Honest Review:
Dayforce HCM

Comprehensive but complex HR platform for workforce management and payroll

Written by Asim Qureshi
By Asim Qureshi, CEO Jibble

August 21st 2024

As a CEO of a time tracking software company I need to know what my competitors are up to. That means my team and I are often researching about and/or playing around with their products, you know, it’s part of the job. Here, I share my findings of that research, giving credit to those competitors where credit is due and being honest about which products I believe you really need to avoid. And so, there you have it, this review, and in it, I try to be honest, fair, and insightful. I hope it helps you make the right decision…

This Review Covers

Overview

All-in-one Human Capital Management (HCM) platforms are a huge asset to companies big and small. I mean what’s not to like about having all your essential HR functions centralized in one place, streamlining processes, and improving efficiency?

There are tons of all-in-one HCM platforms out there today and one such platform is Dayforce HCM.

Dayforce is a global people platform that offers its users everything from HR and payroll features to workforce and talent management. All of which aim to make work life better. But do they really?

Well, I wanted to try out Dayforce for myself to find out. But you can imagine my disappointment when I found out they didn’t offer a free trial AT ALL. What they did offer was a free demo. While a demo can be helpful, it defeats the purpose of a hands-on trial where you can explore the features at your own pace and see how well they integrate with your existing processes. The demo wasn’t even easy to access. You’d have to provide information about yourself and your company first and wait for their email before you can actually access it.

Despite the initial setback with Dayforce, I decided to delve deeper into the experiences of other users and gathered comprehensive information about Dayforce from various reliable sources to deliver you an honest and fair review. I’ve done my homework with this review and hopefully, it helps you make the right decision.

What Do Users Like About Dayforce?

  • Comprehensive HR features
  • Multi-device compatibility
  • Good customer service

What Don’t Users Like About Dayforce?

  • Complex reporting feature
  • Mobile apps have glitches that suddenly log users out
  • System updates too often and can affect app performance
  • No free plan

What Pricing Plans Does Dayforce Offer?

If you’re curious how much Dayforce is going to cost you, you’re not going to find it on their website. To check their pricing, you’re going to have to ask their sales team for a quote. And to ask for a quote you’ll need to provide them with a bunch of personal and company details including your phone number, email, job title, company name, and so on. You can also ask for their demo by filling up a form and providing the same information.

All of this just to try out the platform and check whether or not their pricing fits your budget can be quite a hassle, especially if you’re just in the initial stages of exploring your options.

What are the Standout Features of Dayforce?

1. HR Software

With Dayforce, you can manage everything from compensation and benefits to performance and employee records in one cloud-based system. Pretty cool. This centralization helps you quickly find and manage key HR information, reduce administrative tasks, and gain valuable insights.

Dayforce empowers employees by giving them easy access to their pay, schedules, and benefits through a single platform. This self-service capability allows employees to manage their work life more effectively, promoting autonomy and satisfaction. Additionally, the platform provides tools to deliver updates about changes, benefits, and other important information, helping keep employees informed and connected.

The platform also offers robust analytics capabilities, helping HR teams to make data-driven decisions. With pre-built reports and customizable dashboards, Dayforce provides insights into workforce trends and key performance indicators, enabling proactive management of HR strategies. This feature supports informed decision-making that can positively impact employee engagement and organizational performance. Fair warning though, several users have found Dayforce’s reporting feature to be quite difficult to navigate so expect a steep learning curve.

2. Time and Attendance

Managing time and attendance is a huge part of managing your workforce and thankfully, Dayforce has just the feature to help you out.

One of the great things about Dayforce’s time and attendance feature is that it gives employees the flexibility to clock in and out using their mobile app. This means employees can easily log their hours from anywhere, ensuring accurate time tracking no matter where they are scheduled to work. Additionally, the system supports biometric fingerprint timestamping and facial recognition, eliminating the need for physical timecards and improving security.

All the hours that employees work each week are displayed on their timesheets. The timesheets interface isn’t exactly as sleek as I’d want it to be, but it is pretty convenient.

What’s even more convenient is that Dayforce automatically applies overtime and custom pay rates, minimizing payroll errors and ensuring adherence to pay policies globally and locally. This feature is particularly useful for managing complex pay structures and varying state labor regulations.

Employee work hours displayed on the Dayforce platform.

Image credits to Dayforce HCM

3. Payroll

Running payroll accurately, efficiently, and on time is a complex task, but Dayforce Payroll makes it much simpler.

One way it does this is through its real-time calculation capability.

Unlike traditional batch processing methods, Dayforce continuously calculates pay as time is captured. This continuous calculation ensures that payroll data is always up-to-date and accurate, minimizing errors and streamlining the entire payroll process.

Employees can also access their earned wages whenever they need to, helping them meet financial commitments on time and plan their finances accordingly.

