Paycom vs SumTotal

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Our analysts compared Paycom vs SumTotal based on data from our 400+ point analysis of Talent Management Systems, user reviews and our own crowdsourced data from our free software selection platform.

Paycom Software Tool
SumTotal Software Tool

Product Basics

Paycom is a cloud-based payroll management software designed to streamline payroll processing for businesses of all sizes. It automates tasks like calculating taxes, generating paychecks, and filing reports, saving time and reducing errors. Paycom is particularly well-suited for companies with complex payroll needs, such as those with multiple locations, international employees, or union contracts. Some of Paycom's key benefits include its ease of use, scalability, and compliance support. The software is known for its intuitive interface and comprehensive features, making it easy for both administrators and employees to navigate. Paycom can also be customized to meet the specific needs of different businesses, regardless of size or industry. Additionally, Paycom stays up-to-date on all tax and regulatory changes, ensuring that businesses are always in compliance. When compared to similar payroll products, Paycom generally receives positive reviews from users for its user-friendly interface, comprehensive features, and reliable customer support. However, it is also known to be one of the more expensive options on the market, with pricing based on the number of employees and the complexity of payroll needs.

Pros
  • Easy to use interface
  • Comprehensive features
  • Reliable customer support
  • Scalable for businesses of all sizes
  • Strong compliance support
Cons
  • Higher cost compared to competitors
  • Complex pricing structure
  • May require additional setup for complex needs
  • Limited reporting customization options
  • Not ideal for very small businesses
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SumTotal is a cloud-based HR Management software catering to mid-sized to large organizations. It packs a comprehensive suite of features covering talent acquisition, learning & development, workforce management, and performance management. Users praise its robust reporting & analytics, rich learning library, and mobile-friendly accessibility. However, the extensive customization options and powerful tools come with a steeper learning curve for administrators. Additionally, SumTotal's potential for high integration costs and higher price point compared to basic solutions make it less suitable for smaller companies. While some users struggle with complex content creation tools and limited instructor-led options, SumTotal shines in its ability to scale and adapt to dynamic needs, making it a strong contender for organizations seeking a feature-rich, customizable HR management platform, especially those with substantial training requirements and a dispersed workforce.

Pros
  • Comprehensive learning library
  • Robust reporting & analytics
  • Scalable for large organizations
  • Mobile-friendly learning
  • Customizable user experience
Cons
  • Steep learning curve for admins
  • Limited instructor-led options
  • Complex content creation tools
  • Potentially high integration costs
  • Pricey for smaller companies
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$25/Employee, Monthly
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Chromebook
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Mobile
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Mobile

Product Assistance

Documentation
In Person
Live Online
Videos
Webinars
Documentation
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Videos
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Email
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FAQ
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Knowledge Base
24/7 Live Support
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24/7 Live Support

