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Zenefits launches free payroll software for small businesses

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Re: Zenefits launches free payroll software for small businesses

#31

Post by SandersAK »

gatsby wrote: post #21
mrmch wrote: post #16

Has anyone done a breakout comparison of Zenefits vs Gusto (/zenpayroll)? There has to be quite a few companies who have benefits with Zenefits and payroll in Gusto; wondering what's ideal moving forward.

I would love to see this as well. A salesperson from Gusto (fka Zenpayroll) who we use for payroll sent me multiple emails about switching to Gusto for benefits, so I emailed, "Hey - We're currently running everything through Zenefits. Are there any advantages to switching over?" and I never heard a response. Could have been a mistake (i.e. forgot to respond), a bad salesperson, etc. but not having any differentiator…

fwiw, we've had less than a great time with Zenefits, whereas with Zenpayroll, we've been amazed at how good they were. They helped get through some tricky payroll business, and were always quick to make sure everything was in order.

I'm happy to pay the money and get the faster response times, better website, and stronger relationship with ZP (errr Gusto).

We'll probably move off of Zenefits entirely soon.

Re: Zenefits launches free payroll software for small businesses

#32

Post by mintplant »

SwellJoe wrote: post #19
mikemac wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> a free product that performs the most important function of their very expensive product line There is zero chance I'd subject employees to a hacked together payroll system. Building one is far from trivial, considering the complexities of tax and employment law in 50 different states.

I've not seen any indication that Zenefits is offering a shoddy product. Their other products seem to be well-regarded, do they not? And, their other products are in the same general area (most benefits programs have some tax and accounting repercussions that they'd need to understand, as well as integration with banks and payroll systems), so they already have some domain expertise in-house. So, yes, it's hard to bu…

>Their other products seem to be well-regarded, do they not?

Not entirely, no. There's a history of Zenefits customers and their employees suffering from serious technical and support failures.

http://www.buzzfeed.com/williamalden/zenefits-hr-rocket-ship...

>in late February this year, with coverage supposed to start days later, Zenefits informed Hawkins that it had made a significant mistake, attempting to enroll his employees with an insurance provider that didn’t cover the company’s region. The insurance wouldn’t come through as planned. [...] In several cases employees like Harris, who had put their trust in Zenefits, were left without health insurance for a month or more after they had expected it.

Re: Zenefits launches free payroll software for small businesses

#33

Post by Randuin »

SandersAK wrote: post #31
gatsby wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would love to see this as well. A salesperson from Gusto (fka Zenpayroll) who we use for payroll sent me multiple emails about switching to Gusto for benefits, so I emailed, "Hey - We're currently running everything through Zenefits. Are there any advantages to switching over?" and I never heard a response. Could have been a mistake (i.e. forgot to respond), a bad salesperson, etc. but not having any differentiator…

fwiw, we've had less than a great time with Zenefits, whereas with Zenpayroll, we've been amazed at how good they were. They helped get through some tricky payroll business, and were always quick to make sure everything was in order. I'm happy to pay the money and get the faster response times, better website, and stronger relationship with ZP (errr Gusto). We'll probably move off of Zenefits entirely soon.

Where are you thinking about moving to?

Re: Zenefits launches free payroll software for small businesses

#34

Post by semiquaver »

tzier wrote: post #12
SwellJoe wrote: post #4

I don't know much about this industry, but this seems like a hilarious response to the ADP lawsuit. When your partner/competitor screws you really hard, launching a free product that performs the most important function of their very expensive product line is just about the most satisfying form of vengeance I can think of. Also, I hate Intuit Payroll (and it's cost me a small fortune due to deadlines being missed and…

I doubt this is a response to ADP; ADP is a horrible product, and Zenefits knew they could make a better solution (like ZenPayroll/Gusto). They've probably been working on this for a year, to be honest, given the requirements for payroll providers and syncing with the IRS/etc. What's more interesting is that the payroll is free only if the company manages everything else HR related in Zenefits. Talk about lock-in.

The CEO explicitly says that this is a response to ADP:

> As Conrad tells it, a select group of Zenefits employees holed up in the Courtyard Marriott to start working on a secret project to create a payroll system shortly after paycheck services giant ADP cut the company off earlier this year.

> “We’ve been working on this basically since the day we started getting blocked by ADP,” Conrad told TechCrunch.

http://techcrunch.com/2015/11/16/zenefits-launches-its-own-p...

