Cougar Mountain Software — CMS Professional Payroll

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From the Sept. 2007 Review of Payroll Systems

CMS Professional Payroll is offered as an add-on to the vendor’s professional accounting suite and is an integrated part of the vendor’s nonprofit accounting suite. Generally used as an in-house payroll application, the system can also be used by professionals who provide payroll services with support for an unlimited number of payer companies, with up to 1,000 employees and contractor payees per company, including those with multiple state tax liabilities. It can manage unlimited standard and customized deductions, including benefit plans such as 401(k)s and medical savings accounts.

The system supports federal tax withholding and offers support for all 50 states, with forms output that includes all 1099, all 940, 941, all W-2, form 944, and state reporting forms and worksheets. The program costs $674 for a stand-alone single-user license; it is $399 when bundled with the company’s accounting software.

EASE-OF-USE/DATA ENTRY – 4 Stars
CMS Professional Payroll shares an interface with the vendor’s accounting programs, providing a consistent navigation structure. The screen provides an array of icons across the top for accessing the various accounting modules, as well as pull-down menus across the top that are specific to the module currently in use. These include Employee setup functions, Payroll data entry, Reports, Period End functions, Options and Help.

After initial company setup, the user then defines company payroll defaults, including pay types, benefits accrual methods, deductions and other functions. During company and employee setup, data-entry forms are easy to understand, with wizards and checklist functions that help guide the process. Forms include links for selection of accounts, dates and company departments. Data entry is also aided by a global update function when changes are necessary that will affect employees. Data can also be imported from many accounting systems.

An employee selection screen uses a spreadsheet interface that displays basic data and allows sorting and filtering, even by type of employee. Among the program’s customization feature, the user can set up custom data fields that can record a variety of employee information, and users can attach notes to employee files. CMS Professional Payroll supports a variety of worker types, including salaried, hourly, commission, piece-work, contract, per diem and tipped employees.

When payroll processing starts, the system automatically completes payrolls for all salaried staff and then allows the entry of time or pay data individually for each of the other payees in the payroll run. The system does not include a multi-employee spreadsheet view for data entry but offers highly customizable individual pay methods that are better handled on a case-by-case basis. While data is entered, the system automatically performs calculations and allows the user to see results in real-time. Before processing completes, the user is prompted to verify and accept data that has been automatically populated, including for salaried staff.

FEATURES – 4 Stars
CMS Professional Payroll offers advanced job costing functions and can be used for multiple companies and unlimited subsidiary departments within companies, with the ability to split payroll expenses between departments as necessary. It supports all standard federal and state deductions, as well as offering any number of user-defined deductions. The system can also track and manage vacation and sick leave accruals, deferred compensation plans, pensions, medical savings accounts and dependent care benefits. Accruals can be set to have “use it or lose it” caps and can be based on several methods, including automatic at the beginning of the year, by pay period or by month, with the ability to place caps on accruals or limit year-end carryover.