Product Insights

  • Reduced errors and improved accuracy: Paycom automates manual tasks and calculations, minimizing the risk of human error in payroll processing. This leads to more accurate paychecks and fewer compliance issues.
  • Increased efficiency and time savings: Streamlined workflows and automation free up HR teams from tedious tasks, enabling them to focus on strategic initiatives. Employees can also access self-service tools for faster issue resolution and time off requests.
  • Enhanced compliance: Paycom stays updated with complex tax regulations and automatically calculates and files payroll taxes accurately and on time. This reduces the risk of penalties and fines associated with non-compliance.
  • Improved employee satisfaction: Self-service portals and mobile access empower employees to manage their own payroll information, paystubs, and benefits enrollment. This transparency and convenience contribute to a more positive employee experience.
  • Scalability for growth: Paycom adapts to growing businesses by accommodating changes in employee numbers, pay structures, and complex payroll needs without requiring additional software or integrations.
  • Data-driven decision making: Robust reporting and analytics provide valuable insights into workforce trends, compensation costs, and other payroll data. This empowers informed decision-making and strategic HR planning.
  • Improved communication and transparency: Paycom facilitates clear and timely communication between HR, managers, and employees regarding payroll information, policy changes, and benefits updates.
  • Reduced administrative burden: Automated workflows and paperless processes minimize manual tasks and paperwork, freeing up HR teams to focus on higher-value activities.
  • Enhanced security and data protection: Paycom employs robust security measures and data encryption to protect sensitive employee information and ensure compliance with data privacy regulations.
  • Dedicated customer support: Paycom offers comprehensive customer support, including training resources, online help, and dedicated representatives, to assist users with any questions or issues.
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  • Employee Retention: Provide tools for employee development, management and learning practices that encourage employee retention. 
  • Enhanced Productivity: Talent managers can continuously onboarding to speed up overall productivity. 
  • Organizational Stability: Learning-centered employee development builds an agile workforce that is adaptable to changing business environments. 
  • Learning Ecosystem: Invest in research and development on the latest learning trends, which managers can leverage to enhance employees' learning experience. 
  • Talent Engagement: Engage top talent while moving through the recruitment process, understand the workforce, identify the best talent and build a seamless experience for candidates as well as hiring teams. 
  • Enhanced Candidate Experience: Offer smartphone-optimized sites with intelligent and automated interview tools, candidate matching, and an easy-to-use mobile app interface. Keep applicants informed about upcoming interview details via a user dashboard. 
  • Accelerated Time-to-Performance: Seamless onboarding training helps new hires get up to speed quickly. Provide unique company policies and work culture for them to become familiar with the company. 
  • Smooth Role Switch: Access onboarding plans for new roles that include defined goals, new teams and KPI’s that ensure a more seamless transition to new responsibilities. 
  • Robust Manager and Admin Capabilities: Managers and administrators can easily view, schedule, filter, mark up and share reports from a mobile dashboard. Leverage reporting tools, advanced reports and dashboards at a single click. 
  • Informed Compensation Plans: Create smart, data-driven compensation plans according to preset or custom parameters. Real-time performance insights and budget modeling make compensation informed, fair and cost-effective. 
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  • Applicant Tracking System (ATS): Build customizable databases to view relevant applicant information and track candidates as they move through the application process. Managers can search and sort applicants by information such as degree, specific skill sets, work history and more. 
  • Compensation Management: Define budgets, award bonuses and integrate with payroll to ensure that all employees receive fair compensation without overspending. 
  • Job Posting: Allows managers to post open positions to thousands of job boards. Managers can also rely on recruitment data to build reports to determine if their recruiting efforts are working. 
  • Payroll: Calculate taxes, process payroll, account for employee expenses and more, directly through the platform. Automate payroll processing, ensuring that employees are always paid the accurate amount at the correct time. 
  • Performance Management: Schedule and facilitate employee performance appraisals directly through the platform. 
  • Reporting: Leverage Paycom’s built-in analytics to generate reports on a variety of processes, including payroll, time and attendance, compensation and more. 
  • Scheduling: Create and edit employee schedules and approve requests for time off through the system’s calendar. Automate time tracking and integrate with payroll to streamline pay processing. 
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  • Talent Development: Provides combined functionality of talent onboarding, talent management and learning management solutions to cater to talent development requirements. 
  • Talent Acquisition: Helps create a streamlined hiring cycle, hire the right talent, engage fresh recruits and drive productivity from day one. 
  • Learning Management:  
    •  Helps provide a customized, personalized and engaging learning experience tailored to the skill and competency of individuals rather than the whole team. 
    •  Ease of access on all devices, along with an offline mode, ensures seamless and consistent access to content and courses. 
  • Talent Management: Personalized and intuitive tools help employees pursue career growth and development. Capabilities include performance management, 360-degree feedback, succession planning and compensation management. 
  • Performance Management: Provides comprehensive feedback and tools that make feedback actionable, constructive and insightful. Measures workforce productivity, progress and priorities in real time. 
  • Succession Planning: Enables talent managers to identify and assess skill gaps, build agile talent pools, and align employee success with business goals and objectives. 
  • Compensation Management: Simplifies and streamline compensation plans, and helps build competitive packages to attract and retain top recruits. Workflow automation and compensation management tools aid compliance with complex global policies. 
  • Workforce Management: Bundled payroll, benefits and expense management minimize time, cost and efforts while maximizing accuracy. Features include automated scheduling, time and attendance, absence management, and compliance. 
  • Applicant Tracking System: Includes real-time alerts and notifications for offer approvals, a unique dashboard and reports widgets, customizable requisitions, and a consolidated requisition workspace. 
  • Mobility: Provides access to tools and reporting capabilities at all times and from any location. The dashboard can be operated using a tablet, desktop, mobile app or a phone browser. 
  • Growth Edition: Caters to the needs of fast-growing small and medium-sized businesses. Includes webinars, instructor-led training, approvals, and additional learning resources that users can access and configure anytime. 
  • Extended Enterprise: Helps build a brand image, accelerate growth and drive new sources of potential revenue. Facilitates an enriched and optimized learning experience for distributors, partners and customers. 
  • Gamified and Collaborative Learning: Helps: 
    •  Assess and accelerate learning with gamification capabilities that include leaderboards, points, levels and badges. 
    •  Enhance employee engagement by identifying and rewarding the right learning behaviors. 
    •  Enrich the knowledge of new hires with collaborative learning, up-to-date content, feedback and social ratings. 
read more...

