Ascentis (discontinued) vs. Paycom

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Ascentis (discontinued)
Score 7.5 out of 10
N/A
Ascentis HR uses web-based management programs to help automate complex HR processes. Ascentis’ other services included customizable payroll, time and attendance and recruiting modules. Ascentis was acquired by UKG in March of 2022, and will be discontinued.N/A
Paycom
Score 7.3 out of 10
N/A
Paycom is a core HR management software solution. It includes features such as talent acquisition and management, time tracking, and payroll management. It offers some automation capacities, particularly regarding payroll.N/A
Pricing
Ascentis (discontinued)Paycom
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Ascentis (discontinued)Paycom
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Ascentis (discontinued)Paycom
Considered Both Products
Ascentis (discontinued)
Chose Ascentis (discontinued)
We selected Ascentis because the features and price were a reasonable match for our business objectives at the time. What stood out about Ascentis was the ability to customize and integrate with our internal tools.

We are currently starting to evaluate other software and are …
Chose Ascentis (discontinued)
Unlike the others, Ascentis was built as an HR solutions platform--not an extension of a payroll company looking to expand into HR. The payroll side is well-represented with founders who are ex-ADP employees, but by being focused on HR as a whole, this puts the emphasis on …
Chose Ascentis (discontinued)
Paycom. We went with Ascentis because Paycom did not have the ability to customize our performance management tool
Paycom

