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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    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

    Dayforce

    Score7.9 out of 10
    Enterprise companies (1,001+ employees)
    Dayforce is a people platform that brings together HR, payroll, workforce management, talent, benefits, planning, and analytics. Organizations use Dayforce to manage people data, payroll, time and attendance, scheduling, talent, and workforce planning. AI capabilities within the Dayforce platform help people find information, understand HR policies and pay, and complete everyday tasks. Dayforce also supports recruiting, labor forecasting, and workforce analysis, and provides tools to help…N/A
    Pricing
    Ascentis (discontinued)Dayforce
    Editions & Modules
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    Ascentis (discontinued)Dayforce
    Free Trial
    NoNo
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoYes
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeOptional
    Additional Details——
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    Ascentis (discontinued)Dayforce
    Considered Both Products
    Discontinued Products
    Chose Ascentis (discontinued)
    I do not believe Ascentis can compete with either Ceridian or ADP (or SAP). I implemented, utilized and managed these various systems years ago and even at that time, the products were more advanced than Ascentis is today.
    Incentivized
    Chose Ascentis (discontinued)
    I have found that ADP has a lot more features and was more user friendly. Ascentis is much better than Ceridian and provides more information than Ceridian.
    Incentivized
    Chose Ascentis (discontinued)
    Benefits have worked better with more flexibility. In general, the HR system allows you more options that you can change than the larger providers. Very flexible working with other payroll providers which is not the same for some of the other systems that I have used.
    Incentivized
    Chose Ascentis (discontinued)
    Ascentis is a robust system that is intuitive and comes at a great price!
    Incentivized
    Chose Ascentis (discontinued)
    Ascentis is tremendously better than either Ceridian or Paychex and much more cost effective than Kronos. Kronos was a better time module however.
    Dayforce
    Chose Dayforce
    More live time payroll numbers and reports for KPIs and operations.
    Incentivized
    Chose Dayforce
    It's a positive impact to have the all-in-one system. However, with a product that does not work for us, it creates more admin than necessary to merge reports and dig for usable data.
    Incentivized
    Chose Dayforce
    Unfortunately, we are still using the 3rd party for our timekeeping. Because of this, we cannot see real-time pay data because the punches cannot be pulled from the other system and imported into Dayforce until the pay period is over, and we are ready to process. If we used …
    Incentivized
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    78%
    Would buy again
    40 Answers
    89%
    Would buy again
    124 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    90%
    Delivers good value for the price
    35 Answers
    95%
    Delivers good value for the price
    107 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    86%
    Happy with the feature set
    44 Answers
    94%
    Happy with the feature set
    131 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    65%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    22 Answers
    79%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    66 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    65%
    Implementation went as expected
    24 Answers
    67%
    Implementation went as expected
    63 Answers
    Features
    Ascentis (discontinued)Dayforce
    Human Resource Management
    Comparison of Human Resource Management features of Ascentis (discontinued) and Dayforce
    Feature
    Ascentis (discontinued)
