APS is our payroll service and we also use the HR and Benefit modules. All of our employees us the eSelfServe module to see their pay stubs, W2s, and to enroll in benefits. Our HR department uses the software to run payroll, for benefit administration, and to store other relevant employee information.
Pros
Customer Service! I have worked with them through three implementations one for use and two for associated companies. Even though we are not a large company I always felt like there number one priority.
Intuitive Software. I find the software easy to navigate and understand. You can tell the designers were experienced with payroll.
The updates are great! They keep getting better over time.
Cons
Their tax department is the weakest department. They are quick to respond but are not always right.
The benefit administration still needs works. It will not accommodate all of our benefits right now or special enrollments.
We use APS for payroll and time tracking across the company. We are adding additional features like Event Tracking, Asset Tracking, Performance Reviews, ACA, Benefits Administration, etc., as we have the time internally. It provides us with a system (with multiple levels of manager and employee access) to capture, store and report on a tremendous amount of employment data.
Pros
Still has a dedicated personal support staff with broad product knowledge.
They do not release a feature until it has been fully vetted - much fewer bolt-on solutions.
Has embraced third parties (brokers, CPAs) as partners in using the platform.
Cons
Benefits Administration has pockets of plans that it cannot accommodate (age banded medical, benefit banks, etc.)
Likelihood to Recommend
The UI could use an update. Companies that are fixated on the "look" of the platform may be drawn to other systems. Should do an annual users conference with industry-specific breakout sessions.
We track time and attendance for 150 employees, use the HR module for quarterly appraisals, and store confidential documents for each staff member and corporate documents that must be esigned by each staff member. We create the ACA reports as well as W2 with APS.
We have 150 staff members and we pay twice a month. Managers actually add their new staff, place them in the correct department, and then the HR manager doubles checks the file before employment begins.
Managers approve the submitted time and attendance prior to the pay date, the HR manager gets reports on overtime, sick time, vacation and holiday time. Limiters are placed on the system so that any paycheck outside our boundaries is red flagged for the HR manager inspection.
Pros
It's fast and intuitive. Our previous contractors were ADP and Paychex and neither were intuitive. Our payroll runs have less errors now than with previous vendors. Payroll prep time is down from 5 hours with ADP to 2 hours with APS for the HR Manager.
The limiters are great. I'm always afraid of that error that no one caught. Let's assume that you add a $200 limiter to overtime. Any time that a staff member is about to receive more than $200 in overtime for that pay period, a red flag goes up for the HR manager to double check.
We have 3 programs in public schools that block certain ports. APS has a 2nd feature using GPS so that staff can only check in for their shift while they are in the designated GPS range. Great for someone who has to report to a remote location. Just add the GPS coordinates and they can't check until they get to the project.
Cons
Stratus Time lets you quickly scroll through the entire staff list. The APS system has an extra step. A small issue.
Stratus Time lets you create a template for a salaried staff and simply add days with that template. APS requires a hand created entry for each checkin
Likelihood to Recommend
They are more suited to growing, nimble companies. They are soon adding employee approval to time cards and checkin by facial recognition. Additions and changes to improve functionality might not work for a very large company like GE.
I have been using APS for two years and am very pleased. This software handles our HR and payroll needs. The switchover from our previous payroll system went off seamlessly. Training staff on the use of APS has been easy. And if we have an issue they have been quick to answer questions. I recommend them highly.
Pros
HR Function
Payroll setup
Tax reporting
Cons
Maybe a better discount for us non-profits
Likelihood to Recommend
It handles our job costing for construction sites very well.
We currently use APS bank wide, from viewing pay stubs to requesting time off. Within the next few months, we will be set up for the online evaluation process through APS. The report writing feature is used by HR, Financial Accounting, for auditing needs and cost center accounting.
Pros
Main thing: The thing that I find so helpful are the people who work at APS. I like the friendliness of the local (Shreveport, LA) staff and the quick turnaround to problem solving. They communicate!
The payroll program is easy to use, easy to correct with a user friendly viewing format.
Report writing program is very user friendly to technically challenged people like me.
I like the ongoing updates that APS is doing.
Cons
I have been disappointed in the communication between the programming department and its clients. I'm very impressed with the representatives such as Georgia, April and team, but not pleased with the turnaround time on solving issues. There was very little communication and only when I started the communication was there a reply.
