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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    ADP Workforce Now

    Score7.6 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

    Ascentis (discontinued)

    Score7.5 out of 10
    N/AAscentis 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 Workforce NowAscentis (discontinued)
    Editions & Modules
    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
    No answers on this topic
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    ADP Workforce NowAscentis (discontinued)
    Free Trial
    NoNo
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    YesNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeRequiredNo setup fee
    Additional DetailsPlease contact ADP for a product demo and ask about a hands-on "test drive" of Workforce Now.—
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    ADP Workforce NowAscentis (discontinued)
    Considered Both Products
    ADP
    No answer on this topic
    Discontinued Products
    Chose Ascentis (discontinued)
    Compared to ADP Workforce Now, Ascentis offers a few more platform ability and tracking options.
    Incentivized
    Chose Ascentis (discontinued)
    Ascentis/Nova Time is much more user friendly as far as the timekeeping and accrual side.
    Incentivized
    Chose Ascentis (discontinued)
    ADP is mostly likely the status quo for HRIS systems, their CS and 24/7 support is incomparable to other systems, including Ascentis. There are often manual corrections needed, negative changes to user view, and other very odd things that happen with Ascentis that I have …
    Incentivized
    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.
    Incentivized
    Chose Ascentis (discontinued)
    It doesn't stack up. The biggest differences are customer service and ease of implementing the system.
    Incentivized
    Chose Ascentis (discontinued)
    Ascentis beats them all. I've also worked with several smaller systems for small companies, and Ascentis has the best support and reporting functionality that I've seen thus far. Any system you pick will have its pros and cons, but being able to get a hold of support and get …
    Incentivized
    Chose Ascentis (discontinued)
    Most systems would not allow us to apply and track multiple jobs with multiple pay-rates for individual employees. While we had to do some customization and had some pain with the reporting, ultimately we got it to work for us and it is going well now. So the selection …
    Incentivized
    Chose Ascentis (discontinued)
    Better tracking for PTO, ACA reporting, better payroll and payroll support is always wonderful!
    Incentivized
    Chose Ascentis (discontinued)
    We were moving away from ADP because the reporting was so bad. When we were being sold on Ascentis, we were sold on the fact that reporting was user-friendly and even shown how easy it was to run reports. Whatever we were shown is not what we received. The reporting is even …
    Incentivized
    Chose Ascentis (discontinued)
    Ascentis offers: Better pricing, better products, simplified implementations and an awesome customer support team!
    Incentivized
    Chose Ascentis (discontinued)
    Cost effective
    Incentivized
    Chose Ascentis (discontinued)
    We are evaluating WorkDay and Ascentis can't even compete.
    Incentivized
    Chose Ascentis (discontinued)
    We did not have any online capabilities with ADP but we had some "back office" tasks that were much more automated and easier. Overall - dealing with Ascentis HR has been better and easier - we used to spend hours each month on the phone with ADP.
    Incentivized
    Chose Ascentis (discontinued)
    Ascentis is a robust system that is intuitive and comes at a great price!
    Incentivized
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    86%
    Would buy again
    428 Answers
    78%
    Would buy again
    40 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    89%
    Delivers good value for the price
    359 Answers
    90%
    Delivers good value for the price
    35 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    88%
    Happy with the feature set
    437 Answers
    86%
    Happy with the feature set
    44 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    72%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    192 Answers
    65%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    22 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    69%
    Implementation went as expected
    229 Answers
    65%
    Implementation went as expected
    24 Answers
    Features
    ADP Workforce NowAscentis (discontinued)
    Human Resource Management
    Comparison of Human Resource Management features of ADP Workforce Now and Ascentis (discontinued)
