ADP SmartCompliance vs. QuickBooks Desktop for Mac

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
QuickBooks Desktop for Mac
Score 7.5 out of 10
N/A
Quickbooks Desktop for Mac is an accounting software designed for Mac users. It is designed to integrate with Apple iCloud. It provides core accounting features in line with the rest of the Quickbooks Desktop product line.N/A
Pricing
ADP SmartComplianceQuickBooks Desktop for Mac
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
ADP SmartComplianceQuickBooks Desktop for Mac
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 SmartComplianceQuickBooks Desktop for Mac
Top Pros
Top Cons
Features
ADP SmartComplianceQuickBooks Desktop for Mac
Type of tax
Comparison of Type of tax features of Product A and Product B
ADP SmartCompliance
8.9
9 Ratings
5% above category average
QuickBooks Desktop for Mac
-
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
8% below category average
QuickBooks Desktop for Mac
-
Ratings
Geolocation for Tax Assessment7.111 Ratings00 Ratings
3rd-Party Software Integrations8.121 Ratings00 Ratings
Tax Data Reporting7.939 Ratings00 Ratings
Compliance Administration Management7.232 Ratings00 Ratings
Tax Exemption Processing8.015 Ratings00 Ratings
Tax Document Management7.332 Ratings00 Ratings
Complex Tax Scenario Management8.124 Ratings00 Ratings
Payroll Management
Comparison of Payroll Management features of Product A and Product B
ADP SmartCompliance
-
Ratings
QuickBooks Desktop for Mac
10.0
11 Ratings
29% above category average
Pay calculation00 Ratings10.09 Ratings
Benefit plan administration00 Ratings10.06 Ratings
Direct deposit files00 Ratings10.08 Ratings
Salary revision and increment management00 Ratings10.05 Ratings
Reimbursement management00 Ratings10.07 Ratings
Customization
Comparison of Customization features of Product A and Product B
ADP SmartCompliance
-
Ratings
QuickBooks Desktop for Mac
6.0
11 Ratings
16% below category average
API for custom integration00 Ratings6.07 Ratings
Plug-ins00 Ratings6.010 Ratings
Security
Comparison of Security features of Product A and Product B
ADP SmartCompliance
-
Ratings
QuickBooks Desktop for Mac
10.0
20 Ratings
22% above category average
Single sign-on capability00 Ratings10.020 Ratings
Role-based user permissions00 Ratings10.017 Ratings
Reporting & Analytics
Comparison of Reporting & Analytics features of Product A and Product B
ADP SmartCompliance
-
Ratings
QuickBooks Desktop for Mac
10.0
22 Ratings
27% above category average
Dashboards00 Ratings10.019 Ratings
Standard reports00 Ratings10.022 Ratings
Custom reports00 Ratings10.022 Ratings
General Ledger and Configurable Accounting
Comparison of General Ledger and Configurable Accounting features of Product A and Product B
ADP SmartCompliance
-
Ratings
QuickBooks Desktop for Mac
5.8
24 Ratings
24% below category average
Accounts payable00 Ratings8.124 Ratings
Accounts receivable00 Ratings8.123 Ratings
Cash management00 Ratings6.218 Ratings
Bank reconciliation00 Ratings8.824 Ratings
Expense management00 Ratings6.220 Ratings
Time tracking00 Ratings6.212 Ratings
Fixed asset management00 Ratings6.214 Ratings
Multi-currency support00 Ratings1.010 Ratings
Multi-division support00 Ratings6.211 Ratings
Regulations compliance00 Ratings6.210 Ratings
Electronic tax filing00 Ratings8.115 Ratings
Self-service portal00 Ratings6.213 Ratings
Global Financial Support00 Ratings1.07 Ratings
Primary and Secondary Ledgers00 Ratings6.213 Ratings
Intercompany Accounting00 Ratings6.214 Ratings
Localizations00 Ratings1.06 Ratings
Journals and Reconciliations00 Ratings6.217 Ratings
Enterprise Accounting00 Ratings6.25 Ratings
Configurable Accounting00 Ratings6.29 Ratings
Centralized Rules Framework00 Ratings6.29 Ratings
Standardized Processes00 Ratings6.213 Ratings
Inventory Management
Comparison of Inventory Management features of Product A and Product B
ADP SmartCompliance
-
Ratings
QuickBooks Desktop for Mac
7.7
15 Ratings
9% above category average
Inventory tracking00 Ratings6.214 Ratings
Automatic reordering00 Ratings7.810 Ratings
Location management00 Ratings7.09 Ratings
Manufacturing module00 Ratings10.08 Ratings
Order Management
Comparison of Order Management features of Product A and Product B
ADP SmartCompliance
-
Ratings
QuickBooks Desktop for Mac
8.3
18 Ratings
12% above category average
Pricing00 Ratings10.017 Ratings
Order entry00 Ratings10.016 Ratings
Credit card processing00 Ratings10.017 Ratings
Cost of goods sold00 Ratings10.016 Ratings
Order Orchestration00 Ratings5.76 Ratings
End-to-end order visibility00 Ratings6.77 Ratings
Order exception Resolution00 Ratings5.66 Ratings
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User Ratings
ADP SmartComplianceQuickBooks Desktop for Mac
Likelihood to Recommend
8.4
(134 ratings)
8.8
(32 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
7.8
(29 ratings)
8.0
(9 ratings)
Usability
7.8
(37 ratings)
5.4
(6 ratings)
Availability
8.9
(12 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
Performance
8.5
(12 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
5.6
(37 ratings)
6.9
(4 ratings)
In-Person Training
4.6
(4 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Online Training
8.3
(9 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
4.8
(22 ratings)
5.0
(1 ratings)
Configurability
7.9
(10 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Ease of integration
6.9
(9 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
8.7
(11 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
5.5
(9 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
6.4
(8 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
ADP SmartComplianceQuickBooks Desktop for Mac
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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Intuit
