RUN Powered by ADP® vs. Ascentis (discontinued)

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
RUN Powered by ADP®
Score 9.4 out of 10
Small Businesses (1-50 employees)
The RUN Powered by ADP® cloud-based solution is used to pay employees. It also includes HR and hiring tools, as well as benefits, helping small businesses grow and manage their teams.N/A
Ascentis (discontinued)
Score 7.5 out of 10
N/A
Ascentis HR uses web-based management programs to help automate complex HR processes. Ascentis’ other services included customizable payroll, time and attendance and recruiting modules. Ascentis was acquired by UKG in March of 2022, and will be discontinued.N/A
Pricing
RUN Powered by ADP®Ascentis (discontinued)
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
RUN Powered by ADP®Ascentis (discontinued)
Free Trial
YesNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
RUN Powered by ADP®Ascentis (discontinued)
Considered Both Products
RUN Powered by ADP®
Chose RUN Powered by ADP®
I like this influence feature. PrimePay didn't have that. Also, I like seeing the entire paycheck for the employee on one line in the payroll system with RUN Powered by ADP®.
Chose RUN Powered by ADP®
I've only used ADP products
Chose RUN Powered by ADP®
At my current company, we have always used RUN. It was the first platform our owners purchased and they have been using it since 2020 now. I have some experience using Workday Payroll and Workforce Management in a couple of my past roles. Overall, RUN has much more …
Chose RUN Powered by ADP®
RUN Powered by ADP® blows Paychex Flex out of the water. The ease of using the app and the website is so much better! The detail we are able to see in the payroll section is much improved. Probably the biggest improvement between the two is the customer service. We feel …
Chose RUN Powered by ADP®
Far easier to use and obtain information without having to contact the company
Chose RUN Powered by ADP®
We have switched from Accounting CS to RUN Powered by ADP® because I can complete payroll with one click of a button while I still need to complete each individual step with Accounting CS.
Chose RUN Powered by ADP®
Have not compared to another company
Chose RUN Powered by ADP®
I used to use Paychex, but RUN Powered by ADP® helped me with my workers comp tracking in a more efficient way and I am saving money with using RUN Powered by ADP® versus competitors. Their customer service used to be more accessible, but then you started offering 24/7 access, …
Chose RUN Powered by ADP®
We use to use Payroll Matters but it was a husband and wife team and, in my experience, they were starting to make too many mistakes and causing me to spend too much time checking up on them and unhappy employees. With the switch, I have editing power and the ability to …
Chose RUN Powered by ADP®
Convenient, easy and provide professional help and access. We used other products offering payroll processing and reporting services, but I like ADP more because it's easy to use, simple to navigate, and have professional assistance available to help when needed and to make …
Chose RUN Powered by ADP®
ADP Run has a much more efficient and smooth payroll processing system that provides a better price and personal help when needed.
Chose RUN Powered by ADP®
RUN Powered by ADP® is much better than Paychex Flex. We used to have to run payroll via phone every time.
Chose RUN Powered by ADP®
I do not use any other software that compares with RUN.
Chose RUN Powered by ADP®
Much easier to enter employee changes, process payroll and get reports.
Chose RUN Powered by ADP®
I miss many aspects of Gusto, including the new hire/new employee onboarding process and issuance of a formal offer; as well as the employee vaults within the system. But there are a lot of benefits of ADP, including automation.
Chose RUN Powered by ADP®
Looking at the features offered (even if we don't utilize them all), we felt that RUN Powered by ADP was a better value for us. We liked the idea of having the support of a well-tenured business at our fingertips. Other payroll providers do not have the longevity or the scope …
Chose RUN Powered by ADP®
While Paychex Flex was a decent payroll processing product, the customer service support was terrible. We were unable to reach our assigned payroll support team member constantly. If we had issues that were not pressing, we would send a quick email to get insight or to be …
Chose RUN Powered by ADP®
We were recommended to use this service, we had a local person we discussed doing our payroll and she refused and pointed us here, and this has been simple reasonably price and SUPER EASY on me!
