Paychex vs Sage Payroll

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Our analysts compared Paychex vs Sage Payroll based on data from our 400+ point analysis of Payroll Software, user reviews and our own crowdsourced data from our free software selection platform.

Sage Payroll Software Tool

Product Basics

Paychex provides payment processing, time-keeping and other general human resource software. They offer this to self-employed users, small businesses, medium business and large enterprise ventures. Buyers can choose from various pricing plans and payment options such as direct deposit, real-time transfers and same-day ACH. Most versions have some core HR management and pay processing functionalities.

Based in the cloud, it assists with hiring, onboarding, tax filing, benefits management, business insurance, startup services and more. Users can customize it to meet their specific needs, adding only what they use. This allows administrators to ensure it fits their requirements, whether they be simple or complex.
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Sage HRMS Payroll is an HR system used by businesses of all sizes across all industries. It enables organizations to process pay in-house. It streamlines tasks such as tallying hours worked, calculating tax and managing data. The single platform approach lets users streamline their pay processes and ensure employees receive accurate paychecks at the end of each pay period. If you integrate with a full suite, users can automate various tasks concerning processing payments, including time and attendance tracking, benefits management and recruitment.
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$39 Monthly
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$595 Annually
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Tailored to your specific needs
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Product Insights

  • Reduce Errors: Ensure accuracy in payroll processing with the help of a variety of safeguard features, such as sending managers notifications when the system detects potential issues so that these problems are avoided entirely.
  • User Support: Access 24/7 online support to assist with all aspects of processing, and the option for a dedicated specialist that can act as a personal support expert for both payment and tax needs.
  • Convenience: The mobile app enables employers and employees to access the system from any device. By leveraging the cloud, they can start work on a desktop and pick up right where they left off directly from their mobile device, allowing them to complete core tasks from anywhere.
  • Informed Employees: Employees can get information about their time off, upcoming paychecks, benefits information or retirement funds. This saves time from HR and accounting by answering their more pressing questions while also building transparency and trust in the entire process.
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  • Tax Assistance: Electronically generate and complete tax forms such as I-9s and file them automatically. In addition to guiding users through these forms, the web-based system can check forms against current regulations to ensure compliance.
  • Ensure Compliance Provide compliance with all local, state and federal tax, payroll and reporting regulations. Receive peace of mind about not getting penalized for inaccurate tax calculations or failure to submit accurate reports when necessary.
  • Automated Labor Data: Track information about employee worked hours and pay rates to make it easy to generate reports and minimize instances of overtime or improper pay.
  • Automated Deductions: Save time and energy by allowing the system to calculate employee deductions automatically. Account for factors like benefits plans or wage garnishments.
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  • Products: It has many different products for different applications. Here are the most important:
    • Payroll: The platform offers payment for businesses with one employee, under 10 employees, from 10-49 employees and from 50 to over 1,000 workers. This includes online payroll, taxes, deductions and many tools to generate reports and look at costs.
    • Time and Attendance: The online time and attendance function ties in directly to payroll, saving time when trying to calculate paychecks. In addition to the software, it also offers TrueShift physical time clocks and the InVision iris recognition clocks. Users can track team activity in real time through the manager’s dashboard, and allow employees to record time, approve timecards and check schedules through the employee dashboard.
    • HR: It has a range of HR services and software including employee development, hiring, records administration, compliance, benefits administration, learning management and more.
      • Professional Employer Organization: This is a full-service HR consulting program that helps organizations with liability issues, daily worker problems, risk management, benefits administration and other related issues.
      • Hiring Service: The software can make the hiring process easier with applicant tracking, screening, recruiting and onboarding capabilities. Please note, they don’t have employee leasing, temp staffing or contract staff services.
      • Employee Benefits: Managers and workers alike can get access to health insurance for groups or individuals, financial wellness and retirement planning.
    • Business Insurance: Users can get property and casualty insurance with the help of agents who assist in the selection and implementation process for the new benefits. This includes business owner policies, cyber liability and workers’ compensation.
    • Finances and Payments: Besides payroll, this program also has business loans, expense management, tax administration and processing for payments.
    • Startup Solutions: For new businesses, it offers guides, consulting, advice and more for multiple aspects of the process. They give aid with marketing, the incorporation process, business management and access to free online tools.
  • Payroll and Tax Filing: Process payroll and automatically calculate taxes. Paychex can calculate, file and pay taxes at the federal, state and local level automatically. The platform can calculate hours, doing setup for direct deposit and setting hours per pay period.
  • General Ledger: Synchronize payroll data with integrations offered by Paychex. The system is compatible with a variety of popular accounting systems, including QuickBooks Online and Xero.
  • Reporting and Analytics: Generate custom analytics and reports or choose from over 160 customizable templates to track and visualize relevant data.
  • Learning and Development: Employees can take advantage of online courses to stay educated on relevant topics. Not only does this increase productivity, but it makes employees feel more invested in.
  • Core HR: It gives employee feedback, manages employee training and tracks important documents through the system’s interface.
  • Onboarding: Applicants and new hires can complete new hire documents, such as tax forms, and set up direct deposit directly through the platform.
  • Paycheck Protection Program: Introduced by the CARES Act as a measure for economic stability during the COVID pandemic, the Paycheck Protection Program loans encourage small businesses to keep or rehire workers that have been furloughed. This system offers a quick way to apply for this loan.
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  • Tax Filing: Deposit, file and pay all payroll taxes directly through Sage Payroll. For additional peace of mind, Sage pledges to pay all fines and penalties for any errors if they are the party at fault.
  • Benefits Management: Administer and manage benefits, including flexible spending accounts and retirement plans such as 401k and simple IRAs.
  • Time and Attendance Management: Allow employees to clock-in and clock-out directly through the system. Timeclock information can then be used to calculate employee hours for payroll processing.
  • Employee Self-Service: Log into the system to view essential documents like pay stubs and year-end tax documents (including W-2s).
  • Integration: Compatible with a variety of third-party vendors. For users with additional payroll needs, the system also offers various add-on products, including HR compliance, recruiting and data management.
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Product Ranking

