Catalyst, by EBM Software vs. QuickBooks Desktop for Mac vs. UKG Ready

[Catalyst, by EBM Software] is well suited to track invoices from vendors to get them paid on time to avoid late fees. [Catalyst, by EBM Software] is less appropriate when paying vendor because that is not a function they currently have. If the system was an all in one system that could track and pay your invoices it would be an amazing software.

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If you're a freelancer or running a very small business where you do your own bookkeeping I think this is a great option, especially if you're familiar with accounting and bookkeeping in general. If you're not so familiar with bookkeeping, I would say that the learning curve is too steep and you might want to look elsewhere for a more intuitive solution

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UKG is great for storing personal information and is easy to use for clocking in and out. And you can easily find the next payday at the bottom, your calendar with requested time off, and the available hrs. UKG is less user-friendly and more difficult when editing your personal information, like your phone number, and requesting time off is a little confusing to me.

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• The GUI is easy to navigate on the iPad mini, which we use for charting.
• The options are simple so there is very little room for mistakes.
• Charting is easy and the setup allows for necessary fields that must be completed so charting stays uniform.

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• The program is very easy to learn, the interface is incredibly user-friendly and there are tons of free resources and tutorials available
• It makes managing payroll really easy for the employee and accountant on staff. No more lost time sheets or late paychecks!
• Managing bills and paying them has become streamlined and it's great having everything in one place so we don't lose track of things.

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• The mobile app experience is terrific. Once the employees figured out the navigation, they now prefer the app over the web version. The app mirrors the web version, although the navigation is somewhat compressed due to the mobile view. Other than that, the tools in the app work exactly as the web.
• Reporting - there hasn't been a time when I couldn't run a report on the information I needed. And the reports dashboard is very robust - my most important reports were already built in the system. I saved so much time because I didn't have to cobble together the data from multiple reports or contact support to build the report for me.
• Community page - I log into UKG's Community page daily. I learn so much from experienced UKG users and the UKG moderators are quick to provide answers and best practices. When I have a question about how to use a feature in UKG Ready, my first stop is the Community - I almost always find what I need without the need to submit a ticket/case or call Support. When I can't find what I need using Community, I can trust that Support will be responsive and helpful. For example, I needed help learning how our onboarding process was configured and submitted a case for assistance. The representative scheduled multiple meetings with me to help me not only navigate the onboarding setup but also to teach me how to revise the associated workflows and test the changes. I was also able to ensure our onboarding was set up correctly as well as modify it as needed.
• Employee Self-Service - Once employees were trained to find their HR Actions tool, they quickly adapted to submitting their requests through UKG Ready rather than asking for help from an admin. Now, they readily submit change requests to update their direct deposit, address, and withholding. Sure, they still need a little help from time to time, but employees are initiating these changes without the need for payroll or HR to chase down signatures or paperwork.

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• The browser closes unexpectedly at times when refreshing the page and you get logged out
• The incorrect vendor is chosen by Catalyst a few times
• The Catalyst file is occasionally not placed on time in the folder

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• The #1 complaint is that setting it up right is a challenge. People waste time trying to figure it out only to realize that they don't know accounting so of course they don't know how an accounting program should be set up. Like any time you are in over your head, reach out to your network and find someone who can log onto your computer and walk you through it.
• If you need to track the cost of wages to jobs you can't do it with the online payroll, but check for yourself because it's a function that landscaping companies and construction businesses usually need, so maybe they have added it by now. That would really help!
• It's premise-based software and that means you take on the role of hardware admin, and it's a lot of work for what is increasingly becoming a smaller gap in the functionality between QuickBooks for Mac and QuickBooks Online.
• QuickBooks for Mac 2015 has been updated consistently over the last 3 years and continues to provide for the bookkeeping needs of small companies using Macs in their offices. However, it has limited job costing functionality. It is similar in functionality to the 2010 version of QuickBooksPro which runs on Windows.

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• Custom reporting is not intuitive
• Learning and training is poor and has not provided our team with a way to approach our problems in a cost-effective and meaningful way
• Consistent glitches in some areas result in errors that persist through multiple payrolls despite a thorough review of all settings
• Reports don't live in the same place, multiple types of reports exist in multiple places with little explanation of the difference. We often build custom reports only to have them disappear or have to spend a long time trying to find them.

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I haven't spent that much time with the newer versions of QuickBooks for Mac, but I think I'm seeing it make the much-needed improvements. For example, something as simple as undoing the previous reconciliation was a terrible chore, and I'm glad that feature has been included in the newer versions of QuickBooks for Mac

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We plan to renew our support and use of UKG Ready each year unless it becomes unavailable or the district seeks another vendor. As of now, there are no plans to changes vendors. The district staff is now familiar with using UKG. Another vendor will need to meet the same expectations we have come to enjoy with using UKG

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Well.... when it works... it's good. When it doesn't it is very frustrating for our staff.