Chose RUN Powered by ADP®
ADP is more user friendly overall. ADP also sets you up for success with their training portal, the Bridge, online communities, and often provides training based on your organizations individual needs. ADP really tries to build you up for success.
Chose RUN Powered by ADP®
Both Gusto & QuickBooks payroll are fine options if you only have a few employees all in one location and rarely make any changes. I switched many of my clients from those platforms because of the increase in remote employees working in different states and the lack of support …
Chose RUN Powered by ADP®
Our former PEO was taken over by Vensure HR while we were transitioning to ADP so we have limited experience with them. Resource Management was the name formerly. They did a good job but were not very up to date with the technology. We were still receiving paper reports.
Chose RUN Powered by ADP®
Due to downsizing, we switched to save on fees and to be able to take advantage of the Retirement plan to save my time on transferring funds to the separate 401k plan. This allowed for more streamlining of procedures.
Ascentis (discontinued)
Chose Ascentis (discontinued)
We switched from ADP to Ascentis because we appreciated the fact that Ascentis was a smaller company able to focus better on each customer and provide the help that we never would have received from ADP.
Chose Ascentis (discontinued)
I have only used Ascentis for payroll administration so it is the Gold Standard for me!
Chose Ascentis (discontinued)
Ascentis was the first system that I introduce to an organization and coordinating the full implementation. No comparison at this time.
Chose Ascentis (discontinued)
Ascentis/Nova Time is much more user friendly as far as the timekeeping and accrual side.
Chose Ascentis (discontinued)
I have used Success Factors, Cornerstone and researched 6 other companies when we were looking at Ascentis. At the time, Ascentis seemed to have good customer service.
Chose Ascentis (discontinued)
We selected Ascentis over Paylocity because we were frustrated with a lack of support from Paylocity and because we could have additional functionalities like recruiting and LMS in our HRIS at the same price we were paying for Paylocity.
Chose Ascentis (discontinued)
The Employee Self Service look and feel along with the Payroll solution seemed like the better choice for our Company.
Chose Ascentis (discontinued)
We have all modules.
Chose Ascentis (discontinued)
[Selecting Ascentis] was mostly due to budgetary reasons as well as having a system that would allow some type of syncing between programs.
Chose Ascentis (discontinued)
Ascentis offered a quality product at an affordable price. The other companies were too big and cost way too much for a non-profit organization to justify.
Chose Ascentis (discontinued)
I've only used other payroll systems, not payroll/HR combinations. So I can't really compare.
Chose Ascentis (discontinued)
Cost was in line with other systems, but we liked the customer service, and the feel of the product (based on what we also thought out employees would find easiest to use)
Chose Ascentis (discontinued)
There are pros and cons to both. Ascentis fits the size of this organization better and their support is better.
Chose Ascentis (discontinued)
When I started working here Ascentis is what they used. At first, I thought this system is not user friendly at all it was a lot of steps to go through coming from ADP. Ascentis has really changed and has come along way from 4 years ago.
Chose Ascentis (discontinued)
I think Ascentis works best for our size and the needs of our business.
Chose Ascentis (discontinued)
I am not able to comment on this as this platform was chosen from our cooperate office. The CoOps had no say in the decision/selection of the HRIS that was selected for all 5 OpCos.
Chose Ascentis (discontinued)
I love Ascentis more than Ultipro because of the support that Ascentis gives us everyday. I know that if I have a question small or big I can make a quick phone call and have someone available to help me without putting a ticket in and waiting for days!
Chose Ascentis (discontinued)
Posting of jobs has been more efficient with the use of Ascentis. Keeps postings in one place and helps with applicant tracking keeping them in one place.
