Iris HR Software vs. Patriot Payroll

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Iris HR Software
Score 8.1 out of 10
N/A
Iris HR Software (formerly Octopus HR, acquired by Iris Software Group April 2016) is an HR suite.
$1.50
per month per user
Patriot Payroll
Score 9.7 out of 10
N/A
Patriot Software headquartered in Canton, Ohio offers Patriot PAY, their benefits administration and payroll software.
$174
Pricing
Iris HR SoftwarePatriot Payroll
Editions & Modules
Standard
$1.50
per month per user
Plus
$2
per month per user
Pro
$3.50
per month per user
Basic Payroll
$17/mo + $4 per employee/contractor
Accounting Basic
$20/mo (unlimited use)
Accounting Premium
$30/mo (unlimited use)
Full Service Payroll
$37/mo + $4 per employee/contractor
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Iris HR SoftwarePatriot Payroll
Free Trial
NoYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional DetailsPrices are in British Pounds.Patriot Software has two payroll options to choose from: Basic Payroll, and Full Service payroll software. Both start with a simple three-step payroll process. With the Full Service Payroll, Patriot will collect, deposit, and file federal, state, and local payroll taxes on the customer's behalf; end-of-the-year payroll tax filing is included at no extra charge. Print W2s on 8 x 1/2 x 11 plain white office paper to hand to employees, or post to the free employee portal. Also, Patriot Software offers free direct deposit.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Iris HR SoftwarePatriot Payroll
Features
Iris HR SoftwarePatriot Payroll
Human Resource Management
Comparison of Human Resource Management features of Product A and Product B
Iris HR Software
8.6
Ratings
9% above category average
Patriot Payroll
-
Ratings
Employee demographic data9.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Employment history8.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Job profiles and administration10.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Workflow for transfers, promotions, pay raises, etc.9.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Organizational charting8.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Organization and location management8.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Compliance data (COBRA, OSHA, etc.)8.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Payroll Management
Comparison of Payroll Management features of Product A and Product B
Iris HR Software
7.6
Ratings
5% below category average
Patriot Payroll
8.3
Ratings
1% above category average
Pay calculation8.00 Ratings9.50 Ratings
Support for external payroll vendors7.00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Off-cycle/On-Demand payment8.00 Ratings8.70 Ratings
Benefit plan administration8.00 Ratings6.00 Ratings
Direct deposit files7.00 Ratings9.20 Ratings
Salary revision and increment management8.00 Ratings8.20 Ratings
Reimbursement management7.00 Ratings6.30 Ratings
Leave and Attendance Management
Comparison of Leave and Attendance Management features of Product A and Product B
Iris HR Software
8.3
Ratings
4% above category average
Patriot Payroll
-
Ratings
Approval workflow9.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Balance details8.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Annual carry-forward and encashment8.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Employee Self Service
Comparison of Employee Self Service features of Product A and Product B
Iris HR Software
8.2
Ratings
2% above category average
Patriot Payroll
-
Ratings
View and generate pay and benefit information9.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Update personal information9.00 Ratings00 Ratings
View company policy documentation8.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Employee recognition8.00 Ratings00 Ratings
View job history7.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Asset Management
Comparison of Asset Management features of Product A and Product B
Iris HR Software
7.0
Ratings
14% below category average
Patriot Payroll
-
Ratings
Tracking of all physical assets7.00 Ratings00 Ratings
HR Reporting
Comparison of HR Reporting features of Product A and Product B
Iris HR Software
7.3
Ratings
3% below category average
Patriot Payroll
-
Ratings
Report builder9.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Pre-built reports7.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Ability to combine HR data with external data6.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Onboarding
Comparison of Onboarding features of Product A and Product B
Iris HR Software
8.5
Ratings
7% above category average
Patriot Payroll
-
Ratings
New hire portal8.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Manager tracking tools9.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Performance and Goals
Comparison of Performance and Goals features of Product A and Product B
Iris HR Software
8.3
Ratings
5% above category average
Patriot Payroll
-
Ratings
Corporate goal setting9.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Individual goal setting9.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Line-of sight-visibility7.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Performance tracking8.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Performance Management
Comparison of Performance Management features of Product A and Product B
Iris HR Software
8.4
Ratings
7% above category average
Patriot Payroll
-
Ratings
Performance plans8.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Performance improvement plans9.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Review status tracking8.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Review reminders9.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Multiple review frequency8.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Succession Planning
Comparison of Succession Planning features of Product A and Product B
Iris HR Software
8.0
Ratings
2% above category average
Patriot Payroll
-
Ratings
Create succession plans/pools8.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Candidate ranking8.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Candidate search8.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Candidate development8.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Recruiting / ATS
Comparison of Recruiting / ATS features of Product A and Product B
Iris HR Software
7.8
Ratings
1% above category average
Patriot Payroll
-
Ratings
Job Requisition Management8.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Company Website Posting7.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Duplicate Candidate Prevention8.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Applicant Tracking8.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Notifications and Alerts8.00 Ratings00 Ratings
User Ratings
Iris HR SoftwarePatriot Payroll
