PDS Vista vs. Rippling

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
PDS Vista
Score 1.8 out of 10
Enterprise companies (1,001+ employees)
Vista® is a human resource, benefits, payroll, recruiting, and self-service software. Functional elements include recruitment, staffing, position and training management, compliance, and performance and compensation.N/A
Rippling
Score 9.0 out of 10
N/A
Rippling’s platform for HR, IT, payroll, and spend management automates the entire employee lifecycle, ensures compliance, supports device management, and provides real-time financial visibility from a central dashboard.
$8
per month per user
Pricing
PDS VistaRippling
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
Recommended
$8.00
starting price per user, per month
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
PDS VistaRippling
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
YesYes
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional DetailsLicense pricing is based on the number of full and part-time active employees within bands (e.g. 751-1,000). SaaS pricing is based on PEPM.For additional pricing details visit the Rippling pricing page.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
PDS VistaRippling
Features
PDS VistaRippling
Human Resource Management
Comparison of Human Resource Management features of Product A and Product B
PDS Vista
1.9
19 Ratings
124% below category average
Rippling
9.1
1035 Ratings
12% above category average
Employee demographic data1.018 Ratings8.9734 Ratings
Employment history1.019 Ratings8.9757 Ratings
Job profiles and administration1.015 Ratings9.2862 Ratings
Workflow for transfers, promotions, pay raises, etc.1.013 Ratings9.2765 Ratings
Organizational charting3.014 Ratings9.3899 Ratings
Organization and location management3.017 Ratings9.2798 Ratings
Compliance data (COBRA, OSHA, etc.)3.012 Ratings9.0618 Ratings
Payroll Management
Comparison of Payroll Management features of Product A and Product B
PDS Vista
3.2
19 Ratings
87% below category average
Rippling
9.3
1084 Ratings
13% above category average
Pay calculation3.017 Ratings9.3972 Ratings
Support for external payroll vendors1.010 Ratings00 Ratings
Off-cycle/On-Demand payment4.01 Ratings9.1677 Ratings
Benefit plan administration1.017 Ratings9.0951 Ratings
Direct deposit files4.018 Ratings9.5954 Ratings
Salary revision and increment management1.014 Ratings9.4728 Ratings
Reimbursement management8.25 Ratings9.3634 Ratings
Leave and Attendance Management
Comparison of Leave and Attendance Management features of Product A and Product B
PDS Vista
1.0
14 Ratings
156% below category average
Rippling
9.4
969 Ratings
14% above category average
Approval workflow1.08 Ratings9.3936 Ratings
Balance details1.014 Ratings9.4889 Ratings
Annual carry-forward and encashment1.013 Ratings9.3659 Ratings
Employee Self Service
Comparison of Employee Self Service features of Product A and Product B
PDS Vista
2.0
18 Ratings
122% below category average
Rippling
9.2
1131 Ratings
11% above category average
View and generate pay and benefit information4.017 Ratings9.41069 Ratings
Update personal information1.015 Ratings9.51117 Ratings
View company policy documentation3.09 Ratings9.4929 Ratings
Employee recognition1.06 Ratings8.7615 Ratings
View job history1.05 Ratings9.1801 Ratings
Asset Management
Comparison of Asset Management features of Product A and Product B
PDS Vista
7.3
7 Ratings
9% below category average
Rippling
9.0
479 Ratings
12% above category average
Tracking of all physical assets7.37 Ratings9.0479 Ratings
HR Reporting
Comparison of HR Reporting features of Product A and Product B
PDS Vista
2.0
17 Ratings
116% below category average
Rippling
9.0
583 Ratings
17% above category average
Report builder2.015 Ratings8.8565 Ratings
Pre-built reports2.017 Ratings9.1533 Ratings
Ability to combine HR data with external data2.014 Ratings9.2480 Ratings
Onboarding
Comparison of Onboarding features of Product A and Product B
PDS Vista
1.0
2 Ratings
156% below category average
Rippling
9.4
807 Ratings
16% above category average
New hire portal1.02 Ratings9.5785 Ratings
Manager tracking tools1.01 Ratings9.3610 Ratings
Performance and Goals
Comparison of Performance and Goals features of Product A and Product B
PDS Vista
2.8
3 Ratings
97% below category average
Rippling
9.1
466 Ratings
12% above category average
Corporate goal setting1.03 Ratings9.2401 Ratings
Individual goal setting1.03 Ratings9.0430 Ratings
Performance tracking6.42 Ratings9.0422 Ratings
Line-of sight-visibility00 Ratings9.2396 Ratings
Performance Management
Comparison of Performance Management features of Product A and Product B
PDS Vista
1.0
5 Ratings
155% below category average
Rippling
9.3
535 Ratings
16% above category average
Performance plans1.03 Ratings9.2472 Ratings
Performance improvement plans1.02 Ratings9.2447 Ratings
Review status tracking1.03 Ratings9.2476 Ratings
Review reminders1.04 Ratings9.4502 Ratings
Multiple review frequency1.03 Ratings9.4435 Ratings
Succession Planning
Comparison of Succession Planning features of Product A and Product B
PDS Vista
2.3
2 Ratings
109% below category average
Rippling
9.2
395 Ratings
16% above category average
Create succession plans/pools3.61 Ratings9.2327 Ratings
Candidate ranking1.02 Ratings9.2338 Ratings
Candidate search1.02 Ratings9.2352 Ratings
Candidate development3.61 Ratings9.0334 Ratings
Recruiting / ATS
Comparison of Recruiting / ATS features of Product A and Product B
PDS Vista
1.4
4 Ratings
138% below category average
Rippling
9.1
450 Ratings
17% above category average
Job Requisition Management1.04 Ratings9.1360 Ratings
Company Website Posting1.04 Ratings9.1346 Ratings
Duplicate Candidate Prevention1.92 Ratings9.2315 Ratings
Applicant Tracking1.04 Ratings9.0347 Ratings
Notifications and Alerts2.02 Ratings9.1422 Ratings
Publish to Social Media00 Ratings9.2303 Ratings
Job Search Site Posting00 Ratings9.0315 Ratings
Best Alternatives
PDS VistaRippling
Small Businesses
Dayforce Powerpay
Dayforce Powerpay
Score 9.4 out of 10
Dayforce Powerpay
Dayforce Powerpay
Score 9.4 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Paypro Workforce Management
Paypro Workforce Management
Score 9.7 out of 10
Paypro Workforce Management
Paypro Workforce Management
Score 9.7 out of 10
Enterprises
PeopleStrong
PeopleStrong
Score 9.9 out of 10
PeopleStrong
PeopleStrong
