RUN Powered by ADP® vs. PDS Vista

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
RUN Powered by ADP®
Score 9.1 out of 10
Small Businesses (1-50 employees)
The RUN Powered by ADP® cloud-based solution is used to pay employees. It also includes HR and hiring tools, as well as benefits, helping small businesses grow and manage their teams.N/A
PDS Vista
Score 1.8 out of 10
Enterprise companies (1,001+ employees)
Vista® is a human resource, benefits, payroll, recruiting, and self-service software. Functional elements include recruitment, staffing, position and training management, compliance, and performance and compensation.N/A
Pricing
RUN Powered by ADP®PDS Vista
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
RUN Powered by ADP®PDS Vista
Free Trial
YesNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoYes
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional DetailsLicense pricing is based on the number of full and part-time active employees within bands (e.g. 751-1,000). SaaS pricing is based on PEPM.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
RUN Powered by ADP®PDS Vista
Features
RUN Powered by ADP®PDS Vista
Payroll Management
Comparison of Payroll Management features of Product A and Product B
RUN Powered by ADP®
8.4
337 Ratings
2% above category average
PDS Vista
3.2
19 Ratings
87% below category average
Pay calculation9.5327 Ratings3.017 Ratings
Support for external payroll vendors8.599 Ratings1.010 Ratings
Off-cycle/On-Demand payment9.2237 Ratings4.01 Ratings
Benefit plan administration7.9150 Ratings1.017 Ratings
Direct deposit files9.6317 Ratings4.018 Ratings
Salary revision and increment management8.9246 Ratings1.014 Ratings
Reimbursement management5.138 Ratings8.25 Ratings
Human Resource Management
Comparison of Human Resource Management features of Product A and Product B
RUN Powered by ADP®
-
Ratings
PDS Vista
1.9
19 Ratings
124% below category average
Employee demographic data00 Ratings1.018 Ratings
Employment history00 Ratings1.019 Ratings
Job profiles and administration00 Ratings1.015 Ratings
Workflow for transfers, promotions, pay raises, etc.00 Ratings1.013 Ratings
Organizational charting00 Ratings3.014 Ratings
Organization and location management00 Ratings3.017 Ratings
Compliance data (COBRA, OSHA, etc.)00 Ratings3.012 Ratings
Leave and Attendance Management
Comparison of Leave and Attendance Management features of Product A and Product B
RUN Powered by ADP®
-
Ratings
PDS Vista
1.0
14 Ratings
156% below category average
Approval workflow00 Ratings1.08 Ratings
Balance details00 Ratings1.014 Ratings
Annual carry-forward and encashment00 Ratings1.013 Ratings
Employee Self Service
Comparison of Employee Self Service features of Product A and Product B
RUN Powered by ADP®
-
Ratings
PDS Vista
2.0
18 Ratings
122% below category average
View and generate pay and benefit information00 Ratings4.017 Ratings
Update personal information00 Ratings1.015 Ratings
View company policy documentation00 Ratings3.09 Ratings
Employee recognition00 Ratings1.06 Ratings
View job history00 Ratings1.05 Ratings
Asset Management
Comparison of Asset Management features of Product A and Product B
RUN Powered by ADP®
-
Ratings
PDS Vista
7.3
7 Ratings
9% below category average
Tracking of all physical assets00 Ratings7.37 Ratings
HR Reporting
Comparison of HR Reporting features of Product A and Product B
RUN Powered by ADP®
-
Ratings
PDS Vista
2.0
17 Ratings
116% below category average
Report builder00 Ratings2.015 Ratings
Pre-built reports00 Ratings2.017 Ratings
Ability to combine HR data with external data00 Ratings2.014 Ratings
Onboarding
Comparison of Onboarding features of Product A and Product B
RUN Powered by ADP®
-
Ratings
PDS Vista
1.0
2 Ratings
156% below category average
New hire portal00 Ratings1.02 Ratings
Manager tracking tools00 Ratings1.01 Ratings
Performance and Goals
Comparison of Performance and Goals features of Product A and Product B
RUN Powered by ADP®
-
Ratings
PDS Vista
2.8
3 Ratings
97% below category average
Corporate goal setting00 Ratings1.03 Ratings
Individual goal setting00 Ratings1.03 Ratings
Performance tracking00 Ratings6.42 Ratings
Performance Management
Comparison of Performance Management features of Product A and Product B
RUN Powered by ADP®
-
Ratings
PDS Vista
1.0
5 Ratings
155% below category average
Performance plans00 Ratings1.03 Ratings
Performance improvement plans00 Ratings1.02 Ratings
Review status tracking00 Ratings1.03 Ratings
Review reminders00 Ratings1.04 Ratings
Multiple review frequency00 Ratings1.03 Ratings
Succession Planning
Comparison of Succession Planning features of Product A and Product B
RUN Powered by ADP®
-
Ratings
PDS Vista
2.3
2 Ratings
109% below category average
Create succession plans/pools00 Ratings3.61 Ratings
Candidate ranking00 Ratings1.02 Ratings
Candidate search00 Ratings1.02 Ratings
Candidate development00 Ratings3.61 Ratings
Recruiting / ATS
Comparison of Recruiting / ATS features of Product A and Product B
RUN Powered by ADP®
-
Ratings
PDS Vista
1.4
4 Ratings
138% below category average
Job Requisition Management00 Ratings1.04 Ratings
Company Website Posting00 Ratings1.04 Ratings
Duplicate Candidate Prevention00 Ratings1.92 Ratings
Applicant Tracking00 Ratings1.04 Ratings
Notifications and Alerts00 Ratings2.02 Ratings
Best Alternatives
RUN Powered by ADP®PDS Vista
Small Businesses
Dayforce Powerpay
Dayforce Powerpay
Score 9.4 out of 10
Dayforce Powerpay
Dayforce Powerpay
Score 9.4 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Paypro Workforce Management
Paypro Workforce Management
Score 9.7 out of 10
Paypro Workforce Management
Paypro Workforce Management
Score 9.7 out of 10
Enterprises
Infor Human Resources
Infor Human Resources
Score 7.1 out of 10
PeopleStrong
PeopleStrong
Score 9.9 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
RUN Powered by ADP®PDS Vista
Likelihood to Recommend
9.1
(390 ratings)
1.0
(24 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.2
(35 ratings)
9.1
(7 ratings)
Usability
9.0
(24 ratings)
2.0
(3 ratings)
Availability
9.5
(12 ratings)
9.5
(2 ratings)
Performance
9.6
(12 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Support Rating
8.4
(36 ratings)
8.2
(3 ratings)
In-Person Training
7.7
(7 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Online Training
9.3
(5 ratings)
9.0
(2 ratings)
Implementation Rating
