Anything beyond the canned reports means Crystal Reports and either a consultant or somebody internal who learned it. That is an ongoing cost nobody mentioned during the sales process.
Pros
ACA 1094 and 1095 reporting built in
Cons
Custom reporting needs Crystal Reports
Ease of use
Value for money
Customer service
Functionality
5 found this helpful
Rashid Valentine
Office Manager, Sandbar Hospitality
United States·Transport and logistics·1 to 10 employees
4.0
Sep 11, 2024
LinkedIn confirmedUsed 6 to 12 months
Payroll stays in house, which is why we bought it
Eleven years, no missed payroll. It is not exciting and I do not want my payroll system to be exciting.
Pros
Multi state withholding including reciprocity
Cons
Interface is dated and staff avoid the portal
Ease of use
Value for money
Customer service
Functionality
5 found this helpful
Cody Lundgren
Controller, Maplewood Childcare
United States·Retail·201 to 500 employees
4.0
Jun 29, 2026
Verified userLinkedIn confirmedUsed 1 to 2 years
Compliance depth you do not get elsewhere
ACA reporting used to consume January. The 1094 and 1095 forms come out of the system now and we file without drama. That alone justified staying through the last renewal.
Pros
ACA 1094 and 1095 reporting built in
Cons
Interface is dated and staff avoid the portal
Ease of use
Value for money
Customer service
Functionality
4 found this helpful
Cormac Ibarra
Director of Finance, Falcon Ridge Landscaping
United States·Transport and logistics·1 to 10 employees
4.0
Jun 4, 2026
LinkedIn confirmedUsed 1 to 2 years
It has run our payroll for eleven years
Multi state withholding is handled correctly, including the reciprocity agreements, which is the thing that quietly breaks in lesser systems.
Pros
Multi state withholding including reciprocity
Cons
You maintain the servers and the upgrades
Ease of use
Value for money
Customer service
Functionality
4 found this helpful
Percy Ibarra
Accountant, Prairie Rose Bakery
Canada·Accounting·1 to 10 employees
4.0
Jun 1, 2026
LinkedIn confirmedUsed 6 to 12 months
Compliance depth you do not get elsewhere
Eleven years, no missed payroll. It is not exciting and I do not want my payroll system to be exciting.
Pros
Full control of payroll data on premise
Cons
Custom reporting needs Crystal Reports
Ease of use
Value for money
Customer service
Functionality
4 found this helpful
Erin Aoki
Bookkeeper, Fairview Veterinary
United States·Nonprofit·500+ employees
3.0
Mar 15, 2026
Verified userLinkedIn confirmedUsed 1 to 2 years
On premise is the point, and the cost
On premise was a requirement for us for regulatory reasons and this delivers it. It also means we maintain servers, run backups and own the upgrades. That cost is real and it does not appear in the license quote.
Pros
EEO, OSHA and FMLA tracking standard
Cons
Interface is dated and staff avoid the portal
Ease of use
Value for money
Customer service
Functionality
4 found this helpful
Samuel Contreras
Studio Director, Harborline Supply
Canada·Professional services·51 to 200 employees
3.0
Aug 31, 2025
Verified userUsed 1 to 2 years
Your partner is the product
Sage is clearly steering new customers to HCM and People. HRMS still works and still gets tax updates, but I would want a straight answer about the next five years in writing before signing a new term.
Pros
US payroll processed entirely in house
Cons
Roadmap direction is toward HCM and People
Ease of use
Value for money
Customer service
Functionality
4 found this helpful
Freya Bell
People Operations Lead, Hillcrest Family Clinic
United States·Construction·1 to 10 employees
3.0
Aug 11, 2025
LinkedIn confirmedUsed 1 to 2 years
On premise is the point, and the cost
Sage is clearly steering new customers to HCM and People. HRMS still works and still gets tax updates, but I would want a straight answer about the next five years in writing before signing a new term.
Pros
ACA 1094 and 1095 reporting built in
Cons
Experience depends heavily on your partner
Ease of use
Value for money
Customer service
Functionality
4 found this helpful
Mabel Crane
General Manager, Foundry Road Studios
Canada·Construction·1 to 10 employees
3.0
Jul 22, 2025
Verified userLinkedIn confirmedUsed 1 to 2 years
On premise is the point, and the cost
Our implementation partner was excellent and the project went well. I have spoken to two peers whose partners were not, and their experience of the identical software was miserable. You are buying a reseller as much as a product and almost nobody tells you that up front.
Pros
Multi state withholding including reciprocity
Cons
Implementation regularly overruns time and budget
Ease of use
Value for money
Customer service
Functionality
Response from the vendorJul 30, 2025
We appreciate the feedback on self service. Sage HRMS continues to receive tax and compliance updates, and we would welcome a conversation about how Sage HCM might fit your requirements.
4 found this helpful
Elliot Rasmussen
Finance Manager, Foundry Road Studios
Canada·Transport and logistics·51 to 200 employees
4.0
Feb 19, 2025
Verified userUsed 1 to 2 years
ACA reporting stopped being a January crisis
We have people in nine states and we are not comfortable handing payroll data to a third party. HRMS runs it in house, the tax tables stay current through maintenance, and the 941 reconciles every quarter. That combination is genuinely hard to find.