Likelihood to Recommend
APS is well suited for everyday payroll processing, time scheduling and report writing. I can't say enough good things about the representatives being local.
We use APS Online through out the whole business. We have employees who want their payroll deposited in their accounts. Some split the deposit to their savings and checking and others deposit it to only their checking. We also have employees who want the physical check. APS Online makes this a simple operation. We just enter the information once and the requested action is repeated each and every time we print payroll. If for some reason (holidays) we need to change the way the payroll is processed, it too is an easy adjustment; just with a few key strokes we can have all the payroll printed here in our office.
Pros
We do not have to deal with awaiting the arrival of paychecks through FedEx or UPS, which includes an extra expense. We print right here in our office, when we are ready.
Should we need to print an employee's check early, that is easily done as a miscellaneous pay check. And it is recorded as such for that employee.
We do not have to worry about payroll taxes as APS Online takes care of it and they send us a report.
Cons
I can't find a weakness. The customer support is there - even with simple things as well as any difficulty we may have in house. APS Online works with us!
Likelihood to Recommend
APS Online does it all. There is no deficiency in the product or the customer service. If my contact person does not have the answer, she will find it out and call me. We can communicate with APS Online through e-mail or a phone call. They are always there and ready to help solve our problem.
We currently use APS for Payroll, Timekeeping, and Document Access for Employees company wide. It helps us to keep all store forms current without having to email all locations every time an update is made. Employees can also access there pay stubs and w2's. It helps me to run reports for easy access when filing unemployment request or if I need at a glance information is needed.
Pros
Report Generator - Allows you to custom build reports
Documents Management - Allows you to link company wide documents to eselfserve for employee access. This helps to make sure that your employees are always using the most current forms available vs emailing and saving forms to the computer.
Cons
I do not have any suggestions at this time.
Likelihood to Recommend
No
VU
Verified User
Administrator in Human Resources (51-200 employees)
APS OnLine is being used across the whole organization. All of our employees have embraced the new system increasing the number of direct deposits and paperless vouchers. Primarily, it has increased the online time management in place of time cards for our outlying areas along with time off requests eliminating approximately 15 hours of manual data entry.
Pros
APS OnLine is a great end user product and very easy for our employees. They have quick access to all their information, their accrual balances, hours worked, etc. They are able to enter their time off requests in the system. Although our prior system had these capabilities, employees had difficulty accessing system. If they couldn't get in, they couldn't use it. More employees logged on to APS in the first two weeks of use than in the prior three years with former system.
Integration - Data is real-time. When you enter information in one area of the software, it is immediately present in the rest of the system. No waiting for overnight interface. Change log provides backup for any changes that have been made as well as safeguards in the approval process.
Administrative ease - The system is very straight forward, logical, and easy to operate from the administrative end. [There is a] designated representative to address questions as they arise. No sitting on hold.
Cons
Reporting - We have six different business units and the reporting is separate for all three. Most reporting I do requires information from all business units so am running six reports and then copying and pasting to get the report I need.
Multi-state taxes - We have a number of employees who live in New York and work in New Jersey. APS OnLine is designed to accommodate one state withholding so ability to have "worked in" state and "lived in" state taxes withheld went away. This was a shortfall.
The Carrier connection setup took much longer than expected. After a year, we are still having some issues with some items transferring over to the GL.
The CA overtime calculation does not calculate after 8 hours per day, only on the 40 per week so we override each week.
Reporting - when running Benefit reports, it recognizes employees who formerly carried the plan but may have dropped it. To get around this, we have to delete off the employee's record so the history is not readily available.
Likelihood to Recommend
Our goal was to simplify our payroll process and make it more user friendly. Very happy with final outcome.
Today was our first payday with APS Online. We are using it for payroll, timekeeping and HR throughout the entire organization. The use of the timekeeping module has eliminated the need for manual time sheets and streamlined the whole process for payroll. The HR module will reduce the amount of redundancy and use of various spreadsheets currently used to gather and store information.
Pros
The customer service with APS has been exceptional.
The transition from another payroll provider to APS Online was seamless.
The actual processing of the payroll was easy.
Cons
A suggestion would be within the payroll module - it does not automatically calculate the hourly rate for a salaried employee. The calculation must be done manually and entered into the system.
Likelihood to Recommend
We are brand new to APS Online but so far I haven't found any scenarios that we haven't been able to figure out with our account manager.
