RUN Powered by ADP® vs. Square Payroll

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
Square Payroll
Score 6.1 out of 10
N/A
Square Payroll is a payroll solution for hourly employees, from Square headquartered in San Francisco, California.N/A
Pricing
RUN Powered by ADP®Square Payroll
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
RUN Powered by ADP®Square Payroll
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®Square Payroll
Top Pros
Top Cons
Features
RUN Powered by ADP®Square Payroll
Payroll Management
Comparison of Payroll Management features of Product A and Product B
RUN Powered by ADP®
8.3
206 Ratings
3% above category average
Square Payroll
7.8
6 Ratings
3% below category average
Pay calculation9.4199 Ratings8.96 Ratings
Support for external payroll vendors7.960 Ratings8.65 Ratings
Off-cycle/On-Demand payment8.8129 Ratings4.44 Ratings
Benefit plan administration8.185 Ratings9.15 Ratings
Direct deposit files9.5192 Ratings7.06 Ratings
Salary revision and increment management9.3148 Ratings8.94 Ratings
Reimbursement management5.138 Ratings7.85 Ratings
Best Alternatives
RUN Powered by ADP®Square Payroll
Small Businesses
Patriot Software
Patriot Software
Score 9.0 out of 10
Patriot Software
Patriot Software
Score 9.0 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Paypro Workforce Management
Paypro Workforce Management
Score 9.5 out of 10
Paypro Workforce Management
Paypro Workforce Management
Score 9.5 out of 10
Enterprises
Infor Human Resources
Infor Human Resources
Score 7.3 out of 10
Infor Human Resources
Infor Human Resources
Score 7.3 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
RUN Powered by ADP®Square Payroll
Likelihood to Recommend
8.5
(272 ratings)
4.7
(8 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.8
(19 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Usability
9.8
(12 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
Availability
9.2
(6 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Performance
8.3
(6 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
8.4
(22 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
In-Person Training
9.6
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Online Training
9.6
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
9.2
(9 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Configurability
8.2
(4 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Ease of integration
9.1
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
9.0
(7 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
9.4
(3 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
8.1
(4 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
RUN Powered by ADP®Square Payroll
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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Block, Inc (Square)
Square is an amazing platform to have total control over the payroll of all the employees of a company or a specific sector. This platform has a very good functionality to collect exact information on how long each employee works, that is one of its most outstanding characteristics, because it monitors work schedules and overtime and generates detailed reports on the work time of each employee. Square does not allow to schedule payments, that is one of the main problems, however, I consider that it is a very good option for small and medium-sized companies that are looking for a way to have more exact administrative control over the working hours of all their employees. It is a software that works in the cloud, so all the work information that is collected will remain safe without any risk of loss.
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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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Block, Inc (Square)
  • 1099 contractor payments are easy, and they provide you with the IRS filing as part of the service.
  • Direct deposit/debit from your already connected account to the employee.
  • Reporting and management features are simple yet inclusive.
  • Low cost compared to alternative solutions.
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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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Block, Inc (Square)
  • It's a bit pricey for larger companies at $5 per person paid per month.
  • Has a bit of a learning curve that seems steeper than necessary
  • reports can be confusing at first
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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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Block, Inc (Square)
No answers on this topic
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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Block, Inc (Square)
It could use a mobile-friendly interface. Other than that it's a simple layout and non-cluttered which allows you to get done what you need to get done. No unnecessary dodads or distractions.
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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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Block, Inc (Square)
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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Block, Inc (Square)
No answers on this topic
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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Block, Inc (Square)
I think they have quick and helpful customer service reps, however, I give them a 9 because I have had to wait on hold for long periods of time before.
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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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Block, Inc (Square)
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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Block, Inc (Square)
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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Block, Inc (Square)
No answers on this topic
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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Block, Inc (Square)
I liked patriot, but I found it to be more confusing than Square and took me too much time to setup. I setup Square Payroll in about an hour. I would also say the Square interface made more sense to me. I also like how Square offers more things like benefits, etc. that can be added on.
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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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Block, Inc (Square)
No answers on this topic
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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Block, Inc (Square)
  • Square Payroll has dramatically reduced the time it takes to process payroll.
  • We could have a faster payroll with the Square POS integration for commission, but that is not something we've implemented yet.
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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