No answer on this topic

Top Pros
Top Cons
Features
Ascentis (discontinued)Paycom
Human Resource Management
Comparison of Human Resource Management features of Product A and Product B
Ascentis (discontinued)
7.1
150 Ratings
10% below category average
Paycom
6.9
356 Ratings
13% below category average
Employee demographic data6.7137 Ratings7.3323 Ratings
Employment history7.3140 Ratings6.8309 Ratings
Job profiles and administration6.9128 Ratings7.0310 Ratings
Workflow for transfers, promotions, pay raises, etc.6.7126 Ratings6.6311 Ratings
Organizational charting5.290 Ratings5.9233 Ratings
Organization and location management8.0109 Ratings7.9269 Ratings
Compliance data (COBRA, OSHA, etc.)8.8102 Ratings6.8256 Ratings
Payroll Management
Comparison of Payroll Management features of Product A and Product B
Ascentis (discontinued)
7.8
125 Ratings
3% below category average
Paycom
7.5
369 Ratings
7% below category average
Pay calculation7.1115 Ratings7.9358 Ratings
Support for external payroll vendors6.162 Ratings6.447 Ratings
Off-cycle/On-Demand payment8.328 Ratings8.713 Ratings
Benefit plan administration6.7108 Ratings7.6307 Ratings
Direct deposit files9.2100 Ratings8.0358 Ratings
Salary revision and increment management8.692 Ratings7.1294 Ratings
Reimbursement management8.851 Ratings7.0199 Ratings
Leave and Attendance Management
Comparison of Leave and Attendance Management features of Product A and Product B
Ascentis (discontinued)
7.8
105 Ratings
3% below category average
Paycom
7.5
326 Ratings
7% below category average
Approval workflow7.999 Ratings7.4311 Ratings
Balance details7.099 Ratings7.4311 Ratings
Annual carry-forward and encashment8.484 Ratings7.7258 Ratings
Employee Self Service
Comparison of Employee Self Service features of Product A and Product B
Ascentis (discontinued)
7.0
153 Ratings
15% below category average
Paycom
7.5
370 Ratings
8% below category average
View and generate pay and benefit information7.8138 Ratings7.8363 Ratings
Update personal information8.6151 Ratings8.2366 Ratings
View company policy documentation5.4110 Ratings7.6325 Ratings
Employee recognition6.061 Ratings6.4176 Ratings
View job history7.3108 Ratings7.7290 Ratings
Asset Management
Comparison of Asset Management features of Product A and Product B
Ascentis (discontinued)
5.8
33 Ratings
29% below category average
Paycom
4.9
26 Ratings
45% below category average
Tracking of all physical assets5.833 Ratings4.926 Ratings
HR Reporting
Comparison of HR Reporting features of Product A and Product B
Ascentis (discontinued)
6.4
147 Ratings
17% below category average
Paycom
6.2
317 Ratings
20% below category average
Report builder7.0144 Ratings6.4311 Ratings
Pre-built reports7.5142 Ratings6.5308 Ratings
Ability to combine HR data with external data4.673 Ratings5.855 Ratings
Onboarding
Comparison of Onboarding features of Product A and Product B
Ascentis (discontinued)
5.1
98 Ratings
44% below category average
Paycom
7.1
312 Ratings
12% below category average
New hire portal5.398 Ratings7.4309 Ratings
Manager tracking tools4.976 Ratings6.7267 Ratings
Performance and Goals
Comparison of Performance and Goals features of Product A and Product B
Ascentis (discontinued)
7.2
57 Ratings
12% below category average
Paycom
5.5
181 Ratings
39% below category average
Corporate goal setting6.743 Ratings4.236 Ratings
Individual goal setting7.653 Ratings6.3168 Ratings
Line-of sight-visibility7.138 Ratings4.835 Ratings
Performance tracking7.250 Ratings6.4177 Ratings
Performance Management
Comparison of Performance Management features of Product A and Product B
Ascentis (discontinued)
6.0
63 Ratings
28% below category average
Paycom
6.7
226 Ratings
17% below category average
Performance plans5.659 Ratings6.8209 Ratings
Performance improvement plans5.650 Ratings6.7198 Ratings
Review status tracking5.857 Ratings6.7202 Ratings
Review reminders6.555 Ratings7.1209 Ratings
Multiple review frequency6.650 Ratings6.3187 Ratings
Succession Planning
Comparison of Succession Planning features of Product A and Product B
Ascentis (discontinued)
5.9
27 Ratings
29% below category average
Paycom
6.8
34 Ratings
15% below category average
Create succession plans/pools6.421 Ratings9.124 Ratings
Candidate ranking6.421 Ratings6.830 Ratings
Candidate search5.027 Ratings5.833 Ratings
Candidate development5.823 Ratings5.429 Ratings
Recruiting / ATS
Comparison of Recruiting / ATS features of Product A and Product B
Ascentis (discontinued)
5.5
89 Ratings
34% below category average
Paycom
6.7
218 Ratings
14% below category average
Job Requisition Management5.585 Ratings6.9195 Ratings
Company Website Posting5.279 Ratings7.2192 Ratings
Publish to Social Media5.759 Ratings6.5154 Ratings
Job Search Site Posting5.871 Ratings6.9178 Ratings
Duplicate Candidate Prevention5.657 Ratings6.2165 Ratings
Applicant Tracking5.783 Ratings6.6201 Ratings
Notifications and Alerts5.369 Ratings6.1204 Ratings
Best Alternatives
Ascentis (discontinued)Paycom
Small Businesses
Patriot Software
Patriot Software
Score 9.0 out of 10
Patriot Software
Patriot Software
Score 9.0 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Paypro Workforce Management
Paypro Workforce Management
Score 9.5 out of 10
Paypro Workforce Management
Paypro Workforce Management
Score 9.5 out of 10
Enterprises
Infor Human Resources
Infor Human Resources
Score 7.3 out of 10
Infor Human Resources
Infor Human Resources
Score 7.3 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Ascentis (discontinued)Paycom
Likelihood to Recommend
7.2
(164 ratings)
6.8
(389 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
6.3
(12 ratings)
8.3
(20 ratings)
Usability
7.6
(44 ratings)
8.4
(23 ratings)
Availability
6.7
(5 ratings)
9.1
(1 ratings)
Performance
7.1
(4 ratings)
8.2
(1 ratings)
Support Rating
8.2
(150 ratings)
9.0
(51 ratings)
In-Person Training
8.0
(1 ratings)
6.4
(1 ratings)
Online Training
8.3
(4 ratings)
7.3
(1 ratings)
Implementation Rating
8.3
(5 ratings)
7.8
(6 ratings)
Configurability
9.0
(1 ratings)
5.5
(1 ratings)
Ease of integration
3.0
(1 ratings)
5.5
(1 ratings)
Product Scalability
6.7
(4 ratings)
5.5
(1 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
9.6
(3 ratings)
4.9
(2 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
9.6
(3 ratings)
8.3
(2 ratings)
User Testimonials
Ascentis (discontinued)Paycom
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.
