly forms (state reports using Aatrix). (The company noted that it doesn’t produce 940 reports, but it does produce reports where that information can be manually transferred.) A single-user license for Cougar Mountain Payroll costs $649; an unlimited-user site license is $1,149. State tax tables are not included in these prices, but are offered as an option. Current users of the vendor’s accounting suite are given significantly discounted pricing for the payroll system.

EASE-OF-USE/DATA ENTRY -- 4.5 Stars
The system’s interface is unified whether using Cougar Mountain’s Payroll or Accounting system, opening to a window that offers generally traditional pull-down menus and icons. Cougar Mountain plays on its “cougar” name, utilizing icons with a paw print and a two or three letter code for primary system functions, which is not always intuitive when initially learning the system. After selecting a client company and then the Payroll system from either the PR icon or the File menu, the window provides payroll-specific menus, including options for managing employee data, entering payroll, accessing reports, period closing functions, and system options.

Setup processes for creating new companies or adding employees are guided by checklists and wizards that help explain data fields, including selection of pay types and deductions and the setup of employee benefit tracking. Payroll for salaried employees is automatically prepared when starting a payroll run, with the system prompting the user to approve each employee’s timesheet prior to the run, and prompting the user for work hours for hourly workers. Although a rapid entry option such as a spreadsheet for hourly staff would benefit users with large employee bases, the one-by-one approval method ensures that each employee’s pay data is viewed prior to processing the payroll. The system offers a global update feature for benefits tracking and calculation.

Rockie Allred, owner of Allred Accounting in Corpus Christi, Texas, noted that new users should first determine what their needs are before deciding on a new program. “Decide exactly what functions you need, then make your selection around those needs.” She has been using Cougar Mountain for several years, since switching from Apple computers “back in the old days,” and she needed a program that had flexibility and met her compliance needs.

FEATURES -- 4 Stars
Cougar Mountain Payroll allows customization of several areas of the system, including user-defined employee information fields and a notes function. It allows multiple pay types and rates per worker, including salary, hourly, contract labor, tipped workers and shift differentials. The system offers a variety of methods for tracking vacation and sick leave, as well as managing unlimited numbers of voluntary and involuntary deductions, and employee benefits programs such as 401(k) and cafeteria plans. Additionally, multiple companies and subsidiary departments are supported, as is specific job cost tracking, with separate GL reporting for each cost center. The Cougar Mountain system does not include a built-in Direct Deposit system but can generate ACH files and bridge to a third-party service for electronic payroll disbursement. It can also generate electronic reporting files for W-2 submissions (and 1099-MISC electronic files in AP). The system includes user-level password security as well as menu-specific access rights.

REPORTING CAPABILITIES -- 4 Stars
The reporting features in Cougar Mountain Payroll include categorized stock reports for departments, projects, employee earnings, wages, benefits and deductions. Additionally, employee histories, leave and other reports are available, and the system’s included report writer tool provides very strong report customization and creation. Only employee checks can be printed through the Cougar Mountain Payroll system unless the user also has the vendor’s AP module or BR module, which is necessary for processing tax payments or other third-party payments. Check runs and reports can be viewed on-screen prior to printing, and forms can be printed to blank or pre-printed paper stock.

INTEGRATION/IMPORT & EXPORT -- 3.5 Stars
The Payroll system can be used as a fully integrated part of Cougar Mountain’s full accounting suite, allowing for automated GL, AR and AP posting and data transfer. As a stand-alone system, it can export data to ASCII format, which can be imported into most third-party accounting systems.