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Accounting & Finance · head to head

ADP vs Fishbowl

ADP logo

ADP

Accounting & Finance

Always Designing for People

From
$29/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Fishbowl logo

Fishbowl

ERP & Business Operations

Manufacturing and warehouse management for QuickBooks

From
$4395/one-time
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: ADP no pricing is published; every quote is custom and driven by employee count and which services are taken; Fishbowl the $229 per month Essentials plan includes only 2 users, Growth at $429 includes 5 and Scale at $729 includes 10, all billed annually
  • They diverge on capability: ADP covers Payroll, Fishbowl covers Inventory management.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which ADP and Fishbowl actually diverge.

Attributes where ADP and Fishbowl differ
AttributeADPFishbowl
Starting price$29/month$4395/one-time
Pricing modelsubscriptionone-time
PlatformsWeb, Ios, AndroidWindows, Cloud
CategoryAccounting & FinanceERP & Business Operations
Founded19492001

Identical on both: free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in ADP

  • Payroll
  • Tax services
  • HR management
  • Time & attendance
  • Benefits administration
  • QuickBooks
  • Sage
  • Oracle

Only in Fishbowl

  • Inventory management
  • Manufacturing
  • Work orders
  • Barcode scanning
  • QuickBooks integration
  • QuickBooks Desktop
  • QuickBooks Online
  • Shopify

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

ADP

  • Payroll processing and tax filingnot Fishbowl
  • HR administration and employee recordsnot Fishbowl
  • Time and attendance trackingnot Fishbowl
  • Benefits administrationnot Fishbowl
  • Talent management on the mid-market and enterprise productsnot Fishbowl

Fishbowl

  • Inventory and SKU tracking for wholesale and distribution businessesnot ADP
  • Manufacturing bills of materials, MRP, work orders and job costingnot ADP
  • Warehouse fulfilment, transfer orders and automated reorderingnot ADP
  • Multichannel selling with synchronised stock levelsnot ADP

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

ADP

  • No pricing is published; every quote is custom and driven by employee count and which services are taken
  • Split into three separate products by company size, RUN for 1 to 49 employees, Workforce Now for 50 and above, and Lyric HCM for enterprise, so growing across a threshold means changing product rather than plan

Fishbowl

  • The $229 per month Essentials plan includes only 2 users, Growth at $429 includes 5 and Scale at $729 includes 10, all billed annually
  • A paid implementation package is required as part of purchase and covers a 6 to 8 week training certification
  • Lot tracking, demand forecasting and compliance documentation require the Scale plan at $729 per month
  • Advanced Warehouse from $595 per month and Advanced Manufacturing from $675 per month are quoted on team size and deployment rather than sold at a fixed rate
  • Demand forecasting and custom reports are add ons carrying separate fees
  • All listed plan prices are billed annually rather than monthly

Pricing, plan by plan

ADP

$29/month
  • Essential$79/month
    • Payroll
    • Tax filing
    • Direct deposit
  • Enhanced$139/month
    • HR tools
    • Background checks
    • Job posting

Fishbowl

$4395/one-time
  • Fishbowl Warehouse$4395/one-time
    • Inventory tracking
    • Order management
    • QuickBooks sync
  • Fishbowl Manufacturing$5495/one-time
    • Work orders
    • Bill of materials
    • Shop floor control

Which should you pick?

Choose ADP if

  • You need payroll.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android.
  • You also want tax services.
ADP review

Choose Fishbowl if

  • You need inventory management.
  • You work on Windows, Cloud.
  • You also want manufacturing.
Fishbowl review

Questions people ask

Is ADP or Fishbowl better?
Neither clearly leads. ADP starts at $29/month and Fishbowl at $4395/one-time, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, ADP or Fishbowl?
ADP starts at $29/month and Fishbowl at $4395/one-time.
Does ADP or Fishbowl run on more platforms?
ADP runs on Web, Ios, Android. Fishbowl runs on Windows, Cloud.
What is ADP best used for?
ADP is most often used for payroll processing and tax filing, hr administration and employee records, time and attendance tracking, benefits administration. Of those, payroll processing and tax filing and hr administration and employee records are not what Fishbowl is typically brought in for.
What can ADP do that Fishbowl cannot?
ADP covers Payroll, Tax services, HR management, Time & attendance. Fishbowl covers Inventory management, Manufacturing, Work orders, Barcode scanning.
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