Paychex Flex Reviews

“Can track time from phone”

Pros

What I really appreciate is being able to track my time right from my phone through their app and website, super convenient.

Cons

Time tracking gets tricky when you need to make changes after using the clock-in and clock-out buttons. It throws errors and forces you to start over. As long as you're consistent with entering everything correctly the first time though, it works fine.

“Wide variety of modules”

Pros

The variety of modules available is amazing. Payroll, HR, retirement, time and attendance, plus hiring tools all in one place. After using it for two years, this system has seriously streamlined my workflow and freed up so much time for other important tasks.

Cons

The benefits module just didn't work for our small business. We tried implementing it but had to drop it since it wasn't compatible with our size and needs.

“Polite customer service reps”

Pros

The customer service reps I've spoken with have all been really polite and professional. They handle payroll processing accurately and get everything done quickly.

Cons

Customer service gaps when my assigned rep is out. No backup coverage arranged ahead of time which leaves me hanging.

“Intuitive platform”

Pros

I find this platform really straightforward to navigate. When questions come up, getting answers is not a problem. Accessing tax documents is a breeze. Everything's right there when I need it.

Cons

Had a problem with employee paycheck withholdings that took longer than expected to resolve, though they did eventually fix it.

“Easy to manage employee benefits”

Pros

Appreciate how easy it is to input payroll data and manage the employee benefit options we offer. Administering those benefits is also simple.

Cons

The invoice backup system can be confusing. It's not always clear where to find what you're looking for.

“Well-trained support team”

Pros

Quite user-friendly and whenever I need help, customer service responds quickly and they're very well trained.

Cons

Finding specific reports can be tricky sometimes. You might have to dig around a bit to locate what you need, though there customer support team is really excellent when you get stuck.

“Limited system couldn�t keep up with our growing business”

Pros

It was fine when we first launched the business

Cons

The system became too limited as our business expanded and we needed more robust features

“Couldn�t be more disappointing”

Pros

The payroll process flows smoothly when you're using their time and labor system. Our HR service contact was wonderful though unfortunately he's no longer with the company. Beyond that there weren't many other standout features that impressed me.

Cons

The system is heavily siloed, forcing me to enter identical information across multiple platforms repeatedly. There's no automation for settings and I had to activate features in a specific sequence across different areas just to give someone basic time and labor access. Customer service is absolutely terrible. The benefits service is a complete disaster, our Finance Director couldn't get benefits access for 4 months due to system issues they showed no interest in resolving and initially they wouldn't even allow paper enrollment forms. For an 80-person company paying over $40k annually, we couldn't get detailed invoices to understand service costs and they kept raising rates every year. They consistently botched legal processes like COBRA and 401k payments. The timeclocks constantly went offline for days without explanation, yet they charged us $400 monthly to rent two broken units they refused to repair. When an employee couldn't access paystubs through the app, their "solution" was sending my paystub to that person instead. There were countless other ways they wasted our money, time and energy. Working with them for a year and a half was already too long. I was thrilled when we finally switched.

“not easy to get a response quickly”

Pros

I feel the site is easy to use and my account rep always gets back to me quickly when I send emails.

Cons

Phone support has long wait times and getting a response from the tax team via email takes forever

“health insurance department is a mess”

Pros

I'm really satisfied with how the payroll and retirement services work. No issues there at all. Those departments seem to run smoothly and efficiently.

Cons

I'm dealing with their health insurance department and it's been a nightmare. We needed to add a new plan for an employee in December, well before our January renewal. Our broker Montoya seemed completely lost, either didn't respond at all or took weeks to get back with answers that made no sense. When she finally contacted the carrier, they said it was too late since we'd passed the renewal date. This is infuriating because we reached out in early December with plenty of time. The general phone line staff seem miserable and even when I got to manager sean who initially seemed helpful, he's gone radio silent for three weeks despite multiple follow-ups. The whole health insurance side feels like a complete waste of time. I'd recommend handling benefits elsewhere

“no downsides to it”

Pros

Really user-friendly and my team picks it up quickly without much training needed

Cons

Hard to find any real downsides. It has been valuable for our operations

“Couldn�t live upto their promises”

Pros

The initial promises really aligned perfectly with what we needed for our dealership operations.

