TrustRadius: an HG Insights company

Save this comparison

Save this comparison

Add Product

Recommended Comparisons

    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Paychex

    Score5.1 out of 10
    N/APaychex 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

    SurePayroll

    Score4.2 out of 10
    N/ASurePayroll offers an online payroll service that lets small business owners run payroll anywhere, anytime. The vendor automatically pays and files federal, state and local payroll taxes.N/A
    Pricing
    PaychexSurePayroll
    Editions & Modules
    Paychex Go
    $59
    per month/+$4 per employee
    Paychex Flex Service
    Contact sales team
    Paychex Flex Enterprise
    Contact sales team
    No answers on this topic
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    PaychexSurePayroll
    Free Trial
    NoYes
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeRequiredNo setup fee
    Additional Details——
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    PaychexSurePayroll
    Considered Both Products
    Paychex Inc.
    Chose Paychex
    SurePayroll is pretty bad, it has a lower monthly fee, but their automation is not up to snuff. Paychex Flex, where you have a designated payroll representative (and mine is competent), does a much better job if there are any regulatory changes or irregularities. I would not …
    Incentivized
    Paychex Inc.
    Chose SurePayroll
    SurePayroll is lower cost than Paychex, but I would recommend using Paychex despite their higher cost because they are more closely in communication with the tax divisions that are administering payroll taxes, and are less likely to make an error in my experience so far.
    Incentivized
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    Delivers good value for the price
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    Happy with the feature set
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    Implementation went as expected
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    Features
    PaychexSurePayroll
    Human Resource Management
    Comparison of Human Resource Management features of Paychex and SurePayroll
    Feature
    Paychex
    7.3
    257 Ratings
    7% below category average
    SurePayroll
    -
    Ratings
    Employee demographic data7.2206 Ratings00 Ratings
    Employment history9.4230 Ratings00 Ratings
    Job profiles and administration9.0164 Ratings00 Ratings
    Workflow for transfers, promotions, pay raises, etc.8.7161 Ratings00 Ratings
    Organizational charting1.01 Ratings00 Ratings
    Organization and location management9.2146 Ratings00 Ratings
    Compliance data (COBRA, OSHA, etc.)6.4137 Ratings00 Ratings
    Payroll Management
    Comparison of Payroll Management features of Paychex and SurePayroll
    Feature
    Paychex
    9.3
    299 Ratings
    15% above category average
    SurePayroll
    1.4
    16 Ratings
    142% below category average
    Pay calculation9.7282 Ratings2.516 Ratings
    Off-cycle/On-Demand payment8.4142 Ratings1.09 Ratings
    Benefit plan administration9.0164 Ratings1.27 Ratings
    Direct deposit files9.7281 Ratings1.213 Ratings
    Salary revision and increment management9.3200 Ratings1.212 Ratings
    Reimbursement management9.6111 Ratings1.210 Ratings
    Support for external payroll vendors00 Ratings1.012 Ratings
    Leave and Attendance Management
    Comparison of Leave and Attendance Management features of Paychex and SurePayroll
    Feature
    Paychex
    8.7
    151 Ratings
    8% above category average
    SurePayroll
    -
    Ratings
    Approval workflow8.7107 Ratings00 Ratings
    Balance details8.8143 Ratings00 Ratings
    Annual carry-forward and encashment8.6117 Ratings00 Ratings
    Employee Self Service
    Comparison of Employee Self Service features of Paychex and SurePayroll
    Feature
    Paychex
    8.7
    258 Ratings
    8% above category average
    SurePayroll
    -
    Ratings
    View and generate pay and benefit information9.1236 Ratings00 Ratings
    Update personal information8.3248 Ratings00 Ratings
    View company policy documentation9.8114 Ratings00 Ratings
    View job history7.4175 Ratings00 Ratings
    Asset Management
    Comparison of Asset Management features of Paychex and SurePayroll
    Feature
    Paychex
    7.5
    41 Ratings
    7% below category average
    SurePayroll
    -
    Ratings
    Tracking of all physical assets7.541 Ratings00 Ratings
    HR Reporting
    Comparison of HR Reporting features of Paychex and SurePayroll
    Feature
    Paychex
    7.0
    169 Ratings
    7% below category average
    SurePayroll
    -
    Ratings
    Report builder7.9139 Ratings00 Ratings
    Pre-built reports8.0159 Ratings00 Ratings
    Ability to combine HR data with external data5.086 Ratings00 Ratings
    Onboarding
    Comparison of Onboarding features of Paychex and SurePayroll
    Feature
    Paychex
    6.9
    165 Ratings
    13% below category average
    SurePayroll
    -
    Ratings
    New hire portal7.4158 Ratings00 Ratings
    Manager tracking tools6.3101 Ratings00 Ratings
    Recruiting / ATS
    Comparison of Recruiting / ATS features of Paychex and SurePayroll
