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
UKG Pro
Score 8.2 out of 10
N/A
UKG delivers cloud-based HCM solutions including UKG Pro that help businesses simplify payroll computations, accelerate talent acquisition, manage time and attendance, and support proactive, strategic talent management on a global level.
I was not part of the decision to purchase Paychex Flex. It was good for the company's needs at the time, but when I joined the company we needed software that was more robust for our needs.
UKG Pro is much more user friendly than both previous HRIS and payroll systems I've used in the past. The others are less streamlined and include multiple more steps to complete a task than UKG Pro does.
Better quality, more robust, more customization. With many of these other systems, you get a pre-packaged, cookie-cutter system that often lacks the ability to custom-tailor the system to meet your company needs. Not the case with UKG Pro.
The three most important factors that lead us to UltiPro: Product Implementation - UltiPro provided a dedicated implementation team. All team members were very knowledgeable, extremely patient, and provided great feedback. Cost - price negotiation was a key element. UltiPro …
UKG had all the modules we were looking for, was highly configurable, and looked like it could grow with our business. Did not realize how much of the heavy lifting was needed on our part for implementation and ongoing. UKG does have its quirks and some workarounds are needed …
UKG is more robust and each system works with the other. When we used Paychex, their platforms didn't work well together and it was difficult to get help on each because the trainers were not cross-trained on each.
UKG Pro is a robust platform comparable to ADP TotalSource and Optimum Solutions. Both ADP and Optimum had better custom reporting capabilities that were more user friendly than the UKG Pro product. One other area that I think ADP and Optimum did better in is benefit …
We felt that the service was going to be a huge improvement from what we were dealing with prior. The capability of the system and the things that we can customize and track was definitely more than what we saw with the other systems we were looking at and currently used. The …
UltiPro is the best product on the market. Other vendors only have a fraction of the functionality. Other vendors do not have anywhere near the support team that UltiPro has.
Hands down UltiPro is the best HRIS system around. With ADP, half the time you need a rep to give you your data. I can't imagine why an organization would pay for a vendor to not release your own data! Good ADP reps are few and far between. I spent a majority of my time with …
Features
Paychex
UKG Pro
Human Resource Management
Comparison of Human Resource Management features of Product A and Product B
Paychex
6.5
268 Ratings
22% below category average
UKG Pro
7.8
940 Ratings
4% below category average
Employee demographic data
7.6215 Ratings
8.6851 Ratings
Employment history
8.1239 Ratings
8.3877 Ratings
Job profiles and administration
7.5173 Ratings
8.0847 Ratings
Workflow for transfers, promotions, pay raises, etc.
7.4168 Ratings
7.6832 Ratings
Organizational charting
1.01 Ratings
7.1743 Ratings
Organization and location management
7.4155 Ratings
8.0756 Ratings
Compliance data (COBRA, OSHA, etc.)
6.5144 Ratings
7.2599 Ratings
Payroll Management
Comparison of Payroll Management features of Product A and Product B
Paychex
7.5
310 Ratings
8% below category average
UKG Pro
8.1
857 Ratings
0% below category average
Pay calculation
8.0292 Ratings
8.3811 Ratings
Off-cycle/On-Demand payment
6.6150 Ratings
8.2318 Ratings
Benefit plan administration
6.8171 Ratings
7.7732 Ratings
Direct deposit files
8.2291 Ratings
8.5799 Ratings
Salary revision and increment management
7.7207 Ratings
8.2659 Ratings
Reimbursement management
7.6116 Ratings
8.057 Ratings
Support for external payroll vendors
00 Ratings
7.8407 Ratings
Leave and Attendance Management
Comparison of Leave and Attendance Management features of Product A and Product B
Paychex
7.1
158 Ratings
14% below category average
UKG Pro
7.7
663 Ratings
6% below category average
Approval workflow
7.0112 Ratings
7.6588 Ratings
Balance details
7.3150 Ratings
7.7618 Ratings
Annual carry-forward and encashment
7.0119 Ratings
7.7510 Ratings
Employee Self Service
Comparison of Employee Self Service features of Product A and Product B
Paychex
7.7
267 Ratings
6% below category average
UKG Pro
8.0
908 Ratings
2% below category average
View and generate pay and benefit information
7.7245 Ratings
8.2876 Ratings
Update personal information
7.8257 Ratings
8.4881 Ratings
View company policy documentation
7.5119 Ratings
7.9650 Ratings
View job history
7.7181 Ratings
8.3862 Ratings
Employee recognition
00 Ratings
7.3340 Ratings
Asset Management
Comparison of Asset Management features of Product A and Product B
Paychex
5.2
43 Ratings
42% below category average
UKG Pro
7.6
229 Ratings
5% below category average
Tracking of all physical assets
5.243 Ratings
7.6229 Ratings
HR Reporting
Comparison of HR Reporting features of Product A and Product B
Paychex
6.0
175 Ratings
23% below category average
UKG Pro
7.1
843 Ratings
6% below category average
Report builder
6.4145 Ratings
7.4819 Ratings
Pre-built reports
6.3164 Ratings
7.3832 Ratings
Ability to combine HR data with external data
5.291 Ratings
6.7579 Ratings
Onboarding
Comparison of Onboarding features of Product A and Product B
Paychex
6.2
171 Ratings
25% below category average
UKG Pro
7.8
644 Ratings
2% below category average
New hire portal
6.8164 Ratings
8.1637 Ratings
Manager tracking tools
5.6106 Ratings
7.6516 Ratings
Recruiting / ATS
Comparison of Recruiting / ATS features of Product A and Product B
Paychex
5.2
68 Ratings
38% below category average
UKG Pro
7.5
530 Ratings
2% below category average
Job Requisition Management
5.636 Ratings
7.5499 Ratings
Company Website Posting
5.534 Ratings
7.6489 Ratings
Publish to Social Media
4.928 Ratings
7.2387 Ratings
Job Search Site Posting
5.335 Ratings
7.4451 Ratings
Duplicate Candidate Prevention
5.034 Ratings
7.1382 Ratings
Applicant Tracking
5.039 Ratings
7.7486 Ratings
Notifications and Alerts
5.262 Ratings
7.7451 Ratings
Performance and Goals
Comparison of Performance and Goals features of Product A and Product B
Paychex
-
Ratings
UKG Pro
7.5
438 Ratings
7% below category average
Corporate goal setting
00 Ratings
7.3345 Ratings
Individual goal setting
00 Ratings
7.5417 Ratings
Line-of sight-visibility
00 Ratings
7.6298 Ratings
Performance tracking
00 Ratings
7.6387 Ratings
Performance Management
Comparison of Performance Management features of Product A and Product B
Paychex
-
Ratings
UKG Pro
7.5
542 Ratings
5% below category average
Performance plans
00 Ratings
