Benefitfocus vs. Paychex Flex

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Benefitfocus
Score 7.6 out of 10
N/A
Benefitfocus headquartered in Charleston, South Carolina offers their eponymous platform for benefits administration, featuring the Benefitfocus Marketplace.N/A
Paychex Flex
Score 6.7 out of 10
N/A
Paychex Flex, of Paychex' Online Payroll Services, is a cloud-based human resource management and payroll platform. Paychex offers core and specialized services, and scales to meet the needs of small businesses, SMBs, and large enterprises.
$59
per month/+$4 per employee
Pricing
BenefitfocusPaychex Flex
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
Paychex Go
$59
per month/+$4 per employee
Paychex Flex Service
Contact sales team
Paychex Flex Enterprise
Contact sales team
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
BenefitfocusPaychex Flex
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeRequired
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
BenefitfocusPaychex Flex
Considered Both Products
Benefitfocus

No answer on this topic

Paychex Flex
Chose Paychex Flex
We have moved away from our benefits administration, onboarding, time and attendance, and basically all non-payroll functionality away from Paychex Flex.
Top Pros
Top Cons

No answers on this topic

Features
BenefitfocusPaychex Flex
Human Resource Management
Comparison of Human Resource Management features of Product A and Product B
Benefitfocus
-
Ratings
Paychex Flex
6.7
247 Ratings
16% below category average
Employee demographic data00 Ratings8.0197 Ratings
Employment history00 Ratings8.0220 Ratings
Job profiles and administration00 Ratings6.8155 Ratings
Workflow for transfers, promotions, pay raises, etc.00 Ratings7.4154 Ratings
Organizational charting00 Ratings1.01 Ratings
Organization and location management00 Ratings7.9138 Ratings
Compliance data (COBRA, OSHA, etc.)00 Ratings7.5132 Ratings
Payroll Management
Comparison of Payroll Management features of Product A and Product B
Benefitfocus
-
Ratings
Paychex Flex
8.5
288 Ratings
6% above category average
Pay calculation00 Ratings9.0271 Ratings
Off-cycle/On-Demand payment00 Ratings9.1136 Ratings
Benefit plan administration00 Ratings7.3156 Ratings
Direct deposit files00 Ratings9.3270 Ratings
Salary revision and increment management00 Ratings8.5193 Ratings
Reimbursement management00 Ratings7.9105 Ratings
Leave and Attendance Management
Comparison of Leave and Attendance Management features of Product A and Product B
Benefitfocus
-
Ratings
Paychex Flex
7.0
144 Ratings
14% below category average
Approval workflow00 Ratings6.3102 Ratings
Balance details00 Ratings7.5136 Ratings
Annual carry-forward and encashment00 Ratings7.3110 Ratings
Employee Self Service
Comparison of Employee Self Service features of Product A and Product B
Benefitfocus
-
Ratings
Paychex Flex
8.5
249 Ratings
5% above category average
View and generate pay and benefit information00 Ratings8.6228 Ratings
Update personal information00 Ratings9.0239 Ratings
View company policy documentation00 Ratings7.7111 Ratings
View job history00 Ratings8.7168 Ratings
Asset Management
Comparison of Asset Management features of Product A and Product B
Benefitfocus
-
Ratings
Paychex Flex
7.8
40 Ratings
1% above category average
Tracking of all physical assets00 Ratings7.840 Ratings
HR Reporting
Comparison of HR Reporting features of Product A and Product B
Benefitfocus
-
Ratings
Paychex Flex
6.1
164 Ratings
22% below category average
Report builder00 Ratings5.8134 Ratings
Pre-built reports00 Ratings6.9154 Ratings
Ability to combine HR data with external data00 Ratings5.883 Ratings
Onboarding
Comparison of Onboarding features of Product A and Product B
Benefitfocus
-
Ratings
Paychex Flex
8.0
158 Ratings
0% below category average
New hire portal00 Ratings8.1151 Ratings
Manager tracking tools00 Ratings7.9100 Ratings
Recruiting / ATS
Comparison of Recruiting / ATS features of Product A and Product B
Benefitfocus
-
Ratings
Paychex Flex
8.5
59 Ratings
9% above category average
Job Requisition Management00 Ratings9.632 Ratings
Company Website Posting00 Ratings9.730 Ratings
Publish to Social Media00 Ratings6.923 Ratings
Job Search Site Posting00 Ratings6.830 Ratings
Duplicate Candidate Prevention00 Ratings6.928 Ratings
Applicant Tracking00 Ratings9.633 Ratings
Notifications and Alerts00 Ratings9.753 Ratings
Best Alternatives
BenefitfocusPaychex Flex
Small Businesses
Justworks
Justworks
Score 7.8 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
BenefitfocusPaychex Flex
Likelihood to Recommend
10.0
(2 ratings)
7.7
(298 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
-
(0 ratings)
8.9
(42 ratings)
Usability
-
(0 ratings)
8.0
(240 ratings)
Availability
-
(0 ratings)
9.3
(10 ratings)
Performance
-
(0 ratings)
9.1
(10 ratings)
Support Rating
-
(0 ratings)
7.8
(245 ratings)
In-Person Training
-
(0 ratings)
4.5
(1 ratings)
Online Training
-
(0 ratings)
7.0
(4 ratings)
Implementation Rating
-
(0 ratings)
9.4
(11 ratings)
Configurability
-
(0 ratings)
7.6
(8 ratings)
Ease of integration
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(3 ratings)
Product Scalability
-
(0 ratings)
9.3
(10 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
-
(0 ratings)
8.9
(31 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
-
(0 ratings)
9.2
(32 ratings)
User Testimonials
BenefitfocusPaychex Flex
Likelihood to Recommend
Benefitfocus
It is well suited for a small company of maybe 300-400. It is less appropriate for companies in areas where a transit and parking benefit is a must.
Read full review
Paychex, Inc.
In my experience, Paychex Flex is well suited for small to medium sized businesses. It has been helpful in streamlining the onboarding process and it is easy to update and maintain employee profiles and records. It has worked will in a non-profit environment where there is clergy pay and housing, which can get quite complicated. I cannot think of a scenario where it would be less appropriate.
Read full review
Pros
Benefitfocus
  • Enrollment Reports
  • Customer Service
  • File Feed Setup
Read full review
Paychex, Inc.
