Square Payroll vs. UKG Ready

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
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
UKG Ready
Score 8.9 out of 10
N/A
The UKG Ready® software suite is a centralized HCM solution designed for small to mid-sized businesses. It automates and streamlines HR, payroll, benefits, time, talent, and scheduling processes. UKG Ready's suite of tools offer actionable insights while helping to ensure compliance. Using AI, it draws on work, people, and culture data to boost efficiency and productivity. For example, UKG Ready streamlines core HR…N/A
Pricing
Square PayrollUKG Ready
Editions & Modules
Free
$0
per month
Plus
$29
per month
Premium
Custom
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Square PayrollUKG Ready
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
YesNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeRequired
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Square PayrollUKG Ready
Considered Both Products
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.
UKG Ready
Chose UKG Ready
UKG Pro, ADP Workforce Now, EMP Trust HR, Employee Navigator and Greenhouse
Chose UKG Ready
The only one on the same playing field in my opinion is Workday. However, workday cannot tailor to a smaller company like UKG Ready does. The rest had some good points but lacked a component or had a very dysfunctional component.
Chose UKG Ready
UKG Ready has far better integration across modules and offers more customization for different use needs. We could not find another system that checked all those boxes for us.
Chose UKG Ready
We have used UKG Ready for the last 6 years.
Chose UKG Ready
You cannot compare the two products and how much more we get as an organization from Ready than we did with ADP: more visibility, transparency, and ease of use.
Chose UKG Ready
UKG Ready is truly the full package. While many systems excel at one functional area of HR, Ready delivers across lines of service.
Chose UKG Ready
There is really no comparison, as the previous system was outdated. It had very minimal features and used black-screen AS400 technology. We were in need of a more robust system, and Kronos offered features we had not had before. So, from a comparison standpoint, it is not like …
Chose UKG Ready
It has a better user-friendly experience, better reviews, and more value for your money.
Chose UKG Ready
UKG Ready reporting is one of their best features. If you enter data into the system you can run a report on it and export it in multiple formats. It is an invaluable tool which most other payroll/HR platforms lack.
Chose UKG Ready
We loved the system and the pricing as well. Very competitive.
Chose UKG Ready
We were down to Ultimate and Kronos when we chose Kronos; we chose it because of the timekeeping system, but Ultimate was a close second with a lot of functionality we really liked. I was very happy when they merged.
Chose UKG Ready
I like UKG Ready much better because I find it is more robust and easier to pick things up quickly than on ICIMS.
Chose UKG Ready
Very well. It is the most user-friendly system. The level of customer support from UKG is helpful. Having many options to engage support is helpful, like the ERM and the Krew Manager. Reporting can be made less complex, but once you learn it, it is not so bad.
Chose UKG Ready
Our organization has grown, and we needed a provider that had more to offer. UKG was cost-effective and met our current needs.
Chose UKG Ready
UKG stacks up fairly well with the recruitment tool but Taleo is a little more user friendly.
Chose UKG Ready
ADP was not as intuitive and, for the user, not as pleasant to navigate and look at.
