Paychex Flex vs. Workday Human Capital Management

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Paychex Flex
Score 6.6 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
Workday HCM
Score 8.0 out of 10
N/A
Workday Human Capital Management is built as a cloud-based system with global consistency in user experience. Workday HCM is part of a broader system with other Workday products.
$100
per year per user
Pricing
Paychex FlexWorkday Human Capital Management
Editions & Modules
Paychex Go
$59
per month/+$4 per employee
Paychex Flex Service
Contact sales team
Paychex Flex Enterprise
Contact sales team
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Paychex FlexWorkday HCM
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeRequiredNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Paychex FlexWorkday Human Capital Management
Considered Both Products
Paychex Flex
Chose Paychex Flex
It’s great that Paychex is one place for all things, however workday in combination with a financial institution for managing 401ks is a cleaner and easier to use system. That being said, we didn’t utilize all the components of Paychex
Workday HCM
Chose Workday Human Capital Management
Workday blows SAP away in the human capital management space. Workday is extremely user-friendly where SAP made me want to pull my hair out on a daily basis, as did all of my coworkers. I think it this is mainly due to the fact the Workday is ONE platform, everyone gets the …
Top Pros
Top Cons
Features
Paychex FlexWorkday Human Capital Management
Human Resource Management
Comparison of Human Resource Management features of Product A and Product B
Paychex Flex
6.6
247 Ratings
17% below category average
Workday Human Capital Management
7.7
91 Ratings
2% below category average
Employee demographic data8.0197 Ratings8.077 Ratings
Employment history8.1220 Ratings7.486 Ratings
Job profiles and administration6.8155 Ratings7.288 Ratings
Workflow for transfers, promotions, pay raises, etc.7.3154 Ratings7.984 Ratings
Organizational charting1.01 Ratings8.383 Ratings
Organization and location management7.9138 Ratings7.981 Ratings
Compliance data (COBRA, OSHA, etc.)7.4132 Ratings6.956 Ratings
Payroll Management
Comparison of Payroll Management features of Product A and Product B
Paychex Flex
8.5
288 Ratings
6% above category average
Workday Human Capital Management
7.7
76 Ratings
4% below category average
Pay calculation9.0271 Ratings7.465 Ratings
Off-cycle/On-Demand payment9.1136 Ratings8.315 Ratings
Benefit plan administration7.2156 Ratings7.060 Ratings
Direct deposit files9.2270 Ratings7.466 Ratings
Salary revision and increment management8.5193 Ratings8.063 Ratings
Reimbursement management7.9105 Ratings8.539 Ratings
Support for external payroll vendors00 Ratings7.553 Ratings
Leave and Attendance Management
Comparison of Leave and Attendance Management features of Product A and Product B
Paychex Flex
7.0
144 Ratings
14% below category average
Workday Human Capital Management
8.0
70 Ratings
1% below category average
Approval workflow6.3102 Ratings8.369 Ratings
Balance details7.5136 Ratings8.269 Ratings
Annual carry-forward and encashment7.3110 Ratings7.456 Ratings
Employee Self Service
Comparison of Employee Self Service features of Product A and Product B
Paychex Flex
8.5
249 Ratings
4% above category average
Workday Human Capital Management
7.8
90 Ratings
4% below category average
View and generate pay and benefit information8.6228 Ratings8.379 Ratings
Update personal information9.0239 Ratings8.288 Ratings
View company policy documentation7.7111 Ratings7.169 Ratings
View job history8.7168 Ratings8.379 Ratings
Employee recognition00 Ratings7.455 Ratings
Asset Management
Comparison of Asset Management features of Product A and Product B
Paychex Flex
7.8
40 Ratings
1% above category average
Workday Human Capital Management
6.9
23 Ratings
12% below category average
Tracking of all physical assets7.840 Ratings6.923 Ratings
HR Reporting
Comparison of HR Reporting features of Product A and Product B
Paychex Flex
6.0
164 Ratings
23% below category average
Workday Human Capital Management
7.7
76 Ratings
1% above category average
Report builder5.7134 Ratings8.272 Ratings
Pre-built reports6.8154 Ratings7.974 Ratings
Ability to combine HR data with external data5.683 Ratings7.262 Ratings
Onboarding
Comparison of Onboarding features of Product A and Product B
Paychex Flex
7.9
158 Ratings
2% below category average
Workday Human Capital Management
8.1
54 Ratings
1% above category average
New hire portal8.0151 Ratings8.250 Ratings
Manager tracking tools7.9100 Ratings8.150 Ratings
Recruiting / ATS
Comparison of Recruiting / ATS features of Product A and Product B
Paychex Flex
8.4
59 Ratings
8% above category average
Workday Human Capital Management
8.1
44 Ratings
4% above category average
Job Requisition Management9.732 Ratings8.242 Ratings
Company Website Posting9.730 Ratings8.535 Ratings
Publish to Social Media6.823 Ratings8.231 Ratings
Job Search Site Posting6.730 Ratings8.436 Ratings
Duplicate Candidate Prevention6.828 Ratings7.035 Ratings
Applicant Tracking9.633 Ratings7.736 Ratings
Notifications and Alerts9.853 Ratings8.440 Ratings
Performance and Goals
Comparison of Performance and Goals features of Product A and Product B
Paychex Flex
-
Ratings
Workday Human Capital Management
7.7
57 Ratings
6% below category average
Corporate goal setting00 Ratings8.047 Ratings
Individual goal setting00 Ratings8.056 Ratings
Line-of sight-visibility00 Ratings7.149 Ratings
Performance tracking00 Ratings7.855 Ratings
Performance Management
Comparison of Performance Management features of Product A and Product B
Paychex Flex
-
Ratings
Workday Human Capital Management
8.2
60 Ratings
3% above category average
Performance plans00 Ratings8.259 Ratings
Performance improvement plans00 Ratings7.951 Ratings
Review status tracking00 Ratings8.255 Ratings
Review reminders00 Ratings8.555 Ratings
Multiple review frequency00 Ratings8.449 Ratings
Succession Planning
Comparison of Succession Planning features of Product A and Product B
Paychex Flex
-
Ratings
Workday Human Capital Management
7.1
37 Ratings
11% below category average
Create succession plans/pools00 Ratings7.832 Ratings
Candidate ranking00 Ratings6.633 Ratings
Candidate search00 Ratings7.335 Ratings
Candidate development00 Ratings6.634 Ratings
Best Alternatives
Paychex FlexWorkday Human Capital Management
Small Businesses
Patriot Software
Patriot Software
Score 9.0 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
Paychex FlexWorkday Human Capital Management
Likelihood to Recommend
7.7
(298 ratings)
8.7
