Dayforce Powerpay vs. Square Payroll

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Dayforce Powerpay
Score 9.5 out of 10
N/A
Dayforce Powerpay allows small businesses to pay and manage employees. It is used to simplify and automate payroll processes with automatic payroll calculations and remittances to the CRA and RQ, and streamlines payroll with connected time and attendance tracking to help ensure people are paid accurately.N/A
Square Payroll
Score 6.1 out of 10
N/A
Square Payroll is a payroll solution for hourly employees, from Square headquartered in San Francisco, California.
$0
per month
Pricing
Dayforce PowerpaySquare Payroll
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
Free
$0
per month
Plus
$29
per month
Premium
Custom
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Dayforce PowerpaySquare Payroll
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoYes
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Dayforce PowerpaySquare Payroll
Considered Both Products
Dayforce Powerpay
Chose Dayforce Powerpay
Being able to remit payroll directly to CRA reduces the number of steps in payroll processing. It also means that there is no way for us to forget a remittance. This is important to us because it's all-in-one software. I did like that QB would have the entry directly there so …
Chose Dayforce Powerpay
Even though Quickbooks was cheaper, I would have to do more work, much more information added into the system and while I would pay less per pay run, there was a lot more work for me to do. I prefer to pay a little extra and spend my time making money instead of the headache of …
Chose Dayforce Powerpay
Wagepoint has made errors in the past. ADP has terrible customer service. QuickBooks Online is convenient however the Dayforce Powerpay pricing is better for larger payrolls. Payworks has no "run as is" option.
Chose Dayforce Powerpay
I selected Powerpay (Ceridian at it was then) for the ease of use. I like that I have the choice of phoning my payroll in or doing it online myself. I used Ceridian a long time ago when I worked part time for a law firm. The Powerpay system is easy to use, it is logical and you …
Chose Dayforce Powerpay
Have not used any other payroll software in my experience.
Chose Dayforce Powerpay
Having used both Ceridian Powerpay and DayforceHCM, I find that Ceridian Powerpay is the better solution for the average user. DayforceHCM provides a more fully-featured solution for an organization, but utilizing those features will depend on your organizational needs. …
Square Payroll
Chose Square Payroll
ADP is much too expensive. Gusto was great for us but we found Square Payroll to be more cost effective, though the difference is not very much.
Chose Square Payroll
We used Quickbooks for a long time. Our payroll/HR person for the past 20+ years retired around the time our company was sold and bought. Her replacement had experience in using Square Payroll. We gave it a shot and liked it. We went live rather quickly and it did take some …
Chose Square Payroll
We have tested the QuickBooks Online platform. Before using Square, we tried QuickBooks, but the experience we had was not to our liking. QuickBooks Online is a much more complicated platform to use, the interface is much larger and has complexity in the configuration of the …
Chose Square Payroll
I would say that Square Payroll has a step up in comparison to the competition. It is a great platform for small companies that don't need the resources and expense that bigger systems might offer. Square is the exact thing I was looking for.
Chose Square Payroll
I liked patriot, but I found it to be more confusing than Square and took me too much time to setup. I setup Square Payroll in about an hour. I would also say the Square interface made more sense to me. I also like how Square offers more things like benefits, etc. that can be …
Chose Square Payroll
Cheaper and easier to implement Square payroll versus the competition. Accessible to the small business. Doesn't have a learning curve. Quick deployment to usage/adoption. The other options don't compare when looked at feature for feature vs. price.
Features
Dayforce PowerpaySquare Payroll
Payroll Management
Comparison of Payroll Management features of Product A and Product B
Dayforce Powerpay
8.9
Ratings
8% above category average
Square Payroll
7.8
Ratings
5% below category average
Pay calculation9.10 Ratings8.90 Ratings
Support for external payroll vendors9.20 Ratings8.60 Ratings
Off-cycle/On-Demand payment8.70 Ratings4.40 Ratings
Benefit plan administration8.70 Ratings9.10 Ratings
Direct deposit files9.00 Ratings7.00 Ratings
Salary revision and increment management8.80 Ratings8.90 Ratings
Reimbursement management8.90 Ratings7.80 Ratings
Best Alternatives
Dayforce PowerpaySquare Payroll
Small Businesses
OnPay
OnPay
Score 9.8 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
Infor Human Resources
Infor Human Resources
Score 7.1 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Dayforce PowerpaySquare Payroll
Likelihood to Recommend
8.9
(0 ratings)
4.7
(0 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.1
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Usability
8.6
(0 ratings)
9.0
(0 ratings)
Performance
9.1
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
9.0
(0 ratings)
9.0
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
9.1
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
9.1
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
9.1
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
Dayforce PowerpaySquare Payroll
Likelihood to Recommend
I like Dayforce's timesheet inputs. I like that there is both the rapid entry and the timesheet tabs. It's easy and quick, and it makes a lot of sense. I wish Dayforce would pay out RSP payments, rather than log them only. It would eliminate a step for us and make things faster. But it's only once per year, so not a huge issue.
Read full review
I would say that Square Payroll is perfect for companies that don't exceed 100 employees. The multistate payroll system allows for us to be able to handle business with ease when we go do work in Mississippi or Arkansas. The multiple payout options are great for our particular business. We might deal with a multimillion dollar contract one day and a $120 order the next.
Read full review
Pros
  • Ceridian Powerpay simplifies the payroll process, very little manual work involved during each payroll run.
  • Ceridian Powerpay is mostly an intuitive interface with easy to understand workflows to allow for multiple users to be able to use the system if required.
Read full review
  • 1099 contractor payments are easy, and they provide you with the IRS filing as part of the service.
  • Direct deposit/debit from your already connected account to the employee.
