What is ADP?
ADP Payroll is a cloud-based payroll framework that helps you to handle payroll, HR, recruiting, and benefits. For small companies, they sell two plans: ADP Run, a four-tiered package tailored for up to 49 employees, and ADP Workforces Now human capital management (HCM) software for businesses with 50 or more employees. Pricing differs by package, but ADP provides two free months of service to new customers.
You might be asking yourself, why would you need ADP, you can process payroll yourself?
As a small business owner, accounting can be a daunting challenge. There are hours to calculate, taxes to deduct, and laws and regulations that must be complied with. Plus, if you make a mistake, you could find yourself paying a hefty fine.
And for those reasons, it now makes a lot of sense to find a reliable small business payroll service provider to support you handle the payroll. Payroll software is capable of automating all of the payroll tasks required, including estimating salaries, withholding taxes, and depositing wages into the bank accounts of the workers.
If you are in the market for payroll software you have likely come across Automated Data Processing (ADP). It is one of the oldest, best known payroll softwares available. Starting out in 1949, as a manual payroll processing company. There are now over 860,000 businesses in a140 countries that rely on ADP’s payroll software to distribute payroll to their employees.
So how does ADP work?
ADP Payroll is cloud-hosted, ensuring it can be accessed from anywhere and does not need any applications to be enabled or managed. You will be required to connect the ADP website to your account after you sign up for ADP’s Payroll and pick your schedule. You will then be led to the Business Setup Wizard. You can now have your simple business details here, manage your payroll schedule, insert tax, wages, rewards, deductions, and salary information for jobs, and link your business bank account to the software.
The next step is entering your employees’ profile into the system which must contain: their legal name, date of employment, social security number, birthday, gender, and contact details. Next, you will also insert their pay scale (hourly or salary) and the forms and percentages of wages and deductions. You must also obtain their bank name, transaction form (savings or checking), and account and routing number if the worker opts for direct deposit. Last, for tax purposes, the employee’s withholding status (gathered from their W-2), allowances, and exemptions must be entered. When all this data is entered, you will be able to continue onto payroll processing. Log into your account dashboard when the next pay cycle begins and select the “Run Payroll” option. You will be able to view your employees timesheets from here and make any manual corrections as necessary. The salary of each employee could generally be calculated on the details in their profile.The app also estimates deductions for products such as income, health care, and employer payments. Click “Approve” to operate the payroll if everything looks good.
Three payment delivery options are offered by ADP Payroll. Employees can request a direct deposit at the end of each pay cycle to collect their funds. ADP can print and send the checks to the office if workers want to be paid by paper check, so they can be delivered on payday. Lastly, if desired employees may choose to have their funds transferred into a prepaid Visa debit card.
ADP’s Payroll Features
Most payroll software companies contain everything discussed here. So what separates ADP from other payroll companies? ADP comes with a selection of extra functionality that can assist you in handling payroll, remaining compliant with applicable laws, and maintaining your books.
Tax Payroll ADP Payroll would automatically fill out and submit the necessary paperwork along with the estimate of the proper withholdings and make the required payments to city, state and federal entities. ADP can also handle any tax issues related to the payroll taxes of the company. ADP can supply W-2 and 1099 documents to the staff by the end of the year.
Integrations ADP Payroll integrates with QuickBooks and most major accounting software.
Hiring New Employees ADP can fill out and file all the new recruit documents once you develop a new job profile, and send it to the relevant state and federal agencies.
Reports on Payroll ADP Payroll provides robust functionality for monitoring. Reports on payroll summaries, earnings records, timecard comparisons, retirement payments and more can be created from the dashboard. You may also sort these files by date range or by employee, and export them to Excel for more customization.
Compliance The more sophisticated programs include security functions, including registration in the Labor Law Poster Compliance Update Program of ADP and assistance with wage garnishment. ADP will also administer unemployment benefits for your jurisdiction, including auditing the premiums to guarantee that you receive the best offer available.