Cons

Multiple payroll failures left me scrambling to hand-deliver checks across the entire metro area when staff weren't paid. The company would just tell me to write personal checks and drive them around myself. They kept pulling money from our account without any invoices or documentation, even over a year after we'd ended service. Made promises about services they couldn't actually provide. Our entire team got denied insurance benefits and nobody bothered telling us, apparently because one employee who already had coverage and didn't want benefits was pregnant, even though her due date was a month before our policy would've started anyway. When I tried to get our group policy payment refunded after explaining this mess, they initially refused. Had to escalate all the way to executive level just to get our own money back

“specialist keeps in touch with us”

Pros

Our specialist calls twice monthly to collect payroll hours and everything gets processed accurately with proper tax withholding and deductions. Most of our team uses direct deposit, though physical checks are available too. The checks arrive the very next day which is really convenient.

Cons

I can't really think of anything negative to say. Our specialist has been fantastic and the service quality is excellent.

“Insane waiting times”

Pros

I already use Paychex for payroll so the integration works really smoothly. The open architecture design is nice though I'm puzzled why some basic funds like PORIX aren't available

Cons

The wait times are absolutely insane. Sometimes I end up doubting the responses they give me. I had a plan with simple safe Harbor questions and I actually had to go back through documents myself to fix their wrong answers. I definitely don't have time for that kind of nonsense. I'm also really annoyed by how difficult it is to figure out what the fees actually are. The 408b2 just tells you to check the GIs instead of being upfront about costs. Just be transparent about your pricing and let people decide if it's worth it.

“had to leave due to their negligence”

Pros

Creating reports was easy and I found the website interface user-friendly.

Cons

After 36 years with them, I finally had enough when they kept forgetting to run payroll on schedule for six months straight. Had to call and remind them every single time. Whenever someone new handled my account, everything went wrong. They clearly didn't know what they were doing. I'd spend hours at month-end catching their mistakes and requesting fixes. Created multiple support cases asking for follow-ups but never heard back. As a small business, we were just another number to them. Nobody actually cared about our company.

“They need to train their staff”

Pros

The integration with our scheduling, billing and accounting systems worked smoothly.

Cons

The setup support was pretty disappointing. Took us 8 months just to get everything running properly. In our first year, we only managed one hire which is way too slow for actual recruitment needs. Most of the staff I spoke with didn't seem to know much about how things worked and kept pointing me to other people for answers. When we did get responses, they were few and far between. They really need better training for their support team and improved customer service overall.

“easy Access to Important Financial Data”

Pros

I can track my retirement accounts and investments almost instantly which gives me great peace of mind knowing exactly where I stand financially.

Cons

Can't really think of any major issues. Everything runs pretty smoothly for me.

“Cooperative team”

Pros

We can easily configure our different company locations to get precise labor tracking. The support team is cooperative whether I need help with HR issues, benefits questions or 401K matters, they're always there to help me out.

Cons

Occasionally we run into bugs that require our Account Manager to jump in and help sort things out.

“Good benefits link, weak audit trail”

Pros

Lets us connect this with our employee benefits system, letting staff update their 401k and FsA details without going through HR every time.

Cons

The reporting features feel pretty restrictive to me. Plus I cant always track who modified payroll settings or see the change history which is frustrating.

“such a timesaver”

Pros

I can handle my own payroll processing with this which saves me a lot of time. The reporting features are really handy. I can pull up information about tax payments for any period whether it's monthly, quarterly or yearly. The customer service has been solid too.

Cons

Process for changing check dates could use some work. As a solo business owner, I'd rather wait a couple extra days for my payment than get hit with late fees because I missed the deadline.