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The question of whether or not you should download payroll software is an important one. There are many pluses and minuses that must be considered before you can choose the right course of action for you and your business.
First, to be clear when speaking of downloading payroll software I mean legal downloads. I think it is wrong to pirate or illegally copy any software. Not only are you stealing what is not yours but you are depriving software developers of money that should be rightfully theirs. You don't want people stealing your product or services so why would you steal someone else's. Now that that has been cleared up let's look at the pluses of downloading your payroll software. The biggest plus is speed and convenience. With a download you don't have to wait very long before you have your new payroll program on your computer crunching the numbers. Obviously you can use this time to expand your business rather than waiting for your software to arrive by mail. Another advantage for opting to download payroll software is that you may be able to get a free trial. Many payroll software companies now offer limited time free trials of their programs when you download them. Thus, you may be able to try it free for 15 or 30 days before paying. This reduces your risks and means you can be confident with what you pick. Finally, the final price you pay for payroll software that you download is usually if not always less than the mailed copy. The reason is that the makers don't have to deal with packaging and shipping costs and so pass some of the savings on to you. Seems pretty good right? While it is true that there are many advantages to downloading your payroll computer program rather than just ordering online, there some issues you may want to consider. The first is the issue of backups. If you download your software you won't have a physical backup should something go wrong. Many companies will allow you to download the program again, but some don't so watch out for this when buying. Second, is the issue of what happens if you change computer systems. Some software companies only allow you to install your program on one machine. So if you change computers you need to pay again. With a physical disk in hand you can install it on your new computer should you need to. However, before doing any of this be sure to check with the licensing agreement on your payroll software program. Most allow only 1 copy to be in use at anytime. So if you are still using your old computer after upgrading you legally have to buy another copy. There are the main pluses and minuses of each option. Should you like to download payroll software I recommend you visit download.com or tucows.com since they have a wide selection of programs available. On the other hand if you choose to buy your payroll software online I recommend having a look at what Amazon.com  has to offer. |