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.
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Paycom
Score 8.6 out of 10
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Paycom is an automated HCM platform, built on a single database that eliminates redundant data entry through automation. A payroll and HR software solution, Paycom is used by organizations of all sizes to access employee data without navigating multiple systems.
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Sage Accounting
Score 7.4 out of 10
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Sage Accounting is online accounting software made to simplify life for small business owners, entrepreneurs, and freelancers by providing the functions needed to take care of daily business to-dos.
Users can create and send professional quotes and invoices, track income and expenses and know where the business' financials stand. Every Sage Business Cloud Accounting subscription includes unlimited access to support as well as automatic backups and product updates.
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Pricing
Paychex
Paycom
Sage Accounting
Editions & Modules
Paychex Flex Pro
Custom Pricing
per month/+$4 per employee
HR Pro
Custom Pricing
HR PEO
Custom Pricing
Paychex Flex Select
Custom Pricing
Paychex Flex Enterprise
Custom Pricing
No answers on this topic
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Paychex
Paycom
Sage Accounting
Free Trial
No
No
Yes
Free/Freemium Version
No
No
No
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
No
No
No
Entry-level Setup Fee
Required
No setup fee
No setup fee
Additional Details
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Versions and pricing listed are for CA products. Versions available and pricing may vary by country.
* 2 months free to start, or free for 1 month to try, then $19/$43/$62 +tax/mo (tier depending). Offer valid for new customers only on monthly subscriptions of Sage Business Cloud Accounting. After the promotional period, the monthly subscription rate will renew at the then current rate. May not be combined with any other offers or discounts. To ensure continuous service the subscription plan is an automatically renewing plan. Subsequent months will automatically be billed to the same credit card each month on the anniversary date of purchase. Plans can be terminated at any time prior to the renewal data and not charged for renewal.
Paychex is much more user friendly than ADP Run or ADP Total Source. However, I do like that ADP has an option to upload documents related to payroll such as notices from the state (DOR, UI, etc) and creates a case where notes from their rep are added and a case # is provided. …
I used Bangor Payroll prior to Paychex and they were better than Paychex. I didn't select Paychex, it was already at the organization when I joined it.
Both ADP and Paychex are very good at informing businesses of the latest changes regarding payroll. Not sure which one is better, but very much get the most out of each. Both are informative and always looking at additional topics in a world that is constantly changing. …
Paychex has been around for a long time and have used it at other organizations. The payroll functionality is the best out of the other systems I have used. They all are great with handling the HR needs of our organization but Paychex is the most streamlined.
We use BambooHR in tandem with Paychex. BambooHR is our timesheet service, and Paychex issues the checks/payments to our employees. Ideally we would use one service instead of two to achieve our payment and timesheet needs.
I far prefer Rippling to Paychex Flex, with its easy to navigate interface and user friendly model. I also appreciate the payday emails from Rippling and the paystub breakdown. It is also very easy and simple to request and view PTO in Rippling. I really dread having to use …
I'm unable to give you a comparison because Paychex is the only payroll service I've used since I started my business over ten years ago. I've had no reason to explore other payroll services or make a change. I trust it will remain that way for as long as I'm in business.
In addition to the ones listed above, we also used BenePay, a local payroll company. We found Paychex Flex priced in the middle, with ADP the most expensive and too complicated, with many features that were unnecessary for us. We found that Paychex Flex's features and reporting …
Based on what I've noticed, Paychex is comparable to DayForce, which has similar timekeeping functions. I think DayForce has a few easier-to-navigate tools from an Employee Self Service standpoint. iSolved is much better all around from my personal usage. If my company had more …
Gusto is more intuitive than Paychex and easier for smaller companies. Paychex has better customer support than Paylocity. Paychex is easier to navigate than Paycom.
