Paychex Flex Time and Attendance Review

Why Paychex Flex Is the Best All-in-One HR Solution for Tracking Time and Attendance

Many companies that offer time and attendance solutions are limited in the other HR solutions they offer, but that is not the case with Paychex. Paychex is easily the most comprehensive HR solution we reviewed, and it can fulfill a variety of HR needs in one integrated platform. In addition to time and attendance, users can take advantage of features such as payroll processing, employee hiring and onboarding, benefits administration, business insurance and HR consulting. If you need one or more of these services, you can streamline your overall HR process using Paychex.

Usability

Whereas many competitors we reviewed offer limited HR features – like time tracking, time off management and employee scheduling – Paychex is an all-in-one HR solution that also offers other HR processes, like employee hiring and onboarding, benefits administration, business insurance and payroll processing.

Having access to the fully integrated Paychex Flex solution can greatly improve your HR processes. Because all of your HR information will live in one comprehensive system, all of your functions will work together seamlessly, thereby reducing the potential for error, frustration and time spent working on HR. The comprehensive solution makes HR easier because you don’t have to spend time transferring information from one platform to the next (e.g., from a time and attendance system to payroll software).

Source: Paychex

With the Paychex Flex time and attendance plans, you can access several useful features that simplify time scheduling and tracking. For example, the software has visual schedulers and schedule templates to streamline employee scheduling, messaging features to communicate with your employees, and a host of reporting and tracking features to provide a clear view of where and when employees are working. Paychex’s employee scheduling and tracking features are highly competitive in the industry.

Paychex also has a mobile app with online employee self-service features that put a variety of HR functions in the hands of your workers. For example, employees can view and approve timecards, see work schedules and time off balances, and request time off. Their actions are automatically synced with the platform for review as needed.

Paychex Flex Time and Attendance Features

Paychex Flex time and attendance plans (Paychex Flex Time and Paychex Flex Time Essentials) can easily integrate with the rest of the Paychex HCM suite, including payroll, employee benefits, HR services and product integrations. Many competitors do not offer this functionality, and Paychex’s integrations with such a long list of in-house functions makes it a great one-stop shop for businesses that want various services from one platform.

Even the time and attendance features on their own are comprehensive. Here are some of the services you can receive with Paychex Flex:

Time Tracking

Paychex Flex offers a multitude of time collection methods. These flexible punch-in options can include basic time clocks, like those accessible from web browsers and mobile apps, or advanced time clocks, like a tablet kiosk app with facial verification or biometric iris or fingerprint scan time clocks. This variety of options gives you the flexibility to collect employee hours in a way that suits your business. Not many competitors offer such a wide variety of clock-in options, and even fewer offer biometric scanning.

Source: Paychex

Administrators can set a variety of restrictions and guidelines for how time can be collected. For example, they can set IP user restrictions, designate break and meal times, and adjust pay as needed. If you want to track the locations of your mobile workers, you can even use the geolocation and geofencing technology to ensure they are clocking in and out from the correct locations.

In addition to recording the hours your employees work, Paychex Flex Time allows you to use job costing and labor distribution features to ensure you are designating the correct number of resources to each project. Because Paychex Flex Time can integrate with the Paychex payroll solution, all of your employee hours can be automatically funneled into your payroll process. Although most competitors can integrate with payroll, not many offer in-house payroll themselves.

PTO Management

Managing employee paid time off (PTO) is an essential element in maintaining compliance with labor laws (which Paychex can also help you with), and once again, Paychex Flex has the features you will need. Employees can use the mobile app or dashboard to submit PTO requests and pay adjustments, and managers can use the software to respond to PTO requests and track employee leave. These features are on a par with the industry standard.

Source: Paychex

Employee Scheduling

With Paychex Flex Time, managers gain access to a number of scheduling features that can help ensure they are properly staffed. The software comes with a visual scheduler and templates to simplify the scheduling process. You can also set schedule exceptions and access capacity scheduling with worker availability and a weekly view. Employees can swap shifts as well, which is competitive with the industry standard for shift planning.

