RUN Powered by ADP® vs. QuickBooks Desktop Premier

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
RUN Powered by ADP®
Score 8.5 out of 10
Small Businesses (1-50 employees)
RUN powered by ADP is a benefits administration and payroll platform for small businesses with light additional HR features. It runs on a cloud-based platform with mobile accessibility.N/A
QuickBooks Desktop Premier
Score 8.2 out of 10
N/A
QuickBooks Desktop Premier is an installed version of QuickBooks for general business, contractors, manufacturing and warehouse accounting, as well as nonprofits, professional services, and retail.N/A
Pricing
RUN Powered by ADP®QuickBooks Desktop Premier
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
RUN Powered by ADP®QuickBooks Desktop Premier
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
RUN Powered by ADP®QuickBooks Desktop Premier
Considered Both Products
RUN Powered by ADP®
Chose RUN Powered by ADP®
I chose ADP because of their reviews and their ability to explain everything. They also set us up very quickly during a time that we needed immediate access to payroll. We have not had any issues at all since.
Chose RUN Powered by ADP®
ADP is part of Tech Soup, a great help to us.
Chose RUN Powered by ADP®
We were looking for a payroll service that could combine a time card service to reduce errors. RUN has done what we expected. Look out when setting your company up. I wasn't here for setup and found many errors on the company's W2s.
QuickBooks Desktop Premier

No answer on this topic

Top Pros
Top Cons
Features
RUN Powered by ADP®QuickBooks Desktop Premier
Payroll Management
Comparison of Payroll Management features of Product A and Product B
RUN Powered by ADP®
8.3
206 Ratings
0% above category average
QuickBooks Desktop Premier
8.9
47 Ratings
17% above category average
Pay calculation9.4199 Ratings7.046 Ratings
Support for external payroll vendors7.960 Ratings00 Ratings
Off-cycle/On-Demand payment8.8129 Ratings00 Ratings
Benefit plan administration8.185 Ratings10.020 Ratings
Direct deposit files9.5192 Ratings8.036 Ratings
Salary revision and increment management9.3148 Ratings9.927 Ratings
Reimbursement management5.138 Ratings9.529 Ratings
Customization
Comparison of Customization features of Product A and Product B
RUN Powered by ADP®
-
Ratings
QuickBooks Desktop Premier
1.3
20 Ratings
138% below category average
API for custom integration00 Ratings1.315 Ratings
Plug-ins00 Ratings1.320 Ratings
Security
Comparison of Security features of Product A and Product B
RUN Powered by ADP®
-
Ratings
QuickBooks Desktop Premier
7.4
49 Ratings
8% below category average
Single sign-on capability00 Ratings4.843 Ratings
Role-based user permissions00 Ratings10.040 Ratings
Reporting & Analytics
Comparison of Reporting & Analytics features of Product A and Product B
RUN Powered by ADP®
-
Ratings
QuickBooks Desktop Premier
6.8
57 Ratings
11% below category average
Dashboards00 Ratings4.948 Ratings
Standard reports00 Ratings7.856 Ratings
Custom reports00 Ratings7.854 Ratings
General Ledger and Configurable Accounting
Comparison of General Ledger and Configurable Accounting features of Product A and Product B
RUN Powered by ADP®
-
Ratings
QuickBooks Desktop Premier
7.1
60 Ratings
4% below category average
Accounts payable00 Ratings7.058 Ratings
Accounts receivable00 Ratings7.059 Ratings
Cash management00 Ratings8.054 Ratings
Bank reconciliation00 Ratings8.057 Ratings
Expense management00 Ratings6.156 Ratings
Time tracking00 Ratings5.028 Ratings
Fixed asset management00 Ratings5.139 Ratings
Multi-currency support00 Ratings9.018 Ratings
Multi-division support00 Ratings7.033 Ratings
Regulations compliance00 Ratings1.819 Ratings
Electronic tax filing00 Ratings10.028 Ratings
Self-service portal00 Ratings8.017 Ratings
Global Financial Support00 Ratings9.03 Ratings
Primary and Secondary Ledgers00 Ratings7.06 Ratings
Intercompany Accounting00 Ratings9.08 Ratings
Localizations00 Ratings5.01 Ratings
Journals and Reconciliations00 Ratings7.014 Ratings
Enterprise Accounting00 Ratings9.05 Ratings
Configurable Accounting00 Ratings7.16 Ratings
Centralized Rules Framework00 Ratings9.93 Ratings
Standardized Processes00 Ratings4.37 Ratings
Inventory Management
Comparison of Inventory Management features of Product A and Product B
RUN Powered by ADP®
-
Ratings
QuickBooks Desktop Premier
2.9
36 Ratings
83% below category average
Inventory tracking00 Ratings1.735 Ratings
Automatic reordering00 Ratings1.015 Ratings
Location management00 Ratings8.019 Ratings
Manufacturing module00 Ratings1.017 Ratings