Chose Ascentis (discontinued)
I've used multiple other applicant tracking systems. The overall ATS Ascentis offers isn't terrible and is very user friendly. It is the small everyday things that cause the most frustration. Having to reach out to support for seemingly small things that we should be able to do …
Chose Ascentis (discontinued)
Due to already having used Timekeeper for a long number of years, we did not search for other products. Prior to Ascentis, we were all paper and in house.
Chose Ascentis (discontinued)
ADP Workforce Now
Chose Ascentis (discontinued)
We thought they were better. In some ways, they are. All have pro's and con's.
Features
RUN Powered by ADP®Ascentis (discontinued)
Payroll Management
Comparison of Payroll Management features of Product A and Product B
RUN Powered by ADP®
8.0
Ratings
3% below category average
Ascentis (discontinued)
7.8
Ratings
2% below category average
Pay calculation9.00 Ratings7.10 Ratings
Support for external payroll vendors7.30 Ratings6.10 Ratings
Off-cycle/On-Demand payment9.30 Ratings8.30 Ratings
Benefit plan administration6.70 Ratings6.70 Ratings
Direct deposit files9.40 Ratings9.20 Ratings
Salary revision and increment management9.50 Ratings8.60 Ratings
Reimbursement management5.10 Ratings8.80 Ratings
Human Resource Management
Comparison of Human Resource Management features of Product A and Product B
RUN Powered by ADP®
-
Ratings
Ascentis (discontinued)
7.1
Ratings
10% below category average
Employee demographic data00 Ratings6.70 Ratings
Employment history00 Ratings7.30 Ratings
Job profiles and administration00 Ratings6.90 Ratings
Workflow for transfers, promotions, pay raises, etc.00 Ratings6.70 Ratings
Organizational charting00 Ratings5.20 Ratings
Organization and location management00 Ratings8.00 Ratings
Compliance data (COBRA, OSHA, etc.)00 Ratings8.80 Ratings
Leave and Attendance Management
Comparison of Leave and Attendance Management features of Product A and Product B
RUN Powered by ADP®
-
Ratings
Ascentis (discontinued)
7.8
Ratings
2% below category average
Approval workflow00 Ratings7.90 Ratings
Balance details00 Ratings7.00 Ratings
Annual carry-forward and encashment00 Ratings8.40 Ratings
Employee Self Service
Comparison of Employee Self Service features of Product A and Product B
RUN Powered by ADP®
-
Ratings
Ascentis (discontinued)
7.0
Ratings
14% below category average
View and generate pay and benefit information00 Ratings7.80 Ratings
Update personal information00 Ratings8.60 Ratings
View company policy documentation00 Ratings5.40 Ratings
Employee recognition00 Ratings6.00 Ratings
View job history00 Ratings7.30 Ratings
Asset Management
Comparison of Asset Management features of Product A and Product B
RUN Powered by ADP®
-
Ratings
Ascentis (discontinued)
5.8
Ratings
33% below category average
Tracking of all physical assets00 Ratings5.80 Ratings
HR Reporting
Comparison of HR Reporting features of Product A and Product B
RUN Powered by ADP®
-
Ratings
Ascentis (discontinued)
6.3
Ratings
17% below category average
Report builder00 Ratings7.00 Ratings
Pre-built reports00 Ratings7.50 Ratings
Ability to combine HR data with external data00 Ratings4.60 Ratings
Onboarding
Comparison of Onboarding features of Product A and Product B
RUN Powered by ADP®
-
Ratings
Ascentis (discontinued)
5.1
Ratings
43% below category average
New hire portal00 Ratings5.30 Ratings
Manager tracking tools00 Ratings4.90 Ratings
Performance and Goals
Comparison of Performance and Goals features of Product A and Product B
RUN Powered by ADP®
-
Ratings
Ascentis (discontinued)
7.2
Ratings
9% below category average
Corporate goal setting00 Ratings6.70 Ratings
Individual goal setting00 Ratings7.60 Ratings
Line-of sight-visibility00 Ratings7.10 Ratings
Performance tracking00 Ratings7.20 Ratings
