If you're on a Galaxy Fold, consider unfolding your phone or viewing it in full screen to best optimize your experience.
Ben Gran is a freelance writer based in Des Moines, Iowa. He has written for regional banks, fintechs, and major financial services companies. Ben is a graduate of Rice University.
ADP® is one of the biggest names in human capital management (HCM) and HR, providing advanced technology and outsourcing solutions for major corporations worldwide. But ADP also provides small business payroll software, called RUN Powered by ADP®. Nearly 800,000 small business clients use ADP's payroll solutions. If you want a powerful suite of payroll processing solutions in a "small business" package, RUN Powered by ADP could be the right choice for your business.
Pricing Plans: RUN Powered by ADP® offers four payroll and HR plans:
Essential Payroll
Enhanced Payroll
Complete Payroll & HR+
HR Pro Payroll & HR
Unfortunately, ADP does not share pricing information for these plans on its website. You have to contact ADP to get a custom price quote for your business.
RUN Powered by ADP® is designed for small businesses with 1-49 employees. This is serious payroll software with powerful features for HR and employee benefits -- and it could be the best choice for a wide range of small businesses and industries.
RUN Powered by ADP® offers four payroll software plans that could be a good choice for your small business. Some plans offer more advanced payroll processing features, while others include higher levels of sophisticated HR support.
All of the features listed below are included in all four tiers of RUN Powered by ADP® -- including the simplest plan, Essential Payroll. Here are a few of the best features of RUN Powered by ADP®:
This payroll software lets you run payroll online (via desktop or laptop computer), from a mobile app, or via phone. Whether you're at the office, in your store or restaurant, or on the go, RUN Powered by ADP® makes it convenient to run payroll.
Not every small business payroll software solution offers automatic payroll, but ADP does. RUN Powered by ADP® lets you put recurring payroll on auto-pilot, so you don't have to re-enter the same details every time. This can be a useful way to save time and avoid data entry errors.
RUN Powered by ADP ® gives you options to pay people with direct deposit, via check or with the Wisely® Direct debit card. Wisely® by ADP is a prepaid account that workers can use for earned wage access (to get paid when they want, not just on payday) or to receive direct deposits from other sources, like other employers or government benefits programs.
The best payroll software should make payroll taxes automatic, and RUN Powered by ADP® accomplishes this. ADP's software automatically calculates, deducts, pays, and reconciles your people's taxes for every paycheck. ADP will also create W-2 and 1099 forms for your workers, and (for an additional fee) will file these tax forms for you. Based on the website, it's not clear if some of these tax form filings might require an additional fee:
No one wants to experience tax errors or misunderstandings with tax authorities. But if it happens to your business, it's good to have someone in your corner who can resolve any tax questions quickly. In case of inquiries or issues with tax authorities, ADP will respond to the inquiries that are relevant to its work on your company's deposits and returns. And in case of a tax filing error by ADP, the company will pay for the fines or penalties.
RUN Powered by ADP® makes it easy for your workers to enter their own information during onboarding of new hires, and get access to their payroll details anytime. ADP® Employee Access lets people sign up for paperless pay statements, see their pay history, view W-2 and 1099 forms for up to three years, and manage ADP retirement accounts.
RUN Powered by ADP® integrates with several of the big-name accounting software brands, via General Ledger Interface. This feature lets you export your ADP journal entries into your accounting software (Creative Solutions, QuickBooks® Wave, Xero) or a generic output file. Save time on rekeying data and get a clearer view of your small business accounting and bookkeeping. These and other integrations are available in the ADP Marketplace.
Compared to other companies we've reviewed, ADP is rather tight-lipped about its payroll software product. During my research, it was hard to access certain information about exactly how the ADP product works.
For example, when I tried to sign up for a self-guided demo to see the functionality of RUN Powered by ADP® behind the scenes, the company said that this information had to be kept confidential, with no screenshots. Because of these restrictions, I do not have as detailed of an impression of this product as I have for some of the other best small business payroll software.
As a company, ADP has a great reputation and is an industry leader in HR software; ADP works with some of the biggest employers on Earth, and hundreds of thousands of small businesses. I have no reason to doubt that this ADP small business payroll product is well-designed and easy to use. But I don't have a lot of evidence and examples that can be shared publicly.
