Apex HCM Reviews

“Handles everything from one to 500+ staff

Pros

I have noticed that Apex HCM handles everything from a single employee payroll up through managing payroll for organizations with more than 500 staff. Plus I can customize payroll settings to meet virtually any requirement.

Cons

It is fast and simple for payroll tasks but the built-in timekeeping module has given us some trouble. On the bright side, I am excited about the new Swipeclock integration. Now that IRIS owns both Apex HCM and Swipeclock, I think the combined capabilities of the two companies are really promising.

“Easy and fast adoption for all

Pros

When we started using Apex in 2023, we were immediately struck by how easy it was for our employers, employees and staff to pick up. Training went smoothly and the interface feels very user friendly which made adoption fast. Migrating and converting our existing clients was handled in a way that felt both simple and thorough, so there were not any major bumps. Their data team has been exceptional honestly the best we've worked with and the pricing felt very reasonable for what we received. Because it includes timekeeping, HR support and applicant tracking alongside payroll, it really functions as a complete HCM solution for the clients we serve. We are also optimistic about the future now that Apex is part of the IRIS family as the extra resources and expertise IRIS brings have already started to elevate the product and the services we can provide to both current and prospective clients.

Cons

For us, the biggest challenge with it was its native timekeeping and accrual management as it did not fully meet our needs at first. That said, I am relieved because the upcoming integration with Swipeclock timekeeping now also under the IRIS umbrella looks like it will resolve that gap. The single weakness we ran into appears to be addressed and with Swipeclock tied into Apex HCM, we expect the platform to offer a world-class timekeeping solution alongside its other strengths.

“Nothing liked, product failed as promised

Pros

Honestly there was absolutely nothing about this product that I liked as it didn't do what we were told it would and the biggest issue was that it failed to perform electronic submission of our quarterly reports. Only after we were already committed did we learn that separate registration was required with every jurisdiction such as Federal, State and Local before electronic filing was possible. By the time we discovered that requirement the deadlines had passed and their support offered no real help during the process. Their so-called onboarding was just as bad and felt pointless, since it took over a year to get us supposedly set up before these critical shortcomings were revealed.

Cons

The reviews they post follow a pattern. Such as they market a product that doesn not work as promised which became painfully clear to us. Then they remind us we signed a 3+ year contract and insist we keep paying for a service we cannot use, no matter how it performs. We lost multiple clients across tax, bookkeeping and payroll because their sales pitch oversold capabilities that never materialized yet we are still stuck paying for the contract. We only tried using the system for one quarter after paying for it for a year, then spending $7,000 on their training, before realizing it didn't work as promised. The total cost to our firm in fees and lost clients has exceeded $100,000. I would not wish this on anyone, not even a competitor. It is also clear they are a UK-based company. U.S. customer support is limited and, in our experience, highly unreliable. So do yourself a favor and steer clear. You are better off paying higher rates to a trusted provider like QBO or another reliable service than risking your clients and losing them over this product.

“Faster payroll with rate issues

Pros

Apex made entering payroll much faster as the system automatically checks and updates vendor payments. Also direct deposit via ACH works smoothly and is easy to set up.

Cons

I keep running into issues with Rate ID for secondary rates. Overtime sometimes appears to double which forces me to constantly go back and recheck rates. When there is a small difference between two low rates, the system can also incorrectly assign minimum tips, creating extra headaches.

“Flexible structure with streamlined import

Pros

Its flexible structure and the streamlined import feature make managing data much easier.

Cons

To me, the employee-facing digital tools are unreliable and usually take too much effort to configure properly.

“Performs well but support lags

Pros

The platform performs really well for simple, basic payroll tasks and it provides the kind of tech small business clients want.

Cons

When problems crop up behind the scenes such as with accruals or deduction calculations I notice support can take longer than I'd like to fully resolve the issue.

“Disappointing Support Experience

Pros

Customer support is very frustrating and the help center doesn't really offer much. The self-service options are much useless when I actually need help.

Cons

The interface isn't very interactive which makes it challenging to get around and actually use the system. There aren't many ways to customize things to meet our specific business needs either. Customer support could definitely be faster when we need help.

“great Customization Options Available

Pros

I'm really impressed with how comprehensive this platform is. It covers everything from multi-company payrolls and complex tax calculations to benefits, rewards and employee recognition programs. The onboarding works smoothly with the applicant tracking system and I love how customizable the reporting options are. What really stands out is how it gives me a full view of an employee's journey with the company from day one. The system adapts really well across different teams, locations and payroll setups without any issues. The integration with Microsoft and Google products is simple and exporting reports to spreadsheets or PDFs is always smooth.

Cons

Initially, the setup took a lot of time and needed a lot of help from customer support. Some of our questions took way longer to resolve than expected. Onboarding new team members can be annoying since there's no way to copy settings from existing users, so you have to set everything up from scratch each time.

“all-in-one solution for business management

Pros

It covers everything my clients need all in one place.

Cons

It's hard to reach a real person when I need phone support.

“Simplifying business growth

Pros

My account rep, Eric, always gets back to me super quickly whenever I have questions or need help with new features. The extra products like HR and ATS really help us stay competitive with those big national payroll companies.

Cons

The API integrations with benefits companies could definitely be improved, that's something I'd really like to see expanded.

“I love it!

Pros

The customer service is amazing! Whenever I need help, the team really takes the time to guide me through things and answer whatever I ask. They don't just close tickets either and they always check back to make sure everything worked out.

Cons

There really isn't much to complain about. Whenever I run into problems, I just check the help center or community forums and usually find what I need. If I can't figure it out on my own, support is always quick to respond.

“amazing customer support

Pros

what I really like is how the account management team here is fantastic. Jameson does an awesome job. he's very resourceful, follows up quickly and always helps when we need it. The other team members are also great whenever we need them, though it doesn't happen often.

Cons

I'd love to see single sign-on integration with benefit enrollment, plus having more options would be great.