Likelihood to Recommend
8.0
(0 ratings)
9.7
(0 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
8.0
(0 ratings)
9.0
(0 ratings)
Usability
8.0
(0 ratings)
9.3
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
-
(0 ratings)
8.7
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
Iris HR SoftwarePatriot Payroll
Likelihood to Recommend
I would definitely recommend Octopus HR if companies need every employee, not just one HR team, to use it. I think it's too much and would suggest something like Taleo for one team to use. Key questions would be: Do you need a simple platform? Are you using this just for your HR team or will everyone need access? Is the way employees request PTO at your company disorganized?
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Patriot is well suited for an office with a small staff without complicated tax issues to manage. My office had 2 employees: one full-time and one part-time. There were no 1099's issued, and no special tax exemptions or other special tax situations for employees. The owner was a sole proprietor, so she was not paid as an employee through Patriot. It was easy to quickly run simple payroll tasks on a bi-weekly basis in my situation. However, I believe a more complex situation with more employees would still be suitable for this software if there was an employee dedicated to performing payroll and human resources tasks. Information must be manually entered each payroll period and submitted before 8pm to process at the scheduled pay date, so if there was not a dedicated employee for the task, it would be easy to end up paying employees a business-day late. I know that Patriot offers add-on services for human resource tasks, such as time sheets and tools to manage sick days, benefits, and record employee attendance. I did not require these extra services, but I like that Patriot offers services a la carte so that there is no need to pay for tools you do not need
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Pros
  • Fantastic customer support
  • Ease of use
  • All employees have access
  • Easy to download documents
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  • Patriot's software is very easy to use for running payroll. It takes about 30 seconds to do.
  • The payroll reports are abundant, easy to find and print, and make my accounting very easy.
  • Having a full service payroll provider as easy to use as Patriot leaves me with more availability to focus on treating patients and running other aspects of my business.
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Cons
  • initial scope/setup support (outside of template)
  • Contacting support can be difficult
  • case sensitive username for end users (email addresses have to match exactly)
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  • The third party direct deposit processor Patriot previously used was not particularly easy to work with...but Patriot just brought all direct deposit processing in house.
  • Clergy housing allowance has to be manually entered each payday. They tell me they're close to adding the capability of making it (and other similar pay types) as a recurring item.
  • The setup process is geared toward novice users who need to be hand-held through the process. That's great for those who need it but a more streamlined, no-frills process payroll pros would be welcome.
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Likelihood to Renew
Employees don't complain about it! If anything they've commented on how nice of a tool it is to have.
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It works well because it is cheap for us.
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Usability
Iris HR Software is a stable and fairly intuitive product which has had a positive impact on our organisation. We have had some support issues but generally feel we've had a positive experience and our personnel and finance teams have benefitted from this process structure. Whilst contacting the correct Iris HR Software support channel has been our biggest issue once we have established contact our tickets have been raised and resolved promptly.
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I think it is great once things are setup as for general user looking to look for simple things like a copy of a paystub or a current pay rate for an employee. However, to find specialized things like a state withholding number or payroll integration settings those do require a bit more digging to find or possibly a call to customer service for help.
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Support Rating
No answers on this topic
Generally speaking it is pretty good that when I need to call somebody up for a payroll question I can generally within five minutes get somebody on the phone and they can help me resolve the problem or specify where specifically I need to go or contact to find my answers. However, that being said, for my specific situation as a partner my assigned contact has not always been very responsive.
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Alternatives Considered
I would say the pricing is good but it could be better. Also, the customer service is amazing they do such a great job and you can tell they know what they are doing. Visually it is very easy to use and looks very professional. It is a quick set up and they do their best to give you what you want and need.
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Cost is the major factor here, but the ease of use (and design of the interface) is a big advantage for Patriot PAY. Items are (ironically) more "intuitive" to find and manage in Patriot PAY than Intuit.

Patriot PAY is closer to ADP/Gusto/Paychex in how it looks and feels and operates in a full-service capacity, but it is much more affordable.
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Return on Investment
  • Greater central data visibility for our CEO and Trustees
  • Comprehensive self service portal of Staff
  • Cloud managed solution
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  • Patriot allows the entire team to be on the same page when it comes to a campaign or donor. All of the information is in one place to see how much a donor gave or communication with that donor by a specific team member.
  • It provides comparative historic data and donor analysis. The organization of donations by appeal allows teams to know which campaigns were successful in previous years.
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ScreenShots

Patriot Payroll Screenshots

Screenshot of the 3-step process to carry out payrollScreenshot of the Payroll interface, which can be used run payroll on any device with internet or data connection. There is no need to download and maintain a separate payroll app.Screenshot of a payroll report, to sort by work location, employee, and date range.