Features
Square PayrollUKG Ready
Payroll Management
Comparison of Payroll Management features of Product A and Product B
Square Payroll
7.8
Ratings
5% below category average
UKG Ready
9.6
Ratings
19% above category average
Pay calculation8.90 Ratings9.70 Ratings
Support for external payroll vendors8.60 Ratings9.30 Ratings
Off-cycle/On-Demand payment4.40 Ratings9.20 Ratings
Benefit plan administration9.10 Ratings9.70 Ratings
Direct deposit files7.00 Ratings9.80 Ratings
Salary revision and increment management8.90 Ratings9.70 Ratings
Reimbursement management7.80 Ratings00 Ratings
Human Resource Management
Comparison of Human Resource Management features of Product A and Product B
Square Payroll
-
Ratings
UKG Ready
9.4
Ratings
18% above category average
Employee demographic data00 Ratings9.80 Ratings
Employment history00 Ratings9.60 Ratings
Job profiles and administration00 Ratings9.60 Ratings
Workflow for transfers, promotions, pay raises, etc.00 Ratings9.60 Ratings
Organizational charting00 Ratings8.00 Ratings
Organization and location management00 Ratings9.60 Ratings
Compliance data (COBRA, OSHA, etc.)00 Ratings9.70 Ratings
Leave and Attendance Management
Comparison of Leave and Attendance Management features of Product A and Product B
Square Payroll
-
Ratings
UKG Ready
9.6
Ratings
18% above category average
Approval workflow00 Ratings9.60 Ratings
Balance details00 Ratings9.50 Ratings
Annual carry-forward and encashment00 Ratings9.70 Ratings
Employee Self Service
Comparison of Employee Self Service features of Product A and Product B
Square Payroll
-
Ratings
UKG Ready
8.7
Ratings
8% above category average
View and generate pay and benefit information00 Ratings9.70 Ratings
Update personal information00 Ratings9.70 Ratings
View company policy documentation00 Ratings5.60 Ratings
View job history00 Ratings9.70 Ratings
Asset Management
Comparison of Asset Management features of Product A and Product B
Square Payroll
-
Ratings
UKG Ready
9.9
Ratings
20% above category average
Tracking of all physical assets00 Ratings9.90 Ratings
HR Reporting
Comparison of HR Reporting features of Product A and Product B
Square Payroll
-
Ratings
UKG Ready
8.7
Ratings
15% above category average
Report builder00 Ratings8.20 Ratings
Pre-built reports00 Ratings9.20 Ratings
Onboarding
Comparison of Onboarding features of Product A and Product B
Square Payroll
-
Ratings
UKG Ready
7.7
Ratings
3% below category average
New hire portal00 Ratings7.10 Ratings
Manager tracking tools00 Ratings8.30 Ratings
Performance and Goals
Comparison of Performance and Goals features of Product A and Product B
Square Payroll
-
Ratings
UKG Ready
8.3
Ratings
5% above category average
Individual goal setting00 Ratings8.30 Ratings
Performance tracking00 Ratings8.30 Ratings
Performance Management
Comparison of Performance Management features of Product A and Product B
Square Payroll
-
Ratings
UKG Ready
7.1
Ratings
10% below category average
Performance plans00 Ratings5.90 Ratings
Performance improvement plans00 Ratings6.00 Ratings
Review status tracking00 Ratings8.20 Ratings
Review reminders00 Ratings8.90 Ratings
Multiple review frequency00 Ratings6.50 Ratings
Succession Planning
Comparison of Succession Planning features of Product A and Product B
Square Payroll
-
Ratings
UKG Ready
6.9
Ratings
12% below category average
Create succession plans/pools00 Ratings5.70 Ratings
Candidate ranking00 Ratings7.40 Ratings
Candidate search00 Ratings7.30 Ratings
Candidate development00 Ratings7.30 Ratings
Recruiting / ATS
Comparison of Recruiting / ATS features of Product A and Product B
Square Payroll
-
Ratings
UKG Ready
7.1
Ratings
8% below category average
Job Requisition Management00 Ratings7.10 Ratings
Company Website Posting00 Ratings9.40 Ratings
Publish to Social Media00 Ratings6.10 Ratings
Job Search Site Posting00 Ratings7.20 Ratings
Duplicate Candidate Prevention00 Ratings5.50 Ratings
Applicant Tracking00 Ratings8.00 Ratings
Notifications and Alerts00 Ratings6.60 Ratings
Best Alternatives
Square PayrollUKG Ready
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
Square PayrollUKG Ready
Likelihood to Recommend
4.7
(0 ratings)
9.0
(0 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
-
(0 ratings)
7.1
(0 ratings)
Usability
9.0
(0 ratings)
9.1
(0 ratings)
Availability
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(0 ratings)
Performance
-
(0 ratings)
9.3
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
9.0
(0 ratings)
6.2
(0 ratings)
In-Person Training
-
(0 ratings)
7.8
(0 ratings)
Online Training
-
(0 ratings)
6.0
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
-
(0 ratings)
6.0
(0 ratings)
Configurability
-
(0 ratings)
8.0
(0 ratings)
Ease of integration
-
(0 ratings)
5.4
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
-
(0 ratings)
8.0
(0 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
-
(0 ratings)
8.0
(0 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
-
(0 ratings)
8.0
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
Square PayrollUKG Ready
Likelihood to Recommend
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
The recruiting module has helped us to streamline the recruiting process from the candidate submitting an application to the candidate becoming and employee with the company. We have really enjoyed the recruiting module. The reporting option has presented some challenges when we export them. We spend extra time having to format the reports for company use
Read full review
Pros
  • 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
  • When you open a ticket, they research and test the answer before they contact you so they know it will work for you. There's no troubleshooting on the phone. All the work was done beforehand.
