RUN Powered by ADP Payroll Review: Cost, Features, Alternatives
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4.5
NerdWallet ratingADP has been a giant in the payroll processing industry for decades and remains a leader by market share. It offers payroll products to fit different business sizes. RUN Powered by ADP is geared for small businesses with one to 49 employees. Roll by ADP is a chat-based payroll app for small businesses. And businesses with 50 employees or more can use ADP Workforce Now.
The main focus of this article, ADP RUN, provides strong payroll and benefits features along with solid customer support. It’s a good choice for small businesses that value scalability and want the option to select add-on features, such as employee retirement and insurance options.
Overview
Price | Pricing starts at $59 per month plus $4 per employee. Businesses can request a price quote on the company’s website, and introductory rates are sometimes offered. |
Tax filing and payments | Yes. All four plans calculate, file and deposit federal and state payroll taxes. |
Ability to manage employee benefits | Good. Benefits administration, retirement, health insurance and workers’ compensation features are available as add-ons. |
Employee access to portal | Excellent. Employees can manage their direct deposit accounts, view pay history and prior year W-2s or 1099s through the Employee Access portal or through ADP Mobile Solutions. |
Live support | Good. At no additional charge, ADP provides continuous support from payroll experts to answer complex payroll questions from businesses running payroll. For HR-specific questions, the Complete and HR Pro plans offer phone access to a designated team of HR Business Advisors, available for one-off questions and scheduled check-ins. |
Ease of use | Good. Its user interface is simple and straightforward. You are alerted to confirm each step of the process and can easily move between a computer and mobile device. |
RUN Powered by ADP® Shop Now on ADP's website |
How does RUN by ADP payroll work?
RUN offers a choice of four packages that help customers manage their payroll, tax and compliance functions, and can be expanded to support HR and recruiting as well. You can request a price quote on the company’s website, and introductory rates are sometimes offered.
After getting RUN set up, you can initiate a payroll run from the main dashboard, review employee time cards, edit hours and rates, preview the cash needed for the pay period and complete your payroll run from your computer, smartphone or tablet. A short demo is available on the ADP website, or you can schedule a live demo through a sales rep.
Data security, privacy and fraud management are an integral part of ADP’s products. You will receive security updates and alerts from ADP to help you protect your business and employees. Both internal and external audits of technology, security and related controls are conducted across the enterprise multiple times a year.
RUN Powered by ADP dashboard.
ADP RUN pricing and features
RUN is available to businesses with up to 49 employees. Four packages are offered with additional features added as you move up the tiers. Add-ons can be selected to further customize each plan.
Other ADP plans
In addition to RUN, ADP offers a number of other payroll plans. Roll by ADP is a chat-based mobile app that can be used to pay employees and contractors anywhere in the U.S. Workforce Now, with four tiered packages, is ADP’s payroll option for businesses with 50 to 999 employees. ADP also offers plans for organizations with 1,000 or more employees or ones that employ workers over multiple countries. These include ADP Global Payroll, ADP Celergo and ADP GlobalView Payroll.
ADP benefits
Top-notch payroll features, even with basic plan
RUN offers an impressive list of key payroll features, even at the lowest-tier Essential plan. You can run payroll from your office computer or a mobile device and pay your employees by check, direct deposit or through ADP’s direct debit card. RUN offers expanded tax filing services that include responding to inquiries from taxing agencies on your company's behalf. Payroll and HR reports, W-2s and 1099s, employee access and new hire onboarding features are also included with the Essential plan.
Add-ons such as time tracking and retirement services
As your payroll and HR needs change, you can add other ADP offerings such as time tracking, retirement services and insurance benefits. ADP's Time and Attendance feature is a cloud-based tool that allows you to schedule employees and have them clock in and out of shifts. The company's retirement services help you select retirement savings accounts to offer to employees. Insurance benefits include access to health care plans from an established network of providers and pay-as-you-go workers’ compensation insurance.
Scalability
Because products are designed around size, a business has the option to scale up or down to other ADP products if RUN isn’t the right fit for it. Small businesses that have grown beyond 49 employees can move to ADP’s Workforce Now packages that have core payroll features plus enhanced HR tools including talent acquisition, onboarding and employee performance features. Alternatively, a business that has reduced its workforce to 10 or fewer employees could move to Roll by ADP, a lower-cost option. It includes payroll, tax filing and employee self-service features at a monthly cost of $29 plus $5 per employee.
ADP drawbacks
Lack of pricing transparency
Unlike some ADP alternatives, the company doesn't provide the cost of its RUN payroll packages on its website. To get a price quote for the plans and features you want, you'll have to talk to a sales rep. This makes it difficult to quickly compare ADP payroll options against other similar payroll plans.
Additional cost for many features
To get all the features you want for RUN, you may have to purchase a higher-tiered plan or pay for add-ons. HR support is limited at the base level. For expanded HR features, you will need to move up to either the Complete or HR Pro plan.
ADP customer reviews
In general, customer satisfaction ratings for ADP payroll services are positive. Reviewers commented that ADP customer service reps are courteous and helpful, although a number of users raised concerns about long hold time. Other positive comments included that the platform was easy to navigate, new features and updates were offered, and that the HR tools in addition to payroll made it an all-in-one platform.
On the other hand, users mentioned experiencing issues when creating and running reports. Comments on pricing were frequent, with lower and more competitive fees even being mentioned by customers who rated ADP highly overall.
Alternatives to ADP
QuickBooks Payroll
Pricing: Starts at $45 per month plus $4 per person per month.
Pros: QuickBooks Payroll offers unlimited payroll runs at every plan level, while RUN charges you based on frequency. If you currently use QuickBooks Online, accounting integration will be the easiest with QuickBooks Payroll, although RUN also integrates with QuickBooks Online and other accounting software.
Cons: Without the additional purchase of QuickBooks Online, integration with other products is limited. Plus, you'll have to pay for a higher-tier plan if you want help with payroll setup services and time-tracking features.
Gusto
Pricing: Starts at $39 per month plus $6 per person per month.
Pros: Gusto has pricing that is simple and straightforward, while RUN requires you to get a quote from a sales rep. Gusto offers health benefits administration, employee benefits and unlimited payroll runs at its lowest-tier Core plan. To get similar features with RUN, you would need to purchase add-ons.
Cons: Gusto’s expanded HR features offered by the Concierge plan come at a price: $149 per month plus $12 per month per person. And its live support has limited hours, while RUN promises certified payroll pros available 24/7.
OnPay
Pricing: Starts at $36 per month plus $4 per person per month.
Pros: OnPay offers robust payroll services including unlimited monthly payroll runs, multistate payroll and federal, state and local tax filings. It’s available in all 50 states and the first month is free. Automated onboarding tasks, e-signatures, state new hire reporting, compliance audits and a resource library are some of the available HR features. Licensed brokers can help you set up medical, vision and dental insurance.
Cons: OnPay gives you all its features in a single plan at a set price. If, however, you’re interested in customizing a plan or want the option to move between plans, ADP may be a better choice for you. While OnPay integrates with QuickBooks, Xero and some other apps, it can’t match the integration options offered by ADP.
