In my opinion, Awful customer service — couldn’t transfer my money for over 1 month
They are my previous company’s 401K benefits provider
Overview
What is Guideline?
Guideline headquartered in San Mateo offers a cloud-based 401k management software for businesses priced on a per employee basis.
Recent Reviews
Reviewer Pros & Cons
Pricing
N/A
Unavailable
What is Guideline?
Guideline headquartered in San Mateo offers a cloud-based 401k management software for businesses priced on a per employee basis.
Entry-level set up fee?
- No setup fee
For the latest information on pricing, visithttps://www.guideline.com/pricing
Offerings
- Free Trial
- Free/Freemium Version
- Premium Consulting/Integration Services
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Alternatives Pricing
What is Human Interest?
Human Interest headquartered in San Francisco offers their cloud-based 401k administation platform for employers featuring flexible plan design and a dedicated account manager.
Product Details
- About
- Competitors
- Tech Details
- FAQs
What is Guideline?
Guideline offers aims to offer a simple, affordable way to save for retirement, by providing plans presented as low cost and highly automated. This helps companies to offer a valuable benefit, and it helps companies' people to invest in their financial future with confidence.
Guideline Features
401(k) Features
- Supported: Administration and Recordkeeping
- Supported: Payroll Integration
- Supported: Compliance Maintenance
- Supported: Plan Flexibility
- Supported: Filings and Disclosures
- Supported: Ease of Enrollment
Guideline Competitors
Guideline Technical Details
| Deployment Types | Software as a Service (SaaS), Cloud, or Web-Based |
|---|---|
| Operating Systems | Unspecified |
| Mobile Application | No |
Frequently Asked Questions
Guideline headquartered in San Mateo offers a cloud-based 401k management software for businesses priced on a per employee basis.
Reviewers rate Ease of Enrollment highest, with a score of 7.
The most common users of Guideline are from Small Businesses (1-50 employees).
Comparisons
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Reviews and Ratings
(24)
Community Insights
TrustRadius Insights are summaries of user sentiment data from TrustRadius reviews and, when necessary, 3rd-party data sources. Have feedback on this content? Let us know!
- Business Problems Solved
- Pros
- Cons
- Recommendations
Guideline serves as a valuable retirement program solution for businesses looking to offer comprehensive benefits to their full-time employees. Users appreciate the range of low-cost index ETF funds available through Guideline for their 401K options, providing a diverse range of investment opportunities. The super easy-to-use interface has been specifically mentioned by users, making it simple and efficient for employees to enroll and manage their retirement savings. The real-time calculation of contribution limits is also highly valued, providing peace of mind when making changes to contributions. Guideline's seamless integration with Gusto payroll further enhances its convenience, streamlining the administrative process for employers. The continuous safe harbor analysis offered by Guideline is also appreciated by administrators, helping them meet compliance requirements effortlessly. With Guideline as the company-wide 401K platform, businesses can eliminate the manual aspects of maintaining and processing employee retirement contributions, freeing up time for the executive team. Additionally, Guideline's quarterly reports allow users to track the progress of their portfolio and fine-tune their long-term financial strategy. The responsive support team provides timely assistance through email and phone, ensuring a seamless experience for customers. Overall, Guideline's user-friendly features, cost-effectiveness, and comprehensive services make it an efficient tool for businesses of all sizes.
Low-cost investment options: Several users have mentioned that Guideline offers low-cost investment options, which has been a positive aspect for them. They appreciate the affordability of the platform and feel that it allows them to invest their money without incurring high fees or expenses.
Excellent customer support: Reviewers have consistently praised Guideline's customer support, noting their commitment to helping users. The prompt and helpful assistance provided by the support team has contributed to a positive experience for many customers.
Easy-to-use interface: Many users have found Guideline's software to be easy to use and navigate. They appreciate its intuitive design, visually appealing interface, and user-friendly features. The seamless integration with payroll vendors also adds convenience for users.