Paychex offers much more than just tracking employee attendance and managing employee records. It offers Payroll services, Human Resource Services, Retirement Services, On-Boarding Services, Employee-Self Services, Employee Benefits Management, Employee Handbook Services, …
I personally have used ADP before, but that was just as a user, not as a manager supporting other users. So really, my experience is primarily with Paycom.
I haven't used a whole lot, but I would say the only other one would be Blackbaud. Where I came from before, we used Blackbaud as our payroll provider, and Paycom is so much more user-friendly. Once we moved to Paycom, and then where I'm at now, we used ADP and also switched. …
The user-friendliness of Paycom really stands out. Employees seem to have an easier time logging in and getting to what they need, whereas I've heard ADP can be a little trickier and that some users have experienced login issues. With Paycom, everything is very straightforward. …
I'm not part of the evaluation team, but from an HR perspective, we've used UKG, and that was really the main system before Paycom. Prior to that, we used a system that doesn't even exist anymore. Paycom is much more intuitive and user-friendly, and the capabilities are on a …
Oracle has an HRIS. They have an HR, finance, IT, everything-in-one type of platform, and there's an HR functionality part of it. It's really good. I've used PeopleSoft, which is more of a database type and doesn't have as many functions as Paycom. We went through a very …
Nothing really compares. I've used StaffConnect before to check in, but they don't necessarily have an app, and it's only web-based. I haven't been able to find an app or anything. And again, it's just not my favorite because it also does it by GPS location. And I'll be at work …
We were initially Paycor customers for our recruiting, and we used ADP for payroll previously. Paycom was an all-inclusive solution. And I do know that ADP and Paycor now have solutions, but at the time, they didn’t have what we wanted for the flexibility, the price, and really …
PeopleSoft and Tyler are pretty similar, with similar built in workflows, and extensive reporting systems. UKG has a lot of things that we like, but is more expensive.
I have not currently used any other products. I'm still kind of new to the HR industry. The only other thing that I really have to compare it to is Vonmar's system, which they created themselves, and it was not user-friendly.
Payroll. Unfortunately, with ADP, we're in the 21st century, and they still make me upload a spreadsheet when we do payroll. So a lot of room for mistakes, a lot of back and forth. None of that happens with Paycom. And Paychex, when I used, they were just coming out to the …
More centralized data. UKG didn't have as many, I guess, areas, or like the W2, it wasn't all in UKG. It's just that everything is more centralized than UKG and Paycom.
I've used PeopleSoft, and golly, ADP certainly evaluated Paylocity. That seems to be sort of a common competitor with Paycom, although I'm thinking they're kind of losing the battle, and Paycom's winning. We've also looked at Bamboo HR. BambooHR is great, but I think a solution …
We were on UKG before we switched to Paycom. I've been on ADP. I worked with Workday a little bit. So yeah, worked with a few of them. Right now, Paycom is the best. It's the best.
I appreciate the single database platform. Some of the other programs I have used in the past are not as intuitive or user-friendly. The reporting is accurate and timely. There isn't any confusion between the modules trying to communicate with one another. We also have …
Paycom was definitely number one. It definitely had a few aspects that were more advanced and the data security was a big deal for us, and that was very helpful.
Paycom is definitely better than all of those options because it has everything, including performance reviews. A lot of those systems are very limited.
When evaluating competitors, one of the decision points has been how seamless the experience is from login to each of the different modules. Many legacy providers have the same modules, but they are not seamless. They are "connected" behind the scenes and skinned to appear to …
We haven't transferred it, so I can't really comment on the differences between Microsoft Dynamics and Sage 50. However, since Microsoft Dynamics includes Copilot, I believe it will learn and expedite the processes used in accounting, since these processes are very repetitive …
I also like Quickbooks Desktop, however, they are forcing customers to switch to Quickbooks Online. I will be moving forward with SAGE in this case, unless there is a valid reason the client would like to use QBO instead. I have not used the version of SAGE where the client …
I didn't actually pick Sage for my company, but I would if I compared it against QuickBooks. I feel like QuickBooks hasn't been able to perform at the level we need in our company. And I have also found Sage to be more user-friendly and easier to navigate.
