11 Best Benefits Administration Systems (2024)

Deel is a user-friendly ATS. It offers strong integration capabilities for job postings. Its workflow management helps keep open requisitions organized.

Deel was used solely as an ATS for recruiting purposes. I have used it for about six months. It is well-organized for moving candidates through the pipeline. It integrated easily with other HRIS and ATS platforms. While additional features are available, we only purchased it for recruiting functionality.

The price is high per employee per month. Customer service was subpar. It may be better suited for contingent workforce management than full-time employee hiring. Considering the higher cost, a more bundled service package would have been beneficial.

I have used several similar ATS tools, and I would rate Deel as mid-tier. I prefer other systems based on cost, better integration options, and more accessible customer support.

Cost should be the top consideration. It's also important to determine whether the tool will be used for contingent workforce or full-time employees. Compatibility with your existing HRIS is another key factor to evaluate.

Since I used the tool for less than a year, I did not observe any changes or improvements during that time.

Temp agencies with small recruiting teams looking to control costs can benefit from Deel as an ATS.

The software is laid out very nicely, making it easy to find anything, and all employee documents are in one place. Reports are easy to find and customize. Their help desk is extremely knowledgeable. If they can't help you, it's elevated via a ticket system to an in-house engineer. Gusto is so user-friendly that an employee can learn what they need to know in minutes.

Gusto was purchased for a small company's payroll, HR management, and processes.

We needed to simplify payroll, become fully HR compliant, and organize processes (handbook, reviews, job descriptions, tax documentation, etc. for the team). HR at the time had worked with various large platforms that would not suit our needs because they were overly complicated with a cumbersome setup for a small company.

Combined with features we would never use, these platforms were an unworkable option. This led us to find a vendor specific to small businesses. A colleague of the owner suggested Gusto. After one demonstration, we decided to go with the full suite of offerings (Premium) but later reduced to Plus. Once you learn the features, you know what you can do without and save some money.

One problem we had, which Gusto was unable to solve at the time, was timekeeping. We added a timekeeping system that partners with Gusto for a seamless hourly staff payroll. There are lots of options listed within Gusto.

I've used the Gusto tool for four years. All our HR problems were solved. Gusto works perfectly for a small business (under 100 employees). Payroll is a snap. Managers approve their employees' time, it's filtered into the Gusto system, and ready for final approval/submission within minutes.

Additionally, you have a window to pull back payroll to make changes. All adjustments (healthcare, court-ordered payments, etc.) are easily set up via each employee, and changes can be made within seconds. Employees can update their personal or tax information right in their app, which is very convenient for them.

Gusto simplified the entire onboarding process, along with payroll, handbooks, employee reviews, etc. Gusto needs to add their own time clock system (if they haven't already), but their time clock partners work extremely well.

One last point, if you want to be very specific about which employee's information their manager is allowed to see, Gusto has levels of permissions for managers and employees built into the software.

It would be nice if they had a timekeeping system (that wasn't on the internet), reducing the need for another app. It would also be nice if Gusto had an applicant tracking system. PTO can be cumbersome to figure out on an accrual basis.

Gusto is by far the best payroll, HRIS software I've used mainly due to its simplicity and speed.

How many employees do you plan on running through the system? Payroll over 100 could be run better on a different platform. Understand what Gusto cannot do that you'll need to add on (timekeeping app, harassment training). What does your accounting firm do for you that Gusto can automate? 940/941 filings, tax setup for unemployment in each state.

I'm a fan of their customer service; however, many think they're too slow. Growing pains, Gusto's management will catch up. They've streamlined even more in the last four years.

The entire HR department and all managers with staff in small business can find Gusto to be a great fit.

The process of adding a new employee to the payroll system is straightforward and efficient. The system alerts are manageable and provide proactive notifications of any potential issues before payroll is finalized. Additionally, tax documents and year-end statements are mailed automatically without any extra fees, making it a hassle-free service.

We decided to switch to Onpay because it had a strong reputation. During our research, many recommendations pointed toward this system. Once we began learning it, we found it very easy to use. We appreciated that it offered a comprehensive package for all our payroll needs. A bonus was that it’s a cloud-based program with lifetime access, which is crucial for HR as we often need to access past records. Onpay is affordable and overall very user-friendly.

