Scissortail HCM Versus Sage HRMS

Now that Sage Abra has been put to pasture, a lot of HRIS users are looking for the best replacement for their HR and Payroll software solutions.  It’s also come to my attention that there are still a large number of small to mid-sized employers that have yet to find a software that will track, maintain and otherwise help them mange not only the payroll processes but also the ever growing compliance issues that come with maintaining a workforce of any size.  

Having worked with several platforms, I can heartily recommend Scissortail HCM for ease of use and flexibility for organizations of practically any size.  

Why we LOVE Scissortail HCM – Let me count the ways...

1. Customizable User Experience – each user can customize their dashboard, favorites and also each screen within the system.  When a user is working on a project that requires detailed review, they can add a separate tab to feature just the items in the project making the process faster and easier.  The items are still where they have always been, but now they are together in the way the user needs them for their project as well. This includes the ability to bring things from several tabs together on a new “Review” tab. 
2. True Cloud Solution - Using a true cloud platform, Scissortail works with your management team like you do.  Other, on-premise systems like Sage HRMS require you to download and transfer files and data to your accountant and other advisors. With Scissortail, you can give them direct access to the data and reports they need without the risk of transferring sensitive information via email.  
3. Reporting is a breeze – in other systems, like HRMS, you must learn a complicated reporting tool to create the reports that work best for your organization. Scissortail HCM practically eliminates the need to learn a new program just to create reports.  If you have experience using MS Excel, you can create a report.  Each screen in the program is customizable and you can save an unlimited number of versions of each screen.  Don’t want to see a column? Simply remove it.  Don’t see the column you want? You can add it.  Are they not in the order you prefer? Reorder them.  Want to see only a certain group? Filter it.  Once you have the look you want, simply export the report to practically any format. Wow!  It’s so easy. 
4. Automated Report Delivery – once you have created a report you will use regularly; you can create a schedule where the report will be emailed to you or to anyone of your choosing.  The recipient can be inside or outside of your company network.  You determine the format of the report to be sent and if the recipient will see everything your security allows, or a report based on their security.  It’s even smart enough to NOT send a blank report if there is nothing to send.  With system like Sage HRMS, you have to purchase a separate module to get alerts, but this kind of automation is not available. Talk about a time saver! 
5. Notifications (Alerts) – unlike other software, Scissortail HCM includes customizable notifications /alerts.  The need for a separate tool is eliminated.  Notifications are emails that are automatically sent by Scissortail HCM when triggered by an event inside the software.  They can be based on a new account being created, a change in a record, a date change, the creation of a pay statement or so many more events that I cannot name them all here.  The notification can be sent to an employee, their manager, the system administrator or even someone outside the network.  Again – the convenience and time savings are remarkable. 
6. Announcements – since most employees will login to the system to obtain check stubs or to review other information, announcements are a convenient way to remind them of an upcoming event or to simply review and submit timesheets (if required.) What a great way to wish your team a nice holiday or remind them of Open Enrollment dates. This year we used to is announce the employee’s rights under the FFCRA when it was added.  
7. Mid-Cycle Pay Increases – Scissortail HCM has a fully integrated Time and Labor Manager that knows the effective date of the pay increase you added to the employee’s base compensation and will calculate payroll accordingly.  Wow!  The concern of catching those rate changes or having to enter a retroactive change is dramatically reduced! You can’t do this in HRMS. 
8. Reserve a Live Check – although some companies are requiring that employees move to Direct Deposit many have employees that want to have that check in their hand.  Scissortail HCM gives your employees the option to have both Direct Deposit and a Live Check giving you the ability to ease them into the world of Direct Deposit.  For the employees who are already fans of Direct Deposit, they can add virtually an unlimited number of accounts.  In HRMS, you have to choose either all live or all direct deposit.  
9. Automatic Reduction of Garnishment/Child Support based on Percent of Disposable Income – when setting up a Garnishment or Child Support deduction for an employee, the indicator for percent of Disposable Income is set.  If the employee doesn’t have enough Disposable Income to cover the deduction, it is reduced, and you are alerted during the payroll process.  No more calculating and recalculating payroll to ensure the employee receives the correct income each payroll.  If you have run payroll for hourly employees with these deductions, you know how long that process can be.  
10. Vendor Payments (Checks and ACH) – the system can create either checks or ACH files for your vendors after each payroll based on the vendor settings. If you have ever had to remember to login to the accounting system to create the vendor checks following each payroll, you would know that this is also a time savings.  If you’ve never forgotten to make those payment, you are one of the fortunate ones.  
11. Arrears for Deduction Codes – tracking employees that have missed a payroll here and there is difficult.  When they have elected every benefit under the sun, it’s nearly impossible to track all the missed deductions and recover them upon their return.  You can set the way Scissortail HCM tracks arrears based on the deduction.  At the employee level you can even set the maximum per deduction that can be recovered per payroll.  You can report on this and you can rest easy knowing you are getting back all that is due.  
12. Passive Open Enrollment – some systems (like HRMS) allow the employee to look at each benefit in the open enrollment process to check a box to “keep this benefit the same as last year” but Scissortail HCM takes it a step further by allowing the employee to follow a truly passive open enrollment experience.  Employees simply start the open enrollment, check a box to “Select All Current Plans for the New Enrollment Period,” Confirm and Submit.  Some employees may still want to see each benefit for review but the employees that have not had any life changes over the year will be pleased to be done with the process so quickly. 
13. ACA Timeline – the ACA History Timeline is visible on any employee record for review at any time throughout the year.  This is remarkably different from other systems.  Some systems do not accommodate for variable employees. In Scissortail’s ACA timeline, you can not only see if there is a possible downgrade to an employee’s eligibility, but it will also show you if an employee is approaching Full Time eligibility.  The timeline works with the Time and Labor Manager to keep track of all hours worked and you can report on the employee’s history directly withing the timeline on their record.  In HRMS, you have to use a separate module called My Workforce Analyzer and it is not helpful for tracking variable employees and noting the possible changes to eligibility.  
14. Benefit Carrier Feeds for Less than 100 Employees – because Scissortail partners with EverythingBenefits for carrier feeds, there are pre-built files to the carriers giving Scissortail HCM the ability to send the files smaller companies would normally have to do manually.  Other systems will not allow carrier feeds for less than 100 employees.  
15. Geolocation – a.) For taxes – you can determine if Scissortail will look at the worked address or the home address of the employee to determine what tax should be applied to the employee’s wages. The system will determine if local taxes also apply based on the worked or home address. b.) For clocking – so many workers are starting to use mobile clocking options.  The great thing about Geolocation in Scissortail is you are able to view a map on the employee’s timesheet to see where the employee was generally located when they clocked to help keep everyone on the up and up.  
16. Change GL Coding after Payroll has Posted – say someone was charged to the wrong department in payroll and the payroll was finalized before this error was found.  You can fix it!  It’s as simple as correcting the pay statement and regenerating the GL.  This is a game changer! 
    

These are just a few reasons you will also love Scissortail HCM.  There are so many more but it’s hard to know what is most important for everyone.  

If you are considering moving to a new HRIS, the convenience of a truly cloud based system is far above what can be accomplished with the remaining on-premise software systems like HRMS.  Scissortail provides an ease of use for administrators as well as for employees (which I barely addressed above) that is far greater than any other system with which I’ve worked not only at CS3 Technology but also in my days working in HR for international manufacturers and for international professional organizations.  I’ve used and moved off of nearly every platform over the years.  Nothing has ever provided me with the flexibility to export a screen to a report in nearly any format.  I’m truly excited about Scissortail HCM!