And when it comes to payroll compliance, Dayforce has compliance professionals who monitor changes in payroll and tax rules, so you don’t have to worry about staying current. This localized pay solution reduces compliance risks and ensures that your payroll processes adhere to the latest legal requirements.

An overview of the Dayforce Payroll feature.

Image credits to Dayforce HCM

4. Workforce Management

To help manage your workforce better, Dayforce has a line of scheduling and absence/leave management features.

With features like demand-based scheduling and intelligent time and attendance tracking, Dayforce allows organizations to align labor with business demand, minimize excess labor spending, and improve overall productivity.

Another valuable aspect of Dayforce Workforce Management is its task management functionality, which allows businesses to align operations with goals and ensure that the right people are doing the right things at the right time. Managers can create, assign, review, and deploy tasks to individual locations and departments right from the Dayforce app.

Furthermore, Dayforce offers robust time off policy management, allowing organizations to define when and how employees can request time away from work. With customizable time off policies that can be applied to specific areas or locations, businesses can ensure consistency and compliance while providing flexibility for their employees.

An overview of the Dayforce schedule approval feature.

Image credits to Dayforce HCM

Selected Positive User Feedback

  • “I like the reporting capabilities. Very easy to create custom fields that we need to do calculations. Easy to navigate and learn” – Verified User in Government Administration (Source G2)
  • “Very straightforward and easy to understand. The features all make sense and everything is securely displayed.” – Ibrahim (Source Software Advice)
  • “All information is in one place and easy to track changes/updates. They are continually improving the software and available options.” – Sheri (Source Software Advice)
  • “Product offers a wide array of HR/Payroll modules. Easy to streamline processes and allows clients to customize their environment.” – Lorely L. (Source GetApp)
  • “Dayforce HCM is an incredibly comprehensive HR software solution that provides a wide range of features to help streamline the HR process. It is user-friendly and offers great customer service” – Christian W. (Source Capterra)
  • “The full integration. It is amazing to have all components in a single system.“ – Megan B. (Source GetApp)
  • “It’s very convenient. Works well for early deposit if your account supports it. Also to keep up with your schedule and requests. Saves time writing things out. Love it” – Brittany Wright (Source Google Play Store)
  • “This app has been extremely helpful with my day-to-day communication with my job and is very user-friendly.” – Katherine Bean (Source Google Play Store)

Selected Negative User Feedback

  • “The implementation, a critical part of getting Dayforce, was not as successful as it should have been. We are 2+ years into using Dayforce, and we still experience problems today due to implementation.” – Adrianna T. (Source G2)
  • “I struggle with the reporting feature, I need to spend more time working at it, but it’s not always the most user friendly with filtering. I would also like a btter way to print a copy of an employee’s timecard.” – Amber S. (Source G2)
  • “The reporting feature. It is difficult to navigate and understand” – Caitlin (Source Software Advice)
  • “Dayforce isn’t for everyone. It is a complex system that requires a sys admin that is well versed to manage the day to day operation. If you do not have this and rely on Dayforce for assistance, you will be waiting for a while.” – Megan B. (Source GetApp)
  • “Constant updates to the platform so much that it is very difficult to keep on top of everything, especially if you have other job duties outside of HR & Payroll.“ – Paul T. (Source Capterra)
  • “There can be some confusion between time off and overtime requests and other requests. There should be a guide on the page to clarify this. Sometimes the page times out or does not load.” – Ibrahim (Source Software Advice)
  • “Always logs me out and takes a long time to load if it even does work.” – Raymond Ali (Source Google Play Store)
  • “Worked great until two updates ago. Now the mobile app has some internal error and nobody at my work place can access their pay information.” – Dave Orr (Source Google Play Store)

What are Dayforce’s Review Ratings from Review Sites?

As of June 2024

  • Capterra: 4.3/5
  • G2: 4.2/5
  • TrustRadius:7.9/10
  • GetApp: 4.3/5
  • Google Play Store: 4.7/5
  • App Store: 4.7/5

What’s My Final Verdict on Dayforce?

Dayforce is a powerful HR management platform with a wide range of features designed to meet the diverse needs of businesses of all sizes. Its comprehensive suite of tools, emphasis on real-time data accuracy, and proactive compliance monitoring make it a compelling option for organizations looking to streamline their HR operations.

However, there are certain drawbacks to consider. The lack of a free trial option for prospective users can be a barrier for businesses looking to test the platform’s capabilities before committing. Additionally, the complexity of some features, such as the learning curve associated with Dayforce’s reporting functionalities, may require extensive training and onboarding, especially for smaller businesses with limited HR resources.

Despite these drawbacks, for organizations willing to invest in thorough onboarding and training, Dayforce remains a compelling option for streamlining HR operations and optimizing workforce management.

If you’re looking for other options, why not check out our breakdown on the the 6 Best Free Time and Attendance Software in 2024?