New 2005 Release Expands PayCycle's Electronic Payroll Leadership

New 2005 Release Expands PayCycle's Electronic Payroll Leadership

PALO ALTO, Calif., Dec. 15 /PRNewswire/ -- PayCycle, the first and only company to offer small businesses an online self-service payroll solution with comprehensive tax forms in all 50 states, today announced its new 2005 release. The new version contains numerous, customer-requested enhancements that greatly expand PayCycle's online payroll leadership, including electronic state tax payments and filings, as well as payments to 1099 contractors. No other service lets employers directly handle all federal and many state payroll taxes electronically -- and all in one place.

PayCycle 2005 makes it much easier to get started, from customized guidance for new employers to a breakthrough pro-active alert system that lets PayCycle customer service representatives know when customers may need assistance.

Expanded Electronic State Tax Coverage

The 2005 release expands PayCycle Payroll Plus' paperless payroll leadership with electronic state tax payments in Arizona and Colorado, plus 100 percent electronic state tax payments and filings in Pennsylvania. PayCycle Payroll Plus now offers electronic state payroll in 19 states, representing two-thirds of the nation's small employers.

PayCycle Payroll Plus sends customers email reminders whenever state tax payments or filings are due. Customers click on a link to go to the Taxes & Forms page. PayCycle shows the exact tax liabilities, and provides a drill-down capability to see the "numbers behind the numbers." When they are ready to pay or file electronically, customers simply click a button. Unlike traditional payroll services, PayCycle does not impound taxes before the due date, which allows small businesses to stay in complete control of their funds.

Electronic state tax features consistently receive high ratings in PayCycle's quarterly customer satisfaction surveys. In the September 2004 Survey, PayCycle Payroll Plus customers in states with electronic functionality gave PayCycle an overall satisfaction rating of 9.2 out of 10. The company plans to continue expanding electronic state availability throughout the year.

Highly Requested, One-Click 1099 Payments

With the addition of 1099 contractor payments to the Payroll Plus service, PayCycle is now an option to all small companies that hire contractors as well as employees. Seamless integration with PayCycle's 1099 e-file service at year-end and free direct deposit make handling contractor payments as easy and affordable as paying employees through PayCycle.

"The number one customer request this year was for 1099 payments," said Rene Lacerte, CEO of PayCycle, Inc. "We are very excited to deliver an easy-to-use solution that lets small businesses pay contractors at the same time that they pay employees with just a few clicks."

Exclusive New Employer Guidance

PayCycle has added extensive guidance and additional help to support the upward trend in new employer growth. According to the Small Business Administration's recently released report to the President, in 2003 the nation's overall economic indicators improved, with small businesses leading the way. In particular, the number of businesses grew in 2003, with employer firms increasing 0.3 percent. In a separate study, the International Profit Associates Research Board also reported that nearly six times as many small businesses are planning to hire versus layoff employees in the coming months.

An automated wizard walks new employers through everything they need to register their company with federal and state tax agencies, and to hire new employees. PayCycle pre-fills all pertinent information such as state unemployment insurance rates and payroll tax deposit schedules. A new Payroll 101 guide summarizes the arduous IRS and state employer documentation into an easy-to-understand, 10 page document.

Pro-Active Support Takes Customer Service to a New Level

Another innovation is a pro-active system that alerts customer service when a customer may need setup assistance. PayCycle's payroll expert representatives contact customers via phone or email to see if they need a helping hand. PayCycle is unique in offering free customer support with payroll experts, and now is the only self-service payroll provider that pro-actively reaches out to help customers. By leveraging state-of-the art online technology, PayCycle is able to deliver guidance and service tailored to the customers' needs.

Other Electronic Innovations Make Payroll Faster and Easier

The new release also includes additional customer-requested enhancements to save small employers more time and hassle. PayCycle now supports clergy payroll, additional fringe benefits such as S Corporation owner's health insurance, personal use of company car, and group term life insurance, as well as W-2 printing on professional perforated sheets.

Pricing and Availability

State tax support and contractor payments are available with PayCycle Payroll Plus, which costs $39.99 per month for the first five employees and/or contractors, and $0.99 for each additional employee/contractor. All other features released with PayCycle 2005 are available to all customers for no additional charge. PayCycle also offers PayCycle Payroll Basic at $19.99 per month and PayCycle Payday for $9.99 per month. These prices are for the first for the first five employees and $0.99 for each additional employee. PayCycle is available on the net: http://www.paycycle.com/ .

About PayCycle

PayCycle Inc. offers small businesses and accountants the easiest and lowest cost way to manage and control their payroll. The company's unique, self-service, Internet-based solution walks users through the entire payroll process from paychecks to W-2s. It includes step-by-step guidance, email reminders and To Do lists. The service integrates with QuickBooks(R), QuickBooks Online Edition, Microsoft(R) Money and Quicken 2004 or earlier, so users never have to enter paycheck data twice.

Headquartered in Palo Alto, Calif., PayCycle is well-known as a payroll industry technology leader. The company was the first to partner with the IRS and several states to develop e-filing standards for small businesses. It is also the first and only self-service payroll solution to offer small businesses complete support for federal and state tax deposit and filings.

NOTE: PayCycle is a registered trademark of PayCycle, Inc. Microsoft is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation, in the United States and/or other countries. QuickBooks and Quicken are registered trademarks of Intuit, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Contact: Chris Foster of PayCycle, Inc., +1-650-543-2027, or fosterc@ruderfinn.com; or Anu Sanghvi of Ruder Finn/Switzer, +1-212-715-1691, or anu@paycycle.com, for PayCycle.


Source: PayCycle, Inc.

CONTACT: Chris Foster of PayCycle, Inc., +1-650-543-2027, or
fosterc@ruderfinn.com; or Anu Sanghvi of Ruder Finn/Switzer, +1-212-715-1691,
or anu@paycycle.com, for PayCycle

Web site: http://www.paycycle.com/


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