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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TriNet
Score 7.6 out of 10
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TriNet provides small and medium size businesses (SMBs) with full-service HR and payroll solutions tailored by industry. TriNet also offers specialized services through client access to HR representatives for advice and notifications on impactful regulatory changes.
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TriNet HR Plus
Score 5.2 out of 10
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HR Plus (formerly Zenefits) is TriNet’s administrative services organization (ASO) solution, combining expert support and administration with a technology platform for HR, payroll, and benefits.
Payroll entry is easier on Paychex Flex. It is easier to see each employee's earnings and deductions to review before submitting. TriNet has better customizable reporting with their Workforce Analytics tool. TriNet has a lot more offerings and better customer service, but it …
Paychex flex was selected prior to my client contracting me. However, I have had the opportunity with other clients to evaluate, implement and administrate other payroll providers. Out of the products I've used, Paychex flex is most like Justworks. Paychex Flex is …
TriNet outperforms ADP, Paycom, and paychex is support and compliance for sure. The only other system I've tried that has anything on TriNet's capabilites and interface is BambooHR... If I could mash the 2 systems together, I would!
TriNet does a great job at payroll, compliance, caring for the employees, resources for benefits, even free services offered to help and assist if needed. Very clean UI, and user-friendly and intuitive. Great for back office compliance. The customer service is vastly better …
We use Justworks quite a bit, but the difference is the designated support specialist. They only offer a general # to call into or a chat box. Also, they don't offer an audit prior to payroll processing, which I find helpful to keep accuracy and detect any errors. The JW …
Trinet was selected because they have a robust platform and many services that they provide. In addition, the first year discount provides piece of mind when changing providers.
I didn't select TriNet, it was at my organization when I got here. No one at TriNet gave my company information on how hard it is to move companies in the middle of the quarter. Even UKG did that. I think that every other system works better.
Verified User
Director
Chose TriNet
Better pricing negotiation through pooling of TriNet.
Verified User
Account Manager
Chose TriNet
It's been too long ago to be able to compare.
Verified User
Administrator
Chose TriNet
They were not very good at responding to emails and connecting with us
They were about the same. We went with TriNet because of a bad experience I had with Paychex. However, TriNet started off strong and then the service went downhill. Finally, as I wrote, the state setup/final tax filings not being done makes me say I will not go back to Trinet.
Verified User
Director
Chose TriNet
Very bottom of the list - I did not select TriNet, as I joined the company after it had already been implemented and in use for some time. If I had been involved, Rippling and/or Zenefits would have been my top choices due to their wide breadth of HR/Payroll/People support …
Out of all of the platforms, I still think that Gusto is the most user friendly for employers and employees. However, they did not provide the support that I get with TriNet. In just a year, I feel that TriNet is listening to it clients and have already made changes to improve …
Zenefits is easy to use and scales incredibly well. ADP was garbage [from] day one. We got our money back. Too bleak and hard to understand. We never bought TriNet, but it felt like it would be hard to make it scale. [It was] a little bland, and Google Sheets seemed like a …
Zenefits has been a better tool for our purposes than Paychex Flex. While Zenefits is a fairly rigid tool without a lot of options for customization, Paychex has even fewer options for customization and their customer services is even more difficult to deal with.
Zenefits beats both these products for my organization because Zenefits streamlines processes, offers state of the art functionality for my organization, and is user friendly for my employers. The other two products, although good, are archaic in design and difficult for …
Both Paychex and ADP are great payroll companies. However, its' bells and whistles are not always needed for a smaller company. Zenefits offers just the right amount of service and at a better value.
Verified User
Board Member
Chose TriNet HR Plus
Zenefits is my favorite payroll provider. I have used them all (ADP, Zenefits, Gusto, Intuit Payroll etc etc) and none compare in terms of features and price.
The programs I selected take to long to do a small task or a large task. I have to stay the competitor software too long to do anything. Zenefits is accurate, saves me time, and is efficient. The other companies take a long time to get back to me on requests, whereas Zenefits …
The original reasoning around moving to Zenefits - recommendation from a colleague, cost and the reduction of workforce, app availability, and integrations were the main reasons for the initial change. That said, the issues we have experienced are deal breakers.
