ADP SmartCompliance vs. ADP Workforce Now

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
ADP SmartCompliance
Score 8.4 out of 10
N/A
ADP SmartCompliance is a tax and regulatory compliance platform for midsize or larger companies using an ERP or non-ADP platform for HR and HRMS services.N/A
ADP Workforce Now
Score 7.5 out of 10
Mid-Size Companies (51-1,000 employees)
ADP Workforce Now is a cloud-based HR platform for mid-sized businesses. It features customizable modules of various HR services that businesses can tailor to their specific needs, as well as regulatory monitoring and alerts to help businesses remain compliant.N/A
Pricing
ADP SmartComplianceADP Workforce Now
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
Essential
Contact sales team
Enhanced
Contact sales team
Complete
Contact sales team
HR Pro
Contact sales team
Payroll Essentials
Contact sales team
HR Plus
Contact sales team
Hiring Advantage
Contact sales team
Performance Plus
Contact sales team
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
ADP SmartComplianceADP Workforce Now
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
YesYes
Entry-level Setup FeeRequiredRequired
Additional DetailsPricing varies based upon modules deployed and features enabled.Please contact ADP for a product demo and ask about a hands-on "test drive" of Workforce Now.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
ADP SmartComplianceADP Workforce Now
Considered Both Products
ADP SmartCompliance
Chose ADP SmartCompliance
This is different systems and they have different pros and cons. Customer services from UKG are more responsive vs ADP. ADP customer may take a few days or longer to response back. Also, if you give them a call, the wait time for the rep is pretty long which is highly not …
Chose ADP SmartCompliance
I have used ADP for 30+ years. Nothing in my book stacks against ADP.
Chose ADP SmartCompliance
Have only used ADP SmartCompliance at this time. It provides a lot of resources and the information available is good.
ADP Workforce Now
Chose ADP Workforce Now
We loved RUN Powered by ADP, but it was no longer compatible with how big the company was. We currently use and love Monday and Slack. QuickBooks Time is very important to our company, especially construction because it allows GPS tracking of employees. 7shifts is great for …
Chose ADP Workforce Now
Many companies say they have seamless integration, provide a wide-array of reporting capabilities to help achieve compliance, company objectives, analytics. In my experience, only WorkForce has been able to say it and bring it to fruition.
Chose ADP Workforce Now
There was one other payroll system I have used, but I can't recall what it was at this time. ADP [Workforce Now] has been the main one, so I prefer it above others at this time.
Chose ADP Workforce Now
We have always used ADP Workforce Now.
Chose ADP Workforce Now
Although I didn't select ADP Workforce Now for our company, I can say that it stacks up a lot better than other systems I've used or evaluated in the past. The payroll module is user-friendly and very intuitive. It didn't take my team very long at all to get the process down …
Chose ADP Workforce Now
I've used another ADP platform with a previous employer (we referred to the platform as V5) along with Enterprise eTime. Workforce Now is definitely more limited than the V5 platform (it was for an employer with +5,000 employees). Workforce Now is great for small businesses in …
Chose ADP Workforce Now
I think that Workforce Now is more robust and inclusive to make things very efficient on one platform with different modules.
Chose ADP Workforce Now
There are some features in ADP WFN that I love (like the mobile app).
I am on the fence about the reporting...UltiPro BI reporting is really great and I could create reports that I struggle with on ADP WFN.