8.9
(20 ratings)
7.3
(1 ratings)
Configurability
7.6
(9 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Ease of integration
10.0
(4 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
8.5
(13 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
9.7
(8 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
9.7
(9 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
RUN Powered by ADP®PDS Vista
Likelihood to Recommend
ADP
RUN Powered by ADP® is well suited for managing payroll, timekeeping, onboarding new hires, storing addresses and direct deposit details, issuing checks, posting jobs, and handling W‑2s/1099s. It ensures accuracy and compliance. It’s less appropriate for advanced HR analytics or complex workforce planning beyond basic payroll and employee data management. This may also be based upon my limited knowledge/training on their more advanced features. Open to suggestions
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Personnel Data Systems (PDS)
As Vista HRMS is fully customizable to suit your needs, a company should determine if they have a current employee who can do the work themselves otherwise they will need to consider the additional cost of asking PDS to do the customizations for them. There are additional modules that we aren't currently making use of, but each company should learn about the functionality of each of them as some may be more beneficial than others. When gathering your questions, ask all potential users of the system what they would want to see in an HRMS. We did so before selecting Vista HRMS and we got pages and pages of questions and comments and made sure that each item was addressed beforehand and was something that we would be able to incorporate into the system. You have the option of taking the system in house or being a hosted client. Make sure you figure out what resources your IT department has available. If you have a dedicated administrator who will do all the upgrades and enhancements great, otherwise you may need PDS to help out and having PDS host may be a better option
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Pros
ADP
  • Payroll - special categories, pay circumstances, and tracking.
  • Onboarding - the ease of getting your team in the know.
  • Workers Compensation - not having to do the reconciliation!
  • State specific mandatory training for our staff - done through the APP!
  • Record keeping - tracking PLAWA, Vacations.
  • The many ways you can stay connected - the Podcasts, Advisory Circle, and webinars are fabulous.
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Personnel Data Systems (PDS)
  • Vista HRMS is very flexible, it does everything we need for HR, benefits and payroll. It’s user-friendly and intuitive to use, when we roll out new self-service items our employees have no problems and require minimal training or documentation.
  • PDS has excellent customer service and support. We get answers to the majority of our questions and problems quickly, within the day that we call. More complex issues that may require PDS’ technical support are usually addressed within a few days. We were upgrading our production servers to Windows 2012 over a weekend and a key person in our organization was on leave. When we checked with PDS to see what cost would be involved if we needed their help, they said it was included in our regular maintenance, no extra cost.
  • The PDS User’s Conference is an excellent learning opportunity for training on everything Vista does, including using Crystal Reports for custom reporting. You also get to meet and talk to the executive and development staff and have direct input into the future product development.
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Cons
ADP
  • When processing bonuses, it would be nice to have a NET pay selection, in addition to the GROSS pay selection.
  • I receive WAY too many emails asking me to purchase additional services, including some that we already have through ADP.
  • I receive(d) daily requests for our Section 125 Compliance documentation, which I sent over four times to each different individual who requested them. ADP "mentioned" they'd charge us $350 for this compliance plan, even though we have it and proved it by submitting the "required submission" of the policy multiple times. It's very frustrating, and it causes me to worry about (A), the validity of the request and (B) ADP's recordkeeping, since they can't keep up with the document I've sent multiple times.
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Personnel Data Systems (PDS)
  • Typical of any system built for the unknown requirements of hundreds or thousands of customers with varying needs, PDS sometimes doesn't fit our processes precisely out of the box. However, this con is far outweighed by the ability to configure and customize the system.
  • The most significant pet peeve of our users is the necessity for so many clicks to navigate between different areas or the system or to review applicants. These items are being addressed based on feedback from the user community in an upcoming release.
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Likelihood to Renew
ADP
It is much better than the payroll system I used previously. The integrations that RUN has for on-boarding new hires are very convenient when they work properly. It saves a tremendous amount of time being able to email a link to new employees that allows them to enter much of their own demographic information. Payroll feature alerts me when someone's pay is significantly less or more than usual.
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Personnel Data Systems (PDS)
I feel so invested in Vista HRMS that I don't really want to try other options. I know we as an organization are not using this product to it's full potential and that is just due to us lacking the resources to be able to invest the time into breaking it apart and making it work to the best ability for us. The system works great as is, but there are a lot of implementations we can put into place to help us out even more. For example, we would love to start using Workflow to create more efficiencies. I personally have a very good relationship with our hosted vendor who supports Vista HRMS and can help me with any issues and concerns, this is a big part of the reason that I would renew with this product and continue to be an advocate for Vista HRMS.
