Ascentis (discontinued) vs. WorkBright

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
WorkBright
Score 8.6 out of 10
Mid-Size Companies (51-1,000 employees)
For businesses that are rapidly, seasonally, or just plain constantly hiring, WorkBright aims to take the cumbersome and traditionally paper-heavy process of onboarding and puts it all online. They make it possible for new employees to fill out their W4s, upload photos of licenses and certifications, sign digitally, and complete any paperwork from their laptop, tablet, or smartphone before they show up for their first day on the job. Integrations and an open API…
$158
hires per year
Pricing
Ascentis (discontinued)WorkBright
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
Onboarding
Starting at $158/mo
hires per year
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Ascentis (discontinued)WorkBright
Free Trial
NoYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeRequired
Additional DetailsOur pricing is based off the number of hires in a given contract year. All contracts are annual but can be billed on a monthly basis.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Ascentis (discontinued)WorkBright
Top Pros
Top Cons
Features
Ascentis (discontinued)WorkBright
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
WorkBright
-
Ratings
Employee demographic data6.7137 Ratings00 Ratings
Employment history7.3140 Ratings00 Ratings
Job profiles and administration6.9128 Ratings00 Ratings
Workflow for transfers, promotions, pay raises, etc.6.7126 Ratings00 Ratings
Organizational charting5.290 Ratings00 Ratings
Organization and location management8.0109 Ratings00 Ratings
Compliance data (COBRA, OSHA, etc.)8.8102 Ratings00 Ratings
Payroll Management
Comparison of Payroll Management features of Product A and Product B
Ascentis (discontinued)
7.8
125 Ratings
3% below category average
WorkBright
-
Ratings
Pay calculation7.1115 Ratings00 Ratings
Support for external payroll vendors6.162 Ratings00 Ratings
Off-cycle/On-Demand payment8.328 Ratings00 Ratings
Benefit plan administration6.7108 Ratings00 Ratings
Direct deposit files9.2100 Ratings00 Ratings
Salary revision and increment management8.692 Ratings00 Ratings
Reimbursement management8.851 Ratings00 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
WorkBright
-
Ratings
Approval workflow7.999 Ratings00 Ratings
Balance details7.099 Ratings00 Ratings
Annual carry-forward and encashment8.484 Ratings00 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
WorkBright
-
Ratings
View and generate pay and benefit information7.8138 Ratings00 Ratings
Update personal information8.6151 Ratings00 Ratings
View company policy documentation5.4110 Ratings00 Ratings
Employee recognition6.061 Ratings00 Ratings
View job history7.3108 Ratings00 Ratings
Asset Management
Comparison of Asset Management features of Product A and Product B
Ascentis (discontinued)
5.8
33 Ratings
29% below category average
WorkBright
-
Ratings
Tracking of all physical assets5.833 Ratings00 Ratings
HR Reporting
Comparison of HR Reporting features of Product A and Product B
Ascentis (discontinued)
6.4
147 Ratings
17% below category average
WorkBright
-
Ratings
Report builder7.0144 Ratings00 Ratings
Pre-built reports7.5142 Ratings00 Ratings
Ability to combine HR data with external data4.673 Ratings00 Ratings
Onboarding
Comparison of Onboarding features of Product A and Product B
Ascentis (discontinued)
5.1
98 Ratings
44% below category average
WorkBright
-
Ratings
New hire portal5.398 Ratings00 Ratings
Manager tracking tools4.976 Ratings00 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
WorkBright
-
Ratings
Corporate goal setting6.743 Ratings00 Ratings
Individual goal setting7.653 Ratings00 Ratings
Line-of sight-visibility7.138 Ratings00 Ratings
Performance tracking7.250 Ratings00 Ratings
Performance Management
Comparison of Performance Management features of Product A and Product B
Ascentis (discontinued)
6.0
63 Ratings
28% below category average
WorkBright
-
Ratings
Performance plans5.659 Ratings00 Ratings
Performance improvement plans5.650 Ratings00 Ratings
Review status tracking5.857 Ratings00 Ratings
Review reminders6.555 Ratings00 Ratings
Multiple review frequency6.650 Ratings00 Ratings
Succession Planning
Comparison of Succession Planning features of Product A and Product B
Ascentis (discontinued)
5.9
27 Ratings
29% below category average
WorkBright
-
Ratings
Create succession plans/pools6.421 Ratings00 Ratings
Candidate ranking6.421 Ratings00 Ratings
Candidate search5.027 Ratings00 Ratings
Candidate development5.823 Ratings00 Ratings
Recruiting / ATS
Comparison of Recruiting / ATS features of Product A and Product B
Ascentis (discontinued)
5.5
89 Ratings
34% below category average
WorkBright
-
Ratings
Job Requisition Management5.585 Ratings00 Ratings
Company Website Posting5.279 Ratings00 Ratings
Publish to Social Media5.759 Ratings00 Ratings
Job Search Site Posting5.871 Ratings00 Ratings
Duplicate Candidate Prevention5.657 Ratings00 Ratings
Applicant Tracking5.783 Ratings00 Ratings
Notifications and Alerts5.369 Ratings00 Ratings
Best Alternatives
Ascentis (discontinued)WorkBright
Small Businesses
Patriot Software
Patriot Software
Score 9.0 out of 10
PowerDMS by NEOGOV
PowerDMS by NEOGOV
Score 9.6 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Paypro Workforce Management
Paypro Workforce Management
Score 9.5 out of 10
PowerDMS by NEOGOV
PowerDMS by NEOGOV
Score 9.6 out of 10
Enterprises
Infor Human Resources
Infor Human Resources
Score 7.3 out of 10
Vibe HCM
Vibe HCM
Score 4.4 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Ascentis (discontinued)WorkBright
Likelihood to Recommend
7.2
(164 ratings)
9.7