(103 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.0
(42 ratings)
9.0
(18 ratings)
Usability
8.0
(240 ratings)
7.0
(13 ratings)
Availability
9.3
(10 ratings)
6.6
(8 ratings)
Performance
9.1
(10 ratings)
7.3
(7 ratings)
Support Rating
7.7
(245 ratings)
8.0
(22 ratings)
In-Person Training
4.5
(1 ratings)
9.6
(6 ratings)
Online Training
7.1
(4 ratings)
7.0
(7 ratings)
Implementation Rating
9.4
(11 ratings)
8.0
(11 ratings)
Configurability
7.6
(8 ratings)
7.5
(2 ratings)
Ease of integration
9.1
(3 ratings)
8.2
(1 ratings)
Product Scalability
9.3
(10 ratings)
7.3
(1 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
8.9
(31 ratings)
7.0
(1 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
9.2
(32 ratings)
5.0
(1 ratings)
User Testimonials
Paychex FlexWorkday Human Capital Management
Likelihood to Recommend
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
Workday
Workday human capital management is well suited for organizations to manage their employee records. It is also well suited for managing the employee's salary details, also the details of past salary changes, promotions, etc. It has options to keep track of employees' goals for the year, where they can keep track of their progress, and also managers can view the progress or share feedback. This is very helpful for tracking career progress and providing feedback. Other options, like training assigned to employees, can also be seen in Workday; users will get alerts by email for any new assignments or due assignments, etc.
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Pros
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
Workday
  • Groups employees in management hierarchies and creates Org Charts that are easy to navigate and allow for visualizing management chains regardless of employee locations
  • Intuitive and easy to use. The Workday search functionality works very much like Google; one can search for anything that they have access to in the database and drill down into the various details. All information is connected through hyperlinks and users can easily keep digging into the details for as far as their security access would take them.
  • Tasks such as to do, review or approve items are sent to the user's Workday Inbox, very much resembling email. Notifications about outstanding "to do" items are also sent to each the user's work email address on a daily basis.
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Cons
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
Workday
  • The web interface is awful
  • Terrible, terrible, UI. No modern features like auto-save. I can't count the times I have lost work.
  • Their UX team (if it even exists) must be aliens, because I can't see how humans would have come up with the UI conventions they have.
  • Who creates a website application where you can't open stuff in multiple browser windows and tabs easily?
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Likelihood to Renew
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
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Workday
It is work to make one system the source of truth for our data, but now that it is done, there is less work involved in staying on this path. This means for us that maintaining and/or implementing new modules like performance, finance, talent, etc. is simple. It's a no-brainer
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Usability
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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Workday
Workday's on a great path in terms of user experience. Their goals is to deliver a use experience that doesn't require training or instruction, like Amazon on the consumer side for example. That's hard to do when you're talking about complex business processes and important and sensitive employee information, but they're doing it well
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Reliability and Availability
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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Workday
In 2014, Workday has changed the update process. There will be two updates a year; the updates will be delivered to customers typically in a 24 hour window during these two weekends a year. They also keep the Community up-to-date about any planned outages, etc. There is weekly scheduled downtime on Friday night.
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Performance
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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Workday
From my perspective, the system runs like a well oiled machine and I have not had any issues with customers complaining about speed. If a report is taking long to run, the report can run in the background and you can go about your business. For larger enterprises, there is additional space and machines to process the application in what Workday refers to it as Extended Configuration Tenant
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Support Rating
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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Workday
Workday is still learning about the needs of higher education. I have seen rapid improvement in support and knowledge over the last year so am confident this will continue to improve. Overall however, I have found the Support Team to be extremely responsive and Workday offers the advantage of having support across several timezones so that we never wait more than a few hours for a response.
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In-Person Training
Paychex, Inc.
We did online training only
Read full review
Workday
Some training is offered online. Cost is per-person. This also gets quite expensive. Training doesn’t follow a logical path A to B. Starts in middle. When you try to do it afterwards at your desk, difficult.
• Training scenarios are not very real
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Online Training
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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Workday
I have done for report writing and mass imports (EIBs). They give materials and you run through examples, i.e. you don’t just watch them do tasks, so that is helpful. Training is expensive – a single reporting writing class is $600 per person for virtual training
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Implementation Rating
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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Workday
It was implemented before my joining the company. At my last company, we used Workday professional services.