I like Zenefits 2nd best only behind Paycom. Too many things in Zenefits are interconnected. As an example in Paycom I can assign different admins for different aspects of 1 employee profile (Manager A can approve their timecard, Manager B is responsible for approve …
Features
Paychex
TriNet
TriNet HR Plus
Human Resource Management
Comparison of Human Resource Management features of Product A and Product B
Paychex
6.7
272 Ratings
19% below category average
TriNet
7.2
722 Ratings
12% below category average
TriNet HR Plus
6.6
136 Ratings
21% below category average
Employee demographic data
7.8219 Ratings
7.6515 Ratings
6.5112 Ratings
Employment history
8.1242 Ratings
6.9548 Ratings
7.5106 Ratings
Job profiles and administration
7.8177 Ratings
7.4519 Ratings
6.0106 Ratings
Workflow for transfers, promotions, pay raises, etc.
7.8172 Ratings
7.3610 Ratings
6.0111 Ratings
Organizational charting
1.01 Ratings
6.7429 Ratings
5.5120 Ratings
Organization and location management
7.5158 Ratings
7.0457 Ratings
7.0123 Ratings
Compliance data (COBRA, OSHA, etc.)
6.8146 Ratings
7.6576 Ratings
7.5109 Ratings
Payroll Management
Comparison of Payroll Management features of Product A and Product B
Paychex
7.7
313 Ratings
5% below category average
TriNet
7.9
778 Ratings
3% below category average
TriNet HR Plus
7.2
121 Ratings
12% below category average
Pay calculation
8.0295 Ratings
8.1753 Ratings
8.0104 Ratings
Off-cycle/On-Demand payment
7.1153 Ratings
7.7271 Ratings
7.066 Ratings
Benefit plan administration
6.9174 Ratings
8.1762 Ratings
7.5109 Ratings
Direct deposit files
8.3294 Ratings
8.4710 Ratings
7.5104 Ratings
Salary revision and increment management
8.0209 Ratings
8.0628 Ratings
7.597 Ratings
Reimbursement management
7.7118 Ratings
7.3390 Ratings
7.068 Ratings
Support for external payroll vendors
00 Ratings
8.05 Ratings
6.052 Ratings
Leave and Attendance Management
Comparison of Leave and Attendance Management features of Product A and Product B
Paychex
7.3
159 Ratings
11% below category average
TriNet
6.8
510 Ratings
18% below category average
TriNet HR Plus
6.5
119 Ratings
23% below category average
Approval workflow
7.3113 Ratings
7.1426 Ratings
6.5117 Ratings
Balance details
7.5151 Ratings
6.6489 Ratings
6.0115 Ratings
Annual carry-forward and encashment
7.0119 Ratings
6.7399 Ratings
7.095 Ratings
Employee Self Service
Comparison of Employee Self Service features of Product A and Product B
Paychex
7.8
270 Ratings
5% below category average
TriNet
7.3
760 Ratings
12% below category average
TriNet HR Plus
6.9
135 Ratings
17% below category average
View and generate pay and benefit information
7.8248 Ratings
8.3737 Ratings
7.5129 Ratings
Update personal information
7.9260 Ratings
8.0752 Ratings
8.0135 Ratings
View company policy documentation
7.7121 Ratings
7.2645 Ratings
7.0122 Ratings
View job history
7.9184 Ratings
7.1570 Ratings
7.5104 Ratings
Employee recognition
00 Ratings
5.7233 Ratings
4.566 Ratings
Asset Management
Comparison of Asset Management features of Product A and Product B
Paychex
5.0
43 Ratings
47% below category average
TriNet
1.0
1 Ratings
156% below category average
TriNet HR Plus
7.0
23 Ratings
14% below category average
Tracking of all physical assets
5.043 Ratings
1.01 Ratings
7.023 Ratings
HR Reporting
Comparison of HR Reporting features of Product A and Product B
Paychex
5.9
177 Ratings
24% below category average
TriNet
6.8
642 Ratings
10% below category average
TriNet HR Plus
6.3
108 Ratings
18% below category average
Report builder
6.3147 Ratings
6.7555 Ratings
6.0104 Ratings
Pre-built reports
6.3165 Ratings
7.2609 Ratings
7.5106 Ratings
Ability to combine HR data with external data
5.191 Ratings
6.4314 Ratings
5.567 Ratings
Onboarding
Comparison of Onboarding features of Product A and Product B
Paychex
6.4
173 Ratings
22% below category average
TriNet
7.1
627 Ratings
12% below category average
TriNet HR Plus
6.5
115 Ratings
20% below category average
New hire portal
6.7165 Ratings
7.2625 Ratings
7.5114 Ratings
Manager tracking tools
6.1109 Ratings
7.0392 Ratings
5.594 Ratings
Recruiting / ATS
Comparison of Recruiting / ATS features of Product A and Product B
Paychex
5.2
70 Ratings
40% below category average
TriNet
7.0
134 Ratings
10% below category average
TriNet HR Plus
5.5
29 Ratings
34% below category average
Job Requisition Management
5.536 Ratings
6.6103 Ratings
5.122 Ratings
Company Website Posting
5.334 Ratings
5.51 Ratings
6.118 Ratings
Publish to Social Media
4.728 Ratings
6.786 Ratings
5.116 Ratings
Job Search Site Posting
5.235 Ratings
6.9105 Ratings
5.118 Ratings
Duplicate Candidate Prevention
4.834 Ratings
9.11 Ratings
5.421 Ratings
Applicant Tracking
4.839 Ratings
7.0112 Ratings
6.120 Ratings
Notifications and Alerts
5.964 Ratings
6.9120 Ratings
5.526 Ratings