    7.1
    150 Ratings
    14% below category average
    Dayforce
    8.2
    602 Ratings
    0% above category average
    Employee demographic data6.7137 Ratings9.1525 Ratings
    Employment history7.3140 Ratings9.3559 Ratings
    Job profiles and administration6.9128 Ratings9.4549 Ratings
    Workflow for transfers, promotions, pay raises, etc.6.7126 Ratings9.4553 Ratings
    Organizational charting5.290 Ratings6.4502 Ratings
    Organization and location management8.0109 Ratings6.5548 Ratings
    Compliance data (COBRA, OSHA, etc.)8.8102 Ratings7.3370 Ratings
    Payroll Management
    Comparison of Payroll Management features of Ascentis (discontinued) and Dayforce
    Feature
    Ascentis (discontinued)
    7.8
    125 Ratings
    5% below category average
    Dayforce
    8.7
    602 Ratings
    6% above category average
    Pay calculation7.1115 Ratings9.3588 Ratings
    Support for external payroll vendors6.162 Ratings7.0295 Ratings
    Off-cycle/On-Demand payment8.328 Ratings9.3154 Ratings
    Benefit plan administration6.7108 Ratings8.6475 Ratings
    Direct deposit files9.2100 Ratings9.3574 Ratings
    Salary revision and increment management8.692 Ratings8.3456 Ratings
    Reimbursement management8.851 Ratings9.1309 Ratings
    Leave and Attendance Management
    Comparison of Leave and Attendance Management features of Ascentis (discontinued) and Dayforce
    Feature
    Ascentis (discontinued)
    7.8
    105 Ratings
    6% below category average
    Dayforce
    9.1
    547 Ratings
    10% above category average
    Approval workflow7.999 Ratings9.4515 Ratings
    Balance details7.099 Ratings9.2529 Ratings
    Annual carry-forward and encashment8.484 Ratings8.6434 Ratings
    Employee Self Service
    Comparison of Employee Self Service features of Ascentis (discontinued) and Dayforce
    Feature
    Ascentis (discontinued)
    7.0
    153 Ratings
    16% below category average
    Dayforce
    8.3
    615 Ratings
    1% above category average
    View and generate pay and benefit information7.8138 Ratings8.6586 Ratings
    Update personal information8.6151 Ratings8.5599 Ratings
    View company policy documentation5.4110 Ratings7.7419 Ratings
    Employee recognition6.061 Ratings9.1219 Ratings
    View job history7.3108 Ratings7.7492 Ratings
    Asset Management
    Comparison of Asset Management features of Ascentis (discontinued) and Dayforce
    Feature
    Ascentis (discontinued)
    5.8
    33 Ratings
    32% below category average
    Dayforce
    8.7
    103 Ratings
    8% above category average
    Tracking of all physical assets5.833 Ratings8.7103 Ratings
    HR Reporting
    Comparison of HR Reporting features of Ascentis (discontinued) and Dayforce
    Feature
    Ascentis (discontinued)
    6.3
    147 Ratings
    19% below category average
    Dayforce
    6.2
    601 Ratings
    20% below category average
    Report builder7.0144 Ratings6.3592 Ratings
    Pre-built reports7.5142 Ratings6.3592 Ratings
    Ability to combine HR data with external data4.673 Ratings6.0416 Ratings
    Onboarding
    Comparison of Onboarding features of Ascentis (discontinued) and Dayforce
    Feature
    Ascentis (discontinued)
    5.1
    98 Ratings
    45% below category average
    Dayforce
    8.7
    394 Ratings
    8% above category average
    New hire portal5.398 Ratings9.3384 Ratings
    Manager tracking tools4.976 Ratings8.2338 Ratings
    Performance and Goals
    Comparison of Performance and Goals features of Ascentis (discontinued) and Dayforce
    Feature
    Ascentis (discontinued)
    7.2
    57 Ratings
    11% below category average
    Dayforce
    8.8
    257 Ratings
    9% above category average
    Corporate goal setting6.743 Ratings8.4215 Ratings
    Individual goal setting7.653 Ratings9.1236 Ratings
    Line-of sight-visibility7.138 Ratings8.7201 Ratings
    Performance tracking7.250 Ratings8.9241 Ratings
    Performance Management
    Comparison of Performance Management features of Ascentis (discontinued) and Dayforce
    Feature