Quickbooks is a very easy program to use. You can figure out the features quite easily. The problem with quickbooks is that we have over 1,000 products and it cannot accomodate that many. We have to use Sage in order to input all of our inventory items at the same time.
switching from 1 to the other can be confusing. Both have their positives and negatives. I prefer Sage's reports over QuickBooks. The ability to change them into a comprehensive Excel form is better than the PDF of QuickBooks that becomes uneditable.
Sage continues to be the least painful product in my tech stack, I rarely have to connect with support to solve issues. For the vast majority of what I do, Sage is the best piece of the tech stack.
There is no real comparison. SAP simply is a mammut compared to Sage, but so is its price and for the scope and scale that we need Sage covers a LOT of our needs. Quickbooks is pretty comparable, the decision to go for Sage was made before they were and by now the effort to …
It's about the same, just a different way to get to a similar end goal. Ultimately, Sage offers superior, rigid compliance tracking and robust multi-entity management tools. QuickBooks certainly wins for its more modern UI, thousands of native app integrations, and superior …
Compared to QuickBooks Desktop, Sage Accounting offers a more modern, user-friendly experience with advanced automation, real-time financial visibility, and easier cloud access. We selected Sage Accounting because it provides the features we need at a competitive cost, …
I find Sage very similar to Quickbooks. If the pricing were the same, it would be difficult to choose between the two - it would come down to personal preference. I chose Sage Accounting because my bookkeeper was most familiar with it, and that was fine. We haven't had any …
Sage Accounting compares very favorably against other platforms due to its balance of simplicity, automation, and core functionality, which aligns well with our business needs.
The free version is not as good as FreeAgent, but it’s free! However, if you have a NatWest or Mettle business bank account, Freeagent is free, so if you’re willing to move, that could be better.
In my recent experience, I had used Twinfield, which was a similar package to Sage Accounting, I believe Sage Accounting is much more straightforward to implement than many other packages. I did have previous experience with Sage Accounting, but at a time when it was much less …
Overall we have had a good experience. The unfortunate part of being with them for over 10 years is the change-over in support specialists and sometimes the lack of transparency when that occurs or the lack of personalized communication. However, the ease of use and streamlined services for reporting and recording payroll and onboarding employees is definitely a benefit to the service. Being able to pull reports and review past employees information can be invaluable at times. Knowing I have peace of mind when it comes to tax documentation because someone else is ensuring it is handled and handled correctly is very important
As I mentioned, the onboarding process is incredibly easy. We have around 300 employees and are constantly hiring, so Paycom has been a huge help. In fact, the ATS functionality was a major factor in our decision to switch to Paycom.
It is well suited if we are keeping the clients books and they don't plan to ever need to leave, but if they do for whatever reason, the cost is quite high. I also had a client who was paying for some additional services such as the add-on for support which they did not need when the standard level of support was sufficient....it was automatically charged to them for years and was quite expensive so they finally removed it which made it more affordable, however, they added on the multi user option which was also quite expensive. I think more people would use it if the program itself wasn't so expensive and then needing the multi user, if it wasn't also so expensive. Another thing about the cost was they had to pay more to have more than 10 employees which I didn't feel was fair either
Paycom does a particularly good job of updating and taking in information. We have a rep named Alex Cisco, who I hear from two or three times a month. He’ll just want to drop by and say, “Hey, how’s the product working? Is there anything I can do to help you with the product? And by the way, do you know about this new feature?” If I have feedback, I give it to Alex, and if he doesn’t know how to fix it that day, he’ll take it to research and development, and we may see an answer for it a month or two down the road.
When it comes to audit reports, Paychex Flex could improve on helping clients locate the correct reports for audit purposes more easily
When a client receives a discount, it would be helpful if the discount were automatically provided each year, or if the Paychex rep proactively reached out to the client first, versus the client having to call and request that the discount continue.