The manual check process can be time-consuming for companies that issue a lot of manual checks. Setting up 401(k) deductions can be confusing if there are unusual requests. Payroll education and support for new employees could be improved with better FAQs or online tutorials.

Onpay is very easy to navigate, and the cloud-based functionality adds extra convenience and security. I prefer cloud-based services as they offer better protection, especially in case of risks to your HRIS systems or databases.

Consider how many paychecks are processed each month and the total number of employees. Are your current processes streamlined, and how complex are your payroll deductions? It's also important to review how many errors typically occur during payroll runs and whether the tool can minimize those.

Onpay listens to user suggestions and continuously adapts to improve over time.

Onpay is ideal for medium-sized organizations with fewer than 1,000 employees.

Working with Bennie's team is one of the best aspects of Bennie. They make benefits easy to understand for HR professionals and employees. Bennie prioritizes helpfulness over sales. Their app saves the HR team time and simplifies benefits navigation for employees.

Our company chose Bennie because our previous insurance broker was not very helpful. Bennie's team was supportive from the beginning, breaking down benefits concepts and information clearly. They also secured better pricing for our benefits. Their tech-focused and innovative approach was a significant factor in our decision. We used Bennie for at least two years while I was with the company.

I can't find much to dislike about Bennie. More clarity about timing for adding new employees to the system would be helpful. It would also help if customer success managers set specific dates for renewals. However, these issues are minor.

Bennie leads with helpfulness and acts as an extension of the HR team. They have been customer-focused from the start, with an amazing support team. While competitors may be catching up, Bennie was built on this helpful approach.

Consider the cost savings from a benefits perspective, as this is where most savings will come from. Time savings are also crucial; directing benefits questions to Bennie saved me a lot of time. Assess how they present information and whether they offer options and suggestions to improve your benefits strategy. Evaluate if they help you benchmark your current position.

They have increased their services and partnerships. As the benefits landscape changes, Bennie keeps up with these shifts.

Bennie is suitable for anyone looking to improve their benefits and benefits strategy.

• Remote provides the basic information needed to investigate employment in a new country.
• The documents are freely available and in clear language.
• All foreign employees and contractors are managed in one tool.
• Remote is ideal for initial foreign expansion.

My previous company (at the time of writing, I have left the company) intended to grow within Europe. The goal was to have a small team of employees in multiple European countries. As each country has its own unique social laws, and we did not have an entity in every country, we needed a partner to support us with this growth. Remote provided this solution. They act as an intermediary partner, take employees onto their payroll, and support you with specialized HR topics unique to each country.

• Remote's pricing is high—it is good if you only employ a few people per country, but once the team expands, it is better to have your own entity.
• There is limited customization, as most processes must follow the structure provided by Remote.
• In some countries, Remote works with subsidiaries, which can slow down the onboarding process.

We chose Remote because of its clear pricing and the intuitiveness of the tool.

People need to keep the following in mind:

• In which countries do we want to employ people?
• How many people do we want to employ per country?
• Are we going to open a legal entity or not?

I’m not sure as I haven’t used Remote for long.

Remote is good for organizations looking to expand into multiple countries with small teams, without the hassle of legal administration.

Ease of use. Subject matter expert for international payroll. Takes away the liability of mishandling payroll due to lack of knowledge.

We started working with Papaya Global because we needed a way to pay our employees located in Peru. We are currently with a PEO and they do not cover international payroll. We have been using them for a year now.

I cannot think of anything the company could use to improve at this time.

Their pricing is more competitive than the competition.

Ease of use, knowledge base, global reach in case you need to expand to other areas, pricing.

Any organization could use their services if they have a need to handle payroll internationally and do not have internal resources that can facilitate the process.

Namely's user interface is modern and intuitive, making it easy for managers and employees to navigate. The workflow configurations are straightforward, reducing the need for extensive support. The reporting functions are robust, allowing us to generate customized reports essential for effective planning and reporting.

