Shareworks vs Ascentis

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Our analysts compared Shareworks vs Ascentis based on data from our 400+ point analysis of HR Management Software, user reviews and our own crowdsourced data from our free software selection platform.

Shareworks Software Tool
Ascentis Software Tool

Product Basics

Shareworks is a comprehensive software solution designed to streamline HR management tasks, particularly focusing on equity plan administration. It is most suited for companies of all sizes that need to manage employee stock options, restricted stock units, and other equity compensation plans efficiently. The platform offers robust features such as real-time reporting, compliance tracking, and seamless integration with payroll systems, making it a valuable tool for HR departments. One of the key benefits of Shareworks is its ability to simplify complex equity management processes, reducing administrative burden and ensuring accuracy. Users appreciate the intuitive interface and the detailed analytics that provide insights into employee engagement and plan performance. Compared to similar products, Shareworks is often praised for its user-friendly design and comprehensive support services. Pricing for Shareworks varies based on the size of the company and the specific features required, typically involving a subscription model with annual payments. This flexibility allows businesses to scale their usage according to their needs, making it a cost-effective solution for managing equity compensation.
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Ascentis offers HCM services to companies of all industries via its cloud-based suite. Its five modules include time and attendance, payroll, HR and benefits, talent, and recruiting. Users can choose to pick individual functionalities or the entire package of services, depending upon their needs.

It facilitates process automation for several complex business processes and transactions, reduces the probability of errors, offers real-time analytics, eliminates manual work, and helps talent managers and organizations cater to their human resources and talent management requirements. It also provides ease-of-use through an interface that can be accessed anytime, anywhere on a desktop, tablet or smartphone.
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$3/User, Monthly
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$16/Employee, Monthly
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Tailored to your specific needs
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24/7 Live Support
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Product Insights