It would be helpful if the invoice was emailed to the client versus the client logging in to access invoices.
One thing that we did come across recently is we were restructuring our organization chart and we did find that in order to update someone's job title, for example, we had to go into two different places, not just the employees page. We had to go into a different function as well and it took up a lot of time.
Only being able to use the premium accounting on ONE computer, very frustrating if you have a long drive or something, and I could have utilized that time catching up on our accounting, but I don’t want to bring my computer along. It would be nice not to use the cloud software just to use on multiple devices.
Speaking of Cloud software, the inability to talk to an actual human is insane. We were promised that the cloud software was much easier and straightforward. We didn’t know whether we had issues that could only be addressed by an AI chatbot. When we did talk to a human, they always referred back to the AI chatbot.
Again, for the cloud software, the inability to transfer over the entirety of my books because there was foreign currency (USD) is insane. We ended up canceling and going back to regular accounting software because I spent 12 hours I didn't have trying to move our books over, which ultimately didn’t work, and I would have had to reformat everything, which I shouldn’t have to do.
You should be able to link your bank account and have all deposits and withdrawals appear automatically. QuickBooks does this, and I really enjoyed QuickBooks for that reason. It would be a nice feature to have.
there are a lot of competitors on the market such as BambooHR and Insperity. Paychex need to make significant improvement on their offline customer service in order to compete with the other guys. Everything is online now and timely response to customer's questions is vital. Customers won't enjoy being put on hold for 45 mins every time they have a question regarding their HSA problems
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
I could not live without Sage Accounting, it has become an integral part of my everyday. The more I have used Sage Accounting the more I have fallen in love with it. I am excited to be part of this ever-evolving accounting system that has grown from strength to strength, making life easier is something Sage does so well.
Employee usability is very good and user-friendly. For the most part, the employer usability is good, but for complicated rules and policies, it requires technical assistance, which in our case, was clunky and slow in implementation. Once is place, everything works as it should
Because it's very easy to use. It's web-based, and you can use it on your cell phone; you can do everything that you do on your laptop on your cell phone, which is unheard of. I haven't heard of other companies being able to do that.
Compared to AccountEdge and QuickBooks (which I’ve used in network environments), Sage has everything you red on the customizable Dashboard, where other apps don’t offer such features. Setting up Sage Desktop for multiple users is very easy, and the options for user security are very granular and detailed. This makes it easy to tweak a “Role” for an employee—or create a brand new one, if necessary.
We have not experienced any difficulties with unplanned outages. Notifications are always made for outages, and they do not effect normal business operations.
Sage rarely has any issues with crashing, errors, etc. I have seen instances where it is a very old Sage file and you're getting it up to current it can provide errors. Although with the recent updates this might've been addressed. Previously you would've had to bring it up to Sage versions that are every couple years or so until you get to current. Also, sometimes when creating a backup its important to let the software do its job as I have seen crashes that way as well. The majority of the time when you're working in it you won't see these problems. There's never a time when it randomly goes down or crashes.
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.
Sage Accounting work quickly and performs well, I have never had an issue with it running slow. It integrates with other software swiftly, so no waiting for the screen to load. Error messages are only something I have had when I have done something wrong.
Chat has been helpful but the person I chat with isn't always able to help me with my questions. Phone support is ok, depending on your payroll specialist. We have a great one currently, but the few before that were never available and did not return calls.
In 6 years, we've never had a bad experience with client support. We implemented during COVID, and I was the only person in HR at the time. I was also having to homeschool our children, which meant bizarre work hours and limited time to focus on platform build at times. There were nights that I was literally on calls at 11 pm and the implementation team was unbelievably supportive. Recently, a Position Seat specialist came on site to help us set up for our 5 client codes - the experience was transformative for how we use the platform and an absolute game changer. I trust Paycom because I trust our representatives. They truly are strategic partners for us, and work to ensure we're maximizing the platform and that our needs are being met
Sage Accounting are easy to contact and have knowledgeable and helpful staff. Whenever I've encountered a problem I've always been able to get assistance and guidance and it feels like the person at the end of the phone/screen knows the product well.
