Compare product editions before comparing brands
ADP offers distinct products, including RUN and Workforce Now. The Workforce Now package page separates payroll and HR from additional benefits and time-management capabilities. Paychex also packages payroll with different levels of HR and service support. Ask each vendor to name the product, package, country coverage, and services in its proposal. A feature described for one edition should not be assumed to exist in another. Start with the work your payroll administrator needs to complete rather than a universal winner.
Walk through a complete payroll cycle
Ask both vendors to demonstrate the same sample workforce, including an hourly employee, a salaried employee, a new starter, and a pay adjustment. Follow hours and deductions through review, approval, employee access, and the accounting output. Have the person who normally runs payroll perform the steps. Record who handles corrections, which approvals are required, and what support is available near your submission deadline. Treat this as a trial checklist, not a claim that every package automates every step.
Verify integrations against your actual accounting and time tools
Paychex publishes an integration directory with accounting connections; ADP Workforce Now documents a general ledger interface and supports product-specific marketplace connectors. Neither establishes that your chosen edition synchronizes every field in both directions. Confirm record ownership, mappings, sync frequency, additional subscriptions, and the person responsible for a failed transfer. Test a correction as well as the initial export so a successful connection does not leave duplicate entries in the ledger.
Compare the full quote using the same assumptions
Both linked package pages invite buyers to request pricing. Obtain written quotes using the same employee count, payroll frequency, locations, and required services. Ask for base charges, employee charges, additional payroll runs, implementation, year-end services, time tracking, benefits administration, and connector costs wherever applicable. Separate introductory discounts from ongoing cost and record contract and cancellation terms. These are questions for the proposal, not charges asserted to apply to every plan. Stored official plan verification dates remain separate from this editorial review.
Plan the first payroll before agreeing to switch
Name the owner for employee data, opening balances, deductions, historical reports, and access to the previous system. Agree with the providers and your payroll adviser on responsibilities and the cutover schedule. Reconcile a representative payroll before the first live submission and document how exceptions reach support. Record the selected payroll product, time tool, and accounting system in your stack with a distinct purpose for each; remove an overlapping subscription only after its replacement workflow has been checked.
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