ADP Workforce Now vs. Sage 50

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
Sage 50
Score 7.7 out of 10
Small Businesses (1-50 employees)
Sage 50cloud Accounting (formerly Sage 50 Accounting) is accounting software designed for small businesses. Sage 50cloud Accounting (formerly Sage 50, and formerly Peachtree) lets businesses invoice customers, pay bills, manage inventory, control costs, and pay employees. The solution includes high-level dashboards and in-depth reports.
$61.92
per month per user
Pricing
ADP Workforce NowSage 50
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
Sage 50 Pro Accounting
$61.92
per month
Sage 50 Premium Accounting
$103.92
per month per user
Sage 50 Quantum Accounting 3 User
$177.17
per month per user
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
ADP Workforce NowSage 50
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.Annual billing plans also available for all products.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
ADP Workforce NowSage 50
Considered Both Products
ADP Workforce Now
Chose ADP Workforce Now
Our company used ADP PC for Windows before and we were transferred to ADP Workforce Now by the payroll company; we didn't choose it. In some aspects we liked more the ADP PC program, it was easier to implement changes and introduce payroll data. But we like the real time …
Sage 50
Chose Sage 50
I did not select Sage50, however, I do prefer it over Zuora. Sage 50 is in line with the easy manipulation of Quickbooks. Sage Intacct is best used for larger corporations whereas Sage 50 and Quickbooks are better tuned for smaller or mid-sized businesses.
Features
ADP Workforce NowSage 50
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
Sage 50
-
Ratings
Employee demographic data8.5947 Ratings00 Ratings
Employment history8.3988 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
Sage 50
8.5
19 Ratings
12% above category average
Pay calculation9.01045 Ratings8.618 Ratings
Support for external payroll vendors7.8414 Ratings00 Ratings
Off-cycle/On-Demand payment8.2336 Ratings00 Ratings
Benefit plan administration7.5825 Ratings8.013 Ratings
Direct deposit files9.01032 Ratings10.014 Ratings
Salary revision and increment management7.3813 Ratings8.014 Ratings
Reimbursement management7.5498 Ratings8.014 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
Sage 50
-
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
Sage 50
-
Ratings
View and generate pay and benefit information8.41026 Ratings00 Ratings
Update personal information8.51015 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
Sage 50
-
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
6.9
988 Ratings
9% below category average
Sage 50
-
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
Sage 50
-
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
6.8
335 Ratings
17% below category average
Sage 50
-
Ratings
Corporate goal setting6.9261 Ratings00 Ratings
Individual goal setting6.6313 Ratings00 Ratings
Line-of sight-visibility6.8258 Ratings00 Ratings
Performance tracking7.0308 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
Sage 50
-
Ratings
Performance plans6.5389 Ratings00 Ratings
Performance improvement plans6.3332 Ratings00 Ratings
Review status tracking6.2392 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
Sage 50
-
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
5.7
445 Ratings
31% below category average
Sage 50
-
Ratings
Job Requisition Management7.0389 Ratings00 Ratings
Company Website Posting6.7381 Ratings00 Ratings
Publish to Social Media4.6305 Ratings00 Ratings
Job Search Site Posting6.0341 Ratings00 Ratings
Duplicate Candidate Prevention2.38 Ratings00 Ratings
Applicant Tracking6.7384 Ratings00 Ratings
Notifications and Alerts6.9404 Ratings00 Ratings
Customization
Comparison of Customization features of Product A and Product B
ADP Workforce Now
-
Ratings
Sage 50
7.1
14 Ratings
6% below category average
API for custom integration00 Ratings7.711 Ratings
Plug-ins00 Ratings6.613 Ratings
Security
Comparison of Security features of Product A and Product B
ADP Workforce Now
-
Ratings
Sage 50
7.9
29 Ratings
4% below category average
Single sign-on capability00 Ratings7.124 Ratings
Role-based user permissions00 Ratings8.726 Ratings
Reporting & Analytics
Comparison of Reporting & Analytics features of Product A and Product B
ADP Workforce Now
-
Ratings
Sage 50
8.3
32 Ratings
6% above category average
Dashboards00 Ratings8.630 Ratings
Standard reports00 Ratings9.032 Ratings
Custom reports00 Ratings7.531 Ratings
General Ledger and Configurable Accounting
Comparison of General Ledger and Configurable Accounting features of Product A and Product B
ADP Workforce Now
-
Ratings
Sage 50
7.4
35 Ratings
3% below category average
Accounts payable00 Ratings9.034 Ratings
Accounts receivable00 Ratings8.833 Ratings
Cash management00 Ratings8.033 Ratings
Bank reconciliation00 Ratings8.633 Ratings
Expense management00 Ratings8.531 Ratings
Time tracking00 Ratings7.015 Ratings
Fixed asset management00 Ratings7.022 Ratings
Multi-currency support00 Ratings4.012 Ratings
Multi-division support00 Ratings6.016 Ratings
Regulations compliance00 Ratings6.415 Ratings
Electronic tax filing00 Ratings8.418 Ratings
Self-service portal00 Ratings5.913 Ratings
Global Financial Support00 Ratings5.66 Ratings
Primary and Secondary Ledgers00 Ratings6.99 Ratings
Intercompany Accounting00 Ratings7.710 Ratings
Localizations00 Ratings7.78 Ratings
Journals and Reconciliations00 Ratings8.822 Ratings
Enterprise Accounting00 Ratings7.79 Ratings
Configurable Accounting00 Ratings8.111 Ratings
Centralized Rules Framework00 Ratings6.87 Ratings
Standardized Processes00 Ratings7.916 Ratings
Inventory Management
Comparison of Inventory Management features of Product A and Product B
ADP Workforce Now
-
Ratings
Sage 50
8.4
21 Ratings
14% above category average
Inventory tracking00 Ratings8.121 Ratings
Automatic reordering00 Ratings8.012 Ratings
Location management00 Ratings8.110 Ratings
Manufacturing module00 Ratings9.09 Ratings
Order Management
Comparison of Order Management features of Product A and Product B
ADP Workforce Now
-
Ratings
Sage 50
7.6
25 Ratings
2% above category average
Pricing00 Ratings8.420 Ratings
Order entry00 Ratings8.422 Ratings
Credit card processing00 Ratings7.014 Ratings
Cost of goods sold00 Ratings7.421 Ratings
Order Orchestration00 Ratings7.78 Ratings
End-to-end order visibility00 Ratings6.89 Ratings
Order exception Resolution00 Ratings7.28 Ratings
Best Alternatives
ADP Workforce NowSage 50
Small Businesses
Dayforce Powerpay
Dayforce Powerpay
Score 9.3 out of 10
QuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
QuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
Score 6.0 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 NowSage 50
Likelihood to Recommend
8.0
(1123 ratings)
9.0
(44 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
7.9
(83 ratings)
9.1
(14 ratings)
Usability
2.6
(80 ratings)
8.6
(15 ratings)
Availability
7.3
(14 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Performance
6.4
(13 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
6.4
(494 ratings)
10.0
(7 ratings)
In-Person Training
8.2
(9 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Online Training
5.8
(17 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
1.5
(34 ratings)
9.1
(5 ratings)
Configurability
6.4
(10 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Ease of integration
6.1
(8 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
7.9
(785 ratings)
9.1
(1 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
5.2
(8 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
6.1
(8 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
ADP Workforce NowSage 50
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
Sage
Sage 50 Accounts is well-suited for small to medium-sized enterprises, where there is a moderate number of expenses and invoices that need processing, typically by a company with a smaller finance team. Sage 50 is probably less suitable for a large organisation that needs to handle a higher volume of transactions and manage significant stock levels.
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.
Read full review
Sage
  • We can build "templates" for recurrent charges/invoices. This saves some time and also ensures that we always use the right accounting rubric.
  • A lot of additional information can be filled out such as client information (name, address, ...) which makes the software a little more complete.
  • If you don't need an updated version every year (my case) then the software is not too expensive. The pro version that I'm using was just a little over $300.
  • I really like the banking statement consolidation which allows you to ensure you got the right information registered.
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
Read full review
Sage
  • Sage 50 could use some improvement in the Invoicing Module to allow for more flexibility in the design of the Invoice fields. The report customization tools could use some upgrading for easier use.
  • Fixed assets management module needs to be included with unlimited number of fixed assets.
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.
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Sage
I use this rating simply because I have a thriving Sage 50 consulting practice and will continue to keep my expertise in the product. I have consulted on both Sage 50 and QuickBooks for over 25 years so I have to maintain expertise in the solution as well as accounting and verticals.
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.
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Sage
I think Sage 50 is a trusted product and is reliable from a product delivery and support perspective. They have deep domain expertise in the non-profit space and should be a consideration for new non-profit startups or existing non-profits looking to migrate from other platforms. Overall, I believe that Sage 50 does many things well with few limitations.
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Reliability and Availability
ADP
ADP outages are very rare
Read full review
Sage
No answers on this topic
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
Sage
No answers on this topic
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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Sage
They were very knowledgeable of the product, understood my timeline was limited for a software issue and allowed me to get back to my day to day work. The dial into your computer is great so you can monitor what they are doing and learn some tricks yourself
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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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Sage
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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Sage
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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Sage
We implemented Sage 50 Premium Accounting in house, not using any third party or professional service. It was a relatively trouble free process, but can be tricky. Just read all instructions carefully, especially if you need to load the program on a network with more than one user
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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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Sage
As we did the conversion almost 10 years ago it is hard to answer this question. At the time it was the ease of being able to produce both cash and accrual financial statements and reporting that led us to pick Sage
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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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Sage
I define scalable from two perspectives; 1) the scalability to handle more bookkeepers/accountants using the product, and 2) the scalability to handle increasing customer/vendor/employee and transactional data. Sage 50 does a good job on both fronts. From the single users operating a micro-business accounting for customer invoices and bill payments only, to the multi-staff, multi-location, multi-departmental complex transactional operation. Although Sage 50 is quite expensive for that smallest user, it is quite inexpensive for the larger business entity. So, for the new enterprise expecting rapid growth, Sage 50 is the application of choice.
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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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Sage
  • Sage definitely needs to do a better job with customer service. I have had to use them only a handful of times and it was not a great experience but not the worse I've seen. They didn't make us a priority and I felt that they didn't have a sense of urgency. They did address my lack of satisfaction and I can see that they are at least aware of the issues and they are trying to correct them.
  • Sage is exactly what we need in my current organization and I wouldn't change it for another system. I have used quite a few in my lifetime and I would say that it fits our needs.
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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