#4

among all
Payroll Software

#24

among all
Payroll Software

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Analyst Rating Summary

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Analyst Ratings for Functional Requirements Customize This Data Customize This Data

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Sage Payroll
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Benefits Management Dashboard And Reporting Expense Management Mobile Capabilities Payroll And Tax Management Platform Capabilities Security And Compliance Time And Attendance Management 94 100 100 81 90 100 100 91 0 25 50 75 100
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User Sentiment Summary

Great User Sentiment 2800 reviews
Good User Sentiment 92 reviews
83%
of users recommend this product

Paychex has a 'great' User Satisfaction Rating of 83% when considering 2800 user reviews from 4 recognized software review sites.

70%
of users recommend this product

Sage Payroll has a 'good' User Satisfaction Rating of 70% when considering 92 user reviews from 4 recognized software review sites.

4.5 (24)
5.0 (1)
4.2 (1342)
3.3 (30)
4.1 (1122)
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3.6 (56)
3.9 (312)
3.0 (5)

Awards

SelectHub research analysts have evaluated Paychex and concluded it deserves the award for the Best Overall Payroll Software available today and earns best-in-class honors for Expense Management and Platform Capabilities.

Analysts' Pick Award
Expense Management Award
Platform Capabilities Award

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Synopsis of User Ratings and Reviews

User-Friendly UI: A total of 80% of reviewers who mentioned the UI felt it easy to use.
Price Within Budget: Around 50% of reviewers that mentioned price were satisfied with the pricing structure and found that the system was worth it.
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Excellent HR Functionality: Over 90% of reviewers discussing the HR functions said it worked well.
Useful Reporting: Commenters liked reporting in just under 90% of reviews that discussed it.
Successful Functionality: More than 80% of users who talked about the features were pleased with their functionality.
Great Price: Reviewers were pleased with the price in over 70% of reviews discussing the cost.
Helpful Customer Service: Over 70% of commenters that discussed support felt it was pleasant and useful.
User Friendly: Reviewers felt the system was easy to use in over 60% of comments about the platform’s usability.
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Late Submissions and Missed Deadlines: Around 80% of reviewers that mentioned taxes ran into issues, with around 70% saying they had to pay penalties as a result.
Terrible Customer Service: Clients complained that the customer service was rude, unqualified, ill-informed, unhelpful and had high turnover in almost 70% of reviews that mentioned customer service.
Broken Features: Over 50% of reviews that mentioned the features said they were left wanting. The most common issues were communication problems. Just under 20% of all reviewers complained about errors made by either the solution or the staff.
Late Cancellations: Around 20% of reviewers that discussed price complained that they had canceled the program, but it had kept taking money out of their account.
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Performance Issues: Over 80% of users who talked about the system’s performance said they ran into some bugs and crashes.
Bad Setup: Reviewers ran into issues and sharp learning curves during implementation in over 60% of comments about it.
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Paychex incorporates a range of different solutions and is used widely by small, medium and large-sized companies. While around 40% of users were happy with the functionality of the system, the majority expressed dissatisfaction with its tax capabilities, pricing and customer service. Many described it as dishonest and complained especially that they were oversold on its capabilities and that the salespeople used pushy tactics to try and upsell them. Other complaints of the system included making errors, overpaying employees or even miscalculating taxes resulting in serious penalties. Current and former clients greatly disliked the service. The UI was the most positively reviewed element of the platform with around 80% expressing satisfaction with the design and navigation. Around 50% were happy with the pricing structure and a minority of around 30% of users said they had positive experiences with some select customer service members. This disparity in experiences may be in part to the high turnover rate in representatives which is mentioned many times during the reviews. This solution could be appropriate for small and medium-sized businesses. It supports larger enterprises, but buyers should make sure it has the necessary functionality before purchasing.

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Sage HRMS Payroll is a payment solution that’s part of the broader software suite. Users enjoyed its useful functionality, ease of use, intuitive layout and good HR features. The reporting features were prevalent because of the comprehensive breakdowns and different levels of permissions on the report. Many also liked that there was no hard close after closing the payroll. Users also felt that customer service was polite and was able to help many through challenges. Overall, reviewers also said it was well-priced and affordable. Its biggest drawback came in the form of performance issues. Users experienced instances of getting kicked out or running into programs that were buggy or crashed. Reviewers were also displeased with the setup process they felt was over-complicated and took far too long. Sage HRMS Payroll may be a good choice for medium and large enterprise organizations who are looking to integrate HR functions as well.

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