Ascentis (discontinued) vs. Paylocity

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
Paylocity
Score 8.3 out of 10
N/A
Paylocity provides 24/7 access to your online payroll and human resource data management. Paylocity offers highly customizable payroll functionality, as well as HR, benefits administration, and time and talent management programs.N/A
Pricing
Ascentis (discontinued)Paylocity
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Ascentis (discontinued)Paylocity
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoYes
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Ascentis (discontinued)Paylocity
Considered Both Products
Ascentis (discontinued)
Chose Ascentis (discontinued)
Ascentis is more integrated and Paylocity is easier to use as it has the advantage of creating customized reports when needed. Paylocity downloads all tax returns and with Ascentis i have to request them, download and rename all the files. Paylocity's quarterlys are done in 2 …
Chose Ascentis (discontinued)
We selected Ascentis over Paylocity because we were frustrated with a lack of support from Paylocity and because we could have additional functionalities like recruiting and LMS in our HRIS at the same price we were paying for Paylocity.
Chose Ascentis (discontinued)
ADP is mostly likely the status quo for HRIS systems, their CS and 24/7 support is incomparable to other systems, including Ascentis. There are often manual corrections needed, negative changes to user view, and other very odd things that happen with Ascentis that I have …
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 …
Paylocity
Chose Paylocity
Much more simplistic to navigate and makes overall more common sense. The reporting functions as well as data analyst tools are much more user friendly. Training time to navigate the software and have it accomplish tasks at hand take very little time and their make team much …
Chose Paylocity
As good or better than any of the above, overall. Every HRIS system has strengths and weaknesses. Paylocity does some things better than others, but overall it is a great platform.
Chose Paylocity
UKG and Paylocity were fairly similar, but we thought the user experience seemed simpler with Paylocity. Paycom did not have as great of customer service and was much more expensive.
Chose Paylocity
We used QuickBooks Time, and migrated from that to Paylocity Time & Labor. We attempted to use Ascentis, but after 4 weeks of back and forth, we made little progress, despite a rigorous set of Demo's were we tried to make sure they could deliver what we needed in time tracking. …
Features
Ascentis (discontinued)Paylocity
Human Resource Management
Comparison of Human Resource Management features of Product A and Product B
Ascentis (discontinued)
7.1
150 Ratings
11% below category average
Paylocity
7.9
1240 Ratings
0% above category average
Employee demographic data6.7137 Ratings8.61177 Ratings
Employment history7.3140 Ratings8.21140 Ratings
Job profiles and administration6.9128 Ratings8.01065 Ratings
Workflow for transfers, promotions, pay raises, etc.6.7126 Ratings7.61075 Ratings
Organizational charting5.290 Ratings7.2994 Ratings
Organization and location management8.0109 Ratings7.8972 Ratings
Compliance data (COBRA, OSHA, etc.)8.8102 Ratings7.6829 Ratings
Payroll Management
Comparison of Payroll Management features of Product A and Product B
Ascentis (discontinued)
7.8
125 Ratings
2% below category average
Paylocity
8.2
1204 Ratings
3% above category average
Pay calculation7.1115 Ratings8.61175 Ratings
Support for external payroll vendors6.162 Ratings7.7577 Ratings
Off-cycle/On-Demand payment8.328 Ratings8.6902 Ratings
Benefit plan administration6.7108 Ratings7.5810 Ratings
Direct deposit files9.2100 Ratings9.01172 Ratings
Salary revision and increment management8.692 Ratings8.2944 Ratings
Reimbursement management8.851 Ratings8.1592 Ratings
Leave and Attendance Management
Comparison of Leave and Attendance Management features of Product A and Product B
Ascentis (discontinued)
7.8
105 Ratings
4% below category average
Paylocity
7.5
1023 Ratings
8% below category average
Approval workflow7.999 Ratings7.6910 Ratings
Balance details7.099 Ratings7.3977 Ratings
Annual carry-forward and encashment8.484 Ratings7.5772 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
Paylocity
8.4
1217 Ratings
3% above category average
View and generate pay and benefit information7.8138 Ratings8.51185 Ratings
Update personal information8.6151 Ratings8.71207 Ratings
View company policy documentation5.4110 Ratings8.1975 Ratings
Employee recognition6.061 Ratings8.3883 Ratings
View job history7.3108 Ratings8.51042 Ratings
Asset Management
Comparison of Asset Management features of Product A and Product B
Ascentis (discontinued)
5.8
33 Ratings
31% below category average
Paylocity
7.3
380 Ratings
8% below category average
Tracking of all physical assets5.833 Ratings7.3380 Ratings
HR Reporting
Comparison of HR Reporting features of Product A and Product B
Ascentis (discontinued)