Performance and Goals
Comparison of Performance and Goals features of Product A and Product B
Paychex
-
Ratings
TriNet
6.4
117 Ratings
23% below category average
TriNet HR Plus
2.9
44 Ratings
94% below category average
Corporate goal setting
00 Ratings
6.4103 Ratings
3.140 Ratings
Individual goal setting
00 Ratings
6.4113 Ratings
3.143 Ratings
Line-of sight-visibility
00 Ratings
6.4101 Ratings
2.138 Ratings
Performance tracking
00 Ratings
6.6112 Ratings
3.140 Ratings
Performance Management
Comparison of Performance Management features of Product A and Product B
Paychex
-
Ratings
TriNet
6.4
199 Ratings
21% below category average
TriNet HR Plus
6.5
61 Ratings
19% below category average
Performance plans
00 Ratings
6.5175 Ratings
6.558 Ratings
Performance improvement plans
00 Ratings
6.4163 Ratings
6.054 Ratings
Review status tracking
00 Ratings
6.4162 Ratings
6.056 Ratings
Review reminders
00 Ratings
6.7171 Ratings
7.056 Ratings
Multiple review frequency
00 Ratings
5.99 Ratings
7.052 Ratings
Succession Planning
Comparison of Succession Planning features of Product A and Product B
Paychex is great option for smaller employers as the site offers perk benefits to employees at no cost to the employer. I don't see anything like this being offered at competitors such as ADP RUN/Total Source, Bamboo, Trinet, Justworks or Gusto. Also, the initial set up is relatively easy and the dedicated support for set up is great along with our regular dedicated payroll support.
I truly believe TriNet is the best PEO out there. Our specialist, [...], was top notch and always made me feel special. I appreciate all the features available, not just for my employees but for me, as an HR specialist. The benefits I am now able to offer is why we joined but all the features and ease of use is what will keep us clients moving forward. My only issue was feeling a bit rushed through training. I was told I would get written procedures but they were pretty antiquated.
I think as a small business owner, this system gives peace of mind. When I'm onboarding an employee I can automatically integrate the process with Gmail and Quickbooks. I feel like they are always doing work in the background and I don't have to keep checking up on them or verifying the work that's been done
Customer support is great when working with Amy Hoffman. She's always very quick to respond and helpful. I'd say she's the thing that makes me want to stay with TriNet the most.
The webinars are very helpful. I utilize those frequently and our CFO has signed up for some as well.
The expense management system has been very helpful. There are a couple issues with it, but it's leaps better than what the company was doing before this system through TriNet.
I understand logging you out is a security function, but I'd prefer it not to log you out so soon.
The training we received for the team's meeting was subpar, in my opinion. Probably better geared for people with little to no computer experience. Very slow pace; we could have easily received all of this from some tutorials in a few minutes.
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
e are currently seeing a massive shift in HR tech, with rapid strides being made in the integration of AI and Machine Learning models. These advancements allow for:Predictive analytics for workforce planning.Automated, intelligent chatbots for instant employee support.Smart data synthesis that provides actionable insights rather than just raw numbers.TriNet appears to be lagging in these areas, missing opportunities to leverage AI to reduce administrative overhead and improve data accuracy
We've already renewed after our first year with Zenefits due to the cost savings, ease of administration, reduction in overhead required to perform HR functions, and the employees happily embracing and liking the software. I've found employees generally hate anything new, but we've had no complaints about Zenefits outside the first few weeks of getting used to it.
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
The platform is highly intuitive and user-friendly, making it easy to navigate for both admins and employees when handling everyday tasks like payroll processing, benefits enrollment, and HR reporting. The flexibility in HR and payroll features does not require a need for extensive training. The mobile app stands out as amazing, with a great interface that enables quick access to employee related items
It's extremely user friendly and customer service is super helpful. The app needed help a while back but it has greatly improved. There were issues with files being cut off, and when I was onboarded, it actually cut my offer letter off hiding important information. Since then, it's been fixed so they are continually improving.
