What users are saying about
323 Ratings
<a href='https://www.trustradius.com/static/about-trustradius-scoring' target='_blank' rel='nofollow noopener'>trScore algorithm: Learn more.</a>Score 7.8 out of 100
Based on 323 reviews and ratings
39 Ratings
<a href='https://www.trustradius.com/static/about-trustradius-scoring' target='_blank' rel='nofollow noopener'>trScore algorithm: Learn more.</a>Score 7.1 out of 100
Based on 39 reviews and ratings
Feature Set Ratings
- Ascentis (discontinued) ranks higher in 1 feature set: Recruiting / ATS
Human Resource Management

7.5
Ascentis (discontinued)
75%

SmartSearch ATS
Feature Set Not Supported
N/A
Ascentis (discontinued) ranks higher in 7/7 features
Ascentis (discontinued) ranks higher in 7/7 features
Employee demographic data
7.6
76%
137 Ratings

N/A
0 Ratings
Employment history
7.8
78%
140 Ratings

N/A
0 Ratings
Job profiles and administration
7.6
76%
128 Ratings

N/A
0 Ratings
Workflow for transfers, promotions, pay raises, etc.
7.4
74%
126 Ratings

N/A
0 Ratings
Organizational charting
6.3
63%
90 Ratings

N/A
0 Ratings
Organization and location management
7.9
79%
109 Ratings

N/A
0 Ratings
Compliance data (COBRA, OSHA, etc.)
7.8
78%
102 Ratings

N/A
0 Ratings
Payroll Management

8.3
Ascentis (discontinued)
83%

SmartSearch ATS
Feature Set Not Supported
N/A
Ascentis (discontinued) ranks higher in 7/7 features
Ascentis (discontinued) ranks higher in 7/7 features
Pay calculation
8.3
83%
115 Ratings

N/A
0 Ratings
Support for external payroll vendors
7.2
72%
62 Ratings

N/A
0 Ratings
Off-cycle/On-Demand payment
8.2
82%
28 Ratings

N/A
0 Ratings
Benefit plan administration
7.7
77%
108 Ratings

N/A
0 Ratings
Direct deposit files
9.2
92%
100 Ratings

N/A
0 Ratings
Salary revision and increment management
8.5
85%
92 Ratings

N/A
0 Ratings
Reimbursement management
8.8
88%
51 Ratings

N/A
0 Ratings
Leave and Attendance Management

8.1
Ascentis (discontinued)
81%

SmartSearch ATS
Feature Set Not Supported
N/A
Ascentis (discontinued) ranks higher in 3/3 features
Ascentis (discontinued) ranks higher in 3/3 features
Approval workflow
8.5
85%
99 Ratings

N/A
0 Ratings
Balance details
7.8
78%
99 Ratings

N/A
0 Ratings
Annual carry-forward and encashment
8.0
80%
84 Ratings

N/A
0 Ratings
Employee Self Service

7.9
Ascentis (discontinued)
79%

SmartSearch ATS
Feature Set Not Supported
N/A
Ascentis (discontinued) ranks higher in 5/5 features
Ascentis (discontinued) ranks higher in 5/5 features
View and generate pay and benefit information
8.2
82%
138 Ratings

N/A
0 Ratings
Update personal information
8.8
88%
151 Ratings

N/A
0 Ratings
View company policy documentation
6.9
69%
110 Ratings

N/A
0 Ratings
Employee recognition
7.1
71%
61 Ratings

N/A
0 Ratings
View job history
8.5
85%
108 Ratings

N/A
0 Ratings
Asset Management

6.0
Ascentis (discontinued)
60%

SmartSearch ATS
Feature Set Not Supported
N/A
Ascentis (discontinued) ranks higher in 1/1 features
Ascentis (discontinued) ranks higher in 1/1 features
Tracking of all physical assets
6.0
60%
33 Ratings

N/A
0 Ratings
HR Reporting

6.6
Ascentis (discontinued)
66%

SmartSearch ATS
Feature Set Not Supported
N/A
Ascentis (discontinued) ranks higher in 3/3 features
Ascentis (discontinued) ranks higher in 3/3 features
Report builder
6.5
65%
144 Ratings

N/A
0 Ratings
Pre-built reports
7.3
73%
142 Ratings

N/A
0 Ratings
Ability to combine HR data with external data
6.0
60%
73 Ratings

N/A
0 Ratings
Onboarding

6.3
Ascentis (discontinued)
63%

SmartSearch ATS
Feature Set Not Supported
N/A
Ascentis (discontinued) ranks higher in 2/2 features
Ascentis (discontinued) ranks higher in 2/2 features
New hire portal
6.5
65%
98 Ratings