Performance Management
Comparison of Performance Management features of Product A and Product B
RUN Powered by ADP®
-
Ratings
Ascentis (discontinued)
6.0
Ratings
27% below category average
Performance plans00 Ratings5.60 Ratings
Performance improvement plans00 Ratings5.60 Ratings
Review status tracking00 Ratings5.80 Ratings
Review reminders00 Ratings6.50 Ratings
Multiple review frequency00 Ratings6.60 Ratings
Succession Planning
Comparison of Succession Planning features of Product A and Product B
RUN Powered by ADP®
-
Ratings
Ascentis (discontinued)
5.9
Ratings
28% below category average
Create succession plans/pools00 Ratings6.40 Ratings
Candidate ranking00 Ratings6.40 Ratings
Candidate search00 Ratings5.00 Ratings
Candidate development00 Ratings5.80 Ratings
Recruiting / ATS
Comparison of Recruiting / ATS features of Product A and Product B
RUN Powered by ADP®
-
Ratings
Ascentis (discontinued)
5.5
Ratings
34% below category average
Job Requisition Management00 Ratings5.40 Ratings
Company Website Posting00 Ratings5.20 Ratings
Publish to Social Media00 Ratings5.60 Ratings
Job Search Site Posting00 Ratings5.80 Ratings
Duplicate Candidate Prevention00 Ratings5.60 Ratings
Applicant Tracking00 Ratings5.70 Ratings
Notifications and Alerts00 Ratings5.30 Ratings
Best Alternatives
RUN Powered by ADP®Ascentis (discontinued)
Small Businesses
Dayforce Powerpay
Dayforce Powerpay
Score 9.5 out of 10
Dayforce Powerpay
Dayforce Powerpay
Score 9.5 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
Infor Human Resources
Infor Human Resources
Score 7.1 out of 10
PeopleStrong
PeopleStrong
Score 9.9 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
RUN Powered by ADP®Ascentis (discontinued)
Likelihood to Recommend
9.0
(0 ratings)
7.2
(0 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.9
(0 ratings)
6.3
(0 ratings)
Usability
9.9
(0 ratings)
7.6
(0 ratings)
Availability
9.1
(0 ratings)
6.7
(0 ratings)
Performance
8.7
(0 ratings)
7.1
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
9.1
(0 ratings)
8.2
(0 ratings)
In-Person Training
9.6
(0 ratings)
8.0
(0 ratings)
Online Training
9.6
(0 ratings)
8.3
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
9.9
(0 ratings)
8.3
(0 ratings)
Configurability
8.7
(0 ratings)
9.0
(0 ratings)
Ease of integration
9.1
(0 ratings)
3.0
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
9.1
(0 ratings)
6.7
(0 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
9.4
(0 ratings)
9.6
(0 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
9.1
(0 ratings)
9.6
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
RUN Powered by ADP®Ascentis (discontinued)
Likelihood to Recommend
RUN Powered by ADP® is well suited for small businesses, especially when the person doing payroll can use time savings that maintain or increase quality of payroll duties. If the payroll person has more spare time, they can take on more than RUN Powered by ADP® and can shop around for a cheaper bare-bones payroll service.
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In working with Ascentis in payroll, the program makes my job so much easier. I am new to this position and the learning process has been so much easier with this product than those in the past. I appreciate the patience I am given when I call in for assistance as well.
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Pros
  • Has experts who are knowledgeable in all payroll related needs
  • Allows you to quickly and easily make changes to individual employee data
  • Is easy to use anywhere you are - whether on their mobile app or website
  • Has several products that work well together - a one stop provider
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  • Easy to use software. I have had several new HR employees comment on how easy the system is to learn!