Pros
Multi state withholding including reciprocity
Cons
Implementation regularly overruns time and budget
Ease of use
Value for money
Customer service
Functionality
4 found this helpful
Kirsten Stavros
General Manager, Fairview Veterinary
United States·Manufacturing·1 to 10 employees
2.0
Oct 1, 2024
Used 1 to 2 years
Self service portal is genuinely bad
Quoted four months, took nine, and the number roughly doubled. Some of that was our data, most of it was scope that emerged once the partner actually looked at how we run payroll. Ask for a fixed price and watch what gets excluded from it.
Pros
Very stable once implemented
Cons
Implementation regularly overruns time and budget
Ease of use
Value for money
Customer service
Functionality
Response from the vendorOct 3, 2024
We appreciate the feedback on self service. Sage HRMS continues to receive tax and compliance updates, and we would welcome a conversation about how Sage HCM might fit your requirements.
4 found this helpful
Liam Tremblay
Studio Director, Foundry Road Studios
United States·Construction·11 to 50 employees
4.0
Sep 9, 2024
Verified userLinkedIn confirmedUsed 2 or more years
Payroll stays in house, which is why we bought it
Eleven years, no missed payroll. It is not exciting and I do not want my payroll system to be exciting.
Pros
Very stable once implemented
Cons
You maintain the servers and the upgrades
Ease of use
Value for money
Customer service
Functionality
4 found this helpful
Quentin Isozaki
Studio Director, Clearview Windows
Canada·Construction·1 to 10 employees
1.0
Aug 20, 2024
LinkedIn confirmedUsed 2 or more years
Every report needs Crystal
The employee self service portal is the part staff actually touch and it is the worst part of the product. It looks like 2009, it is slow, and our people avoid it and email HR instead. That defeats the entire purpose of having it.
Pros
EEO, OSHA and FMLA tracking standard
Cons
You maintain the servers and the upgrades
Ease of use
Value for money
Customer service
Functionality
4 found this helpful
Grace Ellsworth
Head of Operations, Northern Star Staffing
Canada·Real estate·1 to 10 employees
5.0
Apr 6, 2026
Verified userLinkedIn confirmedUsed 2 or more years
It has run our payroll for eleven years
ACA reporting used to consume January. The 1094 and 1095 forms come out of the system now and we file without drama. That alone justified staying through the last renewal.
Pros
ACA 1094 and 1095 reporting built in
Cons
Interface is dated and staff avoid the portal
Ease of use
Value for money
Customer service
Functionality
3 found this helpful
Nolan Salazar
Project Manager, Vertex Machine Works
United States·Marketing·1 to 10 employees
3.0
Mar 6, 2026
Verified userLinkedIn confirmedUsed 1 to 2 years
Works, but the roadmap worries me
Sage is clearly steering new customers to HCM and People. HRMS still works and still gets tax updates, but I would want a straight answer about the next five years in writing before signing a new term.
Pros
US payroll processed entirely in house
Cons
Roadmap direction is toward HCM and People
Ease of use
Value for money
Customer service
Functionality
3 found this helpful
Nadia Kovac
Managing Partner, Kestrel Analytics
Canada·Accounting·11 to 50 employees
3.0
Dec 21, 2025
LinkedIn confirmedUsed 6 to 12 months
Works, but the roadmap worries me
Our implementation partner was excellent and the project went well. I have spoken to two peers whose partners were not, and their experience of the identical software was miserable. You are buying a reseller as much as a product and almost nobody tells you that up front.
Pros
EEO, OSHA and FMLA tracking standard
Cons
Custom reporting needs Crystal Reports
Ease of use
Value for money
Customer service
Functionality
3 found this helpful
Aaron Kessler
Office Manager, Sandbar Hospitality
United States·Legal·1 to 10 employees
1.0
Dec 9, 2025
Used 1 to 2 years
Self service portal is genuinely bad
Version upgrades are a planned project with testing and downtime, every time. For an on premise product in 2026 that is expected and it is still two weekends a year I do not get back.
Pros
US payroll processed entirely in house
Cons
Custom reporting needs Crystal Reports
Ease of use
Value for money
Customer service
Functionality
3 found this helpful
Devon Larkin
General Manager, Northern Star Staffing
United States·Professional services·201 to 500 employees
4.0
Jul 9, 2025
Verified userLinkedIn confirmedUsed less than 6 months
It has run our payroll for eleven years
Eleven years, no missed payroll. It is not exciting and I do not want my payroll system to be exciting.
Pros
ACA 1094 and 1095 reporting built in
Cons
You maintain the servers and the upgrades
Ease of use
Value for money
Customer service
Functionality
3 found this helpful
Greta Dupont
Studio Director, Fairview Veterinary
United States·Retail·11 to 50 employees
5.0
Oct 17, 2024
Verified userUsed 2 or more years
ACA reporting stopped being a January crisis
The compliance side is the reason. EEO, OSHA logs, FMLA tracking, all standard. Every cloud product we evaluated treated at least one of those as an add on with a separate price.
Pros
Full control of payroll data on premise
Cons
Interface is dated and staff avoid the portal
Ease of use
Value for money
Customer service
Functionality
3 found this helpful
Mireille Mahoney
People Operations Lead, Willow & Ash Salons
United States·Healthcare·1 to 10 employees
3.0
Sep 30, 2024
Verified userUsed 2 or more years
Your partner is the product
Sage is clearly steering new customers to HCM and People. HRMS still works and still gets tax updates, but I would want a straight answer about the next five years in writing before signing a new term.
United States
Canada