Ceridian Review

Pros

• Valid in all 50 states
• Good tax support

Cons

• Non-transparent pricing
• Limited features

Ceridian HR/Payroll Overview

Ceridian software provides human capital management (HCM) solutions designed to help small businesses manage their HR and payroll needs. However, it is not to be confused with the company’s flagship online human resource management (HRM) platform, Dayforce. If someone wanders onto the Ceridian website via an internet search of payroll providers, the Dayforce software is impressive, modern, and sparkly. During the beautiful demo videos, though, there isn’t any mention that Dayforce is a product for businesses with 100+ employees only.

As a small business owner, it would be easy to assume Dayforce’s bells and whistles might also be available with the Ceridian HR/Payroll program, but make no mistake: The small business version is not similar. The Ceridian sales representative was so repetitive about how the products differed that I am sure people make that mistake quite a bit. It seems, even if the effect is unintentional, that small businesses suffer through a bait and switch. See all those pretty features? Yeah, those aren’t for you.

As expected, there are a few reasons why the Ceridian HR/Payroll system might work for small businesses. However, until the Ceridian small business version can look and function more like Dayforce, it’s hard to recommend!

From what we’ve seen in the limited number of available Ceridian reviews, as well as our own evaluation, it appears that if you’re looking for ease and high functionality, affordability, and quick implementation, Ceridian HR Payroll can’t measure up to other options, such as Gusto or SurePayroll. If you have more than 100 employees, this review is not for Dayforce.

If you’re eligible, Dayforce is worth checking out. It is highly rated, and a demo of the product demonstrated its superiority. It’s the flagship for a reason, but until Ceridian can put the same energy and attention into its Ceridian HR Payroll product, there isn’t much to offer small businesses. I’d recommend going where you’ll be catered to and appreciated as the target clientele.

Specific Size Of Business

Specifically, this program is for small businesses with between one and 99 employees. Ceridian claims that this is its small business solution to HR and payroll, but its interface and lack of features make it non-competitive among the other more small-business-centered programs, such as Gusto.

Ceridian Pricing

Ceridian doesn’t publish its pricing online, but it was easy to receive a quote via email by a salesperson within a day. Unfortunately, Ceridian runs in the high range of online payroll programs, and the bells and whistles don’t exist to warrant paying for a basic service.

In addition to a payroll processing fee, a per-person payroll fee (roughly $7 per person), and additional fees for running payroll in multiple states, our quoted monthly cost was between $250-$275 a month. There is also a one-time set-up fee for implementation. And payment doesn’t include the fees for filing W-2s, which is an additional cost per employee. With limited integration options, you might pay more in broker fees if you wish to offer health insurance options versus other payroll companies that partner directly with insurance companies.

Ceridian

Ceridian does not disclose pricing, so contact the company directly for a quote. The Ceridian HCM solution offers the following HR and payroll services:

• Unlimited payroll runs
• Calculates paychecks
• Calculates and files year-end forms
• Excel import available for timesheets
• Employee self-service portal
• Third-party employee verification
• PTO management

Extra Costs

Before going with Ceridian, here are some additional costs to be aware of.

• Workers’ Compensation Insurance: Most businesses with one or more employees across all 50 states need workers’ compensation as a legal business requirement. It pays for medical expenses and lost wages if an employee gets injured on the job. The payroll program will calculate workers’ comp deductions, but Ceridian does not partner with any specific organizations.
• Filing W-2s: Ceridian charges extra for filing and sending W-2s.
• Multistate Processing Fees: If you are processing payroll for people in different states, expect to pay a $12 processing fee per state to file taxes.
• Medical/Dental/Vision: If you wish to offer medical benefits to your employees, you will need to manage the insurance yourself or hire a broker. The Ceridian program will calculate and remove money from payroll, but the program is not currently matched with medical options.
• Priority Delivery Fee: This is a fee for printing and delivering paychecks. If 100% of your company’s payroll is done through direct deposit, this fee gets waived.

Cloud-Based Or Locally-Installed

Ceridian HCM is cloud-based, with no downloads or installation required.

Hardware & Software Requirements

As cloud-based software, Ceridian operates with nearly all internet browsers so long as you have internet access. To read forms and use the print checks feature, you will need Adobe Reader 7.0+ or the Firefox PDF plugin. There’s no mobile app for employers or employees at this time.

Ease Of Use

Demo videos were all Ceridian offered me, so I couldn’t play around in the program myself. From the demo footage, it’s easy to see that the platform is outdated and slightly clunky. There isn’t much to the software, so in that regard, it’s very easy to navigate between the features: HR, employees, payroll, leave accruals, benefits, reports, and code tables.

It appears that much of Ceridian is bespoke, as the demos frequently mentioned that features and needs are outlined and designed during implementation. The implementation stage is also when your company would set up third-party connections to your benefits, workers’ comp, and retirement services. Customization options inside the program are limited. For all of the assistance needed for implementation, it’s impressive that the set-up fee isn’t steeper. (We were quoted approximately $300 for a one-time fee.)

Ceridian Software Features

Ceridian offers the basics you’d expect with a payroll solution. Here’s an overview of what features Ceridian includes:

• Dashboard: From the dashboard, accessible from anywhere, you have a working web browser, access to help, links to your embedded programs (set up during implementation), and you can submit payroll. You can also navigate to the other payroll features via a toolbar at the top of the page.

• Employee Portal: The employee self-service portal is another customized section. During implementation, you can decide how the navigation appears to employees and what they have access to. Employees can make changes that go to a system administrator for approval.