Based upon my experience at my last company, I would rate the implementation experience an 8/10. There are different ways to set things up and we had different people telling us different things. It set us back a couple of times.

Regarding configuration advice, we could set things up where every manager has supervisory organizations, or have it financially based i.e. aligned to cost center/department. We chose the individual manager path and I think we should have chosen a department route. Going down the individual manager path, to maintain the information, we have to inactivate a supervisory org whenever a manager changes/leaves.
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Alternatives Considered
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
Workday
Unfortunately, I do not recall the brands of the other human capital management software programs or tools I used at my current company or workplaces prior. I do think that is a testament to Workday with its strong branding and compelling features. I was not part of the selection process of Workday but have enjoyed my experience.
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Scalability
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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Workday
Workday has released Financials and is continuing to develop it's Human Capital Management footprint with the addition of Workday Recruiting. I think customers will find that is easy to add on additional functionality in the system. Workday does make it easy for customers to make changes without relying on IT resources. The Business Process framework is a visual tool that allows functional resources to make changes and see the flow of the transaction
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Return on Investment
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?
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Workday
  • Positive ROI, we were one of the first organizations that went with Workday HCM, and we received numerous discounts. Cloud systems are the way to go and we feel the system is stable for our growing work force.
  • The user conferences have been helpful to network and learn more deepness in the modules and functionality.
  • Right off the bat, our implementation costs were lower than budgeted and we had less 'billing' surprises.
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ScreenShots

Paychex Flex Screenshots

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