Anyone who has worked in HR solutions or payroll is familiar with ADP, Inc. This giant of the payroll processing industry offers a whole range of products for businesses of every size. For smaller businesses, they offer ADP RUN. With full-service payroll features and expanded HR features available, ADP RUN is a solution for businesses that value scalability and ease of use.
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What is ADP RUN?
ADP RUN is a payroll solution designed to make the process of payroll quick and easy for small businesses.
While ADP is a payroll and HR platform available for all sizes of businesses, ADP RUN is a specific version of the tool made for smaller businesses and startups. The primary role of ADP RUN is to facilitate payroll, though it also offers tax filing and reporting. Customers can choose from a large range of add-ons to enhance the tool and make it a fit for their business.
RUN is available both for desktop as a website, as well as through an easy-to-use mobile application. The tool is designed to be extremely simple and intuitive and offers a range of wizards to walk through the process.
Who is ADP RUN best for?
ADP RUN is specifically built for businesses with less than 50 employees, so generally the smallest businesses out there. Most businesses that use ADP RUN will have at least a few employees since that is where payroll comes in. A sole proprietorship, for example, is unlikely to need the software.
Businesses of any size can choose to use ADP RUN, even if they exceed the 50-employee threshold. Larger businesses may choose to use the tool if they have simpler needs or do not want to make a large investment yet. RUN is also aware that many business owners may have never run a payroll before, so the tool offers many options for guidance and wizards that explain the process.
ADP RUN is specifically made for companies that are based in the United States, though employees and offices can be elsewhere.
Pros
- The basic plan includes full functionality to process payroll
- Access to other ADP products is fast and easy
- Scalability is simple for businesses both growing and shrinking
- System is simple to use on both web and mobile app
- Reports and tax filing are automatic
- Plans can be customized using add-ons
- Top-notch security offerings
- Does not require payroll experience
Cons
- Pricing for anything above the basic plan is not publicly available
- Many features have an added cost, including year-end reporting
- Costly compared to competitors
- Requires a fee to enroll for most clients
- Support can take a long time because of the large customer base
ADP RUN features
High-quality payroll features
Even at the lowest-tier plan, the Essential plan, the suite of payroll tools offered in ADP RUN is impressive. Payroll can be managed from both a desktop or a mobile application, employees can be paid in a variety of ways, and the process is easily automated. The service includes tax filing and correspondence with agencies, payroll and HR reports, employee access, and new hire onboarding.
Broad offering of add-ons
While ADP RUN’s base plan focuses on payroll services, it is easy to integrate other ADP services for a fee. Everything from time tracking to retirement services to insurance benefits is a part of their suite and can be plugged into the existing tool with little effort or setup.
Scalability
If a business grows or shrinks after they have signed up with ADP RUN, the tool offers simple ways to shift its plan. Businesses that grow may choose to move to ADP Workforce Now, or they can move to Roll by ADP if the business drops to 10 or fewer employees. All of these options include similar features and make scaling easy, avoiding the need to find a new provider.
Onboarding tools
When a new employee is hired, ADP RUN steps in to do much of the necessary work. Employee Access gives them the ability to receive payroll and HR documents, and complete necessary forms like W-4 and I-9 forms. Employees can use the same tools to view pay stubs and year-end tax forms, both online and on their mobile devices.
Tax tools
One of the primary reasons a business will look for payroll software is to help with taxes. Processing the correct payroll reports, filing them with the right tax agencies, and then remitting payroll taxes on the proper schedule are important HR tasks that require accuracy. For small business owners, a tool like ADP RUN that takes care of things like filing and remittance and yearly forms can be a huge asset.
ADP RUN pricing
One of the largest concerns around ADP RUN is the lack of transparent pricing. Only one tier has pricing available online – the Essential package. This package includes all the basic features and costs $79 per month as a base rate, and $4 per employee per month.
There are three additional tiers available:
- Enhanced, which includes insurance management, labor law posters, background checks, and job posting through ZipRecruiter.
- Complete, which provides additional HR services, performance tracking, an HR library and toolkits, and an employee handbook wizard.
- HR Complete, including HR advisor support, training courses, web advising, and legal assistance.
- HR Pro, which includes small business payroll features plus enhanced HR features.
Add-on features like retirement plans, group health insurance plans, and time and attendance are also available for a fee. However, to obtain the cost of any advanced tier or add-ons, customers will need to discuss directly with an ADP sales rep. Some sources show a range of $88 to $250 as the base price, plus employee-based pricing on top of the base monthly cost. However, there is no way to confirm this without working directly with a sales rep who can calculate discounts and costs.
ADP RUN customer support
Support is available through ADP for both employees and payroll administrators, with separate teams and offerings available for each role. This includes a toll-free phone number to reach agents and online help desk and support options.
Administrators can also access an FAQ page, as well as a password-protected support portal for additional help. Though many elements of the software are self-service, support is available for it all.
Some users report long wait times because ADP has a large customer base.
FAQs
ADP RUN provides payroll services for all pay periods to companies in the range of 11-50 employees. Services include payroll management, human resources, onboarding, and tax filing. The tool can also include add-on services like retirement management, insurance and benefits, and direct deposit. ADP RUN is available on an easy-to-use website and a mobile application.
ADP RUN is available for companies of all sizes which are based out of the United States. It is recommended for companies with more than ten employees and less than 50 employees and allows for scaling between products if company size changes.
Yes, ADP RUN is available in both desktop and mobile formats. The mobile application is easy to navigate and can be accessed by both administrators and employees.
These HR tools are different offerings from ADP. While RUN is a payroll tool for companies with 11 to 50 employees, Roll is a chat-based mobile app used just to pay employees and contractors in the United States.
