ADP SmartCompliance vs. Frontline HCM (Aesop Online)

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
ADP SmartCompliance
Score 8.2 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
Frontline HCM (Aesop Online)
Score 8.0 out of 10
N/A
N/AN/A
Pricing
ADP SmartComplianceFrontline HCM (Aesop Online)
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
ADP SmartComplianceFrontline HCM (Aesop Online)
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
YesNo
Entry-level Setup FeeRequiredNo setup fee
Additional DetailsPricing varies based upon modules deployed and features enabled.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
ADP SmartComplianceFrontline HCM (Aesop Online)
Top Pros
Top Cons
Features
ADP SmartComplianceFrontline HCM (Aesop Online)
Type of tax
Comparison of Type of tax features of Product A and Product B
ADP SmartCompliance
8.9
9 Ratings
12% above category average
Frontline HCM (Aesop Online)
-
Ratings
Sales and Use Taxes9.53 Ratings00 Ratings
Cross-border Taxes8.07 Ratings00 Ratings
VAT / GST Taxes9.11 Ratings00 Ratings
Energy and Fuel Taxes9.11 Ratings00 Ratings
Tax Reporting & Compliance
Comparison of Tax Reporting & Compliance features of Product A and Product B
ADP SmartCompliance
7.7
40 Ratings
3% below category average
Frontline HCM (Aesop Online)
-
Ratings
Geolocation for Tax Assessment7.111 Ratings00 Ratings
3rd-Party Software Integrations8.121 Ratings00 Ratings
Tax Data Reporting7.939 Ratings00 Ratings
Compliance Administration Management7.132 Ratings00 Ratings
Tax Exemption Processing8.015 Ratings00 Ratings
Tax Document Management7.332 Ratings00 Ratings
Complex Tax Scenario Management8.124 Ratings00 Ratings
Human Resource Management
Comparison of Human Resource Management features of Product A and Product B
ADP SmartCompliance
-
Ratings
Frontline HCM (Aesop Online)
7.0
5 Ratings
12% below category average
Employee demographic data00 Ratings6.02 Ratings
Employment history00 Ratings5.01 Ratings
Job profiles and administration00 Ratings6.53 Ratings
Organization and location management00 Ratings8.52 Ratings
Compliance data (COBRA, OSHA, etc.)00 Ratings9.01 Ratings
Leave and Attendance Management
Comparison of Leave and Attendance Management features of Product A and Product B
ADP SmartCompliance
-
Ratings
Frontline HCM (Aesop Online)
9.5
5 Ratings
16% above category average
Approval workflow00 Ratings8.95 Ratings
Balance details00 Ratings10.05 Ratings
Annual carry-forward and encashment00 Ratings9.73 Ratings
Employee Self Service
Comparison of Employee Self Service features of Product A and Product B
ADP SmartCompliance
-
Ratings
Frontline HCM (Aesop Online)
6.9
3 Ratings
16% below category average
Update personal information00 Ratings7.01 Ratings
View company policy documentation00 Ratings6.12 Ratings
View job history00 Ratings7.52 Ratings
HR Reporting
Comparison of HR Reporting features of Product A and Product B
ADP SmartCompliance
-
Ratings
Frontline HCM (Aesop Online)
8.0
4 Ratings
5% above category average
Report builder00 Ratings7.23 Ratings
Pre-built reports00 Ratings8.84 Ratings
Ability to combine HR data with external data00 Ratings7.92 Ratings
Onboarding
Comparison of Onboarding features of Product A and Product B
ADP SmartCompliance
-
Ratings
Frontline HCM (Aesop Online)
8.0
1 Ratings
0% below category average
New hire portal00 Ratings7.01 Ratings
Manager tracking tools00 Ratings9.01 Ratings
Performance Management
Comparison of Performance Management features of Product A and Product B
ADP SmartCompliance
-
Ratings
Frontline HCM (Aesop Online)
7.0
1 Ratings
13% below category average
Performance plans00 Ratings7.01 Ratings
Succession Planning
Comparison of Succession Planning features of Product A and Product B
ADP SmartCompliance
-
Ratings
Frontline HCM (Aesop Online)
10.0
1 Ratings
23% above category average
Candidate search00 Ratings10.01 Ratings
Best Alternatives
ADP SmartComplianceFrontline HCM (Aesop Online)
Small Businesses
Canopy
Canopy
Score 9.5 out of 10
Patriot Software
Patriot Software
Score 9.0 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
LOVAT
LOVAT
Score 10.0 out of 10
Paypro Workforce Management
Paypro Workforce Management
Score 9.5 out of 10
Enterprises
Vertex
Vertex
Score 8.3 out of 10
Infor Human Resources
Infor Human Resources
Score 7.3 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
ADP SmartComplianceFrontline HCM (Aesop Online)
Likelihood to Recommend
8.4
(134 ratings)
8.2
(16 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
7.8
(29 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
Usability
7.8
(37 ratings)
9.0
(3 ratings)
Availability
8.9
(12 ratings)
8.0
(1 ratings)
Performance
8.5
(12 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Support Rating
5.6
(37 ratings)
9.0
(5 ratings)
In-Person Training
4.6
(4 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Online Training
8.2
(9 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
4.8
(22 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
Configurability
7.9
(10 ratings)
8.0
(1 ratings)
Ease of integration
6.9
(9 ratings)
7.0
(1 ratings)
Product Scalability
8.7
(11 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
5.4
(9 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
6.3
(8 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
User Testimonials
ADP SmartComplianceFrontline HCM (Aesop Online)
Likelihood to Recommend
ADP
There has been much end user improvement on this site over the 3 years that I have been using it. I really appreciate the focus and attention ADP has place on making this a user friendly site so that their customers can better navigate their payroll tax issues. I look forward to the additional features that will be added in another three years time. I really am able to be quite efficient within my role because of the ease of use of this site.
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Frontline Education
Frontline is well suited for an organization such as a school district where teachers sometimes need to put in for a substitute at the last minute or especially early in the morning. The system also helps with substitutes in picking up the jobs when a teacher puts in an absence.
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Pros
ADP
  • It helps us identify our employees who entered their account information incorrectly and get the payment reissued to them as quickly as possible.
  • It helps us quickly and securely issue payment to employees who terminate.
  • We efficiently get our garnishments processed to remain compliant.
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Frontline Education
  • Easily submission process. Select the day you need to schedule on the listed calendar, mark the type of request, and submit.
  • Works on different digital devices including phones, tablets, and computers.
  • Easily track your balances by looking at your account history.
  • Delete requests you have already submitted.
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Cons
ADP
  • ADP should have their SC employees better trained to give consistent answers about how to handle certain tax issues relating to the states. I seem to get a different answer multiple times.
