ADP TotalSource vs. Ascentis (discontinued)

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
ADP TotalSource
Score 6.3 out of 10
N/A
ADP TotalSource is a professional employer organization (PEO) that provides strategic HR outsourcing. It includes services and technology to manage employee benefits, payroll, compliance, risk management, safety, and recruiting. Users have access to an online portal for things like self-service reporting, generating pay statements, and managing applicant resumes/interviews. Help from the service center and industry experts is available by phone.N/A
Ascentis (discontinued)
Score 7.5 out of 10
N/A
Ascentis HR uses web-based management programs to help automate complex HR processes. Ascentis’ other services included customizable payroll, time and attendance and recruiting modules. Ascentis was acquired by UKG in March of 2022, and will be discontinued.N/A
Pricing
ADP TotalSourceAscentis (discontinued)
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
ADP TotalSourceAscentis (discontinued)
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
ADP TotalSourceAscentis (discontinued)
Considered Both Products
ADP TotalSource

No answer on this topic

Ascentis (discontinued)
Chose Ascentis (discontinued)
We like the Ascentis annual subscription model and customer service. We've had ADP in the past which had horrible customer service and high monthly fees.

Chose Ascentis (discontinued)
From all the other companies mentioned above, I have found that Ascentis is the easiest product to use. I was only introduced to this program a few months ago, and it has been easy to figure out and not too complicated. I really like the fact that I can make changes easily.
Chose Ascentis (discontinued)
With ADP, we only used the Payroll and HR features. In looking to expand capabilities and consolidate efforts, we had concerns about the support team from ADP -- although Payroll support was solid, we found the HR support to be difficult to work with and had concerns about …
Chose Ascentis (discontinued)
Ascentis doesn't compare. We chose Ascentis because it was the right price-point for our small business.
Chose Ascentis (discontinued)
We previously used ADP, which was out-dated and not right for our business. Ascentis HR does so much more and offers much more flexibility to our company. ADP felt antiquated versus the robust capabilities offered by Ascentis HR. Our employees noticed a profound difference in …
Top Pros
Top Cons
Features
ADP TotalSourceAscentis (discontinued)
Human Resource Management
Comparison of Human Resource Management features of Product A and Product B
ADP TotalSource
-
Ratings
Ascentis (discontinued)
7.1
150 Ratings
10% below category average
Employee demographic data00 Ratings6.7137 Ratings
Employment history00 Ratings7.3140 Ratings
Job profiles and administration00 Ratings6.9128 Ratings
Workflow for transfers, promotions, pay raises, etc.00 Ratings6.7126 Ratings
Organizational charting00 Ratings5.290 Ratings
Organization and location management00 Ratings8.0109 Ratings
Compliance data (COBRA, OSHA, etc.)00 Ratings8.8102 Ratings
Payroll Management
Comparison of Payroll Management features of Product A and Product B
ADP TotalSource
-
Ratings
Ascentis (discontinued)
7.8
125 Ratings
3% below category average
Pay calculation00 Ratings7.1115 Ratings
Support for external payroll vendors00 Ratings6.162 Ratings
Off-cycle/On-Demand payment00 Ratings8.328 Ratings
Benefit plan administration00 Ratings6.7108 Ratings
Direct deposit files00 Ratings9.2100 Ratings
Salary revision and increment management00 Ratings8.692 Ratings
