ADP TotalSource vs. Paychex

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
ADP TotalSource
Score 5.1 out of 10
N/A
ADP TotalSource is a professional employer organization (PEO) that provides strategic HR outsourcing. It includes services and technology to manage employee benefits, payroll, compliance, risk management, safety, and recruiting. Users have access to an online portal for things like self-service reporting, generating pay statements, and managing applicant resumes/interviews. Help from the service center and industry experts is available by phone.N/A
Paychex
Score 5.2 out of 10
N/A
Paychex Flex, of Paychex' Online Payroll Services, is a cloud-based human resource management and payroll platform. Paychex offers core and specialized services, and scales to meet the needs of small businesses, SMBs, and large enterprises.
$59
per month/+$4 per employee
Pricing
ADP TotalSourcePaychex
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
Paychex Go
$59
per month/+$4 per employee
Paychex Flex Service
Contact sales team
Paychex Flex Enterprise
Contact sales team
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
ADP TotalSourcePaychex
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeRequired
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
ADP TotalSourcePaychex
Considered Both Products
ADP TotalSource
Chose ADP TotalSource
Let's just say ADP TotalSource's sales team is top-notch. They make promises that are, in my experience, just not kept in any shape or form. I would highly recommend Rippling if you are looking for easy to use, modern tech.
Chose ADP TotalSource
ADP Run is great! I would switch back in a heartbeat. It is not a "one stop shop" as far as HR goes - it has payroll, legal, time and attendance, etc. but TotalSource is supposed to also have a benefits component, OSHA/short term disability assistance, etc. but it has not been …
Chose ADP TotalSource
Workforce now is easier to use! TotalSource has a lot of quirks in it that are totally unnecessary. It's as if they took Workforce Now and adding all these different codes and features to call it TotalSource. However, upon logging in, TotalSource looks and operates basically …
Chose ADP TotalSource
[I think that] all other options are about 100X better than ADP TotalSource. [I also think] ADP TotalSource is too comfortable and thinks they don't need to improve to be competitive. However, the reality is, competition is eating up their market. Some ADP staff, in particular, …
Chose ADP TotalSource
ADP TotalSource was selected over other competitors because it fit our needs when we were hundreds of employees. However, these days we have thousands globally and this number changes every day so it is quickly becoming a solution we can not rely on, especially compared to all …
Chose ADP TotalSource
Software to software is comparative to iSolved in regards to functionality. It is a little more visually appealing than iSolved. However, is it a much better performer than Paychex Flex.
Chose ADP TotalSource
We used to use ADP for salaries, and it was great--a much better experience than ADP TotalSource.
Chose ADP TotalSource
ADP is more robust and user friendly solution compared to Paycom. Using Paycom would have required sourcing additional vendors to meet our HR needs. ADP provided more functionality and overall was a better fit for our organization despite the higher price tag.
Chose ADP TotalSource
We moved over to Justworks and we're very happy. The on-boarding process was easy, the online platform is easy and it's half the cost of TotalSource.
Chose ADP TotalSource
At the moment, we have not investigated any of the products available in the drop-down list provided. However, we have evaluated some other (unavailable) products and have been intrigued by the potential decrease in fees along with the potential for a much more "rich" benefit …
Chose ADP TotalSource
We use ADP simply to to track pay for employees. We really like more of the functionality of Workday as it is really easy to import org charts and track performance. The graphics and appearance of these sections are also really nice! We also use Workday to track time off as it …
Chose ADP TotalSource
ADP is significantly more "corporate" than BambooHR or Workable. Which is to say that it is an extremely simple solution, with basic interface design; that gets the job done well nearly every time. It doesn't sport the recruiting capabilities that Workable comes standard with …
Paychex
Chose Paychex
They were alright, some of the same issues. Lots of turnover with payroll consultants.
Chose Paychex
More accessible and cost effective for our small business.
Chose Paychex
Both ADP and Paychex are very good at informing businesses of the latest changes regarding payroll. Not sure which one is better, but very much get the most out of each. Both are informative and always looking at additional topics in a world that is constantly changing. …
Chose Paychex
Paychex has been around for a long time and have used it at other organizations. The payroll functionality is the best out of the other systems I have used. They all are great with handling the HR needs of our organization but Paychex is the most streamlined.