  • Streamlined Equity Management: Simplifies the administration of equity plans, reducing manual errors and saving time for HR teams.
  • Enhanced Employee Engagement: Provides employees with easy access to their equity information, fostering a sense of ownership and motivation.
  • Regulatory Compliance: Ensures adherence to global regulatory requirements, minimizing the risk of non-compliance and associated penalties.
  • Data-Driven Insights: Offers robust reporting and analytics tools, enabling data-driven decision-making and strategic planning.
  • Scalability: Adapts to the needs of growing companies, supporting a wide range of equity plans and participant numbers.
  • Cost Efficiency: Reduces administrative costs by automating complex processes and minimizing the need for manual intervention.
  • Improved Accuracy: Ensures precise tracking and management of equity grants, vesting schedules, and transactions.
  • Global Reach: Supports multinational organizations with features tailored to different countries' tax and legal requirements.
  • Employee Self-Service: Empowers employees to manage their equity plans through a user-friendly portal, reducing HR workload.
  • Integration Capabilities: Seamlessly integrates with other HR and financial systems, ensuring data consistency and reducing duplication of efforts.
  • Audit Readiness: Maintains detailed records and audit trails, facilitating easier and more efficient audits.
  • Customizable Solutions: Offers flexible configurations to meet the unique needs of different organizations and equity plans.
  • Real-Time Updates: Provides real-time updates on equity transactions and valuations, ensuring stakeholders have the most current information.
  • Security and Privacy: Employs advanced security measures to protect sensitive employee and company data.
  • Employee Education: Includes resources and tools to help employees understand their equity plans and make informed decisions.
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  • Optimized Team Performance: Gather information and feedback for each employee, from all sources. Uncover talent and top-performing employees as well as facilitate planning that results in optimized team performance. 
  • Quality Applicants:  Showcase an employer brand when seeking new employees to encourage the maximum number of quality applicants. 
  • Efficient Employee Onboarding: Eliminate duplicate data entry and leverage the cost saving benefits of switching to an online application process instead of an offline process. Cut costs, make onboarding more efficient and reliable, and gain complete access to data 24/7. 
  • Regulatory Compliance: Stay compliant with all essential employment regulations such as FMLA, FLSA, and other local and state laws that require consistency and vigilance. 
  • Real-Time Payroll Processing: Ensure accurate, efficient payroll processing and audits. Run payroll processing anytime, from any place, as many times as required. 
  • No Tax-Related Penalties: Remove the stress of incurring accidental late filing penalties by ensuring timely payroll deposits and filing. 
  • Complete Customization: Tailor the system in ways that best suit company needs, enabling maximum usage and functionality. 
  • Automated Benefits Administration: Save time and reduce manual effort by automating benefits management, administration and employee enrollment processes. 
  • Data-Driven Decisions: Compare metric goals with data insights to make data-driven decisions that lead to improved overall performance. Leverage more than 300 templates for standard reports or customize reports to suit organizational requirements. 
  • Real-Time Self Learning: Cultivate and encourage self-learning and employee development through training resources that are available in real time. 
  • Enhanced Employee Experience: Users can access upcoming schedules, select open shifts, view and request leaves, check paycheck history and statements, punch in and punch out, find co-workers, receive important notifications and alerts, and much more. 
  • On-the-Go Access for Managers: Stay on top of tasks from anywhere. Manage employee schedules, check notifications for employee requests, and approve or reject leaves and expense reports from the user-friendly mobile app. 
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  • Equity Plan Management: Comprehensive tools for managing various types of equity plans, including stock options, restricted stock units (RSUs), and employee stock purchase plans (ESPPs).
  • Global Compliance: Ensures adherence to local regulations and tax laws across multiple jurisdictions, reducing the risk of non-compliance.
  • Participant Portal: A user-friendly interface for employees to view and manage their equity holdings, exercise options, and track vesting schedules.
  • Real-Time Reporting: Advanced reporting capabilities that provide real-time insights into equity plan performance, participant activity, and financial impact.
  • Automated Workflows: Streamlines administrative tasks with automated processes for grant issuance, vesting, and option exercises.
  • Integration Capabilities: Seamlessly integrates with HRIS, payroll, and financial systems to ensure data consistency and accuracy.
  • Customizable Dashboards: Personalized dashboards that allow administrators to monitor key metrics and access critical data at a glance.
  • Mobile Access: Mobile-friendly platform enabling participants to manage their equity plans on-the-go via smartphones and tablets.
  • Tax Optimization Tools: Features that help participants and administrators optimize tax outcomes related to equity transactions.
  • Audit Trails: Detailed audit logs that track all changes and transactions, ensuring transparency and accountability.
  • Employee Education Resources: Comprehensive educational materials and tools to help employees understand their equity compensation and make informed decisions.
  • Data Security: Robust security measures, including encryption and multi-factor authentication, to protect sensitive information.
  • Scalability: Designed to accommodate the needs of companies of all sizes, from startups to large enterprises.
  • Support Services: Access to dedicated support teams and resources to assist with implementation, troubleshooting, and ongoing management.
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  • Time and Attendance: Offers several functions such as leave management, time tracking, employee scheduling, advanced scheduling, a mobile app and compliance. 
  • Employee Scheduling: Provides management automation for several key aspects like split shift intervals, leave balances, overtime, expenses and total work hours. 
  • Advanced Scheduling: Helps schedule workflows and optimize all scheduling processes end to end. Evaluates unique rules and requirements within an organization and then auto-generates schedule recommendations based on that information. 
  • Payroll: Payroll processing occurs in real time, offering maximized accuracy, compliance, control and flexibility. 
  • HR and Benefits: Provides functionalities such as benefits management, HR compliance, HR solution customization, employee self-service, reporting and more. 
  • Talent Management: Customizable and user-friendly module. Capabilities include succession planning, compensation planning, performance management, learning management, check-ins, 360-degree assessments and real-time feedback. 
  • Recruiting: Acts as a dynamic career portal, helps with social media outreach, enables efficient onboarding and improves workflow management for HR-related functions. 
  • Ascentis Mobile Application: Two types of access are available — one for employees and another for managers and supervisors. Based on their role, users can share messages, update and access information, and perform other activities, all through a smartphone or a tablet. 
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Product Ranking

#121

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#13

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User Sentiment Summary

Good User Sentiment 14 reviews
Good User Sentiment 626 reviews
74%
of users recommend this product

Shareworks has a 'good' User Satisfaction Rating of 74% when considering 14 user reviews from 1 recognized software review sites.

