ADP SmartCompliance vs. Vertex

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
ADP SmartCompliance
Score 8.6 out of 10
N/A
ADP SmartCompliance is a tax and regulatory compliance platform for midsize or larger companies using an ERP or non-ADP platform for HR and HRMS services.N/A
Vertex
Score 8.1 out of 10
N/A
Vertex combines tax research with technology to improve tax accuracy and consistency on sales and purchase transactions. The automation aims to support high volume and complex transactions at speed and scale to streamline internal processes and improve audit performance. Integrations to ERP, e-commerce, procurement, and other billing systems enables a single tax engine to seamlessly support a growing business. In addition to tax determination, Vertex provides tools and services to automate and…N/A
Pricing
ADP SmartComplianceVertex
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
ADP SmartComplianceVertex
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeRequiredNo setup fee
Additional DetailsPricing varies based upon modules deployed and features enabled.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
ADP SmartComplianceVertex
Considered Both Products
ADP SmartCompliance
Chose ADP SmartCompliance
ADP SmartCompliance had already been selected as a vendor prior to my joining the company.
I think one area where ADP excels over OneSource is in the amendment processing. OneSource has a very manual process where you have to request each period/state/jurisdiction needed, then …
Chose ADP SmartCompliance
Unsure, non-other services provided on the prior list were familiar to me.
Chose ADP SmartCompliance
I have not used any other systems, I have always used in house tools.
Chose ADP SmartCompliance
Have not used any others, so can not provide feedback; pros and cons on this
Chose ADP SmartCompliance
we didn't have one that combined all the different areas we work in that is why it has been essential to have adp smart compliance.
Chose ADP SmartCompliance
This is different systems and they have different pros and cons. Customer services from UKG are more responsive vs ADP. ADP customer may take a few days or longer to response back. Also, if you give them a call, the wait time for the rep is pretty long which is highly not …
Chose ADP SmartCompliance
Usually use Bloomberg before ADP.
Chose ADP SmartCompliance
ADP has been around the longest and has the most experience of any company out there. They continually upgrade their systems to make it user friendly. They have a large knowledgeable staff and are available at all times.
Chose ADP SmartCompliance
Several others I would choose before ADP SmartCompliance
Chose ADP SmartCompliance
ADP Smart Compliance is user friendly and some other software is not user friendly.
Chose ADP SmartCompliance
Oursource partners is the only other company that I have used in my dealings with tax and payroll. Both are pertty comparable however ADP SmartCompliance does have the years of experience behind them as for Outsource partners is a fairly new vendor.
Chose ADP SmartCompliance
SmartCompliance is much more robust and inclusive than the previous tax vendor
Chose ADP SmartCompliance
ADP offers much better training and management support, throughout implementation and during legislation updates and at any time.
Chose ADP SmartCompliance
Munis by Tyler Technology, we combined both resources for our payroll department.
Chose ADP SmartCompliance
There is no comparison. Oracle services are horrible, and we have to use a third party to get support.
Chose ADP SmartCompliance
ADP SmartCompliance is much more robust and provides a wealth of resources.
Chose ADP SmartCompliance
ADP SmartCompliance is a total package and is the most up-to-date software with every solution to meet payroll and HR needs.
Chose ADP SmartCompliance
ADP SmartCompliance is easy to use, and we like the pricing of the product.
Chose ADP SmartCompliance
I did not use Symmetry Payroll Tax Engine long enough to make a comparison.
Vertex
Chose Vertex
In my opinion, there is no comparison of Vertex customer service oriented approach to clients vs. Avalara. I think Vertex by far outshines Avalara 10 to 1.
In my experience, communication with Vertex is much more streamlined and handled efficiently than with Avalara.
In my …
Chose Vertex
Avalara is pricy in overall usage terms.
Chose Vertex
Vertex seemingly has more capabilities than Avalara, but Avalara's user interface is more intuitive and easier to use for business users.
Chose Vertex
I haven't evaluated anything else or any other products like Vertex. I have only seen some of the Comparisons between Avalara and Vertex. I don't remember much in terms of differences.