We have not experienced any difficulties with unplanned outages. Notifications are always made for outages, and they do not effect normal business operations.
We had an issue with application errors - took TriNet 5 months to fix it, mean while we had someone manually tracking and keeping up with many requests and questions about the application error which affected time off. When we were all registering for Benefits during open enrollment there were lots of bugs that caused issues with registering for benefits or being able to see what benefits were available
We have not experienced any application errors or unplanned outages in the two years I have been using this app. Sometimes there is a lag in the time keeping/ confirming your location, however, it quickly resolves itself within seconds and more often than not is an internet connection error
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.
For the most part pages load quickly. Working for a software company we understand performance is everything, even a few seconds delay can feel like a lifetime, that being said, we ran into a few times where pages didn't load, information didn't load correctly, and an influx in users (like open enrollment) cause things to slow down
This app always loads extremely quickly and in a reasonable time frame. Like I said, when we do experience lags from this app, it is more often than not an internet connection error
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.
The support overall is very good. There seems to be a good number of customer support staff and they are knowledgeable and pleasant to deal with and it almost all cases are able to resolve the question or issue very quickly. My only complaint would be having to wait in some cases as I'm based in the UK and the correct department may not be open 24 hours.
Not good at all. Basically I typically feel like they can solve the issue at hand. However, they take forever and it never feels like they really care. It can be frustrating that the agent will never speak with you on the phone or just give you their direct contact info so that you can continue to follow up on the same issue. Once they "close" the issue - you have to go back to the main customer service email or line again, even though it may be related to something you've contacted them about in the past
it's been awhile, but I recall them being helpful. I got through a lot of it and when I needed help, they can walk me through it over the phone. It's also pretty user friendly in general at a platform. I don't really know what else to type, but they came and helped me in person and also when there was something new, they came and talked to me. They have not done that since with the new model that I hate
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.
Since this was already implemented. I have another employee briefly train me. Then Trinet rep gave me some training as needed for things that came up. For one payroll preview report I figured it could be done, but I had asked the rep to be sure. One important training was when there was an employee leaving the company.
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 applicable as I implementation was done 5 years ago and have no recollection of the details of the process. Above it says to skip question if not involved in the process but it will not allow me to skip it as it states explanation requitred thus making this process extremely frustrating.
Unfortunately I do not have any insights on the implementation of Zenefits as I was not employed with this company when Zenefits was introduced. Based on how effortless it is to use Zenefits, I wouldn't image there would be many issues with the implementation of Zenefits
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.
I liked Rippling's software better than TriNet. However, the pricing on employee benefits was through the roof, and they don't offer many selections/options. If it was a software only decision, I would go with Rippling (the 2.0 version of Zenefits which TriNet offers). However, the software isn't a major need, compared to smooth payroll and benefits that I get from TriNet (and great service). I'm happy at TriNet long term as long as the health insurance rates aren't exhorbinant.
Zenefits has been a better tool for our purposes than Paychex Flex. While Zenefits is a fairly rigid tool without a lot of options for customization, Paychex has even fewer options for customization and their customer services is even more difficult to deal with
I generally do payroll at the office, however I have had to go remote due to internet issues and also had to take payroll on vacation with me. Very easy to log in wherever you are and manage your TAA and payroll
We are a small company, do we use it across departments and sites? Yes, we are all remote working, so there are as many sites as there are people. We also have our entire staff using TriNet, so every department from Accounting, Admin, HR, Development, QA, and Management are all using this. Can't say for sure how great the scalability is as we are only about 30 employees
Stay within HR Compliance - when the new laws about Salary change came into effect I received an email on impacted employees and how to address.
More involvement in employee benefits. With greater benefit selection more employees were able to find plans that suited their needs.
The TimeClock took a little time to get used to. It is still a little frustrating at times for hourly employees to be able to track how many hours they actually have for the week/pay-period. The off the clock meals count towards "hours" and employees have to subtract that out to be able to see what they need for the rest of the week.
California Meal Break Violations cost a full hour of each employees pay rate. If an employee clocks in 1 minute early it costs us at least 10.50 (minimum wage Ca, 15.00 in Los Angeles) which adds up quickly. We had 37 meal break violations when we first rolled it out. They need to add a feature that disallows them to clock in ahead of 30 minutes, or add a feature that shows them how long they've been on break.