ADP Workforce Now vs. QuickBooks Online

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
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
QuickBooks Online
Score 8.1 out of 10
N/A
QuickBooks Online is a SaaS version of the QuickBooks product. It contains all of the features found in the local version. Higher-priced plans include greater automation, payment management, inventory and time tracking, and analytics features.
$38
per month
Pricing
ADP Workforce NowQuickBooks Online
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
Simple Start
$38
per month
Essentials
$75
per month
Plus
$115
per month
Advanced
$275
per month
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
ADP Workforce NowQuickBooks Online
Free Trial
NoYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
YesYes
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 NowQuickBooks Online
Considered Both Products
ADP Workforce Now
Chose ADP Workforce Now
ADP offers a more robust catalogue of solutions, making it a true HRIS system as opposed to other solutions, such as Gusto or QuickBooks. Both are great for payroll processing and QuickBooks for enhanced accounting support, but neither is an HRIS system that allows you to …
Chose ADP Workforce Now
I have exited 3 PEOs now and brought my business to ADP in house. My experience is with TriNet's PEO, Paychex's PEO and ADP Workforce Now. ADP beats both TriNet PEO and Paychex PEO as I couldn't wait to exit from TriNet and Paychex. Workforce Now will eventually be in a …
Chose ADP Workforce Now
Each system had its ups and downs.
Chose ADP Workforce Now
The ease of use for ADP Workforce Now (i.e. setup, integration with benefits offerings, etc.) is second to none. I came into the role as the organization's Executive Director with very little HR and Payroll experience and had minimal difficulty "keeping the trains running on …
Chose ADP Workforce Now
I selected ADP over Paychex with the hope that customer support would be more responsive to my needs. I was wrong.
Chose ADP Workforce Now
I have only worked with ADP products including ADP Run, and older versions of WFN.
Chose ADP Workforce Now
ADP [Workforce Now] is much more user-friendly when it comes to processing payroll and keep[ing] accurate accounting.
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
All-in-one solution for employee time tracking & time off. Real-time reporting. Hassle-free to use
Chose ADP Workforce Now
Kronos has a HUGE learning curve. Basically I had to BUILD out the workflows before I could implement. ADP already has the shell built so it is much easier to just customize your work flow instead of building it from scratch. I appreciate the ease of ADP. I felt like I needed …
Chose ADP Workforce Now
The Archdiocese chose it, so it wasn't my decision. I do like the way it integrates with payroll, which Bamboo didn't.
Chose ADP Workforce Now
ADP has a lot of benefits that the other companies do not necessarily have, mainly where HR is concerned. In previous workplaces, all HR issues were handled in person and employees did not have access to something like ADP. Having access to it at an entry level has saved me …
Chose ADP Workforce Now
The import feature of ADP is superior. The reporting feature in ADP is probably much more robust, but very difficult to understand and create. If I could import pay data into QuickBooks, I would go back to it.
QuickBooks Online
Chose QuickBooks Online
Customer support and the product are overall better and easier to work with than ADP. I have worked with both programs for the same amount of years and I find that QuickBooks is easier to work with than ADP. Easier to understand and not time-consuming to learn as ADP.