However ADP reporting is very simple and easy to use so I can see where …
Chose ADP Workforce Now
We have not evaluated any other payroll products in recent years, mostly because we see the value in ADP. Personally, I couldn't bring myself to trust in another payroll company as much as I do ADP. Our company was recently purchased by another company and there was some …
Features
ADP SmartComplianceADP Workforce Now
Type of tax
Comparison of Type of tax features of Product A and Product B
ADP SmartCompliance
7.3
24 Ratings
6% below category average
ADP Workforce Now
-
Ratings
Sales and Use Taxes6.816 Ratings00 Ratings
Cross-border Taxes7.415 Ratings00 Ratings
VAT / GST Taxes7.74 Ratings00 Ratings
Energy and Fuel Taxes7.44 Ratings00 Ratings
Tax Reporting & Compliance
Comparison of Tax Reporting & Compliance features of Product A and Product B
ADP SmartCompliance
7.4
82 Ratings
6% below category average
ADP Workforce Now
-
Ratings
Geolocation for Tax Assessment6.627 Ratings00 Ratings
3rd-Party Software Integrations6.650 Ratings00 Ratings
Tax Data Reporting7.879 Ratings00 Ratings
Compliance Administration Management8.069 Ratings00 Ratings
Tax Exemption Processing8.435 Ratings00 Ratings
Tax Document Management7.471 Ratings00 Ratings
Complex Tax Scenario Management6.852 Ratings00 Ratings
Human Resource Management
Comparison of Human Resource Management features of Product A and Product B
ADP SmartCompliance
-
Ratings
ADP Workforce Now
7.8
1072 Ratings
4% below category average
Employee demographic data00 Ratings8.5947 Ratings
Employment history00 Ratings8.3988 Ratings
Job profiles and administration00 Ratings8.2938 Ratings
Workflow for transfers, promotions, pay raises, etc.00 Ratings7.5964 Ratings
Organizational charting00 Ratings7.2676 Ratings
Organization and location management00 Ratings7.6740 Ratings
Compliance data (COBRA, OSHA, etc.)00 Ratings7.1680 Ratings
Payroll Management
Comparison of Payroll Management features of Product A and Product B
ADP SmartCompliance
-
Ratings
ADP Workforce Now
8.0
1085 Ratings
2% below category average
Pay calculation00 Ratings9.01045 Ratings
Support for external payroll vendors00 Ratings7.8414 Ratings
Off-cycle/On-Demand payment00 Ratings8.2336 Ratings
Benefit plan administration00 Ratings7.5825 Ratings
Direct deposit files00 Ratings9.01032 Ratings
Salary revision and increment management00 Ratings7.3813 Ratings
Reimbursement management00 Ratings7.5498 Ratings
Leave and Attendance Management
Comparison of Leave and Attendance Management features of Product A and Product B
ADP SmartCompliance
-
Ratings
ADP Workforce Now
8.0
890 Ratings
2% below category average
Approval workflow00 Ratings7.7810 Ratings
Balance details00 Ratings8.1844 Ratings
Annual carry-forward and encashment00 Ratings8.1686 Ratings
Employee Self Service
Comparison of Employee Self Service features of Product A and Product B
ADP SmartCompliance
-
Ratings
ADP Workforce Now
7.8
1064 Ratings
5% below category average
View and generate pay and benefit information00 Ratings8.41026 Ratings
Update personal information00 Ratings8.51015 Ratings
View company policy documentation00 Ratings8.0819 Ratings
Employee recognition00 Ratings6.5386 Ratings
View job history00 Ratings7.732 Ratings
Asset Management
Comparison of Asset Management features of Product A and Product B
ADP SmartCompliance
-
Ratings
ADP Workforce Now
6.0
12 Ratings
29% below category average
Tracking of all physical assets00 Ratings6.012 Ratings
HR Reporting
Comparison of HR Reporting features of Product A and Product B
ADP SmartCompliance
-
Ratings
ADP Workforce Now
6.9
988 Ratings
9% below category average
Report builder00 Ratings7.6971 Ratings
Pre-built reports00 Ratings7.2966 Ratings
Ability to combine HR data with external data00 Ratings5.7575 Ratings
Onboarding
Comparison of Onboarding features of Product A and Product B
ADP SmartCompliance
-
Ratings
ADP Workforce Now
7.3
150 Ratings
9% below category average
New hire portal00 Ratings7.6146 Ratings
Manager tracking tools00 Ratings6.9118 Ratings
Performance and Goals
Comparison of Performance and Goals features of Product A and Product B
ADP SmartCompliance
-
Ratings
ADP Workforce Now
6.8
335 Ratings
17% below category average
