What people complain about in ADP
13 reported problems name ADP as what the person is currently using. Below is what they said was missing, and what they resorted to instead.
- Complaints
- 13
- Avg severity
- 3.2/5
- Would pay to fix
- 1
- Industries
- 4
What they wish it did
Capabilities people described needing that ADP does not give them, taken from the highest-scoring problems first. These are individual accounts written in each person’s own terms, so two entries may describe the same underlying gap in different words.
- Payroll-specific semantics understanding (gross vs net, deductions) in integration tool
- Automatic adaptation to provider export format changes without manual intervention
- Affordable, transparent all-in-one payroll software for micro-businesses without upsells
- Automated salary benchmarking tool for niche accounting roles with real-time market data
What they do instead
The manual processes people built around the gap. A long workaround list is the strongest evidence a problem is real: someone is already paying for it in time. Where several people described the same workaround, it is marked.
- Manually maps GL accounts across each provider's export format every cycle
- Spent 9 months and $340k on MuleSoft project that still requires chasing format changes
- Month-end close crept from 4 to 7 days due to reconciliation delays
- uses a tax preparer for payroll despite having AR/AP skills; researching ADP manually through calls
- asked Reddit for salary advice instead of using a database
- relies on informal networks and anecdotal feedback
Industries
The problems themselves
Highest opportunity score first.
Manual reconciliation of payroll data from multiple providers into ERP is slow, error-prone, and fails whenever providers change export formats.
4HighGeneral Business ServicesReconciliation & Cleanup WorkflowPayrollGlue SynchronizerSmall company paying $12k/year for ADP payroll is experiencing high costs, poor user interface, and botched tax filings with poor support.
4HighGeneral Business ServicesPayroll ManagementPayrollFlyPayroll provider ADP has increased costs significantly with no service improvement, and botched state unemployment filing caused 9 hours on hold.
4HighConstructionPayroll ManagementBuildPay ProSmall accounting firm is drowning in manual payroll compliance work for ~100 clients because their current software lacks automatic filings and payments.
4HighAccounting & BookkeepingPayroll ManagementPayrollComply HubSingle-owner S-Corp owner needs help understanding whether to use ADP payroll or DIY payroll, and is questioning the value of paying themselves a W-2 wage.
3MediumAccounting & BookkeepingPayroll ManagementS-Corp Payroll GuideSmall business owner frustrated with ADP payroll and seeking a better provider.
3MediumAccounting & BookkeepingPayroll ManagementPayrollEase ProAn occupational therapist running an S Corp needs guidance on handling late payroll payments to themselves due to delayed insurance reimbursements, while also navigating workers' compensation insurance requirements when setting up payroll systems.
3MediumHealth, Wellness, and BeautyAccounting & Financial ManagementSoloCorp Payroll AdvisorSmall business owner finds enterprise HR/payroll software too expensive and over-engineered for their needs, forcing them to downgrade to a basic solution.
3MediumGeneral Business ServicesHuman Resources ManagementSmallBizHR ProADP payroll software is too expensive and causing financial strain with no good alternatives found.
3MediumGeneral Business ServicesPayroll ManagementPayrollStreamSmall owner-operator business needs affordable payroll processing without overpaying tax preparer or being upsold unnecessary services by ADP.
3MediumGeneral Business ServicesPayroll ManagementMicroPayroll SimplifiedA CPA finds QuickBooks Online Accountant subscription too expensive relative to the low fees from 25 small business clients and needs more affordable bookkeeping and payroll software solutions.
3MediumAccounting & BookkeepingFinancial ManagementLedgerLite Accountant SuiteA solo S-Corp owner is unsure whether to use ADP or handle payroll themselves, seeking to balance cost savings with liability protection.
2MildAccounting & BookkeepingPayroll ManagementSoloPay ShieldThe firm needs to hire an accountant who can handle complex bookkeeping and tax tasks remotely with minimal training, but they are unsure of the realistic salary range.
3MediumAccounting & BookkeepingRecruitment & StaffingSalaryScope
Read this fairly
These are complaints, and only complaints — nobody posts to say their software worked. A high count mostly reflects how many people use ADP at all, so this page is not a quality judgement and should not be read as one. What it is good for is the shape of the gaps: the specific jobs people could not get done, which are the same whether the tool is popular or not.