Chose Vertex
I personally find Avalara to be more straightforward and user friendly. I personally find Vertex to be more powerful and customizable.
Chose Vertex
I find Avalara to be more user friendly but not as robust as Vertex.
Chose Vertex
Vertex is more flexible and by using Vertex you need fewer people to maintain tax calculations. In addition, Tax rate update is maintained by Vertex, so you do not need to track and support tax rate update.
Chose Vertex
Nothing to add. When we subscribed to Vertex, they were considered the major player for tax calculation.
Chose Vertex
The functionality and feature set is similar. However, I prefer Vertex's UI over ONESOURCE. I have found Vertex to have certain taxability categories that ONESOURCE did not have historically.
Chose Vertex
In comparison specifically with Avalara, Vertex is better in every way. It is much more customizable and allows us to change the way our tax software is set up for our business needs. Avalara is much more constricted, and is using the SST system which can allow for simplified …
Chose Vertex
Vertex Indirect Tax Compliance package is worth getting. It has every form possible that needs to be filed monthly, quarterly, semi, or annually. It creates the uploadable file for state tax portal websites. So many other features.
Chose Vertex
For Sales tax many years ago I had used a product called Alternadev. It probably doesn't even exist anymore. It was created in someones kitchen and there wasn't much support. Other than that for sales tax I have only used Vertex.
I have used Onesource but that was for property …
Chose Vertex
Vertex is more flexible and better solution for US sales tax
Chose Vertex
Other options were:
- SAP native functions
- Meridian VAT add-ons
Chose Vertex
Vertex real time tax rate & tax determination updates is second to none. The quality of and accuracy in report generation is simple & easily understood.
Chose Vertex
The decision was made prior to my arrival at the organization but I believe that we've committed time and resources to the product and would not easily change our platform. We appreciate the efforts to educate users and create a happy and productive customer experience.
Features
ADP SmartComplianceVertex
Type of tax
Comparison of Type of tax features of Product A and Product B
ADP SmartCompliance
8.7
Ratings
10% above category average
Vertex
8.1
Ratings
3% above category average
Sales and Use Taxes8.20 Ratings8.90 Ratings
Cross-border Taxes8.30 Ratings8.50 Ratings
VAT / GST Taxes9.10 Ratings7.80 Ratings
Energy and Fuel Taxes9.10 Ratings7.30 Ratings
Tax Reporting & Compliance
Comparison of Tax Reporting & Compliance features of Product A and Product B
ADP SmartCompliance
7.9
Ratings
1% above category average
Vertex
7.9
Ratings
1% above category average
Geolocation for Tax Assessment7.20 Ratings8.80 Ratings
3rd-Party Software Integrations7.40 Ratings7.60 Ratings
Tax Data Reporting8.00 Ratings8.10 Ratings
Compliance Administration Management8.60 Ratings8.10 Ratings
Tax Exemption Processing7.60 Ratings7.80 Ratings
Tax Document Management7.80 Ratings8.10 Ratings
Complex Tax Scenario Management8.80 Ratings6.90 Ratings
Best Alternatives
ADP SmartComplianceVertex
Small Businesses
TaxJar
TaxJar
Score 8.6 out of 10
TaxJar
TaxJar
Score 8.6 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
LOVAT
LOVAT
Score 10.0 out of 10
LOVAT
LOVAT
Score 10.0 out of 10
Enterprises
Vertex
Vertex
Score 8.1 out of 10
ADP SmartCompliance
ADP SmartCompliance
Score 8.6 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
ADP SmartComplianceVertex
Likelihood to Recommend
9.7
(0 ratings)
8.8
(0 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
8.6
(0 ratings)
8.4
(0 ratings)
Usability
7.2
(0 ratings)
8.4
(0 ratings)
Availability
7.0
(0 ratings)
9.1
(0 ratings)
Performance
6.7
(0 ratings)
8.2
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
6.9
(0 ratings)
9.1
(0 ratings)
In-Person Training
8.8
(0 ratings)
8.7
(0 ratings)
Online Training
7.2
(0 ratings)
9.7
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
4.5
(0 ratings)
8.3
(0 ratings)
Configurability
6.6
(0 ratings)
7.0
(0 ratings)
Ease of integration
6.6
(0 ratings)
8.2
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
6.9
(0 ratings)
8.3
(0 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
8.4
(0 ratings)
8.3
(0 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
8.6
(0 ratings)
7.4
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
ADP SmartComplianceVertex
Likelihood to Recommend
Customer service when I call in for Wage Payment issues is usually very helpful and I get answers quickly. I have had several different CSRs since we have had ADP SmartCompliance and they have not always been the most helpful or forthcoming with information. It makes it difficult to do what I need to do if I don't have the help and support from those that know what needs to happen and when. I can't always have a conversation with that person when I need to.
