Frequently Asked Questions

Advantage has been providing small-to mid-sized businesses with comprehensive payroll and tax filing services since 1967. Over the years, our knowledgeable team has seen it all. And now, we're sharing our years of experience with you. We've compiled answers to the most frequently asked questions from accounting professionals nationwide.

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Why would I refer my clients to a payroll service?
What other services does Advantage offer for my clients?
What differentiates Advantage from the other payroll providers?
Can my clients e-mail their payroll data to you?
When will the funds be debited from my clients' accounts?
How long does it take to set up a client?
Whose bank account is the payroll run on?
Is there a contract to sign?
Does the service cover full tax filing?
Can a client begin mid-year or mid-quarter?
Will all year-end work be done if it is converted mid-year?
Who answers penalty notices?

Why would I refer my clients to a payroll service? If you're like most accounting professionals, you probably find administering payroll to be as tedious as your clients do. The time involved calculating payroll deposits and completing quarterly and annual tax returns can be costly for both you and your client. And should your client make a mistake, the cost of taking care of agency notices and penalties can be painful. At Advantage, we can alleviate these burdens. To learn more about outsourcing payroll, click here.

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What other services does Advantage offer for my clients? Our core business is basic payroll processing, but we realize that many of your clients, as small business owners, may need ancillary services and benefits. We offer direct deposit for your clients' employees at no extra charge, as well as a host of reports and interfaces: a convenient premium payment service in conjunction with our partners The Hartford or GUARD Insurance Group that makes Workers' Compensation a regular expense, just like payroll, with no surprises; plus, we offer Instant Payroll and HR Counselor for the Web — our integrated online applications that enable companies to manage all of their HR functions in a single Web-based program with secure access virtually 24/7.

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What differentiates Advantage from the other payroll providers? We take great pride in our payroll knowledge, experience and superior customer service. With Advantage offices located throughout the country, your clients will always get the personal service they deserve. Plus, we offer a variety of flexible payroll management options, including phone, fax, electronic timesheet, and online with Instant Payroll®, our powerful Web-based payroll application.

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Can our clients e-mail their payroll data to you? We offer two ways for your clients to communicate with us via the Internet. Instant Payroll®, our Web-based payroll application, allows them to manage payroll from their own computer, securely transmitting data to us using any standard browser. Or, they may choose to use our Electronic Timesheet, a simple, intuitive spreadsheet that's delivered to their local processing office as an e-mail attachment.

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When will the funds be debited from my clients' accounts? In general, all taxes, fees, etc., are debited from your clients' accounts one day prior to check date.

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How long does it take to set up a client? Within 3-5 days your client can be ready to run their payroll with Advantage Payroll Services. An Advantage Business Development representative will work with your client to gather the necessary information to convert them to our system. Our team of experts will then review the conversion data, ensuring that subsequent tax calculation and reporting is correct.

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Whose bank account is the payroll run on? Your client may choose to simplify payroll with The Advantage CheckSM, where their checks are drawn directly from our central account. This option frees your client from reconciling payroll checks each month and saves transactional fees from their bank. If preferred, we can also generate paychecks directly from your client's bank account.

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Is there a contract to sign? Clients who enroll in Advantage Payroll Services must sign a Processing Agreement with us, but they are under no contractual obligation to use our services for a specified duration.

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Does the service cover full tax filing? Advantage Payroll Services offers complete, accurate, timely tax filing to all of our clients for no additional fee. Because we believe that managing payroll taxes is the primary reason for outsourcing payroll, we include this service as part of our core offering.

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Can a client begin mid-year or mid-quarter? Your client may convert to Advantage Payroll Services at any time during the year. To make the transition, our team of experts will review their previous payroll information and load it into our system. Once your client has been converted to Advantage, we take full responsibility for processing payroll, paying taxes and completing and filing tax returns.

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Will all year-end work be done if it is converted mid-year? Yes. That's why we conduct a full audit of payroll records for the calendar year in which your client has chosen Advantage. We understand that processing payroll each pay period is really a step towards year-end tax preparation and filing.

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Who answers penalty notices? Full tax filing clients of Advantage don't have to worry about agency or penalty notices. Once we take over their payroll, the full responsibility for tax payments and communication with taxing agencies is on our shoulders.

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