6.3
147 Ratings
18% below category average
Paylocity
7.3
1123 Ratings
3% below category average
Report builder7.0144 Ratings7.31076 Ratings
Pre-built reports7.5142 Ratings7.51097 Ratings
Ability to combine HR data with external data4.673 Ratings7.1706 Ratings
Onboarding
Comparison of Onboarding features of Product A and Product B
Ascentis (discontinued)
5.1
98 Ratings
44% below category average
Paylocity
8.3
1058 Ratings
4% above category average
New hire portal5.398 Ratings8.41051 Ratings
Manager tracking tools4.976 Ratings8.2845 Ratings
Performance and Goals
Comparison of Performance and Goals features of Product A and Product B
Ascentis (discontinued)
7.2
57 Ratings
11% below category average
Paylocity
7.8
587 Ratings
3% below category average
Corporate goal setting6.743 Ratings7.9465 Ratings
Individual goal setting7.653 Ratings7.8541 Ratings
Line-of sight-visibility7.138 Ratings7.8408 Ratings
Performance tracking7.250 Ratings7.9548 Ratings
Performance Management
Comparison of Performance Management features of Product A and Product B
Ascentis (discontinued)
6.0
63 Ratings
27% below category average
Paylocity
7.6
741 Ratings
4% below category average
Performance plans5.659 Ratings7.5675 Ratings
Performance improvement plans5.650 Ratings7.6580 Ratings
Review status tracking5.857 Ratings7.6682 Ratings
Review reminders6.555 Ratings7.7686 Ratings
Multiple review frequency6.650 Ratings7.7573 Ratings
Succession Planning
Comparison of Succession Planning features of Product A and Product B
Ascentis (discontinued)
5.9
27 Ratings
27% below category average
Paylocity
7.5
384 Ratings
3% below category average
Create succession plans/pools6.421 Ratings6.9257 Ratings
Candidate ranking6.421 Ratings7.4312 Ratings
Candidate search5.027 Ratings8.0351 Ratings
Candidate development5.823 Ratings7.6284 Ratings
Recruiting / ATS
Comparison of Recruiting / ATS features of Product A and Product B
Ascentis (discontinued)
5.5
89 Ratings
33% below category average
Paylocity
8.0
705 Ratings
4% above category average
Job Requisition Management5.485 Ratings8.1604 Ratings
Company Website Posting5.279 Ratings8.1631 Ratings
Publish to Social Media5.659 Ratings8.0490 Ratings
Job Search Site Posting5.871 Ratings7.9601 Ratings
Duplicate Candidate Prevention5.657 Ratings7.6507 Ratings
Applicant Tracking5.783 Ratings8.2654 Ratings
Notifications and Alerts5.369 Ratings7.9648 Ratings
Best Alternatives
Ascentis (discontinued)Paylocity
Small Businesses
Dayforce Powerpay
Dayforce Powerpay
Score 9.4 out of 10
Dayforce Powerpay
Dayforce Powerpay
Score 9.4 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Paypro Workforce Management
Paypro Workforce Management
Score 9.7 out of 10
Paypro Workforce Management
Paypro Workforce Management
Score 9.7 out of 10
Enterprises
PeopleStrong
PeopleStrong
Score 9.6 out of 10
PeopleStrong
PeopleStrong
Score 9.6 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Ascentis (discontinued)Paylocity
Likelihood to Recommend
7.2
(164 ratings)
8.3
(1304 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
6.3
(12 ratings)
8.7
(152 ratings)
Usability
7.6
(44 ratings)
8.1
(103 ratings)
Availability
6.7
(5 ratings)
9.0
(32 ratings)
Performance
7.1
(4 ratings)
8.6
(31 ratings)
Support Rating
8.2
(150 ratings)
7.1
(137 ratings)
In-Person Training
8.0
(1 ratings)
8.1
(5 ratings)
Online Training
8.3
(4 ratings)
7.9
(23 ratings)
Implementation Rating
8.3
(5 ratings)
7.5
(80 ratings)
Configurability
9.0
(1 ratings)
7.4
(23 ratings)
Contract Terms and Pricing Model
-
(0 ratings)
8.5
(20 ratings)
Ease of integration
3.0
(1 ratings)
7.3
(24 ratings)
Product Scalability
6.7
(4 ratings)
8.2
(31 ratings)
Professional Services
-
(0 ratings)
9.2
(16 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
9.6
(3 ratings)
7.3
(29 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
9.6
(3 ratings)
8.5
(26 ratings)
User Testimonials
Ascentis (discontinued)Paylocity
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.
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Paylocity
Paylocity has a very user-friendly interface and is easy to navigate. The new payroll system is well-designed and efficient. Creating the batches is an easy, straightforward process. I also love that the system guides you through the steps of generating the pre-process payroll register, running the audit, and submitting payroll and prompts you if there are any steps left to complete. The employee onboarding packets are well-designed and have a nice, simple layout as well. However, the issues mentioned in the previous question have created complications for employees when completing these packets. Our main concerns are the technical difficulties employees experience when attempting to complete the withholding forms task, HR not being able to verify employee direct deposit information during onboarding, and no longer being able to make edits to the PERC task. If these issues were resolved, completing the Paylocity onboarding packets would be a very streamlined, easy process.