Source: Paychex

Reports and Notifications

Paychex offers a variety of reporting and notification features that can help you track employee attendance data and key performance indicators. We liked Paychex Flex Time because it offers real-time updates, activity, attendance data and labor analytics; for example, managers can easily see who is working and who is on break. Paychex also offers standard and ad hoc reporting and analytics, so you can pull the relevant data and forecast future labor needs.

Source: Paychex

Users can set overtime rules and receive alerts when employees are approaching overtime, which is a great way to maintain compliance with labor laws. You can also receive email and configurable alerts about other time and attendance matters. These functions are competitive with those of other companies in the industry.

Cost

Paychex is a comprehensive HR solution that offers several services. The company has two core offerings for time and attendance: Paychex Flex Time and Paychex Flex Time Essentials. As with most other Paychex products, you will need to contact the company directly to receive a quote that is customized to your specific business needs. Keep in mind that the price will likely go up if you want access to multiple Paychex services (e.g., time tracking, payroll, onboarding), but the convenience of having several HR solutions in one platform can be worth the cost.

Although online pricing is not necessarily a must-have, most competitors do list it. Most competitors also offer free trials, which Paychex does not advertise.

Setup

Because Paychex offers so many HR solutions in one platform, getting set up might take a little longer on the front end. First, you will need to contact a Paychex representative to discuss your specific needs and the features you need access to. Next, a representative will help you get your account set up, and you can begin inputting employee information. If you are integrating with the Paychex payroll solution, you will also need employee details specific to payroll processing services.

With the Paychex time and attendance solutions, you have the option to collect employee time in various ways (e.g., web browser, mobile app, kiosk app with facial verification, biometric iris and finger scanning, interactive voice response system). If you want one of the more complex time collection methods, you will want to set it up with your system.

Although Paychex is a comprehensive solution, it can also integrate with more than 190 third-party applications. If you are currently using other business platforms that you intend to keep, inquire about integrating them with your Paychex Flex solution.

Customer Service

Paychex offers a wealth of online resources about the Paycheck software and services, as well as general human resources information. For example, there is a knowledge center, a coronavirus help center, calculators, webinars and podcasts. There are also customer testimonials that provide firsthand accounts of the service.

If you need to contact a support representative directly, you can reach out via phone or web chat. Paychex says users gain access to a dedicated support professional, which not all competitors offer.

Drawbacks

One potential drawback of Paychex is that it does not list time and attendance software pricing online. Instead, you will need to contact Paychex directly to receive a quote based on your needs. While customized pricing can benefit some employers, having transparent online pricing can be a priority for companies that are on a budget and want to quickly compare costs.

Another potential limitation of Paychex is that it does not offer a free trial of the time and attendance software, whereas most competitors do. A free trial is not typically a dealbreaker, but it can be a risk-free way to learn if the software is right for you.

Methodology

We spent weeks researching and analyzing time and attendance systems to identify the top solutions on the market. We looked at features, pricing, integrations, usability and customer support, and we got hands-on experience with demos and product videos when possible. When looking for the best all-in-one HR solution for tracking time and attendance, we prioritized essential time and attendance features, like time clock options, employee scheduling, PTO management, and reports and notifications. We also looked at other HR services, like payroll, employee benefits, hiring and onboarding, and HR consulting.

What Is a Time and Attendance System?

A time and attendance system is a digital solution that employees can use to clock in and out via web browsers, mobile apps and tablet kiosks. Although the specific features and hardware vary among systems, businesses often use time and attendance systems to track employee hours and locations, schedule employee shifts, manage paid time off, track job and project expenses, and communicate with team members.

Bottom Line

We recommend Paychex Flex Time for …

• Businesses that want an all-in-one HR solution.
• Small and midsize businesses.
• Businesses that want a range of time clock options.
• Businesses that want an internally integrated payroll solution.

We don’t recommend Paychex Flex Time for …

• Businesses that need immediate online pricing.
• Businesses that need a free trial.