Paylocity vs Ascentis

"Not just everything I need, everything I want too!" What do you like best about Paylocity? Paylocity is a user-friendly platform with modules for all the important HR functions. I like that it is flexible enough that we only pay for the features we want, and it's easy to upgrade as we grow. We started out with some more basic features, but as I had a better chance to assess what we would use, we've added several more modules. The process really couldn't have been easier! I really appreciate that Paylocity listens to feedback from the clients as well - there is a Feedback button right on the screen, where users can make suggestions for improvements or features we'd like to see. Paylocity uses those suggestions to create a roadmap of future developments, and I love getting the opportunity to contribute and then see what's coming next! My absolute favorite part is that Paylocity has enabled me to completely eliminate all paper from HR, and I no longer have to spend time filing. Managers can quickly drag and drop documents and files to an employee's record from anywhere; those things no longer get emailed to me, printed out, and stuffed into folders. The reduction in paper cuts alone makes Paylocity worth it! Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. What do you dislike about Paylocity? I can't really come up with a downside, it has been working well for us for about a year and a half now. There are a few areas where I would like to be able to do some formatting of text (like when I'm creating employee review forms in the Performance module.) I get a good response from my client services account manager, but sometimes if something needs to be escalated to another department, the process can be a little slow or they'll respond with an answer that doesn't actually answer my question. However, I've always been able to reach out to my account manager again and get the issue resolved. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. What problems is Paylocity solving and how is that benefiting you? Paylocity solves so many problems for us! We have a team that is spread out over most of the midwest, and Community makes it easy for us to keep everybody connected. The Self Service Portal and document library let us go paperless, rather than printing and scanning forms and keeping personnel files in file cabinets. Employees are able to access training certificates and update their own contact information and direct deposit. We have Single Sign On set up, and integrations with our benefits and retirement plan providers greatly reduce time and errors from manual entry. As we've continued to grow, we're working on adding Learning Management as well. There have been a number of times lately where we've thought "It would be so nice to be able to create a training and assign it to everybody rather than trying to schedule a time when we can all get together and go over this..." I'm very excited to gain that ability in the near future!

- Tara K.

"Ahead of competitors, but room for improvement" What do you like best about Paylocity? Paylocity is user-friendly and intuitive. The system itself is easy to navigate and find information in. The onboarding module has allowed us to streamline new hire paperwork and decrease our time onboarding new employees. The recruiting module is useful as well to get applicants in, reviewed, and interviewed. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. What do you dislike about Paylocity? The different modules are silos, and much information does not transfer from one module to another. This is very frustrating for us because custom fields have to be created or information has to be entered into the separate modules. The Performance module and journals are very basic and could be improved. Recruiting and Onboarding information does not completely transfer to the HR & Payroll module. Reports are complicated to create with the report writer. The standard reports are semi-easy to navigate. The time off requests is fundamental as well. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. What problems is Paylocity solving and how is that benefiting you? Paylocity has helped us streamline our recruiting and onboarding processes, which has decreased the time it takes to recruit and onboard new staff members. It has helped us connect with staff before their first day, creating a top-notch onboarding experience.

- Kate Y.

"So much functionality!" What do you like best about Paylocity? Paylocity has every module we need to complete all our HR and Payroll functions, and much more! The customization available to be able to complete payroll very quickly is my favorite thing. We can create different batch types for different situations, easily import data into a pay batch, etc. Another thing I love are the training resources available. There are recorded and live classes available for most modules of the system. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. What do you dislike about Paylocity? The biggest thing I have had challenges with is the implementation and support staff. Our implementation manager wasn't very good, and in taking a lot of training through the system, I felt like I knew more than him. We were able to escalate our concerns to our sales rep and get some additional help, so don't be afraid to advocate for yourself and get extra help if you need it! The other thing I realllllly don' t like is the inability to change security roles myself. I'd like to be able to customize roles myself, but you have to submit a support request every time you want to make a change like that. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. What problems is Paylocity solving and how is that benefiting you? Paylocity has allowed us to get rid of so many paper based processes (recruiting, onboarding, offboarding, pay changes, expense reports) which is freeing up more time to work on employee engagement. The tools within the system, like Community and Surveys, are helping us with employee engagement efforts.

- Kelsey W.

One of the things that I was looking for was an HR system that would link to the Payroll system so I wouldn’t have to do dual entries. This system provided that for me. The other tabs we have added on the HR side is Education (degrees held) and Salary survey information, so this has come in handy for requests that come up. It also makes it much easier for the EEOC reporting along with the Worker’s Compensation reports because data can be entered there too. The Employee Self-Service tool through Ascentis is very clean and uncluttered compared to other systems. I had another vendor do a presentation for me, and the screen itself looked way too overwhelming. I didn’t want to make it too difficult to use for both the managers and the employees. Since we have rolled out the Self-Service tool, my employees love it! They are so excited about the features and how much they can access for their own screens. In fact, we used the Open Enrollment feature so that the employees could go into this system to make changes for the upcoming year. The employees can also access their W-2 forms at any time during the year. I like everything: HR, Payroll, Timekeeping, Carrier Connect, and the Employee Self-Service tool.

- Karen C.

Ascentis has been easy to understand in the set-up interaction and backing has been extremely useful with any inquiries we have. This is our first HRIS, and it is so ideal to have all representative data in one area. The framework has been not difficult to make refreshes in.

- Palesa S.

Overall, our experience with Ascentis has been positive. We saved a little bit of money, gained the support we needed, were able to streamline the close of payroll periods, and can process payroll much quicker.

- Frank R.