Optimum Solutions HRIS (discontinued) vs. Proliant

Optimum Solutions works very well for all our payroll needs. We run payrolls weekly, semi-monthly, monthly and yearly. The end of year process is lined out very well and webinars are available to go over any new regulations required. We haven't utilized the HR part of the software as much on the iSeries but are planning on changing that once we get converted to the Windows version later this year. The main reason for this is the HR part of the software on the iSeries is separate from payroll.

Incentivized

Overall, I would generally recommend Proliant to a colleague as I think the system and structure has great bones and is generally very easy to use. However, if a colleague was needing a system with a robust reporting system or access to immediate support, I would be less likely to recommend the system.

Incentivized

• The setup of Optimum HRIS was intense as the software comes as a basic shell and everything is personalized to our organization. All earnings codes, leave time, employee types, job codes, taxes, etc. are set up for each company. While this was almost overwhelming at the beginning, we have so much control over the set up and better grasp of the inner workings of the system.
• Tax updates come quickly and are easily applied. This is especially welcome at year end.
• The built-in reporting is robust and offers a lot of options, but the ability to dig in to the database using SQL and Excel allows for very powerful reports that are infinitely personalized.

• Some of the help for the training modules, [...] has been fantastic
• [...] has also been really helpful
• Adding a new employee to the system has been relatively easy and simple to do

Incentivized

• When exporting reports to Excel I found the formatting to be difficult to work with and having to reformat the reports can be a nightmare. My company's IT department created its own business tools to make the reporting format more user friendly.

Incentivized

• Reporting is limited to data that is pulled by pay period--not by date worked, so if trying to determine how much an employee earned during a quarter--you have to calculate this manually
• Employee records are limited to admin only viewing--so managers can not see payrates, upload documents to employee files or update expiration dates to licenses, etc
• User guides in the knowledge base are out of date and don't cover the recent updates to the system--or outline processes that are no defunct
• Limited integrations with other HR platforms are available. Ex--outside ATS, candidate assessment tools

Proliant is pretty easy to maneuver and get used to. There are some things than can be tedious but nothing too difficult where you have to spend hours to get it to work. The payroll processing is pretty straightforward and that's the core reason why we use their software.

Incentivized

We evaluated some payroll services but found the ongoing cost greater than the initial cost of purchasing our own software and keeping the payroll process in house. Other payroll software was generally more expensive and we are satisfied with Optimum Solutions. I would say the main reason we stayed with Optimum Solutions, converting from their iSeries version to their Windows version, was because of their outstanding staff and support.

Incentivized

Proliant is the only payroll software I have used, and I don't plan on changing that anytime soon. It gives me everything I need in simple, easy-to-use software. If I have questions they have quality customer service. I get calls weekly to change to other payroll services, and I don't consider changing because there is no need to change - I have everything I need here. Proliant does exactly the job I am looking for it to do.

Incentivized

• More accurate payroll processing
• More accurate tax payments and reporting

• i am not able to give this information because I don't believe our firm fully uses Proliant
• I was just made aware of some of the benefits Proliant can offer through this survey
• The only negative is that when the "pre-wire" requirement was activated this year, we were not told ahead of time and it caused a lot of confusion and delay when we tried to process the first partner payroll in January.