    Feature
    Paychex
    7.9
    61 Ratings
    2% above category average
    SurePayroll
    -
    Ratings
    Job Requisition Management7.733 Ratings00 Ratings
    Company Website Posting9.331 Ratings00 Ratings
    Publish to Social Media7.224 Ratings00 Ratings
    Job Search Site Posting7.231 Ratings00 Ratings
    Duplicate Candidate Prevention8.030 Ratings00 Ratings
    Applicant Tracking8.035 Ratings00 Ratings
    Notifications and Alerts8.155 Ratings00 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    PaychexSurePayroll
    Small Businesses
    Zoho People
    Score8.4 out of 10
    OnPay
    Score9.9 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    Zoho People
    Score8.4 out of 10
    APS
    Score1.4 out of 10
    Enterprises
    PeopleStrong
    Score10 out of 10
    ADP Streamline Payroll
    Score6.4 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    PaychexSurePayroll
    Likelihood to Recommend
    5.1
    (309 ratings)
    1.0
    (26 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    9.0
    (42 ratings)
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    Usability
    8.2
    (251 ratings)
    1.0
    (2 ratings)
    Availability
    7.3
    (11 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Performance
    7.3
    (11 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Support Rating
    7.1
    (256 ratings)
    9.2
    (5 ratings)
    In-Person Training
    4.5
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Online Training
    8.3
    (4 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    6.5
    (12 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Configurability
    7.4
    (8 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Ease of integration
    9.1
    (3 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Product Scalability
    9.1
    (11 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Vendor post-sale
    8.9
    (31 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Vendor pre-sale
    9.2
    (32 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    PaychexSurePayroll
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Paychex Inc.
    For the most part, Paychex Flex is a very good payroll system and is well suited for a small business. Most basic features are simple and user friendly. For businesses that have hourly employees, its timeclock system is a good feature. For businesses that have a large number of employees and more complicated rules and policies, it might not be as appropriate because of the difficulty to set up for these rules and policies
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Paychex Inc.
    We use SurePayroll to make monthly payrolls in our company, as well as to close the month and year with all the income and expenses and most importantly to make tax payments. The application is perfect for making payrolls when the personnel adapted for it is not in the head office, SurePayroll has an application for mobiles that allows to make these operations remotely. The application is perfect when you want to make immediate payments, at the time of loading the payroll to the system, it proceeds to automatically perform transactions for each employee entered without any error.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Pros
    Paychex Inc.
    • 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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Paychex Inc.
    • Super easy interface - honestly running payroll couldn't be easier on their site.
    • Incredible customer service - VERY knowledgeable, professional and friendly. They will walk you through anything you need to do on the site and understand payroll, tax and benefit issues.
    • Tax filing and payments and year-end paperwork for 1099 contractors and W-2s. They make it so easy.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cons
    Paychex Inc.
    • 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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Paychex Inc.
    • My chief complaint is the software sometimes requires me to have a code sent to my phone before I can continue with some process. That in itself is fine. The problem is the check box that lets SurePayroll remember the computer doesn't actually do that. I select that check box every time, but the software doesn't remember me or my computer.
    • Fees have creeped higher every year over the last two or three years. I feel like I'm nitpicking here, though. What I spend for the service is reasonably priced for the amount of headaches it prevents.
    • I have a case where an employee is sometimes salaried and sometimes contract. There's not a way to handle that without terminating him when he needs to switch.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Likelihood to Renew
    Paychex Inc.
    Overall I like the features that Paychex Flex offers. I am sure that there are other features that I am unaware of, so I am excited to see if there is more that Flex is capable of to make my job easier. The basic features are really user friendly and easy to access. If there ever is an issue customer service is great
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Paychex Inc.