  • I like I can enter payroll and if I need to leave the program, I can resume at a later time and my information is saved.
  • I like the analytics & reports features.
  • I like how all my employees have easy access to their portal.
Read full review
Cons
Benefitfocus
  • Great at selling their product but not keeping their promises.
  • Too many glitches and they always advise it will be updated/corrected on their next "quarterly update".
  • They can't administer QTB plans (parking and transit) which is an essential benefit plan offered to companies. They didn't officially come out with this news until after we had implemented and launched the program. During implementation, they made it appear like it would work.
Read full review
Paychex, Inc.
  • Reporting writing is difficult to figure out
  • Employee turnover inside Paychex was a problem, until we were assigned to Neil Williams - since that time it has settled down
  • Pressure to convert personal connection with payroll advisor to using automated service
Read full review
Likelihood to Renew
Benefitfocus
No answers on this topic
Paychex, Inc.
Overall I like the features that Paychex Flex offers. I am sure that there are other features that I am unaware of, so I am excited to see if there is more that Flex is capable of to make my job easier. The basic features are really user friendly and easy to access. If there ever is an issue customer service is great
Read full review
Usability
Benefitfocus
No answers on this topic
Paychex, Inc.
Some things could be streamlined. For example, we could do custom options for the "add items" tab which has so many options that we never use. "Medical Pay" could be something that the system remembers for the applicable employees. Salaried employees' salaries should definitely be auto-filled. Overall the system works well but I think it could be improved to be easier to use and read.
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Reliability and Availability
Benefitfocus
No answers on this topic
Paychex, Inc.
We have not experienced any difficulties with unplanned outages. Notifications are always made for outages, and they do not effect normal business operations.
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Performance
Benefitfocus
No answers on this topic
Paychex, Inc.
Unless there is lag time within the internet, the Paychex Flex website loads exceptional fast, pages load quickly and reports that I need to print or download load quickly. If I need to create a specialized report, once I complete it I receive an e-mail telling me my report is ready to be downloaded. Changing between web pages is fast as well.
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Support Rating
Benefitfocus
No answers on this topic
Paychex, Inc.
Our dedicated representative is one of the main reasons we are sticking with Paychex Flex. If it were not for this person, other platforms could provide the same/similar functionality. It is the ability to speak with someone that understands our business and is willing to get questions answered in a timely fashion that keeps us with Paychex Flex.
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In-Person Training
Benefitfocus
No answers on this topic
Paychex, Inc.
We did online training only
Read full review
Online Training
Benefitfocus
No answers on this topic
Paychex, Inc.
It was easy to understand and follow along. I do like the informational videos that we can utilize before we opt to call in for customer service support. It has made a difference since sometimes that resolves the issue I may have had and saved myself a phone call to Paychex support.
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Implementation Rating
Benefitfocus
No answers on this topic
Paychex, Inc.
Implementation was very smooth. The most cumbersome task was entering the current employees into the system during initial set up, but Paychex staff handled most of that and verified against prior system reports as well as internal reports provided to ensure 100% accuracy.
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Alternatives Considered
Benefitfocus
Did not research any, as we were using Benefitfocus for our Allstate benefits for years prior to implementing it with all benefits.
Read full review
Paychex, Inc.
We still use QB Desktop Pro to maintain a Check Register / Overall Balance for the company, but once having tried QB Payroll Online for about 3 months prior to finding Paychex Flex I can tell you that there's just no comparison. QB online is VERY EXPENSIVE and not so user-friendly. I hated every minute of those 6 payrolls we ran through QB online.
Read full review
Scalability
Benefitfocus
No answers on this topic
Paychex, Inc.
Employees can log in at home and get up to date information on their FSA balance and any medical bill reimbursements they may have uploaded. At renewal time they have the ability to make changes to their FSA or for new employees star the enrollment.
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Return on Investment
Benefitfocus
  • It was a negative impact because we launched the program during open enrollment only to revert back to the old platform, BeneTrac, 3 months later.
  • Bad impression on the benefits team to implement a program that didn't deliver.
Read full review
Paychex, Inc.
  • I do not believe we have saved anything additionally. The time we've had to spend to get things to hopefully work is sad. This is the reason we've had to turn off all extra "products" of Paychex Flex. Time and Attendance is horrible. Benefits management is horrible. The user experience is horrible.
  • One thing I do not understand is why are updates for states, cities, counties, school districts, etc. not automatically updated? Should we not get a big red flag if we have an employee living/working, being paid in CA, but they aren't set up for CA sick time? If it is required to be on the paycheck stub to show the balance of the sick time, why would we not be notified that we are out of compliance?
Read full review
ScreenShots

Paychex Flex Screenshots

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