Corporate goal setting00 Ratings6.9261 Ratings
Individual goal setting00 Ratings6.6313 Ratings
Line-of sight-visibility00 Ratings6.8258 Ratings
Performance tracking00 Ratings7.0308 Ratings
Performance Management
Comparison of Performance Management features of Product A and Product B
ADP SmartCompliance
-
Ratings
ADP Workforce Now
6.5
432 Ratings
19% below category average
Performance plans00 Ratings6.5389 Ratings
Performance improvement plans00 Ratings6.2332 Ratings
Review status tracking00 Ratings6.2392 Ratings
Review reminders00 Ratings7.0408 Ratings
Multiple review frequency00 Ratings6.5341 Ratings
Succession Planning
Comparison of Succession Planning features of Product A and Product B
ADP SmartCompliance
-
Ratings
ADP Workforce Now
6.0
7 Ratings
26% below category average
Create succession plans/pools00 Ratings5.86 Ratings
Candidate ranking00 Ratings5.86 Ratings
Candidate search00 Ratings6.37 Ratings
Candidate development00 Ratings6.26 Ratings
Recruiting / ATS
Comparison of Recruiting / ATS features of Product A and Product B
ADP SmartCompliance
-
Ratings
ADP Workforce Now
5.7
445 Ratings
31% below category average
Job Requisition Management00 Ratings7.0389 Ratings
Company Website Posting00 Ratings6.7381 Ratings
Publish to Social Media00 Ratings4.6305 Ratings
Job Search Site Posting00 Ratings6.0341 Ratings
Duplicate Candidate Prevention00 Ratings2.38 Ratings
Applicant Tracking00 Ratings6.7384 Ratings
Notifications and Alerts00 Ratings6.9404 Ratings
Best Alternatives
ADP SmartComplianceADP Workforce Now
Small Businesses
TaxJar
TaxJar
Score 8.0 out of 10
Dayforce Powerpay
Dayforce Powerpay
Score 9.3 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Lappa
Lappa
Score 9.0 out of 10
Paypro Workforce Management
Paypro Workforce Management
Score 9.1 out of 10
Enterprises
Vertex
Vertex
Score 8.5 out of 10
PeopleStrong
PeopleStrong
Score 10.0 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
ADP SmartComplianceADP Workforce Now
Likelihood to Recommend
8.7
(165 ratings)
8.0
(1123 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
7.1
(39 ratings)
7.9
(83 ratings)
Usability
7.2
(45 ratings)
2.6
(80 ratings)
Availability
7.1
(16 ratings)
7.3
(14 ratings)
Performance
6.9
(16 ratings)
6.4
(13 ratings)
Support Rating
6.6
(44 ratings)
6.4
(494 ratings)
In-Person Training
8.7
(6 ratings)
8.2
(9 ratings)
Online Training
8.0
(11 ratings)
5.8
(17 ratings)
Implementation Rating
5.4
(31 ratings)
1.5
(34 ratings)
Configurability
7.6
(14 ratings)
6.4
(10 ratings)
Ease of integration
6.6
(12 ratings)
6.1
(8 ratings)
Product Scalability
7.0
(15 ratings)
7.9
(785 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
7.7
(12 ratings)
5.2
(8 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
8.5
(10 ratings)
6.1
(8 ratings)
User Testimonials
ADP SmartComplianceADP Workforce Now
Likelihood to Recommend
ADP
ADP SmartCompliance reduces a great deal of the strain on our department by easily remaining compliant. Particularly with several state and federal demands, payroll compliance can quickly become a struggle; ADP helps us keep all requests and court paperwork in one place. I appreciate how it automates reporting, garnishments, and tax returns to free us from constant concern over missing deadlines or making calculation mistakes. Knowing that things are being correctly handled gives peace of mind, saves time, and lowers double work. With everything being tracked and recorded, it helps reduce back-and-forth while handling notices.
Read full review
ADP
The ease in which you can process payroll and year end (T4s). Ability to maintain payroll - enter upcoming changes (e.g. pay raises for a certain date) ahead of time. While we don't use it in my current company, in past ones the time & attendance integration with timesheets is fabulous. Our company uses a 3rd party scheduling & timesheet platform which also integrates with one click but is a little more work to maintain time off balances within ADP Workforce Now. We use the 3rd party platform (Evolia) for scheduling and timesheets as the management here wanted the ability to see salaried employees on site, have a chat feature, and some self-management on the employee side with the ability to swap shifts.