Chose Paychex
We use BambooHR in tandem with Paychex. BambooHR is our timesheet service, and Paychex issues the checks/payments to our employees. Ideally we would use one service instead of two to achieve our payment and timesheet needs.
Chose Paychex
Paychex Flex has some room for improvement, I would choose ADP out of the different HRIS's I have used in the past
Chose Paychex
More user friendly works better for self service
Chose Paychex
I far prefer Rippling to Paychex Flex, with its easy to navigate interface and user friendly model. I also appreciate the payday emails from Rippling and the paystub breakdown. It is also very easy and simple to request and view PTO in Rippling. I really dread having to use …
Chose Paychex
In addition to the ones listed above, we also used BenePay, a local payroll company. We found Paychex Flex priced in the middle, with ADP the most expensive and too complicated, with many features that were unnecessary for us. We found that Paychex Flex's features and reporting …
Chose Paychex
I did not select Paychex. It was at 2 companies I started with and ended up having them switch out
Chose Paychex
Looking to switch over to ADP.
I think they are much less expensive
Chose Paychex
Based on what I've noticed, Paychex is comparable to DayForce, which has similar timekeeping functions. I think DayForce has a few easier-to-navigate tools from an Employee Self Service standpoint. iSolved is much better all around from my personal usage. If my company had more …
Chose Paychex
Gusto is more intuitive than Paychex and easier for smaller companies. Paychex has better customer support than Paylocity. Paychex is easier to navigate than Paycom.
Chose Paychex
I'm unable to give you a comparison because Paychex is the only payroll service I've used since I started my business over ten years ago. I've had no reason to explore other payroll services or make a change. I trust it will remain that way for as long as I'm in business.
Chose Paychex
The could not match the price we pay for the same service.
Chose Paychex
User interface and functionalities of Paycor edge out Paychex Flex, however, in my experience, Paycor has horrible service resulting in our discontinuation of services. I think Paychex Flex service is leaps and bounds above that of Paycor.
Chose Paychex
We didn't consider any other products.
Chose Paychex
many of your competitors are either more complicated to use or have major mistakes while using
Features
ADP TotalSourcePaychex
Human Resource Management
Comparison of Human Resource Management features of Product A and Product B
ADP TotalSource
-
Ratings
Paychex
7.3
Ratings
7% below category average
Employee demographic data00 Ratings7.30 Ratings
Employment history00 Ratings9.40 Ratings
Job profiles and administration00 Ratings9.00 Ratings
Workflow for transfers, promotions, pay raises, etc.00 Ratings8.50 Ratings
Organizational charting00 Ratings1.00 Ratings
Organization and location management00 Ratings9.20 Ratings
Compliance data (COBRA, OSHA, etc.)00 Ratings6.70 Ratings
Payroll Management
Comparison of Payroll Management features of Product A and Product B
ADP TotalSource
-
Ratings
Paychex
9.2
Ratings
14% above category average
Pay calculation00 Ratings9.70 Ratings
Off-cycle/On-Demand payment00 Ratings8.20 Ratings
Benefit plan administration00 Ratings8.90 Ratings
Direct deposit files00 Ratings9.70 Ratings
Salary revision and increment management00 Ratings9.20 Ratings
Reimbursement management00 Ratings9.60 Ratings
Leave and Attendance Management
Comparison of Leave and Attendance Management features of Product A and Product B
ADP TotalSource
-
Ratings
Paychex
8.6
Ratings
7% above category average
Approval workflow00 Ratings8.50 Ratings
Balance details00 Ratings8.70 Ratings
Annual carry-forward and encashment00 Ratings8.60 Ratings
Employee Self Service
Comparison of Employee Self Service features of Product A and Product B
ADP TotalSource
-
Ratings
Paychex
8.7
Ratings
8% above category average
View and generate pay and benefit information00 Ratings9.10 Ratings
Update personal information00 Ratings8.40 Ratings
View company policy documentation00 Ratings9.80 Ratings
View job history00 Ratings7.60 Ratings
Asset Management
Comparison of Asset Management features of Product A and Product B
ADP TotalSource
-
Ratings
Paychex
7.5
Ratings
7% below category average
Tracking of all physical assets00 Ratings7.50 Ratings
HR Reporting
Comparison of HR Reporting features of Product A and Product B
ADP TotalSource
-
Ratings
Paychex
7.0
Ratings
7% below category average