Reimbursement management00 Ratings8.851 Ratings
Leave and Attendance Management
Comparison of Leave and Attendance Management features of Product A and Product B
ADP TotalSource
-
Ratings
Ascentis (discontinued)
7.8
105 Ratings
4% below category average
Approval workflow00 Ratings7.999 Ratings
Balance details00 Ratings7.099 Ratings
Annual carry-forward and encashment00 Ratings8.484 Ratings
Employee Self Service
Comparison of Employee Self Service features of Product A and Product B
ADP TotalSource
-
Ratings
Ascentis (discontinued)
7.0
153 Ratings
15% below category average
View and generate pay and benefit information00 Ratings7.8138 Ratings
Update personal information00 Ratings8.6151 Ratings
View company policy documentation00 Ratings5.4110 Ratings
Employee recognition00 Ratings6.061 Ratings
View job history00 Ratings7.3108 Ratings
Asset Management
Comparison of Asset Management features of Product A and Product B
ADP TotalSource
-
Ratings
Ascentis (discontinued)
5.8
33 Ratings
30% below category average
Tracking of all physical assets00 Ratings5.833 Ratings
HR Reporting
Comparison of HR Reporting features of Product A and Product B
ADP TotalSource
-
Ratings
Ascentis (discontinued)
6.3
147 Ratings
19% below category average
Report builder00 Ratings7.0144 Ratings
Pre-built reports00 Ratings7.5142 Ratings
Ability to combine HR data with external data00 Ratings4.673 Ratings
Onboarding
Comparison of Onboarding features of Product A and Product B
ADP TotalSource
-
Ratings
Ascentis (discontinued)
5.1
98 Ratings
45% below category average
New hire portal00 Ratings5.398 Ratings
Manager tracking tools00 Ratings4.976 Ratings
Performance and Goals
Comparison of Performance and Goals features of Product A and Product B
ADP TotalSource
-
Ratings
Ascentis (discontinued)
7.2
57 Ratings
12% below category average
Corporate goal setting00 Ratings6.743 Ratings
Individual goal setting00 Ratings7.653 Ratings
Line-of sight-visibility00 Ratings7.138 Ratings
Performance tracking00 Ratings7.250 Ratings
Performance Management
Comparison of Performance Management features of Product A and Product B
ADP TotalSource
-
Ratings
Ascentis (discontinued)
6.0
63 Ratings
28% below category average
Performance plans00 Ratings5.659 Ratings
Performance improvement plans00 Ratings5.650 Ratings
Review status tracking00 Ratings5.857 Ratings
Review reminders00 Ratings6.555 Ratings
Multiple review frequency00 Ratings6.650 Ratings
Succession Planning
Comparison of Succession Planning features of Product A and Product B
ADP TotalSource
-
Ratings
Ascentis (discontinued)
5.9
27 Ratings
30% below category average
Create succession plans/pools00 Ratings6.421 Ratings
Candidate ranking00 Ratings6.421 Ratings
Candidate search00 Ratings5.027 Ratings
Candidate development00 Ratings5.823 Ratings
Recruiting / ATS
Comparison of Recruiting / ATS features of Product A and Product B
ADP TotalSource
-
Ratings
Ascentis (discontinued)
5.5
89 Ratings
35% below category average
Job Requisition Management00 Ratings5.485 Ratings
Company Website Posting00 Ratings5.279 Ratings
Publish to Social Media00 Ratings5.659 Ratings
Job Search Site Posting00 Ratings5.871 Ratings
Duplicate Candidate Prevention00 Ratings5.657 Ratings
Applicant Tracking00 Ratings5.783 Ratings
Notifications and Alerts00 Ratings5.369 Ratings
Best Alternatives
ADP TotalSourceAscentis (discontinued)
Small Businesses
Justworks
Justworks
Score 7.1 out of 10
Zoho People
Zoho People
Score 9.1 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Justworks
Justworks
Score 7.1 out of 10
Paypro Workforce Management
Paypro Workforce Management
Score 9.6 out of 10
Enterprises