Features
ADP Workforce NowQuickBooks Online
Human Resource Management
Comparison of Human Resource Management features of Product A and Product B
ADP Workforce Now
7.8
1072 Ratings
4% below category average
QuickBooks Online
-
Ratings
Employee demographic data8.4947 Ratings00 Ratings
Employment history8.2988 Ratings00 Ratings
Job profiles and administration8.2938 Ratings00 Ratings
Workflow for transfers, promotions, pay raises, etc.7.5964 Ratings00 Ratings
Organizational charting7.2676 Ratings00 Ratings
Organization and location management7.6740 Ratings00 Ratings
Compliance data (COBRA, OSHA, etc.)7.1680 Ratings00 Ratings
Payroll Management
Comparison of Payroll Management features of Product A and Product B
ADP Workforce Now
8.0
1085 Ratings
2% below category average
QuickBooks Online
8.1
121 Ratings
7% above category average
Pay calculation8.91045 Ratings8.4110 Ratings
Support for external payroll vendors7.8414 Ratings00 Ratings
Off-cycle/On-Demand payment8.1336 Ratings00 Ratings
Benefit plan administration7.5825 Ratings7.360 Ratings
Direct deposit files8.91032 Ratings8.5101 Ratings
Salary revision and increment management7.3813 Ratings8.374 Ratings
Reimbursement management7.5498 Ratings7.981 Ratings
Leave and Attendance Management
Comparison of Leave and Attendance Management features of Product A and Product B
ADP Workforce Now
8.0
890 Ratings
2% below category average
QuickBooks Online
-
Ratings
Approval workflow7.7810 Ratings00 Ratings
Balance details8.1844 Ratings00 Ratings
Annual carry-forward and encashment8.1686 Ratings00 Ratings
Employee Self Service
Comparison of Employee Self Service features of Product A and Product B
ADP Workforce Now
7.8
1064 Ratings
5% below category average
QuickBooks Online
-
Ratings
View and generate pay and benefit information8.41026 Ratings00 Ratings
Update personal information8.41015 Ratings00 Ratings
View company policy documentation8.0819 Ratings00 Ratings
Employee recognition6.5386 Ratings00 Ratings
View job history7.732 Ratings00 Ratings
Asset Management
Comparison of Asset Management features of Product A and Product B
ADP Workforce Now
6.0
12 Ratings
29% below category average
QuickBooks Online
-
Ratings
Tracking of all physical assets6.012 Ratings00 Ratings
HR Reporting
Comparison of HR Reporting features of Product A and Product B
ADP Workforce Now
6.8
988 Ratings
10% below category average
QuickBooks Online
-
Ratings
Report builder7.6971 Ratings00 Ratings
Pre-built reports7.2966 Ratings00 Ratings
Ability to combine HR data with external data5.7575 Ratings00 Ratings
Onboarding
Comparison of Onboarding features of Product A and Product B
ADP Workforce Now
7.3
150 Ratings
9% below category average
QuickBooks Online
-
Ratings
New hire portal7.6146 Ratings00 Ratings
Manager tracking tools6.9118 Ratings00 Ratings
Performance and Goals
Comparison of Performance and Goals features of Product A and Product B
ADP Workforce Now
6.9
335 Ratings
15% below category average
QuickBooks Online
-
Ratings
Corporate goal setting7.0261 Ratings00 Ratings
Individual goal setting6.7313 Ratings00 Ratings
Line-of sight-visibility6.8258 Ratings00 Ratings
Performance tracking7.1308 Ratings00 Ratings
Performance Management
Comparison of Performance Management features of Product A and Product B
ADP Workforce Now
6.5
432 Ratings
19% below category average
QuickBooks Online
-
Ratings
Performance plans6.6389 Ratings00 Ratings
Performance improvement plans6.3332 Ratings00 Ratings
Review status tracking6.1392 Ratings00 Ratings
Review reminders7.0408 Ratings00 Ratings
Multiple review frequency6.5341 Ratings00 Ratings
Succession Planning
Comparison of Succession Planning features of Product A and Product B
ADP Workforce Now
6.0
7 Ratings
26% below category average
QuickBooks Online
-
Ratings
Create succession plans/pools5.86 Ratings00 Ratings
Candidate ranking5.86 Ratings00 Ratings
Candidate search6.37 Ratings00 Ratings
Candidate development6.26 Ratings00 Ratings
Recruiting / ATS
Comparison of Recruiting / ATS features of Product A and Product B
ADP Workforce Now
5.8
445 Ratings
29% below category average
QuickBooks Online
-
Ratings
Job Requisition Management7.0389 Ratings00 Ratings
Company Website Posting6.7381 Ratings00 Ratings
Publish to Social Media4.7305 Ratings00 Ratings
Job Search Site Posting6.0341 Ratings00 Ratings
Duplicate Candidate Prevention2.38 Ratings00 Ratings
Applicant Tracking6.8384 Ratings00 Ratings
Notifications and Alerts7.0404 Ratings00 Ratings