Report builder00 Ratings7.90 Ratings
Pre-built reports00 Ratings8.20 Ratings
Ability to combine HR data with external data00 Ratings5.00 Ratings
Onboarding
Comparison of Onboarding features of Product A and Product B
ADP TotalSource
-
Ratings
Paychex
6.9
Ratings
14% below category average
New hire portal00 Ratings7.60 Ratings
Manager tracking tools00 Ratings6.30 Ratings
Recruiting / ATS
Comparison of Recruiting / ATS features of Product A and Product B
ADP TotalSource
-
Ratings
Paychex
7.9
Ratings
2% above category average
Job Requisition Management00 Ratings7.80 Ratings
Company Website Posting00 Ratings9.30 Ratings
Publish to Social Media00 Ratings7.20 Ratings
Job Search Site Posting00 Ratings7.10 Ratings
Duplicate Candidate Prevention00 Ratings8.00 Ratings
Applicant Tracking00 Ratings8.10 Ratings
Notifications and Alerts00 Ratings8.10 Ratings
Best Alternatives
ADP TotalSourcePaychex
Small Businesses
Justworks
Justworks
Score 5.7 out of 10
Dayforce Powerpay
Dayforce Powerpay
Score 9.5 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Justworks
Justworks
Score 5.7 out of 10
Paypro Workforce Management
Paypro Workforce Management
Score 9.7 out of 10
Enterprises

No answers on this topic

PeopleStrong
PeopleStrong
Score 9.9 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
ADP TotalSourcePaychex
Likelihood to Recommend
1.0
(0 ratings)
5.4
(0 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(0 ratings)
Usability
-
(0 ratings)
8.3
(0 ratings)
Availability
-
(0 ratings)
7.4
(0 ratings)
Performance
-
(0 ratings)
7.3
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
3.3
(0 ratings)
7.2
(0 ratings)
In-Person Training
-
(0 ratings)
4.5
(0 ratings)
Online Training
-
(0 ratings)
8.3
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
-
(0 ratings)
6.5
(0 ratings)
Configurability
-
(0 ratings)
7.4
(0 ratings)
Ease of integration
-
(0 ratings)
9.1
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
-
(0 ratings)
9.1
(0 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
-
(0 ratings)
8.9
(0 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
-
(0 ratings)
9.2
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
ADP TotalSourcePaychex
Likelihood to Recommend
I would not use this company for anything. [I believe my] employees [absolutely] hate the software and there are constantly glitches in the software which occur every payroll run, benefits enrollment, etc. [I have spent] large amounts of time on the phone with outsourced customer support[,] so think twice when comparing [the] cost to other providers. [I feel] you [will] need someone full time to deal with all of their issues. We are currently in the process of setting up another PEO company. The amount of money and time to implement ADP has been a huge loss.
Read full review
It's better for larger businesses (50+) with various types of pay structures. Employees need to be comfortable with technology to take advantage of the self-service features. I've struggled with the default in the state tax section; extra steps must be taken when an employee lives in a different state than they work, and we don't know where they live until after completing their profile. So we have to go into the system and make the corrections, then notify the employee to go in and complete the state-specific withholding forms and follow up to confirm they do so.
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Pros
  • It does a great job of keeping track of all your pay at various other jobs that also use ADP TotalSource. You can easily log in and verify any information that you might need to check on.
  • The privacy feature is really great so that only you can see documents with financial information on them.
  • The app is also really handy and easily accessible. You can pull up anything in a pinch if you don't have access to your work computer at the same time that you need to look up something.
Read full review
  • It provides a well account of Retirement Plan Account Information.
  • Alerts are sent to email when there is new information to access.
  • Employee access both online and thru app.
  • Paperless options.
  • Easy and quick access to paystubs and tax forms.
  • Easy employee retirement management.
Read full review
Cons
  • Customer service is horrible
  • Follow up takes 7-10 days, and requires multiple inquiries from you, the client
  • The promised "dedicated team" doesn't exist
  • Onboarding is confusing to new hires
  • Explanation of benefits to new hires is useless and must be done in office, thereby negating any value.