77%
of users recommend this product

Ascentis has a 'good' User Satisfaction Rating of 77% when considering 626 user reviews from 4 recognized software review sites.

n/a
4.0 (251)
3.71 (14)
4.2 (51)
n/a
2.0 (1)
n/a
3.7 (323)

Synopsis of User Ratings and Reviews

Easy to Use: Users consistently praise Shareworks for its intuitive interface, making it easy to navigate and manage employee equity plans, even for those with limited experience.
Streamlined Administration: Shareworks simplifies the administration of equity plans, automating tasks like grant issuance, vesting calculations, and reporting, freeing up HR teams to focus on other priorities.
Comprehensive Reporting: The platform provides detailed reports on equity plan activity, allowing HR to track key metrics, analyze trends, and make informed decisions about compensation and equity strategies.
Excellent Customer Support: Users consistently highlight the responsiveness and helpfulness of Shareworks' customer support team, providing timely assistance and resolving issues efficiently.
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Customer Service: All reviews mentioning this aspect indicated that the customer support services quickly resolve all user issues.
Ease of Use: An easy-to-use interface helps new users to quickly learn and understand its versatile features, according to 85% of reviews on this element.
PTO Calculation: 90% of reviews that mention PTO noted that all employees can send PTO requests via self-service and easily calculate their PTO earned by the end of the fiscal year.
Less Data Input: 100% of reviews on integration noted that the smooth integration between payroll and HR modules allows information to flow easily between systems, without feeding data in multiple times.
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Limited Reporting Options: Some users have found the reporting features to be limited, making it difficult to track key metrics like employee engagement or performance.
Steep Learning Curve: The platform can be complex to navigate, especially for new users, requiring significant time investment to master its functionalities.
Lack of Customization: Users have expressed frustration with the limited customization options, making it challenging to tailor the platform to their specific HR needs.
Integration Challenges: Integrating Shareworks with other HR systems can be a cumbersome process, leading to data inconsistencies and potential errors.
Customer Support Issues: Some users have reported difficulties reaching customer support or experiencing long wait times for assistance.
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Inaccurate Reporting: 100% of reviews on reporting indicated that the software sometimes creates random reports or files that are outside the set criteria, and that it’s time-consuming and confusing to create new reports or look through report history.
Password Reset: Employees are unable to reset their own passwords for the employee self-service functionality, according to 60% of reviews on the element.
Implementation Process: 85% of reviewers who mention this feature indicated that Ascentis has a time-consuming implementation process, due to the numerous features it provides.
Data Entry: All reviews on data entry observed that the ATS feature sometimes has multiple data entries of the same information.
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Is Shareworks really share-worthy, or does it need a performance review? User reviews from the past year present a mixed bag when it comes to Shareworks. Some users appreciate the platform's intuitive design and robust reporting capabilities, highlighting how it simplifies complex equity plans and provides a clear audit trail. For example, one user praised the software's ability to model different forecasting scenarios, which helped them make informed decisions about their equity compensation. However, other users have voiced concerns about the platform's customer support and occasional technical glitches. One user specifically mentioned experiencing difficulties integrating Shareworks with their existing HRIS system, leading to delays and frustration. This disparity in experiences suggests that Shareworks's suitability hinges on specific needs and expectations. Shareworks seems to be a good fit for publicly traded companies or large private companies with sophisticated equity compensation plans, especially those already familiar with Morgan Stanley's suite of financial services. Its strengths lie in its comprehensive features, detailed reporting, and integration with other Morgan Stanley products. However, smaller businesses or those with simpler equity structures might find the platform's complexity and cost outweigh its benefits. Ultimately, deciding whether Shareworks truly "works" for your organization requires careful consideration of your specific requirements and a thorough assessment of its capabilities against your needs.

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Ascentis provides à la carte solutions for human capital and workforce management. It can be a good pick for companies that are looking for software that has an intuitive interface, seamless integration between payroll and HR, PTO, benefits calculation and responsive customer service. However, several reviews mentioned reporting is inaccurate, challenging and cumbersome. There are also issues with duplicate data, and implementation is time-consuming. It can be a good choice depending on company needs and priorities.

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