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Payroll Relief, Explained for Accountants, Employers and Employees

Payroll Relief is cloud payroll software designed primarily for accounting firms and payroll service providers, rather than as a single-company DIY payroll app. AccountantsWorld created the platform around the idea that an accounting practice should be able to process payroll for many employer clients from one system, automate direct deposit and payroll-tax work, supervise deadlines across the entire client base and give employees their own limited self-service access. AccountantsWorld has been part of IRIS Software Group since December 2021, and current Payroll Relief documentation is now maintained through IRIS as well as the AccountantsWorld product site.

That structure explains why very different people search for the same product name.

An accountant may be looking for multi-client payroll processing, e-filing or accounting integration. A business owner may need to submit payroll data or review a payroll before approval. An employee may know nothing about AccountantsWorld or IRIS and simply see Payroll Relief when trying to retrieve a pay stub or W-2.

[PUBLICATION NAME] is an independent editorial publication. We are not Payroll Relief, AccountantsWorld or IRIS, and we do not operate payroll accounts.

Start With the Main Payroll Relief Guide

The broadest guide on this site explains the relationship between the accounting firm, the employer and the employee.

Payroll Relief currently supports recurring employee payroll, additional or off-cycle payrolls, contractor payroll and prior payroll used when a company converts during the year. The system also combines payroll review, direct deposit, tax liabilities, electronic filing, year-end forms and practice-level monitoring.

Read: Payroll Relief: How Payroll Software for Accountants Works

Employee Portal, Pay Stubs and W-2 Access

Employees do not receive access to the accounting firm’s entire Payroll Relief environment.

Current IRIS documentation says employees can use either the web-based Employee Portal or the Payroll Relief mobile app to view their own pay stubs. Employees need the payroll firm’s firm code because that code links the employer and employee data back to the accounting practice operating Payroll Relief.

The current iOS Employee Portal also supports payroll tax forms, payday notifications, W-4 or I-9 uploads and profile updates such as mailing address, phone number and email address.

Read: Payroll Relief Employee Portal: Pay Stubs, W-2s and Access

Payroll Processing and Direct Deposit

Payroll Relief’s main accounting-firm workflow begins with payroll data, not with the Employee Portal.

The system currently supports worksheet-style entry for many employees, individual paycheck entry and Excel uploads. After calculation, it produces pre-approval payroll reports so the accountant or employer can compare employee pay, taxes and current payroll totals with the previous payroll before approval. Payroll approval then updates records, calculates tax liabilities and initiates configured electronic services such as direct deposit.

Read: Payroll Relief Payroll Processing and Automation

Payroll Taxes, E-Filing and Year-End Forms

Payroll Relief also functions as a payroll-compliance system.

Current IRIS documentation says the platform can calculate payroll-tax liabilities after payroll approval, schedule due dates and support electronic federal and state tax payments and filing after the appropriate e-services setup has been completed. The Tax Forms area is used to monitor deadlines, print forms, e-file supported forms and track filing status.

Payroll Relief also produces W-2/W-3 workflows from payroll data at year-end. Current IRIS guidance says historical tax forms remain available in Payroll Relief for a limited retention window, making year-end archiving important for accounting firms.

Read: Payroll Relief Tax Compliance, W-2s and E-Filing

Employee Self Service

Payroll Relief’s Employee Self Service, or ESS, is a separate add-on from the ordinary Employee Portal.

AccountantsWorld describes ESS as a digital employee onboarding, training and employee-data-management system. Employers can centralize onboarding and compliance or training tasks, while employees can maintain personal information and see outstanding training requirements.

Read: Payroll Relief Employee Self Service and Onboarding

Integrations and Payroll Practice Management

Payroll Relief is designed to sit inside an accounting firm’s wider technology stack.

Current product materials describe accounting integration with systems including Accounting Power, QuickBooks, CS Accounting and Peachtree, along with time-and-attendance, workers’ compensation and retirement-plan integrations.

The firm also gets portfolio-level management tools. Payroll Snapshot can show next payroll dates, tax due dates, direct-deposit status and past-due forms across the firm’s client base without requiring staff to open every employer individually. Task Manager can push selected payroll and compliance exceptions into a Trello-based workflow for staff assignment and tracking.

Read: Payroll Relief Integrations and Practice Management

AccountantsWorld Is Now Part of IRIS

IRIS Software Group acquired AccountantsWorld on December 30, 2021. The product continues to use the AccountantsWorld and Payroll Relief names, while IRIS now operates the current help environment and continues to release product updates.

Payroll Relief remains actively maintained. Its 2026 releases include continuing payroll and tax changes, support for new payroll reporting requirements and an IRIS Agent support tool introduced inside Payroll Relief.

Independent Information, Not a Payroll Login Screen

[PUBLICATION NAME] never needs your:

• Payroll Relief password;
• firm code combined with private account credentials;
• Social Security number;
• W-2;
• W-4;
• I-9 documents;
• bank information;
• direct-deposit details.

Employees should use the genuine Employee Portal provided through their employer or payroll processor. Accountants and employers should use their authorized Payroll Relief environment.

Our role is to explain which part of the system owns the task.