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Usability
ADP
I have been using this system for years and they have actually made it easier and easier. The system is always making great upgrades that don't necessarily require any additional information or training. I love when I log in and see a new feature or button that I get to use to make my life easier!
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Personnel Data Systems (PDS)
In my line of work, PDS Vista doesn't fit. I recruit and manager talent pipelines, as well as all onboarding aspects of 11 companies. I spend more hours getting data configured and searching for information within this software than I spend with my candidates. Theres an abundance duplication, and there isn't a single stream of information shared across screens. I have to input the SAME details into several screens for them to match up. Nothing is intuitive, and its certainly not end user friendly
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Reliability and Availability
ADP
We've had very little issue with RUN availability, only a couple times there were outages when least expected which occurred on our actual payroll due date
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Personnel Data Systems (PDS)
No answers on this topic
Performance
ADP
ADP Run loads a bit slowly at times, once I put in my credentials. However, that said, I think my perception of the time it takes is impacted by our "instant gratification" expectation of being able to get into everything quickly.
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Personnel Data Systems (PDS)
No answers on this topic
Support Rating
ADP
I appreciated having that issue finally take care of. it was extremely disheartening to see the issue had not been resolved. I also had my employees looking to me and thinking I was not trying to resolve the issue so it reflected poorly on my character. I do not know if i was because of a miscommunication, but nonetheless I was happy it was taken care of
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Personnel Data Systems (PDS)
PDS has excellent customer service and support. We get answers to the
majority of our questions and problems quickly, within the day that we
call. More complex issues that may require PDS’ technical support are
usually addressed within a few days
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In-Person Training
ADP
they helped up with the 1st payroll after that we were fine - it is very user friendly- they wanted to be sure everything had imported correctly.
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Personnel Data Systems (PDS)
No answers on this topic
Online Training
ADP
very easy to learn i think it took maybe one payroll to have it down and we were up and running
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Personnel Data Systems (PDS)
The resources and online tools that PDS provide are extremely thorough and helpful in our training and learning.
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Implementation Rating
ADP
Make sure there's plenty of time between payrolls for the implementation and be sure to test all the manually inputted fields.
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Personnel Data Systems (PDS)
Ask lots of questions, ensure you fully understand the functionality (particularly history records) and train, train, train the users for correct and complete utilization of the system.
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Alternatives Considered
ADP
ADP seemed to have more customer service capabilities, I can get questions answered pretty quickly vs. the previous company we used. Also, the fact that you can utilize several products under the RUN Powered by ADP® umbrella was a plus. We feel the product is easier to use and the learning curve was minimal. Customer service is easily accessible.
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Personnel Data Systems (PDS)
I've used Peoplesoft HCM in the past. The products have some similarities, but they are marketed to different sized companies, so it's a bit of apples to oranges. Peoplesoft was very complex and challenging to manage and support. Vista HRMS should require fewer technical resources and still provide robust features for HR and Payroll. We selected Vista HRMS because it met the majority of our requirements and was priced to enable us to purchase and implement it within our budget. Also, it's an integrated system (although not truly one system when you count Vista Time) which is an improvement over our current state.
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Scalability
ADP
Every summer, we hire three new college interns who have to be entered into the system. They can enter their information themselves, which takes a load off me. The onboarding is quite straightforward, and today's college kids are techy enough to be able to understand it.
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Personnel Data Systems (PDS)
No answers on this topic
Return on Investment
ADP
  • RUN Powered by ADP® saves us an inordinate amount of time because payroll reports are complete immediately after payroll is submitted. Other companies have a 20-min cycle after submittal before reports are made available.
  • RUN Powered by ADP® saves us time by allowing processors to update/change the paycheck date without emailing and requesting an update. It can be done when WE are ready! Relying on the availability of an assigned processing agent at other companies is a time drain.
  • RUN Powered by ADP® provides a personable representative who is devoted to our practice and is knowledgeable about our client.
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Personnel Data Systems (PDS)
  • Positive impact would definitely be self-service for both employees and managers to view and update selected data.
  • Through some analytics our managers are able to track turnover for their site/department by many criteria (length of service, reason, etc) and can view a number of other analytical reports such as headcount and demographics which help them to make informed decisions about their department.
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ScreenShots