Customization
Comparison of Customization features of Product A and Product B
ADP Workforce Now
-
Ratings
QuickBooks Online
7.1
112 Ratings
6% below category average
API for custom integration00 Ratings7.193 Ratings
Plug-ins00 Ratings7.194 Ratings
Security
Comparison of Security features of Product A and Product B
ADP Workforce Now
-
Ratings
QuickBooks Online
8.4
185 Ratings
3% above category average
Single sign-on capability00 Ratings8.5150 Ratings
Role-based user permissions00 Ratings8.3175 Ratings
Reporting & Analytics
Comparison of Reporting & Analytics features of Product A and Product B
ADP Workforce Now
-
Ratings
QuickBooks Online
8.3
211 Ratings
6% above category average
Dashboards00 Ratings8.3198 Ratings
Standard reports00 Ratings8.5205 Ratings
Custom reports00 Ratings8.0189 Ratings
General Ledger and Configurable Accounting
Comparison of General Ledger and Configurable Accounting features of Product A and Product B
ADP Workforce Now
-
Ratings
QuickBooks Online
8.0
228 Ratings
5% above category average
Accounts payable00 Ratings8.8194 Ratings
Accounts receivable00 Ratings8.8211 Ratings
Cash management00 Ratings8.1194 Ratings
Bank reconciliation00 Ratings9.0217 Ratings
Expense management00 Ratings8.4201 Ratings
Time tracking00 Ratings6.994 Ratings
Fixed asset management00 Ratings8.094 Ratings
Multi-currency support00 Ratings7.448 Ratings
Multi-division support00 Ratings7.479 Ratings
Regulations compliance00 Ratings7.977 Ratings
Electronic tax filing00 Ratings8.1112 Ratings
Self-service portal00 Ratings7.5124 Ratings
Global Financial Support00 Ratings6.840 Ratings
Primary and Secondary Ledgers00 Ratings8.169 Ratings
Intercompany Accounting00 Ratings8.070 Ratings
Localizations00 Ratings7.954 Ratings
Journals and Reconciliations00 Ratings8.5140 Ratings
Enterprise Accounting00 Ratings7.159 Ratings
Configurable Accounting00 Ratings7.986 Ratings
Centralized Rules Framework00 Ratings7.757 Ratings
Standardized Processes00 Ratings8.8104 Ratings
Inventory Management
Comparison of Inventory Management features of Product A and Product B
ADP Workforce Now
-
Ratings
QuickBooks Online
6.9
88 Ratings
6% below category average
Inventory tracking00 Ratings6.783 Ratings
Automatic reordering00 Ratings7.146 Ratings
Location management00 Ratings7.353 Ratings
Manufacturing module00 Ratings6.636 Ratings
Order Management
Comparison of Order Management features of Product A and Product B
ADP Workforce Now
-
Ratings
QuickBooks Online
7.9
140 Ratings
5% above category average
Pricing00 Ratings8.090 Ratings
Order entry00 Ratings7.886 Ratings
Credit card processing00 Ratings8.4108 Ratings
Cost of goods sold00 Ratings8.4106 Ratings
Order Orchestration00 Ratings7.446 Ratings
End-to-end order visibility00 Ratings7.949 Ratings
Order exception Resolution00 Ratings7.442 Ratings
Best Alternatives
ADP Workforce NowQuickBooks Online
Small Businesses
Dayforce Powerpay
Dayforce Powerpay
Score 9.3 out of 10
QuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
QuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
Score 6.4 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Paypro Workforce Management
Paypro Workforce Management
Score 9.1 out of 10
Zoho Books
Zoho Books
Score 9.1 out of 10
Enterprises
PeopleStrong
PeopleStrong
Score 10.0 out of 10
SAP Cloud ERP
SAP Cloud ERP
Score 8.6 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
ADP Workforce NowQuickBooks Online
Likelihood to Recommend
7.9
(1123 ratings)
8.3
(230 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
7.8
(83 ratings)
9.4
(27 ratings)
Usability
2.5
(80 ratings)
8.4
(146 ratings)
Availability
7.3
(14 ratings)
8.9
(6 ratings)
Performance
6.4
(13 ratings)
1.0
(5 ratings)
Support Rating
6.4
(494 ratings)
9.8
(70 ratings)
In-Person Training
8.2
(9 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Online Training
5.8
(17 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
1.5
(34 ratings)
9.8
(7 ratings)
Configurability
6.4
(10 ratings)
1.0
(2 ratings)
Contract Terms and Pricing Model
-
(0 ratings)
5.0
(1 ratings)
Ease of integration
6.1
(8 ratings)
1.3
(2 ratings)
Product Scalability
7.8
(785 ratings)
2.0
(3 ratings)
Professional Services
-
(0 ratings)
5.0
(1 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
5.2
(8 ratings)
5.0
(3 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
6.1
(8 ratings)
5.0
(3 ratings)
User Testimonials
ADP Workforce NowQuickBooks Online
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.