    Ascentis (discontinued)
    6.0
    63 Ratings
    28% below category average
    Dayforce
    8.2
    283 Ratings
    3% above category average
    Performance plans5.659 Ratings8.7262 Ratings
    Performance improvement plans5.650 Ratings8.7225 Ratings
    Review status tracking5.857 Ratings7.4265 Ratings
    Review reminders6.555 Ratings8.4260 Ratings
    Multiple review frequency6.650 Ratings7.7234 Ratings
    Succession Planning
    Comparison of Succession Planning features of Ascentis (discontinued) and Dayforce
    Feature
    Ascentis (discontinued)
    5.9
    27 Ratings
    28% below category average
    Dayforce
    8.7
    131 Ratings
    11% above category average
    Create succession plans/pools6.421 Ratings9.3104 Ratings
    Candidate ranking6.421 Ratings8.3113 Ratings
    Candidate search5.027 Ratings8.3118 Ratings
    Candidate development5.823 Ratings8.7106 Ratings
    Recruiting / ATS
    Comparison of Recruiting / ATS features of Ascentis (discontinued) and Dayforce
    Feature
    Ascentis (discontinued)
    5.5
    89 Ratings
    36% below category average
    Dayforce
    9.4
    302 Ratings
    17% above category average
    Job Requisition Management5.485 Ratings9.7284 Ratings
    Company Website Posting5.279 Ratings9.7277 Ratings
    Publish to Social Media5.659 Ratings9.3233 Ratings
    Job Search Site Posting5.871 Ratings9.7265 Ratings
    Duplicate Candidate Prevention5.657 Ratings8.1229 Ratings
    Applicant Tracking5.783 Ratings9.7276 Ratings
    Notifications and Alerts5.369 Ratings9.6272 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    Ascentis (discontinued)Dayforce
    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
    Ascentis (discontinued)Dayforce
    Likelihood to Recommend
    7.2
    (164 ratings)
    8.3
    (641 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    6.3
    (12 ratings)
    8.9
    (89 ratings)
    Usability
    7.6
    (44 ratings)
    4.2
    (60 ratings)
    Availability
    6.7
    (5 ratings)
    10.0
    (12 ratings)
    Performance
    7.1
    (4 ratings)
    5.0
    (13 ratings)
    Support Rating
    8.2
    (150 ratings)
    8.9
    (66 ratings)
    In-Person Training
    8.0
    (1 ratings)
    7.0
    (11 ratings)
    Online Training
    8.3
    (4 ratings)
    7.3
    (18 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    8.3
    (5 ratings)
    8.9
    (44 ratings)
    Configurability
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    9.0
    (13 ratings)
    Ease of integration
    3.0
    (1 ratings)
    7.3
    (9 ratings)
    Product Scalability
    6.7
    (4 ratings)
    9.9
    (14 ratings)
    Vendor post-sale
    9.6
    (3 ratings)
    8.9
    (18 ratings)
    Vendor pre-sale
    9.6
    (3 ratings)
    9.9
    (12 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    Ascentis (discontinued)Dayforce
    Likelihood to Recommend
    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
    Dayforce
    I think Dayforce is a great option for a large and/or Global organization. I do not think it would be the best fit for a very small company or business. It really shines for enterprise organizations with multi-locations. While a small business could use it, I would say it has too many bells and whistles that might feel overwhelming to a smaller organization.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Pros
    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
    Dayforce
    • Payroll - it shows everything in real time and it runs quickly.
    • People - Having all employee details from the offer letter to W2 information in the same spot.
    • Dayforce Wallet: The on-demand feature is fully integrated with Timesheets and Payroll. What shows in one will be in the other.
    Read full review
    Cons
    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
    Dayforce
    • There have been a few instances of users being locked out of Ceridian due to recent upgrades. Not ideal when an employee wants to see their paystub and is suddenly have login issues.
