Zenefits Reviews

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Pricing

Start at $8/user/month

Type of Pricing Plan

Monthly , Annual

Devices Supported
Windows
Mac
Linux
Android
iPhone
Web-based
Integrations
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Zenefits is a cloud-based HR suite trusted by thousands of businesses and nonprofits across the US. It’s an innovative and intuitive all-in-one solution that helps startups and small businesses thrive. To give you a detailed overview of how the product fares against industry standards and assess whether it is doing a good job, we went through numerous Zenefits reviews to check the overall customer satisfaction and tested the software ourselves. Read on for the result of our extensive research.

Key Features
Automatic salary changes
Direct deposit
35+ integrations
Hiring & onboarding
Payroll & benefits
Business intelligence
Strengths
  • HR management system
  • Time & attendance tracking
  • Well-organized navigation
Weaknesses
  • No employee analytics
  • Limited mobile access
  • Customer service
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An Easy-To-Use Onboarding System Streamlined to Assist SMBs

From hiring documentation and background check authorization to managing paid time off requests and approvals, the Zenefits HR software offers an abundance of functions to accommodate over 200 users. Naturally, for a platform loaded with so many features, one would expect a challenging UI. The research for our Zenefits review, however, showed it is particularly suited for inexperienced HR managers and takes user-friendliness to a whole new level. 

 

Zenefits HR Review 

Zenefits strives to alleviate the headaches of small businesses and the challenges they often face. The vendor has therefore developed its core features around making all onboarding processes painless and paperless.

 

Hiring & Onboarding 

The onboarding experience will determine your employees' initial impression of the company, which makes quality onboarding software essential. Zenefits reviews claim that this platform delivers a smooth onboarding process courtesy of its intuitive options. 

The employee directory is where new hires are registered by name and job title, after which the user sends an offer letter chosen from the available templates or uploads their own and leaves it to Checkr to conduct the background check. Once this is done, the process is left in the new hire's hands, who via the self-onboarding feature provides other vital information (digital signature, and W-4 and I-9). Our Zenefits review, however, flags potential delays related to the background check done via Checkr as the platform can sometimes take too long.

 

Employee Management

To reduce the burden of manual tasks, Zenefits makes sure all staff files are recorded electronically. Once the onboarding process is completed and the salary, hire date, and other relevant information are added, employees are ready to be managed through the dynamic org charts and employee directory. This process is fully automated. Whenever changes are made to an employee profile, the data is automatically synchronized across the entire platform. So, the real-time data syncing, which is rarely offered by Zenefits competitors, keeps the Benefits, Scheduling, and Payroll features up to date. 

There are some hiccups, though, with user reviews revealing that the org charts do not allow multiple job roles or multiple owners/CEOs, and there is no tracking of certifications or training for employees. A Zenefits vs Gusto comparison meanwhile shows that both platforms have included applications to streamline the hiring of contingent workers and offer PTO policy settings for full-time, part-time, and hourly workers making it an all-inclusive platform.

 

Time-Off Tracking

Through the online dashboard, HR managers can streamline essential yet time-consuming tasks, one of which is attendance or PTO policies, in line with the company culture. All of this can be easily created and managed by admins who can approve time-off requests on the website or over their smartphone via the Zenefits app (also available for staff). And while the general impression is that time-off reporting and creating PTO policies is a breeze, Zenefits reviews observe the platform could be more robust to accommodate fast-growing companies' needs. We noticed that there is no option to change an employee’s status to leave of absence, which is a critical feature — the solution here is to change their paid time off accrual rate and salary. The good news is that developers are currently working on improving this area. 

 

Business Intelligence & Documentation Management

Depending on the benefits employees have enrolled for, this Zenefits HR feature enables admins to create and download different reports. Our Zenefits review shows that the Benefits Audit enables HR managers with easy access to the types of benefits staff have signed up for. The report also contains all deductions and contributions, which is extremely helpful when the company is audited. 

Regarding the company's overall health and reporting about compensation summaries, headcount activities, and turnover rates, Zenefits competitors such as Gusto provide a much cleaner PDF version. The good thing about Zenefits though, is it allows edits in Excel. Also, unlike most HRIS, this reporting tool is founded on a step-by-step process and doesn’t require any training, making it an ideal fit for startups and SMBs. Things get even easier with documentation management since all tax documents can be auto-generated and stored in the Zenefits HR. This includes company documents such as handbooks, privacy policies, non-competes, etc. 

 

Benefits Administration Tool

Providing employees with world-class benefits packages means partnering up with benefits brokers, making it easier for customers to shop for benefits plans directly from within the Zenefits ecosystem. The benefits offered via the HR platform are not only competitive but informative for employees. With the benefits administration tool, employees can compare the plan they are interested in and decide which coverage works best for them. Mind you, Zenefits customer reviews say all this seamlessly integrates with the payroll and is available via the app.

Reviews further attest to this service's usefulness, stating that open enrollments are simplified, courtesy of the Zenefits benefits administration tool. Namely, one satisfied customer reported that out of 150 employees asked to enroll via Zenefits, all selected benefits tailored to their needs, without asking any questions on how to log in to the system or what benefits to opt for. 

 

Zenefits Payroll Review

Relying on a fantastic HR suite is excellent, especially one that integrates with payroll software because it will save your company precious time and money. The Zenefits payroll is an add-on that syncs with all features of the HR system, such as the employee directory, hours worked, PTO, and the benefits plan your employees have enrolled.

The Zenefits payroll management features exist to serve HR managers to stay up to date but are also available for employees to have full visibility into their earnings. The payroll timeline contains past and present payroll data, while the smart formatting of the dynamic stubs helps employees better understand their paychecks.