    Feature
    ADP Workforce Now
    7.7
    1073 Ratings
    6% below category average
    Ascentis (discontinued)
    7.1
    150 Ratings
    14% below category average
    Employee demographic data8.7948 Ratings6.7137 Ratings
    Employment history8.5989 Ratings7.3140 Ratings
    Job profiles and administration8.1939 Ratings6.9128 Ratings
    Workflow for transfers, promotions, pay raises, etc.7.3965 Ratings6.7126 Ratings
    Organizational charting6.9677 Ratings5.290 Ratings
    Organization and location management7.4741 Ratings8.0109 Ratings
    Compliance data (COBRA, OSHA, etc.)7.2680 Ratings8.8102 Ratings
    Payroll Management
    Comparison of Payroll Management features of ADP Workforce Now and Ascentis (discontinued)
    Feature
    ADP Workforce Now
    8.1
    1086 Ratings
    1% below category average
    Ascentis (discontinued)
    7.8
    125 Ratings
    5% below category average
    Pay calculation9.21046 Ratings7.1115 Ratings
    Support for external payroll vendors8.1415 Ratings6.162 Ratings
    Off-cycle/On-Demand payment8.4337 Ratings8.328 Ratings
    Benefit plan administration7.4826 Ratings6.7108 Ratings
    Direct deposit files9.31033 Ratings9.2100 Ratings
    Salary revision and increment management7.1814 Ratings8.692 Ratings
    Reimbursement management7.2498 Ratings8.851 Ratings
    Leave and Attendance Management
    Comparison of Leave and Attendance Management features of ADP Workforce Now and Ascentis (discontinued)
    Feature
    ADP Workforce Now
    8.1
    891 Ratings
    2% below category average
    Ascentis (discontinued)
    7.8
    105 Ratings
    5% below category average
    Approval workflow7.7811 Ratings7.999 Ratings
    Balance details8.4845 Ratings7.099 Ratings
    Annual carry-forward and encashment8.1687 Ratings8.484 Ratings
    Employee Self Service
    Comparison of Employee Self Service features of ADP Workforce Now and Ascentis (discontinued)
    Feature
    ADP Workforce Now
    7.9
    1065 Ratings
    4% below category average
    Ascentis (discontinued)
    7.0
    153 Ratings
    16% below category average
    View and generate pay and benefit information8.61027 Ratings7.8138 Ratings
    Update personal information8.81016 Ratings8.6151 Ratings
    View company policy documentation8.1820 Ratings5.4110 Ratings
    Employee recognition6.2387 Ratings6.061 Ratings
    View job history7.732 Ratings7.3108 Ratings
    Asset Management
    Comparison of Asset Management features of ADP Workforce Now and Ascentis (discontinued)
    Feature
    ADP Workforce Now
    6.0
    12 Ratings
    29% below category average
    Ascentis (discontinued)
    5.8
    33 Ratings
    32% below category average
    Tracking of all physical assets6.012 Ratings5.833 Ratings
    HR Reporting
    Comparison of HR Reporting features of ADP Workforce Now and Ascentis (discontinued)
    Feature
    ADP Workforce Now
    6.9
    989 Ratings
    10% below category average
    Ascentis (discontinued)
    6.3
    147 Ratings
    19% below category average
    Report builder7.6972 Ratings7.0144 Ratings
    Pre-built reports7.3967 Ratings7.5142 Ratings
    Ability to combine HR data with external data5.8576 Ratings4.673 Ratings
    Onboarding
    Comparison of Onboarding features of ADP Workforce Now and Ascentis (discontinued)
    Feature
    ADP Workforce Now
    7.3
    151 Ratings
    10% below category average
    Ascentis (discontinued)
    5.1
    98 Ratings
    45% below category average
    New hire portal7.7147 Ratings5.398 Ratings
    Manager tracking tools7.0119 Ratings4.976 Ratings
    Performance and Goals
    Comparison of Performance and Goals features of ADP Workforce Now and Ascentis (discontinued)
    Feature
    ADP Workforce Now
    6.5
    335 Ratings
    21% below category average
    Ascentis (discontinued)
    7.2
    57 Ratings
    11% below category average
    Corporate goal setting6.7261 Ratings6.743 Ratings
    Individual goal setting6.2313 Ratings7.653 Ratings
    Line-of sight-visibility6.4258 Ratings7.138 Ratings
    Performance tracking6.7308 Ratings7.250 Ratings
    Performance Management
    Comparison of Performance Management features of ADP Workforce Now and Ascentis (discontinued)
    Feature
    ADP Workforce Now
    6.5
    432 Ratings
    20% below category average
    Ascentis (discontinued)
    6.0
    63 Ratings
    28% below category average
    Performance plans6.4389 Ratings5.659 Ratings
    Performance improvement plans6.2332 Ratings5.650 Ratings
    Review status tracking6.4392 Ratings5.857 Ratings
    Review reminders7.0408 Ratings6.555 Ratings
    Multiple review frequency6.5341 Ratings6.650 Ratings
    Succession Planning
    Comparison of Succession Planning features of ADP Workforce Now and Ascentis (discontinued)
    Feature
