Heartland Payroll Solutions vs. Homebase

We changed payroll companies from Paycom to Heartland this year at the recommendation of our insurance agent who insisted they would integrate with the EASE system, which tracks employee benefits and deductions. However, 8 weeks into it, I regret my decision, since the setup hasn't been completed yet. The lack of responsiveness in some cases is astounding and often we have to ask 3, 4, and 5 times for something to be done. I hate to think what will happen after we are "handed off" from the payroll implementation team to the regular schmucks. We still are not able to track PTO and time off and we have been begging for the self-service feature to be turned on for employees so they can change addresses, bank account info, etc. Their training is NONEXISTENT and their manual is abysmal. DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY!!!!! I wish I could go back to Paycom!

I loved using Homebase! The best feature, by far, is scheduling in shifts! It really could not be easier! For restaurants and bars it is the easiest and best software! Using the payroll feature can be very easy! The only downfall is trying to separate scheduled worked hours and overtime. The layout is simple and easy to navigate. The only real con I can think of is that lag.

Incentivized

• White-glove customer support. All employees are in the United States and they must pay them well, because they don't seem to have turnover there.
• Technology is awesome. We have Payroll, HR, T&A, ATS, and onboarding with them.
• Their Tax Credit tech is amazing. I received more money in tax credits last year than payroll cost me. That's a net positive!
• Compliance with their HR team is great, and they don't hit you over the head on the price for it.
• Pricing is fantastic with a 3-year price lock. No BS discounting that jumps back up a year later.

• Homebase provides an easy way to schedule employees. Their scheduling platform is extremely user-friendly and easy to edit once the schedule is made.
• Homebase makes it easy for employees to switch schedules on their own, a manager just simply has to approve rather than physically rescheduling both employees, this is great for any small retail business or restaurant with many hourly employees.
• Homebase makes it easy to adjust hours that have been incorrectly clocked or clockouts that have been missed.

Incentivized

• Sometimes the system (geocode) will not allow me to process address changes by asking for help from our specialist.
• Response for assistance is usually a lot slower when our dedicated specialist is not available.

Incentivized

• Notifications could be more punctual
• Employees should be able to pick up shifts outside of their scheduled times! Right now managers need to do it.
• Importing hours on QBO payroll could use attention. Doesn't separate normal hours from overtime.

Incentivized

I never have trouble reaching customer support. They always are able to assist with fixing any problems that arise. There honestly haven't been many issues at all. Only ones I've created :)

Incentivized

The Heartland team could care less about how difficult your experience is. In fact, I think they delight in seeing you struggle!

I've considered moving payroll over to QuickBooks Online so that everything is in one place, but it would probably take too much work considering that our current system works really well. I think QuickBooks would confuse me, honestly. There are other systems that offer different user interfaces that are neat looking, but I haven't done too much research because Heartland Payroll offered me a really good deal for processing since we are a small company.

Incentivized

Homebase is simpler to use. Easier to navigate and is much cheaper than other alternatives! We had trouble when I worked as they were harder to reach our ROI. Deputy was too expensive and it was the reason we decided on Homebase! Employees also find it easy to use on their end!

Incentivized

• We have a net positive using Heartland. We actually bring more money in from their tax credits than the payroll service actually costs.
• I used to have a part-time person handing our payroll/HR needs. Now this is done by me because it's so easy.

• Homebase has made the day to day management of employees easier, freeing up time for management to work on other things that help secure customer satisfaction.
• It has also made payroll easier since it's implementation and allowed for fewer mistakes than the previous manual method, leading to less monetary mistakes and happier employees.
• Homebase has made monitoring hours and overtime, as well as completion of internship and volunteer hours, much easier to monitor, leading to less confusion and more satisfied volunteers, interns, and payroll managers

Incentivized