If you're a freelancer or running a very small business where you do your own bookkeeping I think this is a great option, especially if you're familiar with accounting and bookkeeping in general. If you're not so familiar with bookkeeping, I would say that the learning curve is too steep and you might want to look elsewhere for a more intuitive solution
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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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Intuit
  • The program is very easy to learn, the interface is incredibly user-friendly and there are tons of free resources and tutorials available
  • It makes managing payroll really easy for the employee and accountant on staff. No more lost time sheets or late paychecks!
  • Managing bills and paying them has become streamlined and it's great having everything in one place so we don't lose track of things.
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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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Intuit
  • The #1 complaint is that setting it up right is a challenge. People waste time trying to figure it out only to realize that they don't know accounting so of course they don't know how an accounting program should be set up. Like any time you are in over your head, reach out to your network and find someone who can log onto your computer and walk you through it.
  • If you need to track the cost of wages to jobs you can't do it with the online payroll, but check for yourself because it's a function that landscaping companies and construction businesses usually need, so maybe they have added it by now. That would really help!
  • It's premise-based software and that means you take on the role of hardware admin, and it's a lot of work for what is increasingly becoming a smaller gap in the functionality between QuickBooks for Mac and QuickBooks Online.
  • QuickBooks for Mac 2015 has been updated consistently over the last 3 years and continues to provide for the bookkeeping needs of small companies using Macs in their offices. However, it has limited job costing functionality. It is similar in functionality to the 2010 version of QuickBooksPro which runs on Windows.
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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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Intuit
I haven't spent that much time with the newer versions of QuickBooks for Mac, but I think I'm seeing it make the much-needed improvements. For example, something as simple as undoing the previous reconciliation was a terrible chore, and I'm glad that feature has been included in the newer versions of QuickBooks for Mac
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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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Intuit
The Mac version is OK overall. I find the Windows versions to be much more robust but Mac is quite good for Mac users. Though I think die hard Mac users should consider QuickBooks Online instead as there is a new QB for Mac app that makes using QBO much better!
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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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Intuit
I've been using the QuickBooks online version for a little over 6 months now (upgraded from Mac desktop) and I haven't had any access issues. There have been times when it was down for service/upgrade however there is always plenty of notification time given by the Quick Books Online Support team. These upgrade maintenance time frames are always over night hours and on the weekends so everything can be worked around very easily.
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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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Intuit
No answers on this topic
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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Intuit
Fortunately, I haven't had to reach out much for support.
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In-Person Training
ADP
I haven't participated in in-person training yet.
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Intuit
No answers on this topic
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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Intuit
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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Intuit
No answers on this topic
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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Intuit
I love using Quickbooks compared to other software we've tried. QuickBooks Online and TSheets interface. Customer service and problem resolution are generally excellent, with well-trained and proficient agents taking calls or on chat. Ease of use and accessibility via the mobile app. Great courses were available to help with learning the basics and some advanced accounting background. I love learning! Online accessibility - it can work anywhere with an internet connection. Linking to bank and credit card accounts is handy.
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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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Intuit
No answers on this topic
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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Intuit
  • The ROI was good for when we were a smaller company because it is a lot cheaper than other more sophisticated programs.
  • The negative impact is that it caused a lot of extra manual entering and data entry that too often resulted in mistakes.
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ScreenShots

ADP SmartCompliance Screenshots

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