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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!
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Paylocity
  • The layout makes the system user friendly, especially if you have used other platforms
  • The amount of information stored in Paylocity is amazing
  • I love the community tab with the birthday and anniversary announcements and have began using it for our employee appreciation announcements. I think this has been well received.
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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.
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Paylocity
  • Not enough training content in spanish.
  • Need to be able to easily switch the site and app language.
  • Creating or editing security roles is too confusing but a needed option for most.
  • The site needs the ability to track non-employee HR and training data.
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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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Paylocity
We most likely will because we are learning how to use it better all the time. It does integrate with our Advanced Benefits. But the customer service is not responsive when needing help. It almost always requires several contacts to get anywhere, and the contacts can be several days apart. Once you actually get to TALK to someone, things are usually resolved fairly quickly, but their email system is not efficient. I get half answers and they close the ticket! But once I can get to someone, it is almost always great service. Very hard to get someone though.
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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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Paylocity
To begin with, Paylocity provides easy instructions, lots of training tools, and an excellent support team. The data entry is easy to use, and the reporting is outstanding. The report function allows options to fit nearly all of our needs. The search engine makes it easy to navigate through the software.
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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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Paylocity
I can always call the direct number and there is a representative always available to answer questions. I can also email the service desk for Paylocity or my representative and they are pretty quick to respond if we are having issues
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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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Paylocity
Reports load within seconds. The ease of finding information in the system is very nice. If for some reason you cannot get the info you need, you can either look it up in the help section or if time is of the essence, you may call the help desk and speak with a Paylocity representative immediately. You are never left alone. You never get a voicemail. You always get a live representative who can help you at that moment
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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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Paylocity
I really appreciate that we are assigned a support manager. That person is very familiar with our set up, our needs and our history. However, I've spoken to others on the support team and have had very positive interactions and get the help needed.
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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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Paylocity
I didn't have in-person training, but I'm sure it was just as great as any other training/assistance Paylocity provides. Paylocity customer service is always available. You never have to be on hold and their answers are always accurate and timely. Documents in the help section are helpful as well. My in-person training was conducted y one of our employees who was involved in the initial set-up and training of all employees. She was excellent.
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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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Paylocity
The training was live online, but was with a group of other companies. We did not receive any personalized training with our team. Whenever we would ask for training, we would be sent a peak article link or a video. It felt like the reps we dealt with didn't know the answer to the questions.
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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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Paylocity
We were handed off to multiple implementation people, some quit, one went on leave, one left suddenly, one was transfered to a diff dept...all causing a significant amount of disruption for our team. Many had conflicting info on how to properly set things up...hence a complete mess was left for us to figure out
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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.
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Paylocity
We chose Paylocity over ADP, Paycom and Kronos because it offered a better balance of functionality, user experience, and customer support tailored to our organizational needs. Paylocity’s platform felt more modern and intuitive, especially for our employees and managers who use it daily for time tracking, communication, and document acknowledgements. The engagement tools—like Community, Impressions, and Surveys—were more robust and better integrated into the core HR functions, helping us foster a stronger company culture. Additionally, Paylocity provided more flexibility in reporting and a more responsive implementation and support team, which made the transition smoother and more collaborative.
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Contract Terms and Pricing Model
Discontinued Products
No answers on this topic
Paylocity
I didn't help but I like the pricing
Read full review
Scalability
Discontinued Products
Large acquisition would be very complicated, seems more appropriate for companies under 100
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Paylocity
Our main function for Paylocity is payroll, data insights for employee working hours and onboarding. This has been a very reliable source for us for these functions. Payroll has been extremely easy to do using Paylocity. The onboarding process is very simple for new hires and makes the process run smooth. It is easy to find the information you are looking for while on Paylocity.
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Professional Services
Discontinued Products
No answers on this topic
Paylocity
They are thorough, care about quality and success, take the time needed to implement properly, answer questions, build data feeds. A professional, caring, very skilled team there.
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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.
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Paylocity
  • Less errors for payroll reporting to states and local municipalities. Freeing up our Finance ADM to focus on other duties.
  • New Hire Onboarding creates less work and higher potential for human error.
  • The ease of W-2 tracking throughout the year frees up time at the end of the year to focus on other year end responsibilities.
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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.

Paylocity Screenshots

Screenshot of a view of real-time employee data and performance metrics used to uncover and analyze trends. This creates an impactful understanding of the business, increase retention, understand labor costs, and plan for changes.Screenshot of where to automate manual processes with Paylocity's self-serve automation engine, Workflows. Users can implement routines for time-consuming manual tasks.Screenshot of where to manage and comply with employment law. Paylocity's HR Compliance solution helps users to stay on track and view important employee compliance items, from Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO), healthcare, and compensation.Screenshot of how Paylocity Recruiting can automate hiring processes. amplify outreach, showcase a company's culture, and build stronger candidate connections to swiftly fill positions.Screenshot of recognition and rewards in Paylocity.