Sunburst Certified Payroll Solution vs WellStanding
Sunburst Software Solutions has specialized in QuickBooks certified payroll for years, and their Certified Payroll Solution is the established add-on for it: a one time purchase around $799 for a company license that bolts onto QuickBooks Desktop and generates certified payroll filings, including California's DIR file, from your QuickBooks data. Sunburst knows this niche deeply. Their site is one of the few places that tells contractors the plain truth that QuickBooks alone cannot produce the eCPR XML, and their commentary on DIR's system changes is some of the most candid in the industry.
Facts verified 2026-07-02
Where Sunburst is genuinely strong
- The lowest realistic price in the market: about $799 once for a company license, no subscription
- Deep QuickBooks specialization, built by people who know the certified payroll niche
- Generates the California DIR file that QuickBooks itself cannot produce
Where the model differs from ours
- QuickBooks Desktop on Windows only: no QuickBooks Online, no Mac, no ADP, Paychex, Gusto, or Sage
- You drive the software every filing period and own the output's correctness
- When DIR changes its system, adapting is your problem until the vendor ships an update. Sunburst's own commentary describes California's redesigned system as a mess, and they are the ones keeping up with it
- No human reviews your filings but you
Side by side
| Sunburst | WellStanding | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | QuickBooks Desktop add-on (software you run) | Done-for-you filing service |
| Pricing | About $799 one time (published) | $995 one time setup, then $249 per month flat for crews up to 25 workers ($449 for 26 to 50), published |
| Federal WH-347 | Generated from QuickBooks data, including the WH-348 Statement of Compliance | Yes, with the Statement of Compliance, staged for your signature |
| California DIR eCPR XML | Generated; you upload and verify | Yes, validated before it reaches you |
| Your work each week | You drive it every filing period | Send one payroll export, then about two minutes to review and sign |
| Payroll migration required | Requires QuickBooks Desktop on Windows | None. Works from QuickBooks, ADP, Paychex, Gusto, or Sage exports |
| Who checks the filings | You | A person reviews every filing |
Who Sunburst is right for
A sub running QuickBooks Desktop on Windows, with a capable operator who has time every filing period and wants to own the process at the lowest possible cost. If that is you, Sunburst is the budget-honest choice and we will tell you so on the phone.
Where we fit instead
We are a service, not software. You send the payroll export you already run, from any of the mainstream systems including QuickBooks Online and Mac setups the add-on cannot touch, and finished filings come back checked by software and verified by a person. The trade is price for coverage and your time: roughly $3,000 a year versus $799 once, in exchange for two minutes a week instead of a Friday afternoon, every mainstream payroll system instead of one, and a person accountable for every file.