Order Management
Comparison of Order Management features of Product A and Product B
RUN Powered by ADP®
-
Ratings
QuickBooks Desktop Premier
7.0
38 Ratings
5% below category average
Pricing00 Ratings10.030 Ratings
Order entry00 Ratings10.031 Ratings
Credit card processing00 Ratings7.027 Ratings
Cost of goods sold00 Ratings6.334 Ratings
Order Orchestration00 Ratings10.03 Ratings
End-to-end order visibility00 Ratings1.04 Ratings
Order exception Resolution00 Ratings5.01 Ratings
Best Alternatives
RUN Powered by ADP®QuickBooks Desktop Premier
Small Businesses
Patriot Software
Patriot Software
Score 9.0 out of 10
Dext Prepare (with Receipt Bank)
Dext Prepare (with Receipt Bank)
Score 9.1 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Paypro Workforce Management
Paypro Workforce Management
Score 9.5 out of 10
Accounting Seed
Accounting Seed
Score 8.3 out of 10
Enterprises
Infor Human Resources
Infor Human Resources
Score 7.3 out of 10
Oracle Fusion Cloud ERP
Oracle Fusion Cloud ERP
Score 8.1 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
RUN Powered by ADP®QuickBooks Desktop Premier
Likelihood to Recommend
8.5
(272 ratings)
3.0
(63 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.8
(19 ratings)
1.3
(12 ratings)
Usability
9.8
(12 ratings)
7.0
(14 ratings)
Availability
9.2
(6 ratings)
8.9
(5 ratings)
Performance
8.3
(6 ratings)
5.7
(4 ratings)
Support Rating
8.4
(22 ratings)
1.1
(12 ratings)
In-Person Training
9.6
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Online Training
9.6
(2 ratings)
1.0
(1 ratings)
Implementation Rating
9.3
(9 ratings)
7.2
(7 ratings)
Configurability
8.2
(4 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
Ease of integration
9.1
(1 ratings)
7.0
(1 ratings)
Product Scalability
9.0
(7 ratings)
6.2
(4 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
9.4
(3 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
8.2
(4 ratings)
7.0
(1 ratings)
User Testimonials
RUN Powered by ADP®QuickBooks Desktop Premier
Likelihood to Recommend
ADP
When we hire remote workers, living in other states, RUN Powered by ADP has been supportive and an excellent resource. We know we can contact them with questions and they will set us in the right direction. From how to get set up in other states (with specific contact information) to general questions, they've been great.
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Intuit
QuickBooks Premier is not well suited to manufacturing industries, as it cannot handle the complicated inventory requirements of raw materials, work in process, and finished goods. Retailers and Wholesalers can use QuickBooks Premier as long as they have an add-on inventory tracking program or Point of Sale system that integrates with QuickBooks. Likewise, restaurants would need specialized restaurant software that integrates with QuickBooks Premier. Non-profits can use QuickBooks Premier non-profit edition, but if they use fund accounting, it will require some complicated work-arounds. QuickBooks Premier is well-suited to most construction trades, personal and professional services providers, small retailers, and rental property owners.
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Pros
ADP
  • Once set up RUN is simple enough for non-accountants to feel comfortable navigating
  • RUN provides ample notifications to ensure payroll is processed in time for employees to receive their pay checks on schedule.
  • RUN does a great job of making sure all state and federal reporting is taken care of
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Intuit
  • The program is easy to learn and use. We can train our clients' personnel how to use the program with out difficulty.
  • It is easy for clients to generate bills and manage accounts receivable.
  • It is easy to manage accounts payable and allows clients to pay their bills electronically.
  • Transactions can be imported electronically for credit card and banking transactions.
  • It is easy to reconcile bank and credit card accounts.
  • We can import data generated by QuickBooks into our tax and accounting software.
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Cons
ADP
  • Being a small company and as a designated owner, the employee who processes payroll is the only person that gets the notification that payroll is submitted. As the "Owner," it would be best if the "owner" could also get a copy of the processing of payroll. I have to log in to review what was actually submitted...so if incorrect and I miss checking immediately, an employee could be paid incorrectly.