RUN Powered by ADP® Screenshots

Screenshot of the RUN Dashboard with the business' key info front-and-centerScreenshot of the payroll interfaceScreenshot of access to payroll reports and liability amountsScreenshot of the RUN Powered by ADP mobile app, used to process payroll on the goScreenshot of the ADP mobile app, where employees can access their historical payroll statements and year-end tax documents

PDS Vista Screenshots

Screenshot of employee data, which is the heart of a corporate knowledge base. Within Vista, an organized database of employees, applicants, jobs, and positions can be created and maintained. The product’s flexibility allows users to structure corporate data as simply or as complicated as business needs require.Screenshot of Vista Payroll, which is designed to strike the perfect balance between power and simplicity. It is designed to process large volumes of data within tight time constraints, whether U.S., Canadian, or Caribbean.

Vista Payroll is focused on its main tasks of calculating pay, creating paychecks, producing payroll registers, and federal, state, local, and provincial tax reports.Screenshot of the included Vista Benefits features, which can include unlimited plans and coverage levels, automated benefits eligibility, auto-housekeeping of valuations and premiums.Screenshot of Vista Recruiting, which presents critical applicant information in an efficient manner for both human resources professionals and hiring managers, alike.

Vista Recruiting gives HR departments command over the entire hiring process for each department in every location while more easily tracking and controlling costs, improving applicant management, strengthening relationships with applicants, and reducing paperwork for the HR team.