Terrible Customer Service and Lack of Investment Options: Users have expressed dissatisfaction with Guideline's customer service, noting a lack of investment options. Some users have stated that the customer service provided by Guideline has been subpar, while others have mentioned that there are limited investment options available.
Lack of Integration and Synchronization Frequency: Some users have found the integration and synchronization feature of Guideline to be lacking in terms of frequency. They feel that the synchronization only occurring once per day is not sufficient and suggest that it should be more frequent for real-time updates.
Limited Customization and Absence of Mobile App: The simplicity of Guideline has been criticized by some users who feel it lacks customization options, which may be problematic for businesses with more sophisticated plans. Additionally, the absence of a mobile app for tracking progress on devices like phones and iPads has been seen as a drawback by users who believe having this feature would enhance ease of use.
Based on user reviews, here are the most common recommendations for Guideline:
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Guideline is highly recommended for small nonprofits as a good solution for retirement benefits. Users have found it to be an efficient and cost-effective option.
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Businesses that use Gusto are advised to consider Guideline for their 401(k) plan administration. Users have found it to be a compatible and seamless integration with Gusto.
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Many users recommend Guideline for businesses seeking easy 401(k) plan administration. They appreciate its user-friendly interface and hassle-free management of retirement benefits.
Attribute Ratings
Reviews
(1-8 of 8)Companies can't remove reviews or game the system. Here's why
January 09, 2024
Guideline Review from a Senior Staff Researcher Point of view
Guideline is useful to keep track of employee retirement portfolios and keep the information visible instantly for the employees.
It handles contributions towards the retirement account.
Rippling is good at the everyday management of employees, this is, keep track of the monthly salary, time-off, Health related accounts and W2 tax documentation.
It handles contributions towards health accounts and taxes
It handles contributions towards the retirement account.
Rippling is good at the everyday management of employees, this is, keep track of the monthly salary, time-off, Health related accounts and W2 tax documentation.
It handles contributions towards health accounts and taxes
January 04, 2024
Disastrous account closure process with a broken product & terrible customer support that cost us thousands of dollars
We went with Guideline as it was more affordable than alternatives. I believe this ended up being a terrible mistake. Invest in a stronger 401k partner. Human Interest was the other provider we were considering. I don't know if closing an account would have been as complicated with other providers, but I certainly know the support would have been better and more transparent with a provider like Human Interest
We selected Guideline due to their relationship with Gusto, our payroll service. However, we did review alternative options for our 401k program and found them very competitive as to price and quality. We were thinking about going with one of the bigger companies like Schwab, E*TRADE, Ally, etc., but found Guideline to be the best choice for us based on price and ease of use.
November 10, 2021
Guideline is a great choice for startups!
November 10, 2021
Not recommended at all - Terrible customer service
Not listed, but I have used ADP Retirement services and we switched vendors to Empower. Both vendors have much more robust employee tools to calculate dollars needed at retirement and how percentage changes in the 401(k) allow for changes later in life at retirement. In addition, both services answer my emails, unlike Guideline which goes to a generic email box where more often than not, your email is simply ignored.
November 10, 2021
Jordan's Guideline Review
The only other employer retirement planning system I've use is Voya. I felt much more in the dark about how my financial planning was working, and honestly didn't even know how much money I had deposited until I left for my new job. I also had no clue on what my risk level was and how that was impacting my retirement investment strategy. Guideline is by far superior.
March 17, 2021
Guideline - Time saver with a friendly interface
Guideline has a great interface, but with a system like ADP you can have full integration that is more agile since it is all housed within one system!
January 18, 2020
Great 401(k) solution for startups and small businesses
We didn't find any viable competitive option for Gusto that had the trifecta of low fees, Gusto integration and that handled all the plan management. There were plenty of other companies like Sharebuilder, Fidelity or Vanguard (to name a few) that do have low cost 401(k) options, but the integration and completely taking the administrative burden off of us clinched the deal.