N/A
0 Ratings
Manager tracking tools
6.1
61%
76 Ratings

N/A
0 Ratings
Performance and Goals

7.0
Ascentis (discontinued)
70%

SmartSearch ATS
Feature Set Not Supported
N/A
Ascentis (discontinued) ranks higher in 4/4 features
Ascentis (discontinued) ranks higher in 4/4 features
Corporate goal setting
6.5
65%
43 Ratings

N/A
0 Ratings
Individual goal setting
7.5
75%
53 Ratings

N/A
0 Ratings
Line-of sight-visibility
7.1
71%
38 Ratings

N/A
0 Ratings
Performance tracking
7.0
70%
50 Ratings

N/A
0 Ratings
Performance Management

6.4
Ascentis (discontinued)
64%

SmartSearch ATS
Feature Set Not Supported
N/A
Ascentis (discontinued) ranks higher in 5/5 features
Ascentis (discontinued) ranks higher in 5/5 features
Performance plans
6.2
62%
59 Ratings

N/A
0 Ratings
Performance improvement plans
6.3
63%
50 Ratings

N/A
0 Ratings
Review status tracking
6.7
67%
57 Ratings

N/A
0 Ratings
Review reminders
7.0
70%
55 Ratings

N/A
0 Ratings
Multiple review frequency
5.9
59%
50 Ratings

N/A
0 Ratings
Succession Planning

6.0
Ascentis (discontinued)
60%

SmartSearch ATS
Feature Set Not Supported
N/A
Ascentis (discontinued) ranks higher in 4/4 features
Ascentis (discontinued) ranks higher in 4/4 features
Create succession plans/pools
6.4
64%
21 Ratings

N/A
0 Ratings
Candidate ranking
6.4
64%
21 Ratings

N/A
0 Ratings
Candidate search
5.3
53%
27 Ratings

N/A
0 Ratings
Candidate development
6.0
60%
23 Ratings

N/A
0 Ratings
Recruiting / ATS

6.4
Ascentis (discontinued)
64%

3.4
SmartSearch ATS
34%
SmartSearch ATS ranks higher in 9/15 features
SmartSearch ATS ranks higher in 9/15 features
Job Requisition Management
6.7
67%
85 Ratings

3.1
31%
17 Ratings
Company Website Posting
6.5
65%
79 Ratings

3.1
31%
17 Ratings
Publish to Social Media
6.5
65%
59 Ratings

1.1
11%
13 Ratings
Job Search Site Posting
6.5
65%
71 Ratings

1.1
11%
17 Ratings
Duplicate Candidate Prevention
6.5
65%
57 Ratings

9.9
99%
16 Ratings
Applicant Tracking
6.4
64%
83 Ratings

3.1
31%
17 Ratings
Notifications and Alerts
5.6
56%
69 Ratings

5.0
50%
13 Ratings
Customized Application Form
N/A
0 Ratings

8.9
89%
16 Ratings
Resume Management
N/A
0 Ratings

1.1
11%
17 Ratings
Candidate Search
N/A
0 Ratings

3.0
30%
17 Ratings
Collaboration
N/A
0 Ratings

1.1
11%
15 Ratings
Task Creation and Delegation
N/A
0 Ratings

1.1
11%
14 Ratings
Email Templates
N/A
0 Ratings

1.1
11%
16 Ratings
User Permissions
N/A
0 Ratings

1.1
11%
16 Ratings
Reporting
N/A
0 Ratings

7.9
79%
16 Ratings
Attribute Ratings
- Ascentis (discontinued) is rated higher in 4 areas: Likelihood to Recommend, Likelihood to Renew, Support Rating, Implementation Rating
- SmartSearch ATS is rated higher in 2 areas: Usability, Availability
Likelihood to Recommend