No answers on this topic

Infor Human Resources
Infor Human Resources
Score 7.1 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
ADP TotalSourceAscentis (discontinued)
Likelihood to Recommend
1.0
(16 ratings)
7.2
(164 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
-
(0 ratings)
6.3
(12 ratings)
Usability
-
(0 ratings)
7.6
(44 ratings)
Availability
-
(0 ratings)
6.7
(5 ratings)
Performance
-
(0 ratings)
7.1
(4 ratings)
Support Rating
3.3
(3 ratings)
8.2
(150 ratings)
In-Person Training
-
(0 ratings)
8.0
(1 ratings)
Online Training
-
(0 ratings)
8.3
(4 ratings)
Implementation Rating
-
(0 ratings)
8.3
(5 ratings)
Configurability
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
Ease of integration
-
(0 ratings)
3.0
(1 ratings)
Product Scalability
-
(0 ratings)
6.7
(4 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
-
(0 ratings)
9.6
(3 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
-
(0 ratings)
9.6
(3 ratings)
User Testimonials
ADP TotalSourceAscentis (discontinued)
Likelihood to Recommend
ADP
I would not use this company for anything. [I believe my] employees [absolutely] hate the software and there are constantly glitches in the software which occur every payroll run, benefits enrollment, etc. [I have spent] large amounts of time on the phone with outsourced customer support[,] so think twice when comparing [the] cost to other providers. [I feel] you [will] need someone full time to deal with all of their issues. We are currently in the process of setting up another PEO company. The amount of money and time to implement ADP has been a huge loss.
Read full review
Discontinued Products
In working with Ascentis in payroll, the program makes my job so much easier. I am new to this position and the learning process has been so much easier with this product than those in the past. I appreciate the patience I am given when I call in for assistance as well.
Read full review
Pros
ADP
  • Payroll was easy to learn and use with time tracking in a short time frame
  • Tracking team members request offs and approving them were very easy
  • Customizing reports for specific periods of time. This made is very easy for end of year tracking for total hours worked and total dollars paid.
Read full review
Discontinued Products
  • Easy to use software. I have had several new HR employees comment on how easy the system is to learn!
  • Problem Solving- Ascentis is always problem solving! When we were in the process of selecting a new payroll company, we needed unemployment claims management assistance for our locations, something Ascentis did not currently offer. The sales rep went out of his way to find a unemployment claims management company that would work with Ascentis and us. That company has helped us keep an 80% win rate for our claims!
  • User conference- Engage is an awesome way to learn more about the products Ascentis has available as well and meet up with the staff you work with every day!
Read full review
Cons
ADP
  • Customer service is horrible
  • Follow up takes 7-10 days, and requires multiple inquiries from you, the client
  • The promised "dedicated team" doesn't exist
  • Onboarding is confusing to new hires
  • Explanation of benefits to new hires is useless and must be done in office, thereby negating any value.
  • They should not provide handling UI claims as as service. They have no ability to actually meet deadlines.
Read full review
Discontinued Products
  • Updating the system so it is one platform and not two.
  • Create changes to the benefit enrollment process and upgrade the system so hire dates do not need to be changed to trigger benefits for status changes.
  • Focus updates on HR Admin, mobile application, ATS and transitioning to one platform. Larger areas of focus have been on the payroll portion of the system with a few updates to other areas.
  • When something is broken, quicker turn time on fixing the issue.
  • System needs updates to support AAP reporting.
Read full review
Likelihood to Renew
ADP
No answers on this topic
Discontinued Products
This rating would be a 10 if it were not for some issues we have been having recently with the benefit carrier connections. The carrier connections are critical for us so how these issues are resolved will be key in our renewal decision.
Read full review
Usability
ADP
No answers on this topic
Discontinued Products
I'd give it a 7.5. If the modules were easier to access and not so buried (or placed in left field to find), I would give it a higher rating. As I said, as the potential to be great if ACCESS to other modules was easier.
Read full review
Reliability and Availability
ADP
No answers on this topic
Discontinued Products
They normally give you notice when an update will affect the use of the system. Otherwise, when we have an error , we send a message to the support team. Sometimes someone will get right back with you and sometimes it takes a while.
Read full review
Performance
ADP
No answers on this topic
Discontinued Products
Yes, this pages do load pretty good but there are times when things are slow and I believe that's because they are sometimes trying to do updates.
Read full review
Support Rating
ADP