  • They should not provide handling UI claims as as service. They have no ability to actually meet deadlines.
Read full review
  • When it comes to audit reports, Paychex Flex could improve on helping clients locate the correct reports for audit purposes more easily
  • When a client receives a discount, it would be helpful if the discount were automatically provided each year, or if the Paychex rep proactively reached out to the client first, versus the client having to call and request that the discount continue.
  • It would be helpful if the invoice was emailed to the client versus the client logging in to access invoices.
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Likelihood to Renew
No answers on this topic
there are a lot of competitors on the market such as BambooHR and Insperity. Paychex need to make significant improvement on their offline customer service in order to compete with the other guys. Everything is online now and timely response to customer's questions is vital. Customers won't enjoy being put on hold for 45 mins every time they have a question regarding their HSA problems
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Usability
No answers on this topic
Some things could be streamlined. For example, we could do custom options for the "add items" tab which has so many options that we never use. "Medical Pay" could be something that the system remembers for the applicable employees. Salaried employees' salaries should definitely be auto-filled. Overall the system works well but I think it could be improved to be easier to use and read.
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Reliability and Availability
No answers on this topic
We have not experienced any difficulties with unplanned outages. Notifications are always made for outages, and they do not effect normal business operations.
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Performance
No answers on this topic
Unless there is lag time within the internet, the Paychex Flex website loads exceptional fast, pages load quickly and reports that I need to print or download load quickly. If I need to create a specialized report, once I complete it I receive an e-mail telling me my report is ready to be downloaded. Changing between web pages is fast as well.
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Support Rating
ADP is a great HR solution for most organizations. It is truly all-in-one. I rated it a 7, because of the issues we experienced during implementation and the high cost of service when issues do arise.
Read full review
Neil Williams makes this entire system work - without our direct contact with our professional advisor - this would be just like any other platform and the relationship would not have the dimension that is has. Using chat or phone support with a new person every time you need support wastes time, as generally the person you are talking to does not have an intimate knowledge of our company. By having an assigned professional representative that knows our companies, this provides a level of confidence of caring coming from the Paychex side.
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In-Person Training
No answers on this topic
We did online training only
Read full review
Online Training
No answers on this topic
It was easy to understand and follow along. I do like the informational videos that we can utilize before we opt to call in for customer service support. It has made a difference since sometimes that resolves the issue I may have had and saved myself a phone call to Paychex support.
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Implementation Rating
No answers on this topic
Implementation was very smooth. The most cumbersome task was entering the current employees into the system during initial set up, but Paychex staff handled most of that and verified against prior system reports as well as internal reports provided to ensure 100% accuracy.
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Alternatives Considered
At the moment, we have not investigated any of the products available in the drop-down list provided. However, we have evaluated some other (unavailable) products and have been intrigued by the potential decrease in fees along with the potential for a much more "rich" benefit plan. We can't speak to the level of customer service observed by current clients, only to apparent cost savings.
Read full review
In addition to the ones listed above, we also used BenePay, a local payroll company. We found Paychex Flex priced in the middle, with ADP the most expensive and too complicated, with many features that were unnecessary for us. We found that Paychex Flex's features and reporting to be sized right for our size (around 30 employees). Paychex Flex also offered a very reasonable service to apply for the ERTC
Read full review
Scalability
No answers on this topic
Employees can log in at home and get up to date information on their FSA balance and any medical bill reimbursements they may have uploaded. At renewal time they have the ability to make changes to their FSA or for new employees star the enrollment.
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Return on Investment
  • ADP Totalsource had a negative impact on our overall return on our investment because of the poor customer service.
  • We spent a lot of money and put time and energy into the setup, we were happy with the product and willing to pay the higher payroll fees and just really unhappy with the customer service.
  • If the customer service would have been different and the fees not so high we would have stayed longterm. Again, they did not seem to be geared towards smaller businesses.
Read full review
  • With Paychex Flex we have been able to improve our compliance with required documentation for new/rehires
  • Moving everyone to direct deposit and mobile clock in/out eliminated lines at punching stations and paycheck pickup stations
  • Lost checks is a thing of the past
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ScreenShots

Paychex Screenshots

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