  • Problem Solving- Ascentis is always problem solving! When we were in the process of selecting a new payroll company, we needed unemployment claims management assistance for our locations, something Ascentis did not currently offer. The sales rep went out of his way to find a unemployment claims management company that would work with Ascentis and us. That company has helped us keep an 80% win rate for our claims!
  • User conference- Engage is an awesome way to learn more about the products Ascentis has available as well and meet up with the staff you work with every day!
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Cons
  • I would like to see a change in the payroll processing so that when you have to save for later, you don't have to reenter all the information you have already entered.
  • Make it easier for the employees to track their used vacation and PTO hours.
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  • Updating the system so it is one platform and not two.
  • Create changes to the benefit enrollment process and upgrade the system so hire dates do not need to be changed to trigger benefits for status changes.
  • Focus updates on HR Admin, mobile application, ATS and transitioning to one platform. Larger areas of focus have been on the payroll portion of the system with a few updates to other areas.
  • When something is broken, quicker turn time on fixing the issue.
  • System needs updates to support AAP reporting.
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Likelihood to Renew
The only reason there is contemplation of switching would be because the project management site we use, BQE, is now offering GUSTO built into the website at a lower monthly cost. We are waiting to see how it runs before making any decisions though as it's just left beta.
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If I were given the opportunity to select a new system, Ascentis would definitely be a strong contender. It links together the functions much more seamlessly than other systems I have used. By far the best part though is the customer support after implementation, this is where many companies fail. It was very appreciated that even after every module went live the service level was still high.
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Usability
I have been using this system for years and they have actually made it easier and easier. The system is always making great upgrades that don't necessarily require any additional information or training. I love when I log in and see a new feature or button that I get to use to make my life easier!
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Employees and Management all love this product, as the ease of use is great! The app makes it very user friendly, as things can be done from cell phones anywhere at any time! Our Field Service Technicians love that they can clock in and out, etc., from any location, and that their time can be approved accordingly.
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Reliability and Availability
I don't think I have ever encountered error codes or 404 error screens when trying to access RUN ADP. I run payroll for the company every other week and I have had no issues accessing the website, everything saves and updates when it's needed. Our employees use the app on their phones and they have not had any issues either other than just a basic update of the app occasionally
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They normally give you notice when an update will affect the use of the system. Otherwise, when we have an error , we send a message to the support team. Sometimes someone will get right back with you and sometimes it takes a while.
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Performance
ADP Run loads a bit slowly at times, once I put in my credentials. However, that said, I think my perception of the time it takes is impacted by our "instant gratification" expectation of being able to get into everything quickly.
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Yes, this pages do load pretty good but there are times when things are slow and I believe that's because they are sometimes trying to do updates.
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Support Rating
I appreciated having that issue finally take care of. it was extremely disheartening to see the issue had not been resolved. I also had my employees looking to me and thinking I was not trying to resolve the issue so it reflected poorly on my character. I do not know if i was because of a miscommunication, but nonetheless I was happy it was taken care of
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Support is attentive and quick to answer the call and get the answer for you. If they for any reason cannot answer right then, they are back to you within a day and always seem to have a sense of urgency. You truly get the impression that they are aiming to make you happy.
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In-Person Training
they helped up with the 1st payroll after that we were fine - it is very user friendly- they wanted to be sure everything had imported correctly.
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First, to clarify our "in-person" training was done mainly through Web-X meetings and conference calls. It was the closest thing we got to as far as an "in-person" training for this software. However, for the large majority of it, this type of training worked out well. We were able to share our screens and the trainer was able to share his/her screen. We could follow along with what we were doing in our database in real time and see how different functions worked and how manipulating our information could produce different results. It was also nice in that it provided for real-time results if something hadn't been coded correctly or we were having issues as to why something wasn't working the way we thought it should be. However, it did have some downsides in that we often had to rely on a conference phone and that made it difficult to hear people on both sides. Also, sometimes the trainers had internet difficulties when working from home and that caused issues with the WebX meetings.