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It is easy to use, and the user interface is very interactive. A beginner can also work with ease and have no difficulty accessing Vertex. It is straightforward to understand how Vertex works. The tax calculation mechanism is good and accurate.
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Pros
  • Upload agency notices when received in the mail
  • Provision a new state is very easy through SmartCompliance
  • There is a resource link within SmartCompliance that gives you a lot of information about the state you are entering with new employees, agency phone numbers, and helpful hints.
  • You can easily see your tax profiles and the status of each along with the quarterly reports that have been filed.
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  • The content is very detailed and helps companies make the correct indirect tax decisions.
  • The interfaces that O Series has with the major ERPs as well as the smaller ones gives it an advantage in the marketplace.
  • The user interface is very intuitive and easy to use.
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Cons
  • I would like to be provided a copy of additional information provided to a jurisdiction when there is an Agency Notice resolution.
  • Access to the code used on the quarterly reports. Code numbers don't do us any good if we don't know what they are in order to address accordingly.
  • The amount of time for issue resolution on an agency notice, at times, can take a very long time before receiving a resolution and there is never a response when asking for an update.
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  • Critical changes! I feel they should be more aware of changes in the states. Sometimes we get these changes from them after we file our returns! I feel they should be up on any changes that are important for returns.
  • Support is a big issue. Vertex used to be excellent with their support. When I called with a question I felt I was speaking to a professional who knows the product inside and out. Now when I call I get someone who says "That's a realy good question I will have to look into that" Then days go by before I get an answer. Sometimes I don't get an answer at all. This was not the case in prior years.
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Likelihood to Renew
There is no other option on the table for us at the moment to go with a different vendor. We also have had very little issues processing with ADP that would make us want to look for a new vendor.
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We are satisfied with the overall performance of Vertex. The software has provided my company with many efficiencies. We have shorted our audits and found that many audits are happy that we are using Vertex to calculate our taxes. We no longer need to worry about updating our rates each month since Vertex sends us a file to upload
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Usability
SOme historical information is hard to retrieve and communications go out to clients when ADP is doing some internal work. This is confusing when the client gets one of these notices but no action is required. ADP needs to stop the notices or put a message on the top so the client is aware.
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Great program, but a lot of features are still manual. It's difficult to set recurring monthly reports in a time frame of "Previous Month" and we have to kick them off. We have to manually delete reports, there isn't an option to choose multiple at once. Data that is transferred into Vertex returns is quirky as well, taking multiple steps to update lines of data.
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Reliability and Availability
Exceptional Services Received during our Build . The teams of ADP Professionals assisted on a daily basis with tight deadlines and testing, each day , each Qtr. and annual processes including setting up local and State agencies for the 50 State we are reporting since our Workday go live 4/1/23. The process was seamless.
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I have always felt VERTEX support was available when needed, and I have felt comfortable calling in some heavy hitters when needed
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Performance
If ADP is having issues, they communicate the problem within the solution once you log in. They also communicate that the issue will be fixed promptly. Reports run efficiently and in a reasonable amount of time. Also, the reports allow for various reporting types to be produced like a PDF or a Microsoft Excel file.
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Our Vertex performance is good, although we are now experiencing Error 502 when adding additional data points to our transaction tester single tests. At Exchange, I was told to reach out to support....that most likely the On Demand system needed some additional CPU resource added. I have a currently open ticket, that has not yet been fixed on this matter
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Support Rating
ADP's support team creates case numbers for every transaction and process. This case is being tracked for status update. ADP Support always notifies us the next step of the process by emailing us if action is needed or not. We can always check the status online and can follow up with them. We can also call them for instant answer to our urgent concerns.