7.6484 Ratings
Performance improvement plans
00 Ratings
7.0381 Ratings
Review status tracking
00 Ratings
7.7498 Ratings
Review reminders
00 Ratings
7.5468 Ratings
Multiple review frequency
00 Ratings
7.6394 Ratings
Succession Planning
Comparison of Succession Planning features of Product A and Product B
For the most part, Paychex Flex is a very good payroll system and is well suited for a small business. Most basic features are simple and user friendly. For businesses that have hourly employees, its timeclock system is a good feature. For businesses that have a large number of employees and more complicated rules and policies, it might not be as appropriate because of the difficulty to set up for these rules and policies
I would say, well, I don't want to focus on less appropriate. I want to be well suited. I really feel like if the transparency with our count rep and then just diving in onto how to problem solve and how to troubleshoot, I think that's most important with that.
UKG has an amazing support team to reach out to if assistance is needed
All add-ons of UKG Pro integrate seamlessly making it a powerful software program
UKG Pro is very configurable to meet the specific needs of companies
It is easy to use and navigate
The mobile app is loved by all employees and provides on-demand access
The Ultimate Community is amazing!! On-demand information on all products and how they are used. Connect with other companies that use UKG Pro and learn from each other.
The Learning Centre is also amazing!! Learning right at your fingertips anytime, anywhere.
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.
Onboarding and recruiting need an environment that is more stable and dependable.
Core Benefits could be enhanced to allow OE and LE events via the mobile app.
Service and support need to be increased; days and weeks now, when we first went live, it was minutes and hours.
Adapting all version of time management into one or two versions, at no cost to the customer would allow the resources from UTA, UTM and WFM Classic to be directed to future enhancements and would allow support services to be increased for the 2 remaining platforms.
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
We have been a customer since 2015, we have gone to market and find that UKG Pro product is both user friendly for administrators as well as the employee. The qualify of support and service of UKG team is valued and we trust the product.
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.
It gets the job done, but not with a few deep sighs. Once you know where stuff lives, it's manageable, but the first learning curve is steep, some menus feel buried. However, it's consistent, reliable and doesn't crash on me, which counts for a lot. With a little UI glow up it could push into a 9 zone.
We have not experienced any difficulties with unplanned outages. Notifications are always made for outages, and they do not effect normal business operations.
For the most part UltiPro has been reliable, but it could definitely be better. There have been several notable server issues where we were unable to access the product or unable to utilize some of the features. Customer support is usually quick to respond to questions about these issues, but they do not proactively reach out to customers whose environments have been effected by outages
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.
Normally UKG Pro loads quickly. We had been having major issues with reports running in a timely manner but recently they broke out our virtual server to another instance where is wasn't sharing resources and that seems to have helped reporting run more efficiently.
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.
The quality of UKG Support is related directly to the UKG rep. who handles the issue. In some cases you get someone who really is good at supporting the product and others may not have as much experience and it shows
I've been to a few in-person (hands on) training sessions and it is very similar to the online classes. You have the same reference material to look back on after the training. So regardless of in person training or online you really get the same thing.
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.
Most of the online training was very generic (to be expected) but we had specific requirements for configuration that could have been better addressed with more individual sessions earlier on from our project team. However, we did finally begin booking training sessions with our implementation team which were recorded, and so provided additional information for how to correctly configure and test the system.
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.
Make sure you have all of your tax account information with all the states you are registered in available and that you are knowledgeable about the filing status, frequency, etc. We had some unique challenges with our state unemployment tax set up that I was not aware of and needed to be addressed prior to going live. Working with the state unemployment office can be a challenge.
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.
We used ADP WFN prior to switching to UKG. We interviewed three different payroll companies to see what our options were. UKG stood out and aligned with our company values. The sales team was very helpful and asked questions about what we were currently doing and how they could assist with simplifying things. I personally had a side meeting with them to see if there were options for a process that we manually process and if UKG could actually eliminate the process. We came to the conclusion that we weren't able to get it 100%, but we could pull 80% of what we needed from UKG, and then we would only need to manipulate 20% of the information. It was also determined from that meeting that we wouldn't need to pay extra to have a special report built. The customer service is what we were sold on. The other companies that we looked at didn't give us the confidence that their customer service would be any better than what we previously had.
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
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?
Personally as a veteran user of UKG Pro, in past employers I have seen many amazing increases in employee engagement and ROI.
With QuVa, we are still very new to the UKG Pro platform and are just now beginning to get out of the implementation phase where we can start measuring the change. I will be looking for changes in Overtime spending to reduce as a result of more informative and actionable dashboards for managers to monitor overtime and timeclock abuses in real time. I am also expecting employees to engage more with new features being pushed out to the mobile app.