Tadd and Ellie have been great! They have show us many aspects that implementation did not. They are very personable and action oriented as well. Anytime we need them they offer to swing in.
Staff are always friendly, and patient, always work at a speed that suits you. You are never rushed, and In only a short time they seem to be able to help you make great strides. It has been a pleasure not a chore, learning how SAGE Accounting works and benefits me and the company.
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.
It was good, but hard to know what questions you need to ask until you actually get in there and start working with a live product. But Paycom is also very helpful every time I call and can't figure something out. Nathan has been very friendly and helpful no matter what I call him about. He is always eager to help out.
I find the online training was very informative and they answered all my questions. I am also certified in Sage One and provided online training in the program which I have set up several people on and they love how it keeps them organized.
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.
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
I've done this a few times now, both manually and also by uploading by way of the implementation process. Sometimes it went smoothly (with a very basic set of books), but often the upload creates a mess with the accounts and it takes a lot of time to sort it out
Paychex is much more user friendly than ADP Run or ADP Total Source. However, I do like that ADP has an option to upload documents related to payroll such as notices from the state (DOR, UI, etc) and creates a case where notes from their rep are added and a case # is provided. This helps create a good way to track a notice and be sure it is resolved. I have sent requests to close different states when a company no longer has an employee there or have been told an item has been filed/completed, only to receive a notice later from Paychex notification or the the state claiming the issue is unresolved. When you have as many clients as we do, this can feel messy.
I haven't used a whole lot, but I would say the only other one would be Blackbaud. Where I came from before, we used Blackbaud as our payroll provider, and Paycom is so much more user-friendly. Once we moved to Paycom, and then where I'm at now, we used ADP and also switched. Both companies have been very pleased. Stacking up against those, I would say Paycom meets our needs as an employer for payroll and our benefits platform as well. Even switching our benefits over to Paycom was a big decision for us, and there were some bumps in the road, as there are with any change, but it's always met all of our needs, and we're very happy with it.
We haven't transferred it, so I can't really comment on the differences between Microsoft Dynamics and Sage 50. However, since Microsoft Dynamics includes Copilot, I believe it will learn and expedite the processes used in accounting, since these processes are very repetitive and perfect for machine learning/AI. It would just need to transfer our current database to be compatible with Microsoft Dynamics.
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.
You can use Sage in your company for various aspects/positions such as bookkeepers, invoicing clerks, accountant, purchasing etc. Everyone can have their own user login and permissions can be set that specific people can do specific jobs without being able to access other peoples progress or accounts of the company.
This software has provided visibility to shift managers and department leads that they never had before in managing their subordinates. They now have an easy-to-use go-to source for seeing who has PTO, how much they have available, and what the work calendar looks like, allowing them to make better-informed decisions.
With this software to manage open enrollment, we can now get through that process with a tool we use regularly, rather than jumping into enrollment management software only once a year and having to relearn it each year.
Literally thousands of steps are saved each week by not needing to traverse the entire shop floor or track people down to clear up questions with time cards. With everything digital, so much can be observed and addressed in real-time through the app.
I would say the impact has been positive. Everything I've needed to do for my job has been available within the system, and if there was ever something I couldn't figure out, I could reach out to customer service, and they would help me. Personally, I haven't had any issues with it.
Sage has allowed us to be self-supporting and to perform full-cycle accounting up to the point of handing off to the accountant at year-end.
We are self-sustaining and do not need outside accounting assistance, such as an independent bookkeeper.
Sage has allowed us to save money at year's end, as we can do all the prep internally up until the handoff to the accountant, minimizing the hours he has to spend on our file.