Our Zenefits performance review found the easy comp and pay preview incredibly helpful. With the easy comp, teams can better coordinate on bonuses and commissions because it is done on a single platform. At the same time, the pay preview functions as an overview tool to ensure everything is inserted correctly from the first to the very last digit.

Some of the key Zenefits payroll features that make it such an efficient solution are the automatic pay runs that help companies decide which payroll schedule best fits them. For example, the payroll is so detailed that it allows restaurant owners to report tips. The automatic tax filings meanwhile enable admins to process W-2s and file taxes throughout 50 states — all in compliance with overtime pay regulations as set by the Fair Labor Standards Act. 

What should be noted in this Zenefits payroll review is that the platform's core functionality evolves around HR management, meaning it does well with paychecks and taxes for smaller companies but might cause mixups with a higher number of employees. This is mainly because more employees mean more different types of tax and benefits calculations, which the payroll add-on is simply unable to process. 

 

Zenefits Time Tracking Review

From recording and monitoring vacation to sick leave and working from home, the Zenefits time tracking gives a full overview of your employees’ working hours, overtime included. This time and attendance module is a flexible solution that admins can adapt and customize according to the needs of their business, as confirmed by Zenefits reviews. 

The main dashboard lets users know all about their workers, whether they are hourly, weekly, salaried, or freelance, and even when they clock in or out of work. Mind you, this is not a time tracking software but an add-on that allows admins to manage shifts effortlessly without relying on spreadsheets. The add-on also notifies employees in case of any changes in their schedule.

Based on the selected PTO policy, employees can request time off or report sick days that are later approved or declined by managers. The Zenefits time tracking module also lets managers set different rules about how overtime is tracked and calculated. For example, they can set specific meal break times or customize the settings for tracking contingent workers. And the best thing about it is it’s available via the mobile app. 

Based on the countless Zenefits customer reviews we went through, our bottom line for this feature is that this solution adds flexibility to the business. It can also be consolidated with payroll, benefits, and onboarding. 

 

Zenefits Performance Management Review

The templates included in the Zenefits performance management module help companies set goals and run performance reviews on their teams. The calendar is an excellent touch as it reminds managers they have scheduled a Zenefits performance review with a particular individual or a team. But it’s also good because employees can leave feedback that is visible to everyone. To make sure your business remains focused and organized, the developers have added the option to track progress on goals and the performance management process.

 

Zenefits Integrations

Integration and efficiency across all HR processes are at the very heart of Zenefits. Starting with productivity and project management platforms, payroll and accounting, recruitment, and employee engagement software, reporting, and performance management systems — Zenefits offers 40+ integrations with popular tools.

Zenefits reviews generally congratulate the developers for their dedication to eliminating the need to duplicate data entry by enabling such a multitude of integrations, though not all users are pleased with how the sync is going in practice. There are complaints about the integrations with payroll providers such as the ADP Run; other customers want integrations with field service apps like Monday.com, while some are simply thrilled with how seamlessly it integrates with QuickBooks.

 

Zenefits Pricing 

The vendor has three pricing plans, and instead of a free trial, there is a Zenefits demo containing most of the core HR apps, including hiring and onboarding. Our review of the pricing plans shows they are attractive and competitive compared to industry leaders. So, if you are interested in purchasing one of the three Zenefits plans available, here is what to expect:

  • With the Essentials Plan, at $10/employee/month (or $8 with an annual subscription), clients get to customize their onboarding procedures, track time, and attendance along with PTO. The Zenefits app for iPhone and Android is also included.
  • The popular Growth Plan comes in at $18/employee/month ($14 for users wanting to go with an annual contract). This plan is powered up with the compensation and performance management features.
  • The Zen Plan includes all the features from the Growth package, plus a package structured around your employees’ well-being and engagement and starts at $27/employee/month (or $21 for the annual contract). 

The add-ons discussed in this Zenefits review are offered separately as an extension to the main HR suite and include payroll, which starts at $6/employee/month or free of charge for the annual contract. There is also the option to get advisory services from HR experts at $10 per month or to use Zenefits broker partners to work on your employees’ benefits at $5/employee/month. 

 

Zenefits Customer Service

From the vendor’s official website, customers can access the Zenefits Support and Help Center that covers numerous topics such as payroll, hiring, time and attendance, performance management, etc. Our research on sites like Trustpilot and Capterra found that users are generally pleased with the FAQs and resources available.

The vendor’s support center can be reached via email, chat, or over the phone. For urgent requests, the Zenefits customer support is available Monday through Friday, 6 AM to 5 PM Pacific Standard Time (PST), and Saturday, 6 AM to 4 PM PST. If a client chooses for their benefits to be managed via Zenefits, the vendor will assign a representative to the company to offer a consistent contact point.

We conducted a more in-depth investigation of the vendor to see how users feel about the customer service, and to our surprise, we discovered many Zenefits reviews ranking this particular service with just one star. Users argue that the support is nonexistent and that claims are not being processed on time, queries are not answered, and calls are bounced. Some even say it all goes smoothly up until the initial implementation is completed, but after that, all communication with the representatives is lost.

Zenefits customer service reviews further reveal clients complaining about missing deadlines because they could not reach their assigned representatives. We, however, also came across a few reviews praising the chat feature, with users reporting they managed to reach someone who gave them accurate answers immediately.

 

Our Verdict

Our extensive research suggests that Zenefits is a stable and easily customizable HR suite covering a plethora of benefits administration requirements that support startups and small businesses. Zenefits reviews show that customers even place it at the very top of their recommended picks because it is affordable, incredibly customizable, and incredibly easy to use. While we would love to see better mobile access and customer service, at the end of the day, it’s good value for money.