Score 9.9 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
PDS VistaRippling
Likelihood to Recommend
1.0
(24 ratings)
9.2
(1165 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.1
(7 ratings)
9.0
(20 ratings)
Usability
2.0
(3 ratings)
9.4
(1162 ratings)
Availability
9.5
(2 ratings)
9.1
(4 ratings)
Performance
10.0
(1 ratings)
8.5
(4 ratings)
Support Rating
8.2
(3 ratings)
9.2
(877 ratings)
In-Person Training
-
(0 ratings)
8.6
(2 ratings)
Online Training
9.0
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
7.3
(1 ratings)
7.9
(9 ratings)
Configurability
-
(0 ratings)
6.3
(3 ratings)
Ease of integration
-
(0 ratings)
9.1
(2 ratings)
Product Scalability
-
(0 ratings)
9.1
(3 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
-
(0 ratings)
9.1
(2 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
-
(0 ratings)
8.6
(2 ratings)
User Testimonials
PDS VistaRippling
Likelihood to Recommend
Personnel Data Systems (PDS)
As Vista HRMS is fully customizable to suit your needs, a company should determine if they have a current employee who can do the work themselves otherwise they will need to consider the additional cost of asking PDS to do the customizations for them. There are additional modules that we aren't currently making use of, but each company should learn about the functionality of each of them as some may be more beneficial than others. When gathering your questions, ask all potential users of the system what they would want to see in an HRMS. We did so before selecting Vista HRMS and we got pages and pages of questions and comments and made sure that each item was addressed beforehand and was something that we would be able to incorporate into the system. You have the option of taking the system in house or being a hosted client. Make sure you figure out what resources your IT department has available. If you have a dedicated administrator who will do all the upgrades and enhancements great, otherwise you may need PDS to help out and having PDS host may be a better option
Read full review
Rippling
Hmmm, this is a tricky one, as I was only really in charge of the LMS function. It is very well suited in the LMS section for a business that just needs basic e-learning building and a repository for company video content, a go-to for all things learning and education.
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Pros
Personnel Data Systems (PDS)
  • Vista HRMS is very flexible, it does everything we need for HR, benefits and payroll. It’s user-friendly and intuitive to use, when we roll out new self-service items our employees have no problems and require minimal training or documentation.
  • PDS has excellent customer service and support. We get answers to the majority of our questions and problems quickly, within the day that we call. More complex issues that may require PDS’ technical support are usually addressed within a few days. We were upgrading our production servers to Windows 2012 over a weekend and a key person in our organization was on leave. When we checked with PDS to see what cost would be involved if we needed their help, they said it was included in our regular maintenance, no extra cost.
  • The PDS User’s Conference is an excellent learning opportunity for training on everything Vista does, including using Crystal Reports for custom reporting. You also get to meet and talk to the executive and development staff and have direct input into the future product development.
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Rippling
  • Three different options to view the hours you've worked in a pay period. All three are valuable in their own way! I love this and use each one every week.
  • Rippling has the option to retroactively log your hours later if you forget to log in before you start work. I love this because sometimes I take a work call on the go and don't have time to clock in first. Such a handy feature!
  • Rippling has also made putting in time-off requests (sick/PTO/etc) so much easier. I'm sure every HR team would appreciate this!
Read full review
Cons
Personnel Data Systems (PDS)
  • Typical of any system built for the unknown requirements of hundreds or thousands of customers with varying needs, PDS sometimes doesn't fit our processes precisely out of the box. However, this con is far outweighed by the ability to configure and customize the system.
  • The most significant pet peeve of our users is the necessity for so many clicks to navigate between different areas or the system or to review applicants. These items are being addressed based on feedback from the user community in an upcoming release.
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Rippling
  • Could clarify what is being asked when creating expense reports.
  • It could make 2FA more intuitive on mobile, such as allowing iPhone users to use Face ID as an alternative if the device is locked.
  • Overall avoid using too much jargon when asking questions.
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Likelihood to Renew
Personnel Data Systems (PDS)
I feel so invested in Vista HRMS that I don't really want to try other options. I know we as an organization are not using this product to it's full potential and that is just due to us lacking the resources to be able to invest the time into breaking it apart and making it work to the best ability for us. The system works great as is, but there are a lot of implementations we can put into place to help us out even more. For example, we would love to start using Workflow to create more efficiencies. I personally have a very good relationship with our hosted vendor who supports Vista HRMS and can help me with any issues and concerns, this is a big part of the reason that I would renew with this product and continue to be an advocate for Vista HRMS.
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Rippling
The AI assistant has always been able to direct me to the correct solution to any question i have about Rippling. Payroll is so easy, it takes about 10 minutes to go through the process.
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Usability
Personnel Data Systems (PDS)