ADP is a great HR solution for most organizations. It is truly all-in-one. I rated it a 7, because of the issues we experienced during implementation and the high cost of service when issues do arise.
Read full review
Discontinued Products
Support is attentive and quick to answer the call and get the answer for you. If they for any reason cannot answer right then, they are back to you within a day and always seem to have a sense of urgency. You truly get the impression that they are aiming to make you happy.
Read full review
In-Person Training
ADP
No answers on this topic
Discontinued Products
First, to clarify our "in-person" training was done mainly through Web-X meetings and conference calls. It was the closest thing we got to as far as an "in-person" training for this software. However, for the large majority of it, this type of training worked out well. We were able to share our screens and the trainer was able to share his/her screen. We could follow along with what we were doing in our database in real time and see how different functions worked and how manipulating our information could produce different results. It was also nice in that it provided for real-time results if something hadn't been coded correctly or we were having issues as to why something wasn't working the way we thought it should be. However, it did have some downsides in that we often had to rely on a conference phone and that made it difficult to hear people on both sides. Also, sometimes the trainers had internet difficulties when working from home and that caused issues with the WebX meetings.
Read full review
Online Training
ADP
No answers on this topic
Discontinued Products
Ascentis HR has a number of online training videos to watch on a number of different topics. I gave it a lower rating because there is not much interactivity with the videos and it seems to cater to really only one or two learning styles. Plus, one has to be pretty motivated to go to a separate area to access the videos and then pull up a specific one to watch it and then learn. From my experience, people know that they are there, many just don't take the time and effort to go find them and actually watch them - especially since the username and password are different from their normal username and password.
Read full review
Implementation Rating
ADP
No answers on this topic
Discontinued Products
It was very easy to implement, but the customization pieces should really be fleshed out in order to determine the full need of an organization at the time of implementation. I believe if a little more time was spent on the requirements, the recruiting module would not have to be customized again at a cost at a later date.
Read full review
Alternatives Considered
ADP
At the moment, we have not investigated any of the products available in the drop-down list provided. However, we have evaluated some other (unavailable) products and have been intrigued by the potential decrease in fees along with the potential for a much more "rich" benefit plan. We can't speak to the level of customer service observed by current clients, only to apparent cost savings.
Read full review
Discontinued Products
Ascentis has far better customer service and the implementation experience was also better. The ability to do a lot of customization is also easier with Ascentis as it's smaller organization. The payroll has positive and negatives compared to ADP but the accuracy is the same in both. Ascentis just started their community site which doesn't have a lot of traffic but hopefully can become more like ADP's community site, which was extremely helpful to me as an administrator.
Read full review
Scalability
ADP
No answers on this topic
Discontinued Products
Large acquisition would be very complicated, seems more appropriate for companies under 100
Read full review
Return on Investment
ADP
  • It has cost us more money from a financial aspect and then taken away my main/other job duties because I have to focus all of my time on ADP TotalSource and basically fixing errors that happen weekly/every time an employee is added or terminated (which is more than the normal company due to the nature of our business).
Read full review
Discontinued Products
  • HR DPT. is much more effective, as we can assess any employee information no matter where we are, etc. This helps to provide information immediately when requested!
  • Employees have access to Ascentis, and therefore to their timecard, open enrollment, etc., from anywhere at any time!
  • Time, PTO requests, employee goals, and evaluations can be approved from anywhere at any time!
  • Recruiting can be accessed any where at any time, and this helps with hiring, internal communication, etc.
Read full review
ScreenShots

Ascentis (discontinued) Screenshots

Screenshot of Access all of your details including, paychecks, personal file, timeclock, etc via our mobile app.Screenshot of Punch-in and punch-out on the go.Screenshot of Centralized location for everything related to a user or admin.Screenshot of Every employee has access to their personal information in one location.Screenshot of Pre-built reporting along with Ad Hoc reporting gives you the ability to understand your business as a whole.Screenshot of Benefit enrollment made easy for your employees.