Read full review
Intuit
QBO is a great solution for small and midsize companies. If the goal is to record all transactions and pull reliable financial reports, QBO is a great option. QBO is also a great solution if most operations are run in a system like Ramp. It syncs well with systems like that and turns the data into something management can use to make decisions. QBO is great because so many people use it. It is easy to find training online, and many people have experience with it.
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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.
Read full review
Intuit
  • Workflows for accounts payable invoice review are terrific.
  • Bill payment allows you to pay vendors online via ACH or check without having to write a physical check, which reduces admin time.
  • The cloud based login lends well to a remote or hybrid work environment for staff.
  • QuickBooks Online allows you to pre-configure vendors' general ledger expense accounts. This helps with general ledger coding accuracy and consistency.
  • QuickBooks Online integrates with Rippling HRIS, Coast, Capital One, JPMorgan Chase, etc., which lends well to an efficient month-end closing and reduced administrative time.
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
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Intuit
  • I dislike that the online bill pay option through QuickBooks is required for their invoicing.
  • The auto-fill portion of the customer setup, specifically the company name, is listed, but it also auto-fills in the name portion, which is inconvenient and time-consuming to remove.
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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.
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Intuit
It like the product 'right out of the box' and I trust Intuit will continually improve it over the years based on my experience with their desktop products. The large providers of Apps makes customizing the entire package relatively easy and seamless for a wide variety of business types.
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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.
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Intuit
Beyond being overkill for a small org's needs, QBO is constantly stealing screen real estate and attention by hammering users for account upgrades, connecting to one of their approved consultants or buying add-ons. The idea of using a simple configurable bookeeping and light accounting interface is completely missing. At the very least, we should be able to hide functions like inventory that we will never use.
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Reliability and Availability
ADP
ADP outages are very rare
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Intuit
We have rarely had outages in the last 10 years. I can only recall 2 times in the last 10 years where we were not able to access our client files.
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
Read full review
Intuit
Everything process has its bugs lately with the new interface. Nothing has worked smoothly since this all began last month.
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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.
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Intuit
In my experience, most representatives keep me on the phone for hours, literally, for a single issue and then usually cannot resolve it satisfactorily. I have 10 open cases that need resolution and, in my experience, there has been NO follow-up communication on any of them.
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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.
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Intuit
No answers on this topic
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.
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Intuit
No answers on this topic
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.
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Intuit
The person in charge of QB needs to be very accurate with record keeping and is recommended to stay on top of tasks. The biggest issue we have is reconciliation, and those issues occur only when too much time has occurred between reconciliations
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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.
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Intuit
As a freelance bookkeeper, the Desktop version of QuickBooks Online doesn't allow for ease of access from any device. Having to be on a computer with the software downloaded creates additional work to gain access to all required filings etc. Also, I personally find the linking functionality on the Online version to be much more streamlined and user friendly.
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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
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Intuit
As we have grown along our professional path, we have also expanded our use of QB. The scalability is easy and features seem to be waiting for you until you need them. We have increased profits by over 10x from our first year in business to the current and have yet to find a reason to look elsewhere
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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.
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Intuit
  • QuickBooks has given us a useful portal by which to get an overview of our financials.
  • QuickBooks has given us a relatively easy way to send out invoices quickly and efficiently.
  • Due to the customization limitations on QuickBooks, we've had to get creative in third-party implementations to better represent our brand and to track financials.
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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

QuickBooks Online Screenshots

Screenshot of the accounting and bank transactions interfaceScreenshot of an overview of the accounting inventoryScreenshot of book marksScreenshot of the business tax overviewScreenshot of the customer hubScreenshot of the dashboard