7.6
Ascentis (discontinued)
76%
164 Ratings

6.0
SmartSearch ATS
60%
31 Ratings
Likelihood to Renew

6.3
Ascentis (discontinued)
63%
12 Ratings

3.0
SmartSearch ATS
30%
18 Ratings
Usability

7.5
Ascentis (discontinued)
75%
44 Ratings

8.1
SmartSearch ATS
81%
10 Ratings
Availability

6.5
Ascentis (discontinued)
65%
7 Ratings

10.0
SmartSearch ATS
100%
4 Ratings
Performance

6.9
Ascentis (discontinued)
69%
5 Ratings

SmartSearch ATS
N/A
0 Ratings
Support Rating

8.1
Ascentis (discontinued)
81%
252 Ratings

7.4
SmartSearch ATS
74%
11 Ratings
In-Person Training

8.0
Ascentis (discontinued)
80%
1 Rating

SmartSearch ATS
N/A
0 Ratings
Online Training

8.2
Ascentis (discontinued)
82%
4 Ratings

SmartSearch ATS
N/A
0 Ratings
Implementation Rating

8.2
Ascentis (discontinued)
82%
8 Ratings

6.0
SmartSearch ATS
60%
7 Ratings
Product Scalability

6.4
Ascentis (discontinued)
64%
4 Ratings

SmartSearch ATS
N/A
0 Ratings
Likelihood to Recommend
Ascentis (discontinued)
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.

Verified User
Paraprofessional in Corporate
Hospital & Health Care Company, 501-1000 employeesSmartSearch ATS
I think our environment has stretched SmS and their capabilities (positively) but we have grown together and developed an enormously capable system together that is now very well integrated into our business. For doing applicant tracking, requisition management and offer management that has really been strong. I think we can partner together and build some better analytics and reporting capabilities that would be better suited for our business.
Vice President Human Resources, Global Operations
Gates CorporationIndustrial Automation, 10,001+ employees
Pros
Ascentis (discontinued)
- 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!

Verified User
Director in Human Resources
Hospital & Health Care Company, 1001-5000 employeesSmartSearch ATS
- The search functions are outstanding. It is the reason we originally went with SmartSearch many years ago. The ability to do very simple or complex searches gives the recruiting staff great flexibility in how they look for and narrow down candidates.
- The hire and onboarding traks allow us to create very specific processes we want our staff to follow to insure a consistent and repeatable result. I can create traks that can be very general or traks that literally provide emails and reminders to all of the players (recruiters, managers, candidates, etc...) every step of the way. This is particularly helpful where we have customers who have extremely stringent contractual guidelines that must be followed.
- Support. Their customer support is second to none. We always joke that they are our favorite vendor to deal with.... Anytime we have an issue or question. They are there to walk us through it. The training is on target and the staff has always been friendly and more than eager to help make us successful with the tool.
Vice President
L. J. Gonzer AssociatesStaffing & Recruiting, 51-200 employees
Cons
Ascentis (discontinued)
- 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.

Verified User
Director in Human Resources
Civil Engineering Company, 501-1000 employeesSmartSearch ATS
- SmartSearch has a steep learning curve if you want to extensively use the features like automated tasks and the report writer
- Technical support is spotty and sometimes very frustrating, they don't respond for weeks at a time.
- SmartSearch user interface is old and has far less ability to customize the interface than other tracking systems
- SmartSearch has virtually no ability to connect directly with other software and allows now other software to connect in - so no Microsoft Flow, no Zapier, no mail parser, etc. and since Smart Search capabilities are limited, not being able to integrate it with other platforms easily is unfortunate.

Verified User
Executive in Corporate
Staffing & Recruiting Company, 201-500 employeesPricing Details
Ascentis (discontinued)
General
Free Trial
—Free/Freemium Version
—Premium Consulting/Integration Services
—Entry-level set up fee?
No
Starting Price
—SmartSearch ATS
General
Free Trial
—Free/Freemium Version
—Premium Consulting/Integration Services
—Entry-level set up fee?
No
Starting Price
—Likelihood to Renew
Ascentis (discontinued)
Ascentis (discontinued) 6.3
Based on 12 answers
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.
Human Resources Manager
San Juan Construction, Inc.Construction, 201-500 employees
SmartSearch ATS
SmartSearch ATS 3.0
Based on 18 answers
I believe over the past 30 or so pages (or so it seems), you have every reason for my business to continue as a SmartSearch ATS client and user. The support is off the charts great the few times I need them (generally not even once per year). My business has been a client since 2004. That should say it all.
Contract Recruiter/Consultant/Trainer
GCommerceSolutions.comHuman Resources, 1-10 employees
Usability
Ascentis (discontinued)
Ascentis (discontinued) 7.5
Based on 44 answers
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.

