Review of Paychex Flex for 60 employees, an HR perspective
February 16, 2017

Review of Paychex Flex for 60 employees, an HR perspective

Katya Maiser, PHR and CP | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User

Overall Satisfaction with Paychex Flex

I am the HR manager for a small high tech company and I manage payroll. We use Paychex Flex for processing payroll and reporting, plus employee access for online pay stubs, time off balances and 401(k)s. It is an easy and seamless process. I previously used Preview a similar but outdated Paychex payroll system and this was a good upgrade. I will tell you that there was some functionality that we lost but overall I am pleased with the product.
  • Easy access for employees from a PC or any mobile device
  • Viewing documents like pay stubs, W2s, and retirement services
  • You can make easy 401k election changes and loans (though the loans may be too easy!)
  • I have 4 employees who require a paper pay stub and refuse to go online to get it. Paychex Flex is rigid so you cannot selectively tell it who to provide pay stubs ... I have to get pay stubs for all employees and then shred all but the 4 who require it. Some would say to just force the change but there are several senior managers who just will not and I cannot force them. Preview had this functionality and I've asked about 8 times over the last 2 years and the answer is still the same "it's being added" but no timeline has been made public.
  • I administer the company 401k plan and I do not get any notifications that employees have changed their elections or initiated loans. Though not absolutely necessary, it would be helpful for me to know these things in advance. I've asked and been told that there is no ability to do this.
  • We have custom requirements for tracking PTO that Paychex cannot accommodate. It is A LOT of work to manage these customizations. Paychex does well when your program fits neatly into their little boxes but if you need something more, it's rigid and you have to devise a workaround.
  • It takes the multi-state and federal payroll tax off my plate.
  • Our finance audits are seamless because of their reporting function.
  • Paychex Preview and Quickbooks Payroll
Better & more modern.
I have been pleased overall with the Paychex Flex platform and its functionality. The only exceptions are the three that I have mentioned. We have 60 employees and salespersons from other payroll organizations have said that we are too big for Paychex's platform but I have not at all found that to be the case.

Paychex Flex Feature Ratings

Employee demographic data
Not Rated
Employment history
Not Rated
Job profiles and administration
Not Rated
Workflow for transfers, promotions, pay raises, etc.
Not Rated
Organization and location management
Not Rated
Compliance data (COBRA, OSHA, etc.)
Not Rated
Pay calculation
8
Benefit plan administration
Not Rated
Direct deposit files
8
Salary revision and increment management
Not Rated
Reimbursement management
Not Rated
Approval workflow
Not Rated
Balance details
Not Rated
Annual carry-forward and encashment
Not Rated
View and generate pay and benefit information
8
Update personal information
Not Rated
View job history
8
View company policy documentation
Not Rated
Tracking of all physical assets
Not Rated
Not Rated
Report builder
Not Rated
Pre-built reports
Not Rated
Ability to combine HR data with external data
Not Rated
Not Rated
New hire portal
Not Rated
Manager tracking tools
Not Rated
Job Requisition Management
Not Rated
Company Website Posting
Not Rated
Publish to Social Media
Not Rated
Job Search Site Posting
Not Rated
Duplicate Candidate Prevention
Not Rated
Applicant Tracking
Not Rated
Notifications and Alerts
Not Rated