The payroll preparation process has long been a labor-intensive set of administrative tasks designed to ensure that everyone is paid correctly and on time. Typically this is a transactional and compliance-centered function that involves manual adjustments, reconciliations and answering routine questions. However, things are changing. With the help of new digital technologies and delivery models, the payroll function today is delivering new value to the business through data-driven decision support as well as a better employee experience.

This Value Index report evaluates the following vendors that offer products that deliver payroll software as we define it: ADP, Ceridian, Kronos, Oracle, Paychex, SAP SuccessFactors, Ultimate Software Group and Workday. We urge organizations in search of a deployment or upgrade of this function to do a thorough job of evaluating payroll systems and tools and offer this Value Index as both the results of our in-depth analysis of these vendors and as an evaluation methodology.