  • The PTO / vacation accrual product does not have the ability to provide a "liability" report of what the accrual balances owed are. I started using the product only to find out that a liability report was not available, nor could it be created.
  • Employee change form is only available after payroll is submitted. It would be more helpful to have the change form available before submission so any potential incorrect changes could be identified before running a final payroll.
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Intuit
  • I would like to be able to choose how i want to view accounts receivable aging. I would like some flexibility to sort and choose how to present the data.
  • For a seasoned accountant, I would like to see some of the restrictive controls that are in place for novices to be able to be relaxed so that I can easily make some entries and adjust some balances that ordinarily a regular user would not be able to do.
  • I would like to see an easy way to clear old outstanding checks that need to be reversed without affecting prior balances/history.
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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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Intuit
Because we have been extremely happy with the product and our organization tends to be creatures of habit. We rarely leave a product that works this well for the latest and greatest. Typically we follow the "if it's not broken, don't fix it rule". While QB does make changes we typically just roll with it. If we do find something we don't like we work through it until we fully understand its functionality.
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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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Intuit
QuickBooks is an amazing tool that provides all of the necessary features needed to run the finances of a company. I would like for QuickBooks to provide better resources for training. There are many features that go unused because of lack of knowledge. Procore offers chatting and calls on their platform and they make it easy and accessible to get answers and solutions.
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Reliability and Availability
ADP
I have never had an instance of an outage. It is always available as I have added data while travelling, on weekends, and in after work hours. Retrieving pdf's is also available at any time for employees and benefit participants.
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Intuit
This is very reliable software, the desktop version is fast. If there is a problem, it is most likely on your own hardware!
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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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Intuit
It takes forever to load.
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Support Rating
ADP
At times it takes a few minutes to reach someone and sometimes the ADP automated voice prompt does not recognize my name when I say it. Also, sometimes I am forwarded to different departments and I have to explain my issue 2 or 3 times. It is hard to know whether it is an ADP Run/payroll processing issue versus an ADP Time and Attendance issue. Over the last year or so that I have called ADP, sometimes I am left on hold for a very long time.
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Intuit
This is an awesome product and the support team is very knowledgeable. The product is mature, so there are not a lot of bugs and the support team really solves problems quickly. Usually it is a user error issue, but the support desk helps me out. I love the fact that it is US based support.
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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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Intuit
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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Intuit
No answers on this topic
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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Intuit
It is important to do your research. There are tutorial videos online that could help new user of this accounting system. These tutorials are straightforward and easily understandable.
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Alternatives Considered
ADP
While Paychex Flex was a decent payroll processing product, the customer service support was terrible. We were unable to reach our assigned payroll support team member constantly. If we had issues that were not pressing, we would send a quick email to get insight or to be addressed and it would go unanswered for WEEKS. This was extremely frustration as while it may not have been pressing at the time, but due to the length of time, it can grow into a snowballing effect.
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Intuit
QuickBooks Premier handles most of my business functions efficiently in one package. It is not my "everything." I use Replicon for time rather than QuickBooks. I don't want my WIP data interfering with my accounting. I use PaySimple for it's web interface and back office processing. I don't have security issues since I don't have any credit card data in my possession. With today's identity theft environment, I have to protect myself as much as I can. Not having credit card data in my accounting software lets me sleep much better at night. Quicken will do basic accounting but does not have all the double entry accounting systems contained in QuickBooks. QuickBooks Online does much of the basic business functions but I don't like the pricing structure. As a professional accountant, that is very important to me. Bill.com provided a good service but the ability of QuickBooks to add bills and receipts to transactions makes it redundant.
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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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Intuit
They're getting better. Still room for improvement.
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Return on Investment
ADP
  • Our client list tripled in less than two years because current clients spoke positively of ADP
  • Since our client list tripled, so did our revenue which was a tremendous increase
  • ADP is one of the best in the market so when we're selling the payroll package to potential clients, they usually know who ADP is and they already have positive ideas about it
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Intuit
  • Since our financials are kept very up to date, it helps us compare our financial results to prior years and it is used for our internal goal setting.
  • Due to the accountant copy function, we are able to provide better service since our clients are not waiting on us to fix historical data. They can continue their operations uninterrupted.
  • The import feature certainly speeds up the process of accounting for our payroll. As previously mentioned, it takes about a minute to do our entries for payroll and check them.
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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