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Pros
ADP
  • Allows you to submit for tax jurisdiction setup
  • Has a dashboard to indicate if any tax filings for the quarter are at risk and what the problem might be
  • Has a great layout of all your payroll processing invoices
  • Allows you to download copies of the tax filings ADP does on your behalf
  • Allows you to submit tax notices directly within the site
Read full review
ADP
  • HRIS that is personalized for the employee and addresses DE&I needs.
  • Payroll, of course! The system addresses all needs, such as deductions, additional pay, premium OT, and shift differentials.
  • Onboarding is an excellent way to stay in compliance and have all documents completed.
  • Tax and Banking and resolution to any issues.
Read full review
Cons
ADP
  • Local Tax Help - Mainly PA employees. I wish there was an easier way to see that we have the employees setup correctly.
  • Tickets not in emails - What I mean is that they have a ticket system so that you can talk to your account manager, but there is no easy way to then pull up those tickets like you would if it were in emails. Sometimes we want to see how we handled something before and it gets tricky.
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ADP
  • Customized pre-process payroll reports (Limited on pre-process payroll reports)
  • Labor Allocation (Allocations make payroll reporting very hard to review and find any errors )
  • Recruiting (ATS is very basic)
  • Geofencing (should be able to change shape rather than a circle)
  • Pay Classes (should be able to change at Practitioner level rather than reach out to support)
  • Cookies and Cache have to be cleared on a regular basis
  • Only able to see employee documents/acknowledgements one at a time in the employee file
  • Timecards can only be managed/viewed by 1 person
  • Timeoff emails do not have a link
  • Cost per payroll - not just monthly fee so cost with off cycle payrolls
  • Separate I9 step not needed - during onboarding - 2nd Everify step
  • ADP Workforce Now does not pull in allowances for Houly employees into payroll ONLY Salaried employees
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Likelihood to Renew
ADP
ADP displays value continuously by automating compliance processes, reducing risk, and saving time. It ensures that tax filings are accurate, efficient notice management, and seamless integration with payroll systems, which minimizes penalties and manual work. The platforms reliability and strong support make it essential for maintaining compliance within our company and department
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ADP
Due to the lack of support from the sales and service center we are looking at other options outside of ADP. Again it is a good system, it just lacks the support it deserves from the company employees. It is just unimaginable that you will need to reach out to a service provider several times for the same issue and not get it resolved.
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Usability
ADP
For the most part, one can get in and learn how to navigate the system by just clicking on one of the suject areas. If you have a good clientrepresentative, they will inform you of new features/functionality and give you a quick demo. This is helpful for one to go back in and navigate to learn how it works and usefulness.
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ADP
I would give it a 10 however I do not like when ADP does facelifts in Workforce Now which does not add any value other than having to relearn navigation. I am also not a big fan of being forced to refer to the Bridge. We have Google which gives the same results. If I understood the answer I would not contact our Account Rep.
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Reliability and Availability
ADP
Availability is good, with only one or two instances of not being able to access the system at all which were quickly fixed. Some features do not work correctly from time to time, such as the "Help" function or the "Sync" function.
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ADP
ADP outages are very rare
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Performance
ADP
If ADP is having issues, they communicate the problem within the solution once you log in. They also communicate that the issue will be fixed promptly. Reports run efficiently and in a reasonable amount of time. Also, the reports allow for various reporting types to be produced like a PDF or a Microsoft Excel file.
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ADP
Overall, I think the functionality of the program works pretty well. Sometimes, certain browsers do not work well for the policy function of ADP, but that is the only issue thus far
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Support Rating
ADP
As mentioned in the last comment, everyone and everything has been great. However sometimes you get one person that I feel can bring a score down and the current dedicated tax representative I have I do not feel is very supportive.