Services for HR ADP is a Professional Employer Organization (PEO), which ensures that it does far more than merely payroll services. If you opt to use ADP for payroll, you can also activate any of those other functions, based on the package you choose.
All Payroll users have access to human resource software, including a library of key government documents and information, advice on how to strengthen your HR procedures, support in choosing employee health insurance and designing a retirement package, and details to help you keep on track of improvements in the Affordable Care Act.
Depending on how advanced your plan is you may also receive access to ZipRecruiter, an employee handbook wizard, onboarding services, and links to an online library of HR forms, best practice manuals, and enforcement details if you subscribe to a more comprehensive package. You will also be given access to do up to five background checks yearly, and get one-on-one support from the HR team at ADP.
Time Tracking ADP’s time and attendance log is another ADP function that payroll customers have access to. For quicker processing, this method syncs directly with the payroll functions. Employees can clock in and out with a smartphone application with ADP’s time and attendance service, request PTO, and report overtime. The method may be used by employers to monitor the PTO, authorize timetables, and build schedules.
Customer service ADP provides assistance on a 24/7 basis by phone and email for both employers and employees. On the platform, there are also help pages that address a large variety of different questions relating to payroll, HR, and other subjects
ADP Mobile App All the above functions, including payroll management, time monitoring, and HR software, can also be accessed through the ADP mobile app.
A Review of ADP’s Plans
For small enterprises, ADP provides two separate payroll products: one package for firms of up to 49 workers and another for 50 to 1,000 employees. Once the company expands, ADP offers two additional enterprise solutions: ADP Mega HCM is designed for organizations with more than 1,000 employees, and ADP Streamline is designed for multinational corporations.
ADP Run There are four plans inside ADP Run, each having a different collection of functions and capabilities. For companies employing up to 49 employees, ADP Run is the route to go with. The Enhanced Plan is the most popular plan. All the features from Essential Plan (lower level package) are included in the Enhanced Plan, which includes the main payroll processing features, tax filing, withholdings, and filings. You can also receive access to a check delivery option, access to reporting features, integration choices, new-hire reporting software, regular delivery of W-2 and 1099 documents, and account access to display your employees paychecks and updated tax records. HR advice, access to essential government documents and data, and support with job benefits, employment programs, and welfare are other advantages. In addition The Enhance Plan includes more payment delivery options, you will receive assistance with state unemployment insurance, and garnish payment service. You will also receive access to secure check signing, ZipRecruiter, background checks and ADP’s Labor Law Poster Compliance Update Service.
Workforce Now This package supports larger businesses, employing 50+ employees. Hiring Advantage is the most sought after package, which includes all the benefits from the lower level packages (Payroll Essential and HR Plus). This package includes the payroll processing features, tax filing, HR tools, features tools for hiring and onboarding new employees, digital records keeping and keeps track of employee performance. There are options to add-on other benefits that are able to be added to the package such as workforce management, HR assistance, benefits administration and enhanced analytics.
Pricing of ADP Payrolls
ADP customizes their pricing and focuses on the needs of each particular consumer. The pricing is influenced by the business need and personal package selected. In addition there is a base fee charge and a fee per-employee each time a payroll run is done. Keep in mind that ADP offers two free months of service to new clients.
Pros of ADP Payroll
Being that ADP is such a large company with a large number of clients servicing an estimated 1 in every 6 people in the workforce. ADP has built up robust features that set them apart from all other rivals. It is very likely that ADP will have everything you need to handle accounting, HR, recruiting, and benefits. In addition, they are ready to grow with your business and they give you the ability to mix and match products to be closely tailored to your company’s needs.
Is ADP Payroll the best option for your company?
ADP is versatile enough to adapt its services to suit the specifications of every business, and has the ability to support the company throughout their growth. However, it is important to do your research, as there may be better alternatives on the market if you are only searching for a basic and simple payroll solution.