Read full review
Paycom
Paycom has really helped us to configure our timecards and payroll to fit our unique pay structure. The system made it easy for staff to understand and not just the payroll/HR department. We use paper pay checks, and the system uses the "home location" for delivery which is not necessarily where the employee works, just where they pick up their check. If we used direct deposit, I am sure that would not be an issue.
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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!
Read full review
Paycom
  • Customer Support- Jaco Lau and Jeff Sullins have been highly responsive to all of our needs and customizations
  • Customization capabilities - we have had to build an End-To-End performance management system that now fits and meets our needs
  • Functionality - the tools and intuitive use of Paycom makes for a great user-experience. Our employees are already embracing it and have expressed gratitude for moving to this new platform.
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.
Read full review
Paycom
  • Update alert system for employees. When and employee misses a clock in so he/she requests a missed punch correction, the alert saying missed punch will continue to pop up at the employee until a manager approves said punch request. It confuses employees and makes them think they didn't request the punch so they do it again. It should not keep alerting said employee if he/she made a change to fix it. If anything, it should alert the manager until said requests are approved and/or denied.
  • Provide the employees pay rate in the edit grid layout section of payroll
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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.
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Paycom
We've made the mistake of moving away from Paycom to a PEO which had made a lot of promises, that they could not keep. Less than a year after that transition, we returned to Paycom and are happier than ever.
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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.
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Paycom
The system is very user friendly. Once you navigate where your information is stored under the forms you are golden. While the training amplified my capabilities and knowledge, I could have jumped into the system without and training and managed just fine. This probably one of my favorite parts about Paycom!
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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.
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Paycom
They are very dependable and I have never experience any outages
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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.
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Paycom
It is a solid product and was out first payroll software that we have used
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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.
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Paycom
Our TSR has been wonderful to work with. Every step of the
way he was quick to respond and answer any questions we had. I knew I could
reach him at any time (day or night) and he would be available to assist.
Implementing a new HRIS system is obviously a huge task and I contribute all
our success to our rep Kurt! Of course, with any implementation, there were
bumps along the way and issues. But I always knew we would work as a team to
get those issues figured out. Working in the Paycom system has been smooth and
easy to learn and I enjoy the employee self-service interface. Our managers
have had positive things to say and are all excited about the changes we have
been able to make to our organization due to Paycom being implemented.
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.
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Paycom
They were a sales person and not really a good trainer.
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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.
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Paycom
All the online training modules were short and straight to the point. Every module teach you how to use the system. If there is one thing they know how to do is training. We did implementation during the pandemic so all had to be done online or via zoom meetings.
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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.
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Paycom
Not at all satisfied it was a nightmare we spent over 8 months with the implementation team having issues after issues all related to the Puerto Rico regulations (half my employees are in Puerto Rico) and at the end we were moved over from the implementation team to the production team without all the issues being resolved
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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.
Read full review
Paycom
ADP is too complex, too many people to go through to get what you need, as you need it. I can only say that I don't want to ever have to go back to using ADP again., Wherever my career leads me - I will lead them to PAYCOM!!
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Scalability
Discontinued Products
Large acquisition would be very complicated, seems more appropriate for companies under 100
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Paycom
They are not able to meet our current needs
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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.
Read full review
Paycom
  • Saved time, 2 person HR department so time is limited. With reduced time for onboarding we have been able to focus on other areas.
  • Improved employee satisfaction- employees enjoy the ease of use of the system and the ability to use on their phones.
  • Reduced background check/drug screening costs- prior providers were absorbent in the amount we paid compared to Paycom.
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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.

Paycom Screenshots

Screenshot of Screenshot of Screenshot of