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The Mac version is OK overall. I find the Windows versions to be much more robust but Mac is quite good for Mac users. Though I think die hard Mac users should consider QuickBooks Online instead as there is a new QB for Mac app that makes using QBO much better!

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We have been very happy with the product. Occasionally, there are things we run into that do not seem so clear, yet the customer service provided by UKG community and service cases is unparalleled. Their specialists have been great to take the time to walk us through how to properly set up open enrollment and we appreciate the written follow up from the service cases so we can save the instructions.

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I've been using the QuickBooks online version for a little over 6 months now (upgraded from Mac desktop) and I haven't had any access issues. There have been times when it was down for service/upgrade however there is always plenty of notification time given by the Quick Books Online Support team. These upgrade maintenance time frames are always over night hours and on the weekends so everything can be worked around very easily.

The system seems very stable. Being hosted in the cloud, we are vulnerable to internet speeds and busy times. The system has been down a couple times over the 3 months we have been live, but Kronos resolved the issues very quickly. To have access from a desktop, tablet, time clock, or phone app is one of the best features....users have almost NO REASON they can't clock in.

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We were always told that Kronos was the best, but there are reports that we got out of ADP and other payroll providers that we cannot get out of Kronos. One example is a report of Productive/Non-productive hours by department. We also need the dollar amount associated with the hours. This is information that is required on our cost report and we were told that that report is unavailable. It is very frustrating when I can't get what I need.

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The support for Catalyst is great and they are usually within the 48 hour response time. There could be a little quicker upload time for invoices that are submitted. They usually show up until the next day on the system and sometimes gives us a stress on time. Overall, the support is quite good

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Fortunately, I haven't had to reach out much for support.

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If I was only rating support itself that would be a 10. Every support case I have entered has been addressed efficiently and with the desired result. On the implementation and transition to support there were multiple issues that those doing the implementation or transition could not answer or workflows and various settings left undone only to be discovered later. We implemented 3 different modules and the expertise we got for each one varied widely.

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Our in-person training was a hybrid. Live online training with an instructor. They were very knowledgeable of the product & the area they were training on. I asked several specific questions and if they didn't know the answer immediately they followed up after class.

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Pretty good online training, you have many how to options and can watch them several times. It can be hard at times to dig through the amount of data online but can usually find what you are looking for. Also you can download documentation for setting up the profiles and policies.

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Make sure the people who are doing the build have extensive knowledge on employment law and asking the right questions. I would bet that the people who helped with our builds did not read any of our employment contracts or ordinances; and when I asked questions about how other companies handled certain basic dictates from federal employment laws, they didn't have any idea what FMLA, FLSA, etc were.

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[Catalyst, by EBM Software] is a very easy system to use and is very user friendly. It gives you different ways of researching an invoice and not just one. Catalyst also helps to allow us to research an invoice within seconds and eliminates a lengthy and confusing process. It is a great software for first time users to learn quickly and efficiently.

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I love using Quickbooks compared to other software we've tried. QuickBooks Online and TSheets interface. Customer service and problem resolution are generally excellent, with well-trained and proficient agents taking calls or on chat. Ease of use and accessibility via the mobile app. Great courses were available to help with learning the basics and some advanced accounting background. I love learning! Online accessibility - it can work anywhere with an internet connection. Linking to bank and credit card accounts is handy.

UKG is much easier to use and customize for our business needs. I enjoy that the time piece is directly connected with the payroll function. This is something that we didn't see when working with Paylocity. There was a manual time data upload that we needed to process into the Payroll function to process payroll. UKG has this setup and it's just a click of a button, so simple!

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Thus far we are able to add as many users as necessary, implement 3 different bargaining units, 5 different types of user groups. Very flexible.

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• Catalyst is better than pencil and paper data analysis. But the app can be very frustrating when it's not working the way it did last week.
• The GUI is very simple. Sometimes too simple, like there is no way to go back in and edit SOAP note options.
• New feature roll-outs are mandatory. I understand that no one would opt in to being the guinea pig, but it would be nice if you weren't the first user to try it.
• The integration with billing software has streamlined the billing notes and saved us money over having two separate systems.

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• It has allowed us to offer multiple bookkeeping softwares for clients that do not want to change from what they have been using.
• Payroll filing has given us ease of mind because we can physically make the filings rather than waiting on payroll software to make them for us.

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• The system has allowed us to understand what goes into background vendors and helped us transition in a troubled time.
• The system has allows us to move forms to custom forms vs using Docusign.
• The system has helped us cut back on paper usage and storing folders.

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