Verified User
Director in Human Resources
Building Materials Company, 51-200 employeesSmartSearch ATS
SmartSearch ATS 8.1
Based on 10 answers
There are so many facets of SmartSearch, that to know everything about it is nearly impossible. While it is mainly straight forward, there is a lot. After using the program for a while, you become pretty comfortable with the basics and can start adding some of the other features.
Recruiting Administrator
BelcanHuman Resources, 10,001+ employees
Reliability and Availability
Ascentis (discontinued)
Ascentis (discontinued) 6.5
Based on 7 answers
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.

Verified User
Employee in Human Resources
Government Administration Company, 51-200 employeesSmartSearch ATS
SmartSearch ATS 10.0
Based on 4 answers
My license for SmartSearch goes back to 2004. It has always been available for me - don't remember a single time it was not available in all of those years.
Contract Recruiter/Consultant/Trainer
GCommerceSolutions.comHuman Resources, 1-10 employees
Performance
Ascentis (discontinued)
Ascentis (discontinued) 6.9
Based on 5 answers
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.

Verified User
Employee in Human Resources
Government Administration Company, 51-200 employeesSmartSearch ATS
No score
No answers yet
No answers on this topic
Support Rating
Ascentis (discontinued)
Ascentis (discontinued) 8.1
Based on 252 answers
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.

Verified User
Strategist in Marketing
Oil & Energy Company, 201-500 employeesSmartSearch ATS
SmartSearch ATS 7.4
Based on 11 answers
Once you get the 1 person on the phone they are very knowledgeable and tend to solve the problem. The issue is there are not enough resources to handle all the clients. Their primary clients are "recruiting firms" and I think that is where most of the their support resources go
Sr HRIS Analyst
EOG ResourcesOil & Energy, 1001-5000 employees
In-Person Training
Ascentis (discontinued)
Ascentis (discontinued) 8.0
Based on 1 answer
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.
IT & Marketing Coordinator
Howry Residential ServicesMental Health Care, 201-500 employees
SmartSearch ATS
No score
No answers yet
No answers on this topic
Online Training
Ascentis (discontinued)
Ascentis (discontinued) 8.2
Based on 4 answers
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.
IT & Marketing Coordinator
Howry Residential ServicesMental Health Care, 201-500 employees
SmartSearch ATS
No score
No answers yet
No answers on this topic
Implementation Rating
Ascentis (discontinued)
Ascentis (discontinued) 8.2
Based on 8 answers
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.
Human Resources Manager
MultiLingual Solutions, Inc.Government Administration, 201-500 employees
SmartSearch ATS
SmartSearch ATS 6.0
Based on 7 answers
Using the basic functions of SmartSearch is an easy implementation. But consider carefully what your organization needs to really drive placements. Because we only did a basic implementation first, we were caught off guard when later trying to implement more functions and realizing that the capabilities were limited or were difficult to learn and implement and realizing that tech support was not going to be consistent.

Verified User
Executive in Corporate
Staffing & Recruiting Company, 201-500 employeesAlternatives Considered
Ascentis (discontinued)
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.

Verified User
Manager in Human Resources
Logistics & Supply Chain Company, 201-500 employeesSmartSearch ATS
Functionally, SmartSearch is not on the same page as ZipRecruiter. ZipRecruiter as a platform is much more geared toward helping applicants and is essentially a glorified resume database. SmartSearch offers so much more in terms of features and abilities, that would not really be appropriate to try and compare the two. Similarly, the overall use of SmartSearch is an apples and oranges comparison to LinkedIn Talent. LinkedIn is great for sourcing and attracting talent, but in terms of tracking candidates all the way through a hiring process and tracking a heavy volume of job orders across a variety of states and locations, the two just don't really compare.

Verified User
Manager in Engineering
Information Technology and Services Company, 10,001+ employeesScalability
Ascentis (discontinued)
Ascentis (discontinued) 6.4
Based on 4 answers
Large acquisition would be very complicated, seems more appropriate for companies under 100
Human Resources Manager
N/AEntertainment, 51-200 employees
SmartSearch ATS
No score
No answers yet
No answers on this topic
Return on Investment
Ascentis (discontinued)
- 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.

Verified User
Employee in Human Resources
Mechanical Or Industrial Engineering Company, 201-500 employeesSmartSearch ATS
- That's easy - they have helped us grown and make more money. The core element of their technology (e.g. the ability to search for, identify and contact candidates is excellent).
- They are a business partner and do their very best to help us succeed.
President
TalentZökStaffing & Recruiting, 51-200 employees