Gusto vs. HRdirect Smart Apps vs. Paycom

Gusto is well-suited for small businesses looking for a one-stop platform for payroll, tax-related tasks, and onboarding. It has many automated features that make tasks related to running a business/running an S-Corp simpler. I have not tried any other similar platforms, so I am unsure how it compares, but the pricing Gusto offers feels reasonable compared to other providers.

Incentivized

UPDATE 3/20/2020: I initially gave HRDirect a "0" recommendation due to all the issues we had with the PTO Module. However, since purchasing the Harassment Training Module ($90), this product is the best value for the money and puts us in compliance with mandated requirements. It is easy to use and well-presented. At this point in time, with the issues and frustration level of all our employees, managers, and payroll department, it would be difficult for me to recommend this app as suitable in any scenario. However, should HRdirect fix the issues and get the app to perform as it was originally designed, it would be a great product for a small to medium company that has limited resources yet wants a good product for the money. In our experience, the new hire portal did not appear to be functioning properly; our new hires were not able to access the blank documents. They could see them but not open them (PDFs).

Incentivized

I've implemented at least 7 HRMS and/or performance suites over the years. I have no true complaints about the platform. We have found that for one of our client codes, the scheduling functionality doesn't accommodate the constant scheduling adjustments our transportation company requires. That said, our routes can change more than once an hour and start/end times often change with routes. We have found that managing the full employee life cycle is even more streamlined with the recent Position Seat updates. We also value that the platform is a native build - so no lagging API integrations to navigate.

• New employee/contractor onboarding - all the documents are stored and easily accessible (the same goes for off-boarding).
• A one-click option for syncing hours worked with payroll.
• The option to run payroll on auto-pilot.
• Ensuring I'm tax compliant with the states we have employees in.
• Always having digital records of payroll runs.

Incentivized

• Initially, you were able to see all activity and drill down for details.
• It was easy-access for all our employees in the 7 states we operate in.
• It provided tracking for the managers.
• Payroll had access to all PTO requests.

Incentivized

• Before Paycom we were using Paylocity and in about six months of running payroll with Paylocity, we never once had 100% accuracy from a payroll standpoint. So we had disgruntled employees because either their time was off or their pay was off. With Paycom, we've never had a case where our payroll was not 100% accurate.

Incentivized

• Digital compliance tools for remote teams
• Gusto upsold us labor law posters, but I later found them available for free online. Since we’re a fully remote team, I had to manually download and distribute them digitally. It would be much more efficient if Gusto offered free, auto-distributed digital posters tailored to remote compliance.
• Benefits setup is unintuitive for startups
• While our rep was helpful, navigating the benefits system felt complex and not tailored to early-stage companies. More guided flows or simplified options for small, remote startups would be a big help.
• Limited dashboard customization for remote workflows
• As a fully online company, we’d benefit from dashboard options that highlight relevant tools for remote operations—like compliance tracking, digital communications, or onboarding checklists.

Incentivized

• HRdirect performed an upgrade in 2019 and that's where things went awry.
• You could no longer drill down through the calendar to see the details - i.e. Doctor's appointment, illness, childcare issues, vacation, etc.
• Previous year PTO requests were not archived and you now had to scroll through hundreds of PTO requests to see the most current.
• Previous PTO requests were listed oldest to most current, resulting in much frustration trying to locate specific ones.
• The print option was not longer functional.
• The online help request form was no longer accessible.

Incentivized

• I think that when we do need a response back, which is very unlikely from the contact about something that's happening or going on, it can take a little long to get back to us. Longer than we would like because obviously it's an emergency to us, but we understand they have tons of emergencies they have to solve. But I think that's the only aspect.
• I know from a payroll standpoint, which I'm not really privy to because I don't work on the payroll side, there have been some little hiccups that about certain formulas used, certain credits being issued that we've already filed for tax credits that we filed for. So I know that my CFO's already on top of it and pay comes on top of it as well and it's getting resolved, but obviously that's a big issue that needs some work there.

