BrightHR vs. Emburse Abacus

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
BrightHR
Score 7.8 out of 10
N/A
British company BrightHR offers a human resources platform which helps replace paper documents with edocuments and contains features for managing employee scheduling and ROTA, sick leave and tardiness, vacation and holiday shift planning, as well as providing employment law legal advice.
$4.50
Emburse Abacus
Score 6.9 out of 10
N/A
Abacus is a web and mobile application that helps manage employee expenses and reimbursements. Some key features include: Real-Time Expense Submission, Integrated ACH Payments, and Dynamic Custom Reporting. Abacus was acquired by Certify in summer 2018 and is now part of Emburse, formed from the merger of Certify and Chrome River March 2019.
$9
per active user/per month
Pricing
BrightHREmburse Abacus
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
Starter
$9
per active user/per month
Professional
Custom Pricing
Enterprise
Custom Pricing
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
BrightHREmburse Abacus
Free Trial
NoYes
Free/Freemium Version
YesYes
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoYes
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional DetailsPrices start at £4.50 (per employee/per month)
More Pricing Information
Features
BrightHREmburse Abacus
Human Resource Management
Comparison of Human Resource Management features of Product A and Product B
BrightHR
7.0
1 Ratings
11% below category average
Emburse Abacus
-
Ratings
Employment history8.21 Ratings00 Ratings
Job profiles and administration7.31 Ratings00 Ratings
Workflow for transfers, promotions, pay raises, etc.5.51 Ratings00 Ratings
Organization and location management7.31 Ratings00 Ratings
Payroll Management
Comparison of Payroll Management features of Product A and Product B
BrightHR
7.0
1 Ratings
14% below category average
Emburse Abacus
-
Ratings
Pay calculation7.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Support for external payroll vendors7.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Salary revision and increment management7.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Leave and Attendance Management
Comparison of Leave and Attendance Management features of Product A and Product B
BrightHR
8.8
12 Ratings
9% above category average
Emburse Abacus
-
Ratings
Approval workflow8.612 Ratings00 Ratings
Balance details8.711 Ratings00 Ratings
Annual carry-forward and encashment9.02 Ratings00 Ratings
Employee Self Service
Comparison of Employee Self Service features of Product A and Product B
BrightHR
8.5
13 Ratings
5% above category average
Emburse Abacus
-
Ratings
View and generate pay and benefit information8.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Update personal information8.713 Ratings00 Ratings
View company policy documentation8.713 Ratings00 Ratings
HR Reporting
Comparison of HR Reporting features of Product A and Product B
BrightHR
9.0
1 Ratings
17% above category average
Emburse Abacus
-
Ratings
Pre-built reports9.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Performance Management
Comparison of Performance Management features of Product A and Product B
BrightHR
8.0
1 Ratings
1% above category average
Emburse Abacus
-
Ratings
Review reminders8.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Recruiting / ATS
Comparison of Recruiting / ATS features of Product A and Product B
BrightHR
7.0
1 Ratings
10% below category average
Emburse Abacus
-
Ratings
Notifications and Alerts7.01 Ratings00 Ratings
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BrightHREmburse Abacus
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User Ratings
BrightHREmburse Abacus
Likelihood to Recommend
8.5
(15 ratings)
2.8
(17 ratings)
Support Rating
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(9 ratings)
User Testimonials
BrightHREmburse Abacus
Likelihood to Recommend
BrightHR
For a new part of our business, we have input staff details on Bright HR. There have been times when calls have been made to the helpline for guidance. It does not take long to get to know the staff you are speaking to. In relation to the query addressed with a team member today the service was excellent. Matthew has a great depth of knowledge of the system and works through the shift and annual leave calculations at the click of a finger. Thank you Mathew for your support, you are a star!
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Emburse
Emburse Abacus is well suited for mid-market organizations that are open to - or embrace - the concept of real-time processing of expense transactions. Emburse Abacus takes a radically different approach from other platforms that rely on modeling paper-based monthly (or periodic) expense reports containing multiple expenses submitted simultaneously. Emburse Abacus allows each transaction to be very rapidly processed individually so that approving managers and accounting professionals are able to perform review tasks and identify potential problems throughout the entire month, relieving the massive monthly influx of large numbers of expense reports simultaneously.
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Pros
BrightHR
  • When a query has been dealt with via the helpline an email confirming the outcome is often issued which is great for reference at any time.
  • The system is easy to use and the screens are clutter free.
  • The support service offered is easy to access and the staff are friendly and helpful.
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Emburse
  • User-Friendly Interface: Reviews from our employees (ages ranging from 20s-70s) are all positive in regards to the ease of submitting an expense and getting reimbursement on Abacus
  • Timely Reimbursement: After final approval, money hits user accounts within 2 days
  • Approval routing: ability to set up multi-tier complex approval routes
  • Syncs with Sage Intacct: pushes entries on a day to day basis in to Intacct and it hits our GL accordingly
  • Abacus is competitively priced compared to the competition
  • Abacus utilizes "by expense" management. Getting rid of expense reports and batch reports (they do have an option where you can batch if need be)
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Cons
BrightHR
  • Direct-dial telephone numbers rather than going through the Peninsula helpline numbers.
  • Setting up annual leave profiles often needs the assistance of a Bright HR representative when staff works quirky shifts. Providing examples of how to set the system up in user guides may help to set the system upright the first time.
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Emburse
  • When you upload a receipt to abacus it would be great to port in the information from the receipt to the text fields.
  • It would be good to have a more automated way for Abacus to integrate in with other payroll systems.
  • It would be nice to have more levels of permissions, e.g. manager level, administer level and employee level.
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Support Rating
BrightHR
No answers on this topic
Emburse
I have never had to contact Abacus support and have not heard stories from any of my colleagues having to do so either. Our accounting department stresses the ease of Abacus and has not voiced any concerns with the software or the product support team or the product support process.
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Alternatives Considered
BrightHR
I chose BrightHR as it offered a one-stop platform for HR management for which we have dedicated UK and ROI HR specialists who not only give HR advice but also write policies and handbooks, etc. They are a one-stop-shop, which was very important as when I signed the contract I did not have an HR person in my team and they were essentially my back office. Also, by signing up, I got access to Bright Safe too; which is great as again it's a one-stop-shop for Health and Safety in the workplace. So I can roll out toolbox talks, training, and accident management.
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Emburse
I chose Abacus because of its ease of use and flexible billing. The billing is based on the number of submissions rather than users in the system. Because we reimburse committee members, we have a lot of users in the system, but the activity can vary widely from month to month.
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Return on Investment
BrightHR
  • Saved admin time in filing and then searching for documents.
  • Saved admin time in chasing for managers' approvals for holiday requests.
  • Saved admin time in chasing managers/employees to update their profiles.
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Emburse
  • It is giving reliable services.
  • I am happy with its user-friendly services. Since I have issued the virtual and physical cards, I am getting real-time, and end-to-end control over my employee expenses. They can now easily go to visits and this has built their trust too. Further through receipts and expense details, I can easily control the pre-set budgets and easily configure rules to control spending.
  • I will also like to praise their customer care team they are very helpful and always ready to assist.
Read full review
ScreenShots

BrightHR Screenshots

Screenshot of BrightHR dashboardScreenshot of BrightHR LightningScreenshot of Bright ExchangeScreenshot of BrightSafeScreenshot of BrightBaseScreenshot of PoP by BrightHR

Emburse Abacus Screenshots

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