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ADP
Kelly La Rosa and Brian McLaughlin have been exceptional partners over the last few years and a tremendous source of support in my role. They are consistently solution‑oriented, highly responsive, and proactive in identifying opportunities to improve our processes. Both regularly brought forward thoughtful recommendations, including suggestions for new ADP products that aligned well with our evolving needs. Their expertise, reliability, and genuine commitment to client success have made a meaningful impact on my work and on our overall experience with ADP.
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In-Person Training
ADP
Exceptional Training Services Received during and after our Build . The teams of ADP Professionals assisted on a daily basis with tight deadlines and testing, each day , each Qtr. and annual processes including setting up local and State agencies for the 50 State we are reporting since our Workday go live 4/1/23. The process was seamless.
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ADP
In-person training was pretty good - I think this significantly depends on the trainer. Our trainer was really good and showed what ADP can do - but I know that all trainers are not the same - and this truly makes such as difference. Overall, our training went pretty well.
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Online Training
ADP
Online training give us more flexible on timing. We always have a pack schedule and not able to attend training in person. Online training with recording is a good source for us especially we can review it again and again. The down side is we are unable ask question in person
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ADP
At the time training was not as expansive as it is now. If it could go wrong it did for me so the process was difficult and lengthy. I needed to have more in person walkthroughs of things to ensure the transition was done correctly. Not sure what else I can say, we were part of the initial move to Workforce Now when it was introduced.
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Implementation Rating
ADP
I wasn't too hands on with integration portion of this product so I can't completely give an honest answer to that. I have been told that the training improves alot for each individual as they go through the process and it improves success. These individuals are able to do alot more than me in regards to implementation.
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ADP
Either assign more than one specialist to the implementation process, or assign less clients to the implementation specialist. The process requires attention to detail and the ability to test and re-test as well as verify the information. It also requires a lot of back and forth between the client ant the implementation specialist, so they need to be readily available during the whole implementation process.
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Alternatives Considered
ADP
We reviewed MasterTax and Ceridian before selecting ADP's Employment Tax four years ago. ADP SmartCompliance was selected because it was thought that this solution would save us time and resources. We have since revisited MasterTax and have looked at Asure as well. These companies offer more control and require more manual intervention before returns are filed and payments made as a tradeoff.
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ADP
I also used UltiPro (way back -- it didn't even appear in dropdown). Recommend ADP Workforce Now above all others. Paycor and Paycom were both very clunky. I even helped implement Paycom and could never get it to work how the business needed it to.
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Scalability
ADP
ADP has the ability to scale across departments. This was found to be true when we rolled out the wage payment solution. ADP users are able to view their pay stubs on their phones and/or computers. This wage payment portal offers W2 storage and paystub storage for access at any time by an employee.
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ADP
We have several departments that utilize the reporting, utilize the timecards and the system. We also have self service that is nice for all of our employees. This system allows us to designate what each group can see, and what employees can change, or who can clock in and out offsite
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Return on Investment
ADP
  • we were able to outsource our garnishments, so that the bulk task it handled by someone else.
  • we have been able to process tickets quicker for missing deposits can we can see if the payment was sent back from the bank.
  • we are able to fund our final pay payments more efficiently and quicker
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ADP
  • ADP WorkforceNow has provided a positive ROI for our company. It has saved me countless hours in the time I used to spend preparing reports, managing benefits, and annual enrollment, recruitment tracking, and much more.
  • The integration with Payscale has allowed our company to take every position in our organization and benchmark it to industries and job titles. This has allowed us to be more competitive on recruitment and retention.
  • We have used the new DE&I dashboard to provide valuable information on the landscape of our workforce, as well as areas of our organization that may not be as diverse.
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ScreenShots

ADP SmartCompliance Screenshots

Screenshot of

ADP Workforce Now Screenshots

Screenshot of ADP Workforce Now: a simple and complete human capital management solutionScreenshot of Benchmarking by ADP DataCloud: an application with an extensive data set ... available to ADP Workforce Now clientsScreenshot of ADP Workforce Now clients can equip their employees with the ADP Mobile self-service app