    Very likely, easy to use, support system in place.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Usability
    Paychex Inc.
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Paychex Inc.
    It's a poor user interface. It feels like the interface is twenty years old. If you make a mistake with payroll in their terrible UI, and try to correct it 15 seconds later, they want to charge you $39 to correct your mistake. Overall, a very poor experience in terms of user interface.
    Read full review
    Reliability and Availability
    Paychex Inc.
    We have not experienced any difficulties with unplanned outages. Notifications are always made for outages, and they do not effect normal business operations.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Paychex Inc.
    No answers on this topic
    Performance
    Paychex Inc.
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Paychex Inc.
    No answers on this topic
    Support Rating
    Paychex Inc.
    Our dedicated representative is one of the main reasons we are sticking with Paychex Flex. If it were not for this person, other platforms could provide the same/similar functionality. It is the ability to speak with someone that understands our business and is willing to get questions answered in a timely fashion that keeps us with Paychex Flex.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Paychex Inc.
    SurePayroll was great when we had questions or needed support, ie. if we messed up with a payroll, needed to submit tax documents or get documents. The ease of communication between us and the organization was great and they made it easy for users to call in with support requests.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    In-Person Training
    Paychex Inc.
    We did online training only
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Paychex Inc.
    No answers on this topic
    Online Training
    Paychex Inc.
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Paychex Inc.
    They were awesome. They knew the system very well and could help me very much.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Implementation Rating
    Paychex Inc.
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Paychex Inc.
    No, I can't think of any.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Alternatives Considered
    Paychex Inc.
    We still use QB Desktop Pro to maintain a Check Register / Overall Balance for the company, but once having tried QB Payroll Online for about 3 months prior to finding Paychex Flex I can tell you that there's just no comparison. QB online is VERY EXPENSIVE and not so user-friendly. I hated every minute of those 6 payrolls we ran through QB online.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Paychex Inc.
    SurePayroll offers a comparable service at a better rate. They are better designed for small companies who need to save money any way they can. Their fees are more appropriate than ADP but the service offerings are just as good.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Contract Terms and Pricing Model
    Paychex Inc.
    No answers on this topic
    Paychex Inc.
    In retrospect, I wouldn't change anything.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Scalability
    Paychex Inc.
    I generally do payroll at the office, however I have had to go remote due to internet issues and also had to take payroll on vacation with me. Very easy to log in wherever you are and manage your TAA and payroll
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Paychex Inc.
    No answers on this topic
    Professional Services
    Paychex Inc.
    No answers on this topic
    Paychex Inc.
    We were able to calculate different hourly numbers when we completed Certified Payroll for professional services.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Return on Investment
    Paychex Inc.
    • I do not believe we have saved anything additionally. The time we've had to spend to get things to hopefully work is sad. This is the reason we've had to turn off all extra "products" of Paychex Flex. Time and Attendance is horrible. Benefits management is horrible. The user experience is horrible.
    • One thing I do not understand is why are updates for states, cities, counties, school districts, etc. not automatically updated? Should we not get a big red flag if we have an employee living/working, being paid in CA, but they aren't set up for CA sick time? If it is required to be on the paycheck stub to show the balance of the sick time, why would we not be notified that we are out of compliance?
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Paychex Inc.
    • SurePayroll helps us process payroll quickly and effortlessly 97% of the time.
    • On the rare occasion when there is an issue SurePayroll needs to address, it can take hours and hours of time over many months to get that issue resolved. Through the process, SurePayroll employees have always been professional and courteous in their communication.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    ScreenShots

    Paychex Screenshots

    Product screenshotProduct screenshotProduct screenshot