• Employee Management: Ceridian has a few features to help you manage your employees and contractors from a single interface. You can add information to an employee file, including job title, payment information, time off, tax documents, and benefits. The program allows you to manage additional earnings, deductions, and garnishments.
• Payroll: Once your employees are enrolled, their hours and pay scales set, and your pay dates set, running payroll is simple. Ceridian will pay your taxes and file your quarterly payroll reports for you, but note that filing W-2s is an additional fee.
• Payment Methods: You can pay your employees by check, direct deposit, or payment card. Paying with checks includes a monthly cost for the printing and delivery fees.
• Pay Stubs & Checks: Employees can download a PDF of their pay stubs directly from their employee portal.
• Paid Time Off (PTO): You can set paid time off policies on any plan, including vacation and sick days. Set sick days/vacation or accrued sick days/vacation are both possibilities.
• Reports: The Ceridian platform comes with 52 available reports already loaded. There is also a custom form builder and report writer.

• Benefits Administration: Ceridian HCM does not partner with any benefits administrators, but it will help you organize your process within the system. You can set up opportunities for employees to choose benefits through the self-service portal.
• Payroll Garnishment: Ceridian can handle pay garnishment for you.
• Tax Support: There is 24/7 access to tax information, and Ceridian will file quarterly and yearly payroll taxes, including local taxes. There is a bundled tax support option with Dayforce that appears to have been offered to the Ceridian HR Payroll service before, but it is unclear if that tax support is available to companies with less than 100 employees at this time.

Ceridian Customer Service & Support

Again, without the assistance of reviews and customer testimonials, it’s difficult to assess Ceridian’s customer service and support. However, based on my personal experiences with the company, I don’t think small business sales are its bread and butter.

• Phone: Ceridian has a phone line. There are no listed hours.
• Email: Yes, there is a way to contact customer service through email, either from outside or inside your payroll program.
• In-Software Support: Within the software, you or your users can access help sections.
• Help Center: There is an online help center with articles, forms, and lists to help keep you knowledgeable and organized.
• Social Media: Ceridian maintains Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn accounts.

Ceridian Reviews

Ceridian recently underwent some rebranding. The payroll system used for small businesses has been known as Redwood or Freedom, but finding reviews of any of these three payroll companies is difficult. Even cached reviews of the service under its old name proved fruitless. Dayforce reviews are ubiquitous and glowing, but again, the Dayforce program isn’t available for small businesses.

With the Merchant Maverick rubric for payroll software, until there are more reviews on the product, the company will receive a “fair” rating.

Negative Reviews & Complaints

Because there isn’t a large enough base of feedback from Ceridian Payroll reviews, here are the potential complaints and drawbacks that I foresee with this product:

• Non-Transparent Pricing & Fees: Death by a million fees! There are fees for this and that, fees to add programs, fees to find brokers, etc. Once a business adds up its needs, the Ceridian platform is no longer an affordable option for small businesses.
• Limited Integrations: If you use any other software, there is a chance it won’t integrate with Ceridian, and you’ll be directed to create new systems within the platform. If you like some of your other platforms, it may be difficult to integrate.

Positive Reviews & Testimonials

Here are a few potential positives for small businesses that I foresee with this product based on the demo and sales experience:

• Onboarding Help: No matter which program you purchase, there are specific representatives dedicated to making sure you are set up from start to finish. Since this part of the process is a bit tedious, it’s nice to have the extra assistance in making sure all the required forms get filled out.
• Customized Experience: It might be clunky, but if your business can shift its HR/payroll into one location, Ceridian does express a keen interest in creating a customized experience for your business. If you know what you want and can communicate that with your representative, the company is committed to working with you.

Ceridian Integrations & Add-Ons

There is no specific list of integrations. The sales representative and demo stated that integrations are designed and customized based on company need. With that in mind, it will require a Ceridian representative to set up and maintain your system. Changes will need to happen at the Ceridian level.

Security

The Ceridian website does not mention specific security techniques, but when it comes to securing personal data, the group had this to say:

Ceridian has implemented policies, procedures and practices to protect personal data.  Ceridian protects personal data using recognized industry standard security safeguards appropriate to the sensitivity of the personal data. Ceridian reviews its security policies and procedures on a regular basis and updates them as needed to maintain their relevance. Ceridian makes reasonable security arrangements to protect personal data in its custody or under its control from and against risks, such as loss or theft, as well as unauthorized access, collection, use, disclosure, copying, modification, disposal and destruction.

The methods of protection include physical measures, organizational measures and technological measures.

Ceridian FAQs

Final Verdict Of Ceridian

It’s hard to recommend a company’s second-best product when it is apparent the flagship product receives all the innovation, attention, and marketing. Is Ceridian a competent and decent payroll system? Yes. With its customizable options, a company could likely make the system work for them. But small businesses with under 100 employees are still in need of robust services that cater to their needs, and everything from the communication about my business numbers was issued a “warning” that I was not eligible for Dayforce. (Insult to injury!)

As for the unimpressive demonstration videos, I was not wowed or wooed. It’s totally acceptable if Ceridian doesn’t want to focus on small businesses or if it isn’t sure there is a good ROI, but to limp in an effort when its other option appears stellar makes the disparity obvious. Other companies keep the business experience equal, whether they are working with a small business or an enterprise company. Unfortunately, Ceridian didn’t present itself as one of those companies.

Check out other payroll options that are better for smaller businesses and more cost-effective, such as Gusto or SurePayroll. Businesses looking for a basic payroll system that is significantly cheaper (or free!) than Ceridian might find Square a good fit.

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