As your business expands, your payroll grows more complex. Handling payroll reporting and payments becomes confusing, time-consuming, and prone to errors. Growing companies create a need for a scalable payroll tax reporting solution. To adapt to complex Federal and State payroll reporting financial data, business owners must think beyond paper/manual payroll tax reporting. The answer is a complete electronic payroll reporting and payment software solution.

Located in Grand Forks, ND, Aatrix Software is one such firm that has been developing cutting-edge accounting software solutions since 1986. Aatrix’s Electronic Forms Division, initially developed to create Macintosh accounting and payroll programs, has made a name for itself as a market leader in payroll tax forms by offering Electronic Payroll Reports and eFiling (Windows and Macintosh) to accounting software. Numerous accolades, such as the top overall score from Software Digest and Editors’ Choice from Home Office Computing, have been given to Aatrix’s finance software.

Mr. Lunseth spoke exclusively to the CIO Bulletin about what makes Aatrix the best payroll reporting experts in the country.

The Rise of Aatrix Software

Aatrix Software was inspired by the release of the first Macintosh computer in 1985 and filling the niche to automate payroll processing for small to medium companies. Early on, Aatrix saw the necessity for electronic payroll tax reporting and payments. As a result, the company started creating the patented technology and the unique tools required to construct forms without requiring programmers. While Aatrix Software continues to offer payroll solutions for Mac users, our main priority is on giving customers a fully integrated Windows platform to conveniently and affordably eFile their payroll tax reports and payments.

“Aatrix’s 130-point validation and error-checking process automatically scans all reports, adding a layer of protection for our customers that other solutions can’t deliver.”

Empowering the accounting community with a novel software platform

The electronic filing of payroll reports and payments is no longer a trend. It is a business essential. “Our patented technology allows Aatrix to display a replica of the actual form or payment being filed, which can be edited onscreen, and it delivers the easiest interface in the industry. Aatrix’s 130- point validation and error-checking process automatically scans all reports, adding a layer of protection for our customers that other solutions can’t deliver,” said Steve Lunseth. The sheer number of reports and payments that are supported is unparalleled. Offering an annual Unlimited eFile subscription and the ability to bundle some of our year-end payroll tax filings (W2s and ACAs) makes Aatrix the most affordable solution, hands down.

Furthermore, virtually all Federal and State agencies have initiatives to move towards 100% electronic filing. However, these government agencies do not work together, forcing businesses to deal with different processes, file formats, ID numbers, login credentials, and regulations for all 200+ agencies.

“Aatrix’s specialty is providing ONE process for everything, no matter what the form or payment, the agency being filed to, the format required, or compliance requirements involved, saving our customers a ton of time and money.”

Simply put, Aatrix eFile has a dramatic advantage over individual agency sites.

• ONE process for any unemployment, wage withholding, or new hire report or payment, regardless of the government agency filing requirements. 
• ONE website (efile.aatrix.com) to track all filings and payments. View confirmations and administer all agency requirements, filing statuses, and filing histories.
• ONE support group to call for answers and assistance when e-filing with any federal or state agency. 
• ONE comprehensive process completes all W-2/1099/ACA filings in a fraction of the time it takes to complete them in-house. Aatrix prints and mails employee/recipient copies, hosts copies online for instant access from anywhere, eFiles all required forms with the Federal government, and completes all state filings, including reconciliation forms if required.

The Aatrix Business Model

Aatrix eFile’s business model is to continually add to our more than 70 business partners who leverage Aatrix’s state and federal filing and payments expertise, allowing their clients to complete government reports and payments directly from their payroll or accounting software. This allows our partners to deliver the most comprehensive reporting solution to their customers while eliminating millions in development costs, adding a new revenue stream from existing customers, and increasing their ability to gain new customer subscriptions.

A recent survey found that 63% of employers never realized how much time they spent on payroll. 70% said diverse labor laws across states complicated the process. Small business owners said they spend almost twice as much time processing tax reports and payments as they do actually processing payroll checks.

“As mentioned above, our patented electronic forms and eFiling service allows our customers to quickly select the report they wish to file, review the automatically filled-in report(s) on screen, submit the filing using their Aatrix eFile account, and immediately receive a confirmation their filing has been received. Cutting the time they spend on payroll tax reporting and payments from hours to just a few minutes. This process has allowed Aatrix to grow and support hundreds of thousands of active businesses for our partners, as well as print and eFile more than 40 million W2s, 1099s, and ACAs for businesses in the US and Canada.”

Aatrix’s Client-Centered Strategy

Providing a positive customer experience is more important now than ever before. “With a 98% customer satisfaction rating, Aatrix eFile is known for exceeding our customers’ expectations by providing an accurate, dependable, and cost-effective payroll tax reporting solution that is backed by the Aatrix Guarantee: Our customers’ payroll reports and payments are made to the right agency, in the required format, and on-time for all filings.”

Aatrix is acutely aware of the arduous, complicated, and sometimes punitive nature of dealing with government compliance that businesses face in seemingly endless layers. Payroll developers love being in the payroll business, but you rarely hear one say they love staying compliant with Federal and State reporting and payment changes. Development resources are scarce, and the complexity of payroll reporting grows each year. Aatrix Software has dedicated itself to providing efficient electronic filing in an easy-to-understand method, guaranteed compliance with any filing requirement, and protection from fines and penalties that are routinely accessed by well-meaning business owners.

Steve Lunseth | CEO Steve

Lunseth has spent his whole adult life as an entrepreneur. He has owned and operated several successful companies yet still takes advantage of fresh suggestions and chances. He enjoys hunting and fishing in his leisure time, and he has always tried to develop better methods to do things—better lures, better bait, better spots, and better strategies. Steve meets the technical difficulties and shifting market demands with the same persistence.