ADP does not share pricing details on its website for the RUN Powered by ADP® product. Exact pricing will be based on your business size and which features and functionalities you want to include in your payroll software plan. Contact ADP to discuss your business needs and get a customized price quote: 800-225-5237.
ADP offers 24/7 support, which most other payroll services do not. Even if you're having payroll issues outside of regular business hours or in another time zone, you can get support for RUN Powered by ADP®. The ADP support team will also help you with switching payroll providers.
Support for RUN Powered by ADP® is available online within your ADP account, or by phone. If you don't know exactly where to find your correct ADP service center, call the ADP Login and Support Help Center at 844-227-5237.
RUN Powered by ADP offers you a solid payroll application from a payroll leader with years of experience to back it up. This alone can make the cost of RUN Powered by ADP a worthy investment for your small business.
Access to numerous add-on applications, excellent reporting options, good HR resources, and easy integration with your accounting application are some additional benefits you'll enjoy while using RUN Powered by ADP.
All ADP payroll applications, including RUN Powered by ADP, are more expensive than most of its competitors, and while ADP is one of the premier payroll service providers, there are several market competitors that provide many of the same features.
Difficulty in getting ADP to commit to a specific price can also be frustrating, but in the end, may be worth it.
RUN Powered by ADP® is a powerful, full-service payroll software solution. It also offers optional add-ons for time and attendance, workers' compensation, health insurance, and retirement plans. The smallest businesses with one or two employees can likely find what they need for basic payroll processing, and larger companies with a few dozen employees can customize their experience with RUN Powered by ADP ® to get extra HR features and other advanced capabilities.
As of April 12, 2024, ADP was not sharing information on its website for pricing of RUN Powered by ADP®. If you want pricing for your business, you'll have to talk to the sales team for a specific price quote. But here's one good thing about ADP pricing -- you can get three months of free payroll when you sign up for RUN Powered by ADP® by June 30, 2024 (terms apply).
Contact the ADP Sales team. The best way to get pricing, ask for a guided demo, and otherwise understand your business's options for how to use ADP payroll software is to call (800) 225-5237. Or go to the ADP website and click "Get Pricing," fill out the inquiry forms with your email and phone number, and ADP will contact you.
If you want a payroll software solution that will let you start small and simple (with "only" payroll processing), and then expand to more advanced features, RUN Powered by ADP® could be a good choice. The ADP brand is well-respected in the world of HR software, and its payroll processing solutions are likely to be accurate and easy to use. 24/7 customer support is also a good benefit of RUN Powered by ADP®.
This software is generally considered to be a good fit for businesses with 1-49 employees. Larger companies might need a more robust solution. Talk with the ADP Sales team for more information and to see how your company could benefit from RUN Powered by ADP® -- or other ADP products.
It is hard to obtain pricing and other publicly-shareable details from ADP, so I don't know exactly if RUN Powered by ADP® is a "low cost" option for payroll software, or not. But assuming that the price is competitive with the other best payroll software on the market, this software could be a good choice for lots of small businesses.
Even if you only sign up for the basic "Essential Payroll" plan, you're getting a full-service payroll processing solution. You can also add on to it with advanced features like health insurance and retirement plans. RUN Powered by ADP® is a flexible, adaptable payroll solution that can grow along with the complexity of your business and meet a wide range of needs. And if you qualify, you can get three months of free payroll (according to a special offer available as of April 12, 2024).
Yes, it does, though you will have to purchase the Enhanced plan if you'd like ADP to also process SUI.
Yes, a mobile app for both iOS and Android devices is included in all plans.
ADP offers phone support for both payroll administrators and employees, so both can contact the company with questions or concerns.
Exact pricing is not publicly available. Contact the ADP Sales team for pricing and other details: (800) 225-5237.
This payroll software solution is designed for small businesses with 1-49 employees, and can serve a wide range of industries.
If you qualify for the terms, RUN Powered by ADP® offers three months of free payroll (as of April 12, 2024).
We're firm believers in the Golden Rule, which is why editorial opinions are ours alone and have not been previously reviewed, approved, or endorsed by included advertisers. The Ascent, a Motley Fool service, does not cover all offers on the market. The Ascent has a dedicated team of editors and analysts focused on personal finance, and they follow the same set of publishing standards and editorial integrity while maintaining professional separation from the analysts and editors on other Motley Fool brands.