    ADP Workforce Now
    6.0
    7 Ratings
    26% below category average
    Ascentis (discontinued)
    5.9
    27 Ratings
    28% below category average
    Create succession plans/pools5.86 Ratings6.421 Ratings
    Candidate ranking5.86 Ratings6.421 Ratings
    Candidate search6.37 Ratings5.027 Ratings
    Candidate development6.26 Ratings5.823 Ratings
    Recruiting / ATS
    Comparison of Recruiting / ATS features of ADP Workforce Now and Ascentis (discontinued)
    Feature
    ADP Workforce Now
    5.5
    446 Ratings
    36% below category average
    Ascentis (discontinued)
    5.5
    89 Ratings
    36% below category average
    Job Requisition Management6.8390 Ratings5.485 Ratings
    Company Website Posting6.5382 Ratings5.279 Ratings
    Publish to Social Media3.9306 Ratings5.659 Ratings
    Job Search Site Posting5.8341 Ratings5.871 Ratings
    Duplicate Candidate Prevention2.38 Ratings5.657 Ratings
    Applicant Tracking6.6384 Ratings5.783 Ratings
    Notifications and Alerts6.7405 Ratings5.369 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    ADP Workforce NowAscentis (discontinued)
    Small Businesses
    UZIO
    Score9.3 out of 10
    UZIO
    Score9.3 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    Zoho People
    Score8.6 out of 10
    Zoho People
    Score8.6 out of 10
    Enterprises
    Infor Human Resources
    Score7.1 out of 10
    Infor Human Resources
    Score7.1 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    ADP Workforce NowAscentis (discontinued)
    Likelihood to Recommend
    7.9
    (1140 ratings)
    7.2
    (164 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    8.4
    (83 ratings)
    6.3
    (12 ratings)
    Usability
    3.0
    (80 ratings)
    7.6
    (44 ratings)
    Availability
    7.3
    (14 ratings)
    6.7
    (5 ratings)
    Performance
    6.4
    (13 ratings)
    7.1
    (4 ratings)
    Support Rating
    6.0
    (510 ratings)
    8.2
    (150 ratings)
    In-Person Training
    8.2
    (9 ratings)
    8.0
    (1 ratings)
    Online Training
    5.8
    (17 ratings)
    8.3
    (4 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    1.5
    (34 ratings)
    8.3
    (5 ratings)
    Configurability
    6.4
    (10 ratings)
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    Ease of integration
    6.1
    (8 ratings)
    3.0
    (1 ratings)
    Product Scalability
    8.1
    (800 ratings)
    6.7
    (4 ratings)
    Vendor post-sale
    5.2
    (8 ratings)
    9.6
    (3 ratings)
    Vendor pre-sale
    6.1
    (8 ratings)
    9.6
    (3 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    ADP Workforce NowAscentis (discontinued)
    Likelihood to Recommend
    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.
    Incentivized
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Pros
    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.
    Incentivized
    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!
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cons
    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
    Incentivized
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Likelihood to Renew
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Usability
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Reliability and Availability
    ADP
    ADP outages are very rare
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    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
    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
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    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
    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.
    Incentivized
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    In-Person Training
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Online Training
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Implementation Rating
    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.
    Read full review
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Alternatives Considered
    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.
    Incentivized
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Scalability
    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
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Discontinued Products
    Large acquisition would be very complicated, seems more appropriate for companies under 100
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Return on Investment
    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.
    Incentivized
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    ScreenShots

    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

    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.