In my line of work, PDS Vista doesn't fit. I recruit and manager talent pipelines, as well as all onboarding aspects of 11 companies. I spend more hours getting data configured and searching for information within this software than I spend with my candidates. Theres an abundance duplication, and there isn't a single stream of information shared across screens. I have to input the SAME details into several screens for them to match up. Nothing is intuitive, and its certainly not end user friendly
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Rippling
The user interface is very intuitive most of the time. It is easy to see where and how to navigate, edit, and interact with the software. The leave approval notification system (and associated communications) were the one area where this was not the case. Those were difficult processes to address. To be fair to Rippling, that is likely the result of our initial configuration - so user error on our part.
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Reliability and Availability
Personnel Data Systems (PDS)
No answers on this topic
Rippling
I like that the availability in using Rippling at any given time is useful to me. Getting on the site freely when I need gives me security of knowing that I can be in control of viewing health insurance and hours information. I have yet to get any errors in using the Rippling app.
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Performance
Personnel Data Systems (PDS)
No answers on this topic
Rippling
Rippling's performance has been great, no errors or glitches yet so far. I am confident that Going from one page to the next and all its complexity usage does not lag or times out, it works effectively and efficiently. While using Rippling and other apps it does not tend to slow it down, works great. No complaints.
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Support Rating
Personnel Data Systems (PDS)
PDS has excellent customer service and support. We get answers to the
majority of our questions and problems quickly, within the day that we
call. More complex issues that may require PDS’ technical support are
usually addressed within a few days
Read full review
Rippling
When I did have to reach out to Rippling for assistance I was able to get quick help and my problem resolved in a time efficient manner with out any type of hick up. The customer support team is professional, kind and always available. This makes Rippling more welcoming to use on a daily basis.
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In-Person Training
Personnel Data Systems (PDS)
No answers on this topic
Rippling
The trainer went slow and and answered our questions.
Read full review
Online Training
Personnel Data Systems (PDS)
The resources and online tools that PDS provide are extremely thorough and helpful in our training and learning.
Read full review
Rippling
No answers on this topic
Implementation Rating
Personnel Data Systems (PDS)
Ask lots of questions, ensure you fully understand the functionality (particularly history records) and train, train, train the users for correct and complete utilization of the system.
Read full review
Rippling
It's really easy to implement in comparison to other tools or applications. Different key points are easily configured and implemented as per need, having different configurations in systems. Implementation is something which binds the different parameters of an organization in a single row. Implementation of rippling is much easier, quicker, and error free than any other software. I recommend it strongly!
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Alternatives Considered
Personnel Data Systems (PDS)
I've used Peoplesoft HCM in the past. The products have some similarities, but they are marketed to different sized companies, so it's a bit of apples to oranges. Peoplesoft was very complex and challenging to manage and support. Vista HRMS should require fewer technical resources and still provide robust features for HR and Payroll. We selected Vista HRMS because it met the majority of our requirements and was priced to enable us to purchase and implement it within our budget. Also, it's an integrated system (although not truly one system when you count Vista Time) which is an improvement over our current state.
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Rippling
We selected Rippling because of its cost and ease of use. Our experience with Workday was not positive and we wanted to avoid a repeat of an expensive contract that ultimately does not serve our needs well. I also have a friend who works as an account manager for Rippling who provided early insight into the relatively new product.
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Scalability
Personnel Data Systems (PDS)
No answers on this topic
Rippling
I can go on here and see all my hours and pto plus health benefits. I like to have the work handbook handy to refer to legal things. How to work my role within it's limits. Being able to put in my hours and view when they are approved is a huge benefit for me.
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Return on Investment
Personnel Data Systems (PDS)
  • Positive impact would definitely be self-service for both employees and managers to view and update selected data.
  • Through some analytics our managers are able to track turnover for their site/department by many criteria (length of service, reason, etc) and can view a number of other analytical reports such as headcount and demographics which help them to make informed decisions about their department.
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Rippling
  • Routine things like PTO requests and document uploads now take a few clicks instead of hours of email back‑and‑forth. I’d estimate I spend at least half the time on those tasks compared to before, which frees me up to actually help employees.
  • What used to drag on for days now gets done in a morning - I've just asked them this now. New hires can log in, set up their tools, and start training almost immediately, so they’re productive much sooner.
  • Payroll and benefits errors used to pop up regularly, but now I almost never have to fix things or follow up on missing info. That means less stress for me and for everyone involved.
  • Having everything in one platform cuts out the “where did you send that?” and “who approves this?” questions. It feels like we’ve reduced our back‑and‑forth by at least a third.
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ScreenShots

