ADP Workforce Now
Comprehensive HR and payroll platform for mid-sized businesses with integrated payroll, benefits, talent management, and compliance tools.
Website: www.paylocity.com
Paylocity at a glance
- Best for
- Mid-sized employers prioritising employee engagement
- Pricing model
- Quote-based, per employee per month by module
- Deployment
- Cloud, mobile-first employee experience
- Regions
- United States
- Key integrations
- QuickBooks Online, NetSuite, Sage Intacct, Workday
Last reviewed . Pricing and features change frequently — confirm current details with the vendor.
Paylocity is a cloud payroll and human capital management platform covering payroll processing, tax management, benefits administration, time and attendance, learning management, and workforce analytics, with a mobile-first approach to employee self-service.
How accounting firms use it
Firms meet it at mid-sized clients that have chosen it as their HR system. The practical interaction is reporting and general ledger integration: payroll journals exported with department, location, or job dimensions attached, and report sets built once for recurring financial statement and tax preparation needs.
Getting the general ledger mapping right at implementation is where a firm adds the most value. Labour cost is typically the largest expense line for these clients, and a default mapping that lumps it together forces manual reallocation every period.
Key features
Payroll covers multi-state employment, multiple pay groups, garnishments, and complex earnings codes, with tax filing handled by the provider and year-end processing included.
The distinguishing capability is the employee experience layer — a social feed, peer recognition, engagement surveys, and a learning management system built into the same platform as payroll. For employers whose pressing problem is retention rather than administration, that is the reason they choose it.
Time and attendance, scheduling, recruiting, onboarding, and compensation planning are available as additional modules, with analytics reporting across them.
Who it’s best for
Mid-sized US businesses, roughly 50 to 1,000 employees, that want payroll combined with engagement, learning, and analytics tooling and have an HR function capable of using it.
Firms serving smaller clients, or clients whose need is payroll alone, should recommend Gusto or OnPay instead. Paycom and ADP Workforce Now are the direct mid-market competitors.
Paylocity FAQ
- Does Paylocity handle general ledger export?
- Yes. Payroll journals export to QuickBooks Online, NetSuite, Sage Intacct, and other systems with mapping by department, location, job, or cost centre. Firms should review the mapping at implementation, since the default configuration rarely matches how a client wants labour cost split for reporting.
- What are the employee engagement features?
- A social feed, recognition and rewards, survey tools, and a learning management system sit alongside payroll and HR. These are the platform's differentiator rather than payroll mechanics, and they appeal to employers where retention rather than administration is the pressing problem.
- Is it suitable for small businesses?
- Generally not. Pricing and implementation effort assume a mid-market employer with an HR function to operate the platform. Businesses under roughly 50 employees usually find the cost and configuration disproportionate and are better served by a payroll-focused product.
- How does it compare to Paycom?
- Both are mid-market US HCM platforms with similar payroll capability. Paycom emphasises its single-database architecture and employee-verified payroll. Paylocity puts more weight on communication, recognition, and learning. Firms advising on selection should weigh whether the client's real problem is payroll accuracy or workforce engagement.
Paylocity Alternatives
Other payroll tools for accounting firms, ordered by how much of Paylocity's functionality they cover.
BambooHR
HR and payroll software helping growing companies manage workforce processes, automated HR, payroll, and employee self-service.
ClockOn
ClockOn is an Australian workforce management platform combining rostering, time and attendance, award interpretation, and STP payroll in one system.
Deel
Global payroll and compliance platform for hiring and paying employees and contractors in 150+ countries with local tax compliance.
Gusto
Cloud-based payroll, benefits, and HR platform that simplifies payroll and HR management for small to medium-sized businesses.