  • Reporting and management features are simple yet inclusive.
  • Low cost compared to alternative solutions.
Read full review
Cons
  • Adjustment - Reversal sometimes gives an error
  • Emergency Contact Comments field - would be nice if it would accept more characters in this field
  • A warning that 'no ROE will be created' popup when EI or other related fields are marked Exempt
  • Rate history on an employee's page would be nice
Read full review
  • [In my experience] they can cancel your service at any time, without warning or explanation. When they do this your funds are held by them for up to 90 days, at which time they are presumably accruing interest on your money. This could take a small business under very quickly and there is nothing you can do about it.
  • [I believe] getting verified is complex and not customer friendly. Until you are verified you can't talk to payroll customer service, which is paradoxical. Even getting a hold of account services for this purpose is tricky and exceedingly time-consuming, plus they can not answer most questions directly.
  • [I feel] they don't communicate well, closed my account with no notice whatsoever. The only notification I had about the need to verify my account was one easily lost email. Not having responded to this email fast enough created months of stress and difficulty in the setup process, only to find in the end I would need to start from scratch to attempt to sign up again.
  • [In my experience] if they close your account you can never reopen it. You have to start a new account from scratch.
  • [In my experience] they can hold your money and not deposit funds if your account is "under review". This can happen without explanation. No customer service is directly available for this. I was told I had to wait for them to call me.
  • [I believe] they are either lying, or the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing to such an extent that they give a great deal of misinformation.
Read full review
Likelihood to Renew
Powerpay exceeds my expectations: it's easy to use and does not 'eat' my time by wondering what the end result will be. I can see what each employee's pay statement will look like before I submit the payroll for processing. Monthly processing fees are not exorbitant and the service from support it top notch, quick and awesome when you need it! What's not to like? It's a terrific company to have on your side!
Read full review
No answers on this topic
Usability
Dayforce
Powerpay has a great interface that makes it easy to navigate, easy to remit
payroll, and easy to report after the fact. It has made overseeing and executing our payroll easier for me as an administrator, and our staff find their portal easy to navigate as well. The only thing that I find less desirable is that you need to start a payroll in order to make any adjustments to employees' information.
Read full review
It could use a mobile-friendly interface. Other than that it's a simple layout and non-cluttered which allows you to get done what you need to get done. No unnecessary dodads or distractions.
Read full review
Reliability and Availability
I have never experienced application errors or unplanned outages. I do know that I could phone Dayforce Powerpay and give them hours and other deductions and they would do the payroll and I could either have them deliver the completed payroll by courier (there are small extra charges for this) or I could download the completed payroll on pay day. I have also been able to complete payroll our payroll at home instead of at the office. Dayforce is very accessible by phone or online.
Read full review
No answers on this topic
Performance
Pages online load in seconds. Click and it's instantly there! I have never had pages not loading properly or taking time to load. Payroll reports also downloads quickly. We do not interface Dayforce Powerpay with anything else
Read full review
No answers on this topic
Support Rating
Regardless the issue, the Customer Support team is offering outstanding services! When I am calling, the wait time is reasonable, and the team members will ensure you receive the right support in a timely manner, with politeness and kindness. If you reach out the team that it's a guarantee that your issue will be solved!
Read full review
I think they have quick and helpful customer service reps, however, I give them a 9 because I have had to wait on hold for long periods of time before.
Read full review
Online Training
I have used Powerpay before (at a previous employer) but a few years had elapsed. I had a quick online training session (less that 30 minutes) to recover basic knowledge and I was away. I still from time to time have to do something that i am not quite sure of and pick up the phone! Every one that works at Ceridian - now Dayforce - have been able to answer my question and tell me where to go in the program, click on what and do what I need to do. The support is out-of-this-world good!
Read full review
No answers on this topic
Implementation Rating
I initiated the implementation. I answered all the questions I was asked, prepared the documentation and sent it off and it was done! Quickly, efficiently and done well!
Read full review
No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
Even though Quickbooks was cheaper, I would have to do more work, much more information added into the system and while I would pay less per pay run, there was a lot more work for me to do. I prefer to pay a little extra and spend my time making money instead of the headache of trying to submit everything. It may work well for those who use that program with everything else on a daily basis, but I don't and also did not want to learn a new system when I have something that works really well!
Read full review
We have tested the QuickBooks Online platform. Before using Square, we tried QuickBooks, but the experience we had was not to our liking. QuickBooks Online is a much more complicated platform to use, the interface is much larger and has complexity in the configuration of the collection of hours of work of the employees. In addition, QuickBooks technical support does not respond in time to users' doubts, on several occasions we had several doubts about the operation of the platform and the response was too late and inconsistent. We decided to use Square Payroll because it offered us a much more accessible UI, a simpler but more precise interface for what we needed in our company, to be able to make payroll payments and make detailed reports on the workers.
Read full review
Scalability
We have a small staff of less than 20 employees. We moved our payroll from a previous provided because of terrible and expensive service. Dayforce is much, much easier to use and costs about 30% less than the previous provider. Dayforce Powerpay also seem to have people that speaks clearly and are efficient in everything they do so that less time is wasted by phone calls that has you on hold for 3 hours!
Read full review
No answers on this topic
Return on Investment
  • The return on investment has been substantial for our company. Having a payroll system that calculates everything for you, processes important documents, and only takes minimal time and effort allows us to focus more time on running the business and generating revenue.
  • Instead of having a user spend half a day (or potentially a full day) processing payroll, it only takes a couple hours (obviously depending on how many employees need to be processed).
Read full review
  • Square Payroll has dramatically reduced the time it takes to process payroll.
  • We could have a faster payroll with the Square POS integration for commission, but that is not something we've implemented yet.
Read full review
ScreenShots