  • It's difficult to distinguish between which cases/letters goes through ADP Workforce Now Service Connect and which cases go through SmartCompliance. I have been told differently on many occasions and will find a case in both places.
  • While many of the agency notices of tax rate changes, etc. are a very quick process and ADP "resolves" the case, I find other notices get lost in the shuffle when it doesn't fit exactly into the rate change bucket or the past due bill that says "Just Pay It". Some letters aren't that straightforward.
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Frontline Education
  • Teachers cannot cancel their own absence. We have to ask the office staff to do so. This is irritating when an absence must be canceled (Due to a canceled professional development, for example).
  • Sometimes absences go unfilled. It would be great if AESOP could have a roster of qualified substitutes to cover absences.
  • You cannot assign your absence to a particular substitute if you know he or she is available and a good fit for your absence.
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Likelihood to Renew
ADP
There is no other option on the table for us at the moment to go with a different vendor. We also have had very little issues processing with ADP that would make us want to look for a new vendor.
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Frontline Education
Long time customer with Frontline Absence Management. Product support has been excellent, integrations easy to work with, & suite of products mesh together well.
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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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Frontline Education
While we have had minor issues logging in as our organization has its own login page, the site and its application are very easy to use. So long as members of a group log in through the appropriate page, navigating and using this site is quite easy. With the transition from Aesop to Frontline, the page also seems to have worked through any glitches found with the previous page and its app.
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Reliability and Availability
ADP
We have never experienced unavailability with ADP. They communicate promptly when there is a holiday or if the system is down for maintenance. The maintenance schedule is during times when it is least used
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Frontline Education
There have been several times the system was unavailable. When there has been an issue, Frontline HAS NOT notified us....which has been disappointing.
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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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Frontline Education
No issues reported by end users of slow or not loading pages.
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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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Frontline Education
Internal support is provided by EDU Staff based out of Grand Rapids. Whenever I have had an issue they are very responsive to my needs. For instance, there may be conflicts in the amount of money that was listed for the contract. There may be questions about the length of an assignment such as 1/2 day, full day, or early dismissal. The school will sometimes enter the wrong information. Very good IT support, but sometimes you are on hold for 5 to 10 minutes because they do not have enough workers in their Call Center
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In-Person Training
ADP
I haven't participated in in-person training yet.
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Frontline Education
Our Implementer/Trainer was a product line expert. He (Connor) walked us through every step with confidence and explained everything in detail. Frontline provided written documentation, cut-n-paste emails to staff, and a test environment for us to play in. We were able to test unique scenarios without actually sending emails, notifications, alerts to staff. This was very useful.
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Online Training
ADP
They have annual training for Smart Compliance, which is very helpful. We learn the most up to laws for various subject matters, like garnishments, payroll law, child support, state unemployment laws by states. We also earn credit toward certifications. The training is user friendly, and highly recommended. It can be done live or listened to at your own convenience.
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Frontline Education
No answers on this topic
Implementation Rating
ADP
Currently all electronic copies of our returns have to be downloaded one at a time. There should be a way to download all returns for a quarter in a zip file or single download.
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Frontline Education
Our Frontline implementer was an expert in the field & knew the product in & out. We had very little issues going live.
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Alternatives Considered
ADP
ADP SmartCompliance was easily integrated with WFN and all of our employee data was in one place. We saw this as an advantage instead of having to log into multiple platforms, everything was quickly accessible to respond to a VOE or claim.
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Frontline Education
Frontline seems to be the industry standard for this software in the education industry. I am not familiar with any competitors or what was evaluated prior to implementing Frontline. For it to be the industry standard, I would assume that its cost is fair in relation to competitors and that the onboarding process is simple.
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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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Frontline Education
Our district has approximately 300 substitutes & 1,800 employees. Size has never been an issue with Absence Management. There are other districts much larger using Absence Management with no problems
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Return on Investment
ADP
  • The customer service phone service for the ADP Wisely service is very bad. No understanding or a language barrier is a very difficult service to deal with. Also working with them to correct a situation was impossible. It is basically non existent.
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Frontline Education
  • It's given staff direct access to inputting their absences and secure coverage quicker, whereas before they had to make a call to a person. That person had to secure coverage for the entire district at different levels. Sometimes that person was absent or unable to provide coverage.
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ScreenShots

ADP SmartCompliance Screenshots

Screenshot of