    • Not the best for when an employee is transferred to another country as their employee number is locked to their SIN or SSN. And, we are required to create a new user record with a new employee number for the new country.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Likelihood to Renew
    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
    Dayforce
    We are highly invested in Ceridian's Dayforce product. It give us the flexibility and scaling that our growing company needs. Its potential reaches beyond the basic HR functions to the decision making that our Management Team needs. Ceridian is always innovating the employee and employee experiences to offer cutting edge options.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Usability
    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
    Dayforce
    I think it's very usable for the employee. I don't think it is as easy for the HR/PR admins - especially if there is an issue. There are so many setup screens that need to be looked at to try to figure out why payroll isn't calculating properly, hours aren't feeding over correctly, or benefits are not calculating properly. For the most part, they can't do their own troubleshooting. The same is true for the managers. Our managers find it cumbersome to go into make any schedule changes after the schedules have been generated.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Reliability and Availability
    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
    Dayforce
    Dayforce's high availability ensures that our HR processes are supported around the clock, which is critical for a global organization like ours. The platform is cloud-based, offering reliable access from any location at any time, allowing our employees, managers, and HR teams to stay connected regardless of time zones or geographic locations. This level of availability ensures that payroll processing, employee self-service, and real-time data access continue uninterrupted, even during peak periods or unforeseen disruptions. The system’s robust infrastructure minimizes downtime, which is vital for operations that span multiple regions. Additionally, having a centralized platform that’s always available helps keep our teams aligned, ensures compliance, and facilitates timely decision-making across all our locations.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Performance
    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
    Dayforce
    We haven't noticed any slow-down due to the integration of Dayforce WFM with our Ceridian HPL products (HRIS and Payroll). The new HTML view of the timesheets don't load as quickly as the old Silverlight view - however, we have gotten used to the change.
    Read full review
    Support Rating
    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
    Dayforce
    Most of the time the support is great; it's not always super efficient but I always get the help I need. Occasionally it takes a lot longer than we had hoped or get conflicting responses. We had one ticket recently where we were told we would have to pay the service team to support us on the project and then another person called the next day with the solution to our query and was able to find a solution easily. Generally, though, the response is great and they either walk me though how to do something via a Zoom Meeting or they email step-by-step instructions on how to do it and say if I have questions we can set up a meeting to discuss further.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    In-Person Training
    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
    Dayforce
    Because the training we reviewed at Insights has changed how we use the system everyday. This is a key factor in our training.
    Read full review
    Online Training
    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
    Dayforce
    The courses are very interactive and informative. There are classes for every topic, which allows you to make the most of the system. There are also some "go at your own pace" course which is a great option for a busy schedule.
    Incentivized
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    Implementation Rating
    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
    Dayforce
    Have a strong internal team. Communicate with your implementation team - they are there to make it work for you. Take the time to really think about how you want the system to work for you - in some cases, you may need to rethink your own business practices to see if you are working harder when the system could do it for you
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Alternatives Considered
    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
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    Dayforce
    I can't speak much to how it would be if we had all of these features separately since I started with Dayforce all being integrated and have no other experience, but having it all in one place has made the completion of all of these HR tasks seamless. We can direct all of our energies into the same system, and it makes it easier to field employee inquiries and to troubleshoot when we need to
    Incentivized
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    Scalability
    Discontinued Products
    Large acquisition would be very complicated, seems more appropriate for companies under 100
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Dayforce
    Overall, we are extremely happy with the Dayforce WFM module. Our biggest pain point is concerning the twice annual software upgrades - which is the only reason I haven't rated them as a '10'. Because every customer is configured differently, the upgrades can sometimes have adverse effects on our current configured policies/rules. And although they roll-out the upgraded version in a test environment several weeks before go-live, not all testing is accurate in that environment. Some issues do not present themselves until you are working with live punches.
    Read full review
    Return on Investment
    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
    Dayforce
    • Performance Reviews/Comp used to be handled via paper and tracking/reporting was a nightmare - having all of that in the system is so much more efficient and provides huge ROI
    • Our organization used to have big problems with hiring managers going rogue and hiring positions that aren't approved by Finance - we built an approval workflow in the system that triggers before any req is approved which has completely solved this problem
    • Dayforce Wallet has been a huge perk for our employees - it's heavily used and our crew love it
    Incentivized
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    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.

    Dayforce Screenshots

    Screenshot of Dayforce HubScreenshot of Human Resources (Position Management)Screenshot of Dayforce Reporting & AnalyticsScreenshot of People AnalyticsScreenshot of Dayforce HR Service DeliveryScreenshot of Dayforce Flex Work