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I cannot speak from personal experience, but our IT staff has found contacting Vertex support staff to be challenging. One coworker has gone through several support tickets because he was an unrecognized contact. He has also expressed frustration that communication with support staff is conducted solely by email, drawing out issues over an extended length of time that could be more easily resolved by a brief phone call.
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In-Person Training
Exceptional Training Services Received during and after our Build . The teams of ADP Professionals assisted on a daily basis with tight deadlines and testing, each day , each Qtr. and annual processes including setting up local and State agencies for the 50 State we are reporting since our Workday go live 4/1/23. The process was seamless.
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By training I'm referring to our engagement with Vertex Consulting's professional services group. Each person on the engagement had prior leasing industry tax experience and most if not all used O Series before joining Vertex. Consultants with industry specific tax experience provide so much more than just "training". They are able to engage in deep tax technical discussions with actual experience while in private practice. This coupled with having visibility to how numerous other leasing peers approach similar tax issues is a huge plus on top of the standard training.
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Online Training
They have annual training for Smart Compliance, which is very helpful. We learn the most up to laws for various subject matters, like garnishments, payroll law, child support, state unemployment laws by states. We also earn credit toward certifications. The training is user friendly, and highly recommended. It can be done live or listened to at your own convenience.
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Vertex has offered multiple webinars for the products we have purchased that are informative and helpful. I've also attended a few of the Vertex annual conferences where I was able to strength my knowledge of Vertex. I also found that their online library and videos can be helpful in resolving issues and answering questions.
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Implementation Rating
Although there are meeting schedule time to time during the implementation, however, some of the time the account manager is not able to attend or miss the meeting. as that said, never able to get a full house to discuss thing in detail with a group. ADP need to look into this
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The implementation is challenging, make no mistake but will provide much value over time. Make sure you have full support of IT and your major stakeholders in your company. I found that while many people claimed to understand tax was important, they had no idea how deep tax in entrenched throughout the lease life cycle.
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Alternatives Considered
ADP SmartCompliance had already been selected as a vendor prior to my joining the company. I think one area where ADP excels over OneSource is in the amendment processing. OneSource has a very manual process where you have to request each period/state/jurisdiction needed, then you have to manually review and approve each amendment within a short amount of time. ADP's process of submitting an amendment sync and automatically detecting what amendments are needed based on the information in the sync is much preferred.
Read full review
Vertex is more flexible and by using Vertex you need fewer people to maintain tax calculations. In addition, Tax rate update is maintained by Vertex, so you do not need to track and support tax rate update.
Read full review
Scalability
Exceptional Services Received during our Build . The teams of ADP Professionals assisted on a daily basis with tight deadlines and testing, each day , each Qtr. and annual processes including setting up local and State agencies for the 50 State we are reporting since our Workday go live 4/1/23. The process was seamless.
Read full review
There needs to be a time-consuming setup both in the Enterprise Resource Platform and in Vertex and the related tools as well but once this is all established, Vertex is very proficient at calculating Sales and Use Tax in the USA and in Canada with GST/HST, as well as several of the provinces where we are located. As we added plants in different jurisdictions via greenfield expansion and aquisition, Vertex was able to integrate those as long as the tax department is fully informed of the system.
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Return on Investment
  • we were able to outsource our garnishments, so that the bulk task it handled by someone else.
  • we have been able to process tickets quicker for missing deposits can we can see if the payment was sent back from the bank.
  • we are able to fund our final pay payments more efficiently and quicker
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  • Vertex for the solution that we needed was half as much as the old tax software that we used
  • Our past solutions have not been able to exempt certain customers, so we were spending a lot of time manually adjusting sales orders in two systems (Netsuite and BigCommerce)
  • We are now able to add more complex tax rules, such as charging sales tax on digital, food, and clothing items differently than we were able to before
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ScreenShots

ADP SmartCompliance Screenshots

Screenshot of

Vertex Screenshots

Screenshot of Vertex dashboard