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Online Training
Our rep was on a zoom with us and one other person from RUN ADP showing us the layout and how to access everything. we mainly use it for payroll and reports so any questions we had they both were insightful and able to help us navigate the site. The training process was a success and we have had any issues since using.
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Ascentis HR has a number of online training videos to watch on a number of different topics. I gave it a lower rating because there is not much interactivity with the videos and it seems to cater to really only one or two learning styles. Plus, one has to be pretty motivated to go to a separate area to access the videos and then pull up a specific one to watch it and then learn. From my experience, people know that they are there, many just don't take the time and effort to go find them and actually watch them - especially since the username and password are different from their normal username and password.
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Implementation Rating
The customer service team handled it very nicely. We had a rep that came to our office and helped with everything. It was a very easy process.
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It was very easy to implement, but the customization pieces should really be fleshed out in order to determine the full need of an organization at the time of implementation. I believe if a little more time was spent on the requirements, the recruiting module would not have to be customized again at a cost at a later date.
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Alternatives Considered
We transferred over from Paychex back in 2018. Why? Why not? Although we had a personal payroll specialist, that person often changed. When we encountered tricky payroll issues due to new regulations, the administration process was cumbersome and unreliable. When we onboarded with ADP, the changeover was not only seamless, it was exceptionally easy. We were concerned that once this process was over, it might be challenging to work without a personal account manager. We gained so much all around. ADP has the expertise, tools, and products to help any small business thrive by handling the tough payroll stuff, so you can focus on your trade and growth. ADP was a game-changer in building trust with our staff, knowing their payroll was done correctly.
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Ascentis has far better customer service and the implementation experience was also better. The ability to do a lot of customization is also easier with Ascentis as it's smaller organization. The payroll has positive and negatives compared to ADP but the accuracy is the same in both. Ascentis just started their community site which doesn't have a lot of traffic but hopefully can become more like ADP's community site, which was extremely helpful to me as an administrator.
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Scalability
Every summer, we hire three new college interns who have to be entered into the system. They can enter their information themselves, which takes a load off me. The onboarding is quite straightforward, and today's college kids are techy enough to be able to understand it.
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Large acquisition would be very complicated, seems more appropriate for companies under 100
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Return on Investment
  • By using RUN Powered by ADP® I get at least 20 hours a week of my time back by not having to deal with the day to day research on new legislation, tax reporting, etc.
  • RUN Powered by ADP® makes it easy to process payroll and I love Direct Deposit
  • RUN Powered by ADP® allows me to stand apart from my competition by having access to 401k for my team
  • I LOVE Workers Comp Pay by Pay - no surprises at the end of the year audit and it allows me to manage my cash better by paying workers comp each pay period
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  • It has been great to have all of our employee information in one central location, easy access and that the modules communicate/link together. If I change something here, it gets "pushed" to all other modules.
  • I do not maximize ESS, particularly posting information on the home page because it is so TEDIOUS.
  • LOVE the app, would love for it to be easier for employees to reset their password to whatever they want vs. the system generated password.
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ScreenShots

RUN Powered by ADP® Screenshots

Screenshot of the RUN Dashboard with the business' key info front-and-centerScreenshot of the payroll interfaceScreenshot of access to payroll reports and liability amountsScreenshot of the RUN Powered by ADP mobile app, used to process payroll on the goScreenshot of the ADP mobile app, where employees can access their historical payroll statements and year-end tax documents

Ascentis (discontinued) Screenshots

Screenshot of Access all of your details including, paychecks, personal file, timeclock, etc via our mobile app.Screenshot of Punch-in and punch-out on the go.Screenshot of Centralized location for everything related to a user or admin.Screenshot of Every employee has access to their personal information in one location.Screenshot of Pre-built reporting along with Ad Hoc reporting gives you the ability to understand your business as a whole.Screenshot of Benefit enrollment made easy for your employees.