  • They are super knowledgeable and supportive. They are a pleasure to work with.
  • They are way ahead of the game when it comes to technology and innovation.
Read full review
Cons
  • [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.
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  • We have had ongoing issues with our accruals.
  • Auto generate timesheets in the "Team Timesheets" view.
  • Granting manager access is cumbersome - access needs to be given in multiple places.
  • The sync between Pro and Ready in my opinion is terrible and needs much improvement.
  • Auto assign Employee Time Zones based on work location.
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Likelihood to Renew
No answers on this topic
We have begun looking for other vendors to supply this products need as Kronos WFR cannot deliver the suite of applications which it should with this product. *6/5/17 Edit - We started the new year with a new application. WFR proved to be unable to correct the errors within the application. We are much happier with the new application as we can use it effectively.
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Usability
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.
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I like the payroll and HR functions for employee data and benefits management. However, we still have not implemented the ATS and performance management modules, and we need to get this rolling as soon as possible. I can't provide accurate feedback on all areas.
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Reliability and Availability
No answers on this topic
The system seems very stable. Being hosted in the cloud, we are vulnerable to internet speeds and busy times. The system has been down a couple times over the 3 months we have been live, but Kronos resolved the issues very quickly. To have access from a desktop, tablet, time clock, or phone app is one of the best features....users have almost NO REASON they can't clock in.
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Performance
No answers on this topic
We were always told that Kronos was the best, but there are reports that we got out of ADP and other payroll providers that we cannot get out of Kronos. One example is a report of Productive/Non-productive hours by department. We also need the dollar amount associated with the hours. This is information that is required on our cost report and we were told that that report is unavailable. It is very frustrating when I can't get what I need.
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Support Rating
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.
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If I was only rating support itself that would be a 10. Every support case I have entered has been addressed efficiently and with the desired result. On the implementation and transition to support there were multiple issues that those doing the implementation or transition could not answer or workflows and various settings left undone only to be discovered later. We implemented 3 different modules and the expertise we got for each one varied widely.
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In-Person Training
No answers on this topic
Our in-person training was a hybrid. Live online training with an instructor. They were very knowledgeable of the product & the area they were training on. I asked several specific questions and if they didn't know the answer immediately they followed up after class.
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Online Training
No answers on this topic
Pretty good online training, you have many how to options and can watch them several times. It can be hard at times to dig through the amount of data online but can usually find what you are looking for. Also you can download documentation for setting up the profiles and policies.
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Implementation Rating
No answers on this topic
Make sure the people who are doing the build have extensive knowledge on employment law and asking the right questions. I would bet that the people who helped with our builds did not read any of our employment contracts or ordinances; and when I asked questions about how other companies handled certain basic dictates from federal employment laws, they didn't have any idea what FMLA, FLSA, etc were.
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Alternatives Considered
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.
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UKG is much easier to use and customize for our business needs. I enjoy that the time piece is directly connected with the payroll function. This is something that we didn't see when working with Paylocity. There was a manual time data upload that we needed to process into the Payroll function to process payroll. UKG has this setup and it's just a click of a button, so simple!
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Scalability
No answers on this topic
Thus far we are able to add as many users as necessary, implement 3 different bargaining units, 5 different types of user groups. Very flexible.
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Return on Investment
  • 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.
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  • The system has allowed us to understand what goes into background vendors and helped us transition in a troubled time.
  • The system has allows us to move forms to custom forms vs using Docusign.
  • The system has helped us cut back on paper usage and storing folders.
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ScreenShots

UKG Ready Screenshots

Screenshot of the employee mobile interface.Screenshot of trust index survey results.Screenshot of the manager dashboard.Screenshot of payroll analytics.