(6 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
6.3
(12 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Usability
7.6
(44 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Availability
6.7
(5 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Performance
7.1
(4 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
8.2
(150 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
In-Person Training
8.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Online Training
8.3
(4 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
8.3
(5 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Configurability
9.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Ease of integration
3.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
6.7
(4 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
9.6
(3 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
9.6
(3 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
Ascentis (discontinued)WorkBright
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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WorkBright
Workbright is well suited because of the following reasons: 1. Data transmission between browser and application is highly encrypted 2. Bank grade data encryption for maximum security 3. Data is backed up at various locations 4. Database security is maintained to the highest standards with Engineers 5. Automated reminders and user correction error flow system
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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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WorkBright
  • Being able to share candidate information with other supervisors or team members and others involved in the hiring process.
  • The convenience of filling in new employee hiring forms.
  • Create groups, organize all paperwork and send to employees with just one click.
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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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WorkBright
  • Onboarding Paperwork - It would be great if there was only one website we had to log into. For example, I have to log into one to send paperwork, and then log into another domain to check the paperwork sent.
  • Note Timeline - Anytime any application is touched, viewed, etc. a note is made. We also utilize the note feature to communicate about each applicant. However, it gets quite messy when their are over 40 notes and you are not able to sort or organize them.
  • Attachments - Can't attach items in notes, would be nice feature for attaching images, snippets, pdfs, etc.
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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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WorkBright
No answers on this topic
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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WorkBright
No answers on this topic
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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WorkBright
No answers on this topic
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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WorkBright
No answers on this topic
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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WorkBright
No answers on this topic
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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WorkBright
No answers on this topic
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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WorkBright
No answers on this topic
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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WorkBright
No answers on this topic
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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WorkBright
WorkBright was selected as the primary HR software within our company. One of the main reasons it was selected is the intuitive user interface and dashboard. Additionally, the software had excellent features for the cost such as custom reporting, notifications, enhanced security, and training. WorkBright offered many features that other HR software in the same price range did not.
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Scalability
Discontinued Products
Large acquisition would be very complicated, seems more appropriate for companies under 100
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WorkBright
No answers on this topic
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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WorkBright
  • Huge return on investment in terms of time needed to circulate new openings nationally.
  • Very positive impact on speed with which interviewer can contact prospective employees.
  • Outstanding onboarding for new employees. Tick 5 boxes and all info is emailed directly to the new employee.
  • Very challenging build process that took many weeks to fully integrate.
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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.

WorkBright Screenshots

Screenshot of Works on any Device - Not just ‘mobile friendly’ but mobile FIRST! Designed to complete all forms quickly and efficiently from any smart enabled device.Screenshot of Automatic Reminders - Reminders are automatically sent out to employees who have not completed their forms with increasing urgency and frequency.Screenshot of Fingertip Signature - Best in class eSignatures allows employees to sign forms with their fingers on mobile devices including timestamp and IP address.