Incentivized

Unless they break it, I'm never leaving. It's just too easy. Gusto is also really affordable, and for what I pay, it's worth having the historical record within the system. I like that I can go back and pull up W2's for year's past. This sort of easy access reporting, has been helpful especially when getting reports for PPP loans.

As previously described, there are too many unresolved issues.

Incentivized

we are having no problems with how the system works and our support system at paycom is the best - we are learning more and using the system in more ways all the time the only thing that could be better is pricing on some things

Incentivized

Wonderful overall usability – especially for the new business owner. The user interface is clean and intuitive, so it's easy to find what you're looking for. They also have great explanation pages ingrained into the process, so if you get stuck knowing what to do next, there's a link right there to walk you through the process!

Incentivized

The interface is very intuitive, you can navigate it pretty well. Everything's pretty much spelled out and the features just flow really well. They make it easy for you to go back and forth with the UX/UI type of interface. So I think it was built pretty well.

Incentivized

They are very dependable and I have never experience any outages

Incentivized

Yes, Paycom's performance is excellent, no issues.

Incentivized

Gusto's customer service has really deteriorated lately and they seem to have really changed their focus. It used to be when you called you were routed to an individual who knew about payroll, benefits, reporting, etc. but now you get someone who seems to have not received the correct training. My last call about a dismissal payroll took me over an hour of my time and the person still could not help me and finally transferred me to someone else.

Incentivized

Due to the fact that we were patient for more than 6 months with no resolution in sight, we decided to end our relationship with HRdirect for PTO tracking. 3/20/2020: We have purchased the Harassment Training Module. Excellent product with great value for the money.

Incentivized

Have been bounced around alot in our 3 years of partnership. Wanted a dedicated rep but that did not provide us the care and attention we required. Work with a team first and then get to your representative. Sometimes an issue with time differences - representative working on different timebelt and not accessible, or we had to wait a day to move an issue along

Incentivized

They were a sales person and not really a good trainer.

Incentivized

All the online training modules were short and straight to the point. Every module teach you how to use the system. If there is one thing they know how to do is training. We did implementation during the pandemic so all had to be done online or via zoom meetings.

Reach out to support immediately if you are having trouble setting up Gusto. Rather than being confused and trying to figure it out yourself, it's much better to talk to someone who knows what they are doing. Save yourself time and frustration and reach out to support

Incentivized

Not at all satisfied it was a nightmare we spent over 8 months with the implementation team having issues after issues all related to the Puerto Rico regulations (half my employees are in Puerto Rico) and at the end we were moved over from the implementation team to the production team without all the issues being resolved

It's been a while since I used QuickBooks for payroll, but it doesn't even come close to it. Gusto is infinitely easier, allowing for employee time tracking, handling calculations and payments of payroll and payroll taxes, managing regulatory compliance in the background, and more. I had a lot of moments using QuickBooks Payroll where I thought, "Am I even doing this right?" — it felt like you had to have additional knowledge of HR regulations in your state to do everything correctly. Gusto has it ALL handled so you can focus your time on higher-impact tasks in your business.

Incentivized

We really only had Paychecks and that was our biggest problem is that with several different companies, it was very hard If you had a salary employee and didn't terminate them in the prior company, they get paid twice, so this has really been definitely a big help for us.

Incentivized

They are not able to meet our current needs

Incentivized

• I am not involved enough to know well, but I would say that Gusto has saved me about 1-2 hours in my onboarding process with my new company compared to my past experiences trying to onboard with ADP. I have also finished the process and am not frustrated like usual.

Incentivized

• Initially, HRdirect was proving to be an excellent tool, and we were getting a quick turnaround on small issues. However, the upgrade messed things up on our accessibility, with no resolution in sight.
• Harassment training module is excellent.

Incentivized

• I would think the most time would come from applicant tracking and I don't think that's a Paycom issue necessarily. I think it was a training issue during implementation. I would say that that has improved now that we had onsite training. But initially the applicant tracking piece can be difficult when you're used to just using an ATS. That's specifically for talent acquisition because there's a lot of nuances that goes into the system that Paycom bills.

Incentivized