Our organization was experiencing rapid growth, doubling in size each year, and we needed to upgrade our HRIS system to accommodate this expansion. We sought a solution that integrated HRIS, payroll, and IT support into a single tool.

After evaluating Namely and ADP, we chose Namely for its more cohesive system. It offered improved permission settings, enabling managers, IT, and finance to access necessary information and generate reports.

Additionally, it facilitated the creation of cross-functional workflow notifications. We used the system for 2 and a half years until our acquisition necessitated its discontinuation.

Namely's HRIS and payroll systems are connected but not fully integrated, which complicates data transfer between the two. The payroll interface is less user-friendly, creating additional workload for our payroll personnel and requiring more support from our HR implementation team. Although we were initially assured of specific reporting capabilities, we found ourselves unable to generate certain reports without delays and additional support from Namely.

Namely is particularly appealing to mid-market and small enterprise companies due to its price point and functionality, positioning it between basic SMB tools and more complex systems like Workday. However, newer entrants like Rippling and BambooHR are beginning to offer improved functionality at a competitive price, encroaching on the niche Namely once effectively filled.

When it comes to HRIS systems, none of them are perfect. It's really about finding a tool that can do 70-80% of what you need and have workarounds for the rest. My biggest factors for evaluating tools like this is to see if it'll take care of our "basic needs/high priority needs" first, whether it will be easy to use for the people who use it most, and then cost. I would start by creating a spreadsheet of what problems are you trying to solve, then label them–is this a basic need, high/medium/low priority? Make sure you include the stakeholders so you can look at the tool holistically and make better-informed decisions.

When we were using the tool, a lot of Namely's updates were more back-end functions. For example, they later implemented better reporting which helped make looking at data easier. This was great for HR teams because it reduced the friction in the product for us.

Namely is best suited for mid-market to smaller enterprise customers, typically with employee sizes ranging from 400 to 3,000.

• The platform is user-friendly for both employers and employees.
• It provides a centralized system to manage all employee benefits.
• It simplifies and streamlines the open enrollment process.

Maxwell Health was provided to my company through our insurance provider. Prior to this, my company did not have a centralized platform for managing employee benefits. Maxwell streamlined our open enrollment process and overall benefits management. It provided a single platform for employees to access and manage their benefits easily.

Additionally, it simplified benefits administration for the HR team, making the process much more efficient.

• It can be challenging to get direct support within the system.
• There were occasional issues with employee records after they updated their personal information.
• From an employer’s perspective, it was difficult to make changes during open enrollment once the official deadline had passed.

Maxwell offers a simplified and user-friendly platform that employees can easily navigate and understand.

Pricing should be a key consideration when selecting a platform. Ensure the tool is user-friendly for both employers and employees to avoid unnecessary complications. Integration with your payroll platform is highly beneficial for seamless administration.

Confirm that it is compatible with your offered benefits and your insurance broker’s platform(s) to avoid technical issues.

he platform has undergone slight modifications to improve usability, making it more user-friendly for employees.

Maxwell is well-suited for organizations that provide multiple benefits to their employees.

I like Rippling’s onboarding and offboarding workflows. The ability to requisition software and hardware for new hires is very helpful. I also appreciate the payroll interface and how easy it is to use.

My client bought Rippling to better automate their onboarding and offboarding processes. They also needed the ability to requisition software and hardware for remote, global team members.

Prior to using Rippling, they tracked everything in separate Google Sheets, and their processes were very manual. They did not have comprehensive onboarding and offboarding checklists, which Rippling now provides as part of the system. Rippling has helped standardize these processes and increase overall efficiency.

While I do not remember the exact cost, I believe Rippling is relatively expensive. Each module is sold separately, so pricing can add up quickly as functionality increases. Configuring workflows can also be time-consuming.

Rippling’s technology is more advanced than that of other HR and payroll software. The automation capabilities are also superior.

Consider the type of workforce you have and whether you need to requisition software and hardware. It’s also important to evaluate whether cybersecurity is a key concern for your organization, as Rippling addresses this well.

Rippling now offers a PEO option, which adds flexibility for businesses seeking a co-employment model.

Rippling is especially effective for tech companies with globally dispersed teams.