Product Ranking

#9

among all
Talent Management Systems

#62

among all
Talent Management Systems

Find out who the leaders are

Analyst Rating Summary

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AI-based Capabilities
Onboarding
Performance Management
Learning Management
Employee Communication
Learning Management
Onboarding
Performance Management
Succession Planning

Analyst Ratings for Functional Requirements Customize This Data Customize This Data

Paycom
SumTotal
+ Add Product + Add Product
AI-based Capabilities Compensation Management Dashboard And Reporting Employee Communication Learning Management Mobile Capabilities Onboarding Performance Management Recruitment And Applicant Tracking Succession Planning 100 30 0 75 86 0 100 92 80 78 93 40 0 100 100 0 100 100 96 100 0 25 50 75 100
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Analyst Ratings for Technical Requirements Customize This Data Customize This Data

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User Sentiment Summary

Great User Sentiment 2809 reviews
Fair User Sentiment 132 reviews
85%
of users recommend this product

Paycom has a 'great' User Satisfaction Rating of 85% when considering 2809 user reviews from 6 recognized software review sites.

69%
of users recommend this product

SumTotal has a 'fair' User Satisfaction Rating of 69% when considering 132 user reviews from 4 recognized software review sites.

4.4 (14)
n/a
4.2 (935)
3.2 (39)
4.34 (672)
2.7 (7)
4.4 (640)
n/a
4.8 (162)
4.0 (56)
3.6 (386)
2.9 (30)

Synopsis of User Ratings and Reviews

User-Friendly: 85% of reviews mentioning the interface noted the platform has an intuitive layout, with all features organized and easy to locate.
Customer Service: Customer support is highly responsive, as asserted by 100% of reviews referencing it.
Employee Self-Services: All users referring to self-service observed that employees can easily upload documents, view information and track performance.
Performance Reviews: An open dialogue tool makes employee performance reviews more effective, as indicated by 70% of reviews mentioning this feature.
Use Anywhere: The mobile app is easy to use and has all desktop features available, as asserted by 100% reviews on this feature.
Customization: Customization for most features helps cater to a company’s unique requirements, as noted by all reviews on product customization.
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Robust Tools: All reviews on this feature suggest that SumTotal provides a robust set of talent development and management, payroll, and workforce management solutions.
Effective Tracking: According to 80% of reviews on tracking, the software optimizes talent management by tracking development and career growth.
Self-Service: Managers and employees can access and complete training courses at their convenience, according to all reviews on self-service.
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Login Process: All reviews on the login process observed that employees need to log in every time they open the software, as there’s no password save feature.
Challenging Transition: Transitioning between the client and employee side is challenging and cumbersome, as users need to log in to both systems, according to all reviews on this aspect.
Learning Curve: All users reviewing learning noted that the platform has a steep learning curve, making adaptation difficult for new users.
Integration Capabilities: The system doesn't provide integration with major third-party platforms without using SFTP or API, as indicated by 100% of reviews on this feature.
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Outdated Course Content: About 70% of reviews on course content reported that some modules aren’t frequently updated, resulting in an outdated learning experience.
Non-Intuitive Functions: Most features and functions aren’t intuitive, making it difficult to navigate, according to all reviews on this aspect.
Access to Reports: Accessing and pulling reports is extremely tedious and slow, according to 100% of reviews on reporting.
Customer Service: All reviews on customer support suggest that customer service is very slow and unresponsive.
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Paycom users in the past year have expressed both enthusiasm and concerns about the software. Many praise its user-friendly interface, mobile app convenience, and comprehensive feature set, which includes payroll, HR, benefits administration, and talent management. Compared to competitors, users find Paycom to be more intuitive and integrated, streamlining HR processes and saving time. Additionally, customer service is often lauded as responsive and helpful. However, some drawbacks are also mentioned. Implementation can be complex and require significant initial effort. Pricing concerns surface, with Paycom perceived as costlier than some competitors. While offering a wider range of features, this may not be necessary for all businesses, leading to potential overpaying for unused functionalities. Overall, Paycom seems to be a powerful and user-friendly option for companies seeking a one-stop HR and payroll solution. However, its complexity and cost warrant careful consideration, especially for smaller businesses or those with simpler needs. Comparing features and pricing with competitors is crucial to ensure Paycom aligns with your specific requirements and budget.

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SumTotal users paint a mixed picture, praising its robust functionality and mobile accessibility while critiquing its clunky interface and steep learning curve. Many laud its comprehensive suite, encompassing everything from onboarding to performance management, finding it a one-stop shop for HR needs. One user gushes, "It's like having a whole HR department in the cloud!" However, ease of use seems to be a major sticking point. Comments like "The interface feels outdated and unintuitive" and "Learning curve is a mountain, not a hill" pop up frequently. This is often contrasted with praise for competitors like Workday, lauded for its sleek design and user-friendliness. One user sums it up: "SumTotal has the depth, Workday has the polish." Mobile accessibility shines as a bright spot, with users appreciating the ability to manage tasks on the go. This stands out compared to some competitors, making SumTotal a good fit for companies with a mobile workforce. Ultimately, SumTotal seems to be a powerful tool for organizations willing to invest the time and effort in mastering its complexities. As one user puts it, "It's not perfect, but it's incredibly versatile. If you can handle the initial climb, the view from the top is pretty good."

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