Re: Zenefits launches free payroll software for small businesses

#35

Post by SandersAK »

Randuin wrote: post #33
SandersAK wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

fwiw, we've had less than a great time with Zenefits, whereas with Zenpayroll, we've been amazed at how good they were. They helped get through some tricky payroll business, and were always quick to make sure everything was in order. I'm happy to pay the money and get the faster response times, better website, and stronger relationship with ZP (errr Gusto). We'll probably move off of Zenefits entirely soon.

Where are you thinking about moving to?

Gusto

Re: Zenefits launches free payroll software for small businesses

#37

Post by goeric »

SandersAK wrote: post #31
gatsby wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would love to see this as well. A salesperson from Gusto (fka Zenpayroll) who we use for payroll sent me multiple emails about switching to Gusto for benefits, so I emailed, "Hey - We're currently running everything through Zenefits. Are there any advantages to switching over?" and I never heard a response. Could have been a mistake (i.e. forgot to respond), a bad salesperson, etc. but not having any differentiator…

fwiw, we've had less than a great time with Zenefits, whereas with Zenpayroll, we've been amazed at how good they were. They helped get through some tricky payroll business, and were always quick to make sure everything was in order. I'm happy to pay the money and get the faster response times, better website, and stronger relationship with ZP (errr Gusto). We'll probably move off of Zenefits entirely soon.

I would like to see the hold times for Zenefits decrease. The customer service, once getting somebody on the line, is very good. But to be fair, I also have hold times for Gusto, too. I had to put in a call-back number today.

Re: Zenefits launches free payroll software for small businesses

#38

Post by x0x0 »

SwellJoe wrote: post #19
mikemac wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> a free product that performs the most important function of their very expensive product line There is zero chance I'd subject employees to a hacked together payroll system. Building one is far from trivial, considering the complexities of tax and employment law in 50 different states.

I've not seen any indication that Zenefits is offering a shoddy product. Their other products seem to be well-regarded, do they not? And, their other products are in the same general area (most benefits programs have some tax and accounting repercussions that they'd need to understand, as well as integration with banks and payroll systems), so they already have some domain expertise in-house. So, yes, it's hard to bu…

My 15-person company uses zenefits. When our HR person was sold on zenefits she was promised some features that, bluntly, didn't and don't exist. They also, as a user, required some emailing to get stuff set up. It seems to be ok now that it's all set up, but it definitely wasn't 0 friction initially.

Re: Zenefits launches free payroll software for small businesses

#39

Post by tomasien »

tzier wrote: post #12
SwellJoe wrote: post #4

I don't know much about this industry, but this seems like a hilarious response to the ADP lawsuit. When your partner/competitor screws you really hard, launching a free product that performs the most important function of their very expensive product line is just about the most satisfying form of vengeance I can think of. Also, I hate Intuit Payroll (and it's cost me a small fortune due to deadlines being missed and…

I doubt this is a response to ADP; ADP is a horrible product, and Zenefits knew they could make a better solution (like ZenPayroll/Gusto). They've probably been working on this for a year, to be honest, given the requirements for payroll providers and syncing with the IRS/etc. What's more interesting is that the payroll is free only if the company manages everything else HR related in Zenefits. Talk about lock-in.

I think ADP and Gusto forced their hand. They realized they needed to be in control of this part of their business, and while before they had planned it as an "eventually" thing, it became a material risk that was no longer tolerable. If I were them in the absence of the ADP shut down and Gusto competing head to head I would have wanted to focus every dollar on the core service and scale and kicked Payroll down the road. Makes sense in context they did it now though.

Re: Zenefits launches free payroll software for small businesses

#40

Post by SwellJoe »

semiquaver wrote: post #34
tzier wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I doubt this is a response to ADP; ADP is a horrible product, and Zenefits knew they could make a better solution (like ZenPayroll/Gusto). They've probably been working on this for a year, to be honest, given the requirements for payroll providers and syncing with the IRS/etc. What's more interesting is that the payroll is free only if the company manages everything else HR related in Zenefits. Talk about lock-in.

The CEO explicitly says that this is a response to ADP: > As Conrad tells it, a select group of Zenefits employees holed up in the Courtyard Marriott to start working on a secret project to create a payroll system shortly after paycheck services giant ADP cut the company off earlier this year. > “We’ve been working on this basically since the day we started getting blocked by ADP,” Conrad told TechCrunch. http://tech…

I would have probably been working on it before that, if I were them, as I don't ever feel comfortable being a sharecropper on someone else's land. But, they've delivered quickly.
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