PDS Vista Screenshots

Screenshot of employee data, which is the heart of a corporate knowledge base. Within Vista, an organized database of employees, applicants, jobs, and positions can be created and maintained. The product’s flexibility allows users to structure corporate data as simply or as complicated as business needs require.Screenshot of Vista Payroll, which is designed to strike the perfect balance between power and simplicity. It is designed to process large volumes of data within tight time constraints, whether U.S., Canadian, or Caribbean.

Vista Payroll is focused on its main tasks of calculating pay, creating paychecks, producing payroll registers, and federal, state, local, and provincial tax reports.Screenshot of the included Vista Benefits features, which can include unlimited plans and coverage levels, automated benefits eligibility, auto-housekeeping of valuations and premiums.Screenshot of Vista Recruiting, which presents critical applicant information in an efficient manner for both human resources professionals and hiring managers, alike.

Vista Recruiting gives HR departments command over the entire hiring process for each department in every location while more easily tracking and controlling costs, improving applicant management, strengthening relationships with applicants, and reducing paperwork for the HR team.

Rippling Screenshots

Screenshot of the Rippling Dashboard: Employees' home for their payroll, benefits, documents, devices, expenses, and apps.Screenshot of Rippling Payroll: Runs payroll in 90 seconds. Pays employees and contractors around the world. Automatic tax filing.Screenshot of Rippling Benefits Administration: For the management of employees' Medical, Dental, Vision, 401K, FSA, HSA, and commuter benefits.Screenshot of Rippling Single Sign-On: Employees can access all of their SaaS apps in one click from their Rippling dashboard.Screenshot of Rippling’s Time & Attendance platform. This integrates with the rest of the product suite so that when employees clock in, their approved hours automatically synced with payroll and accounting systems.Screenshot of Rippling Mobile Device Management: To manage employees' computers and devices 100% remotely.