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Payroll & Benefits · head to head

ADP Workforce Now vs Fishbowl

ADP Workforce Now logo

ADP Workforce Now

Payroll & Benefits

All-in-one HR, payroll, talent, and benefits

From
$23/employee per 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 Workforce Now pricing not publicly available, making budget comparison difficult; 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 Workforce Now covers Payroll Processing, Fishbowl covers Inventory management.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which ADP Workforce Now and Fishbowl actually diverge.

Attributes where ADP Workforce Now and Fishbowl differ
AttributeADP Workforce NowFishbowl
Starting price$23/employee per month$4395/one-time
Pricing modelUnknownone-time
PlatformsWeb, MobileWindows, Cloud
CategoryPayroll & BenefitsERP & 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 Workforce Now

  • Payroll Processing
  • Tax Administration
  • HR Management
  • Benefits Administration
  • Time and Attendance
  • Talent Management
  • QuickBooks
  • Xero

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 Workforce Now

No use cases recorded yet. See the ADP Workforce Now review.

Fishbowl

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

Where each one falls short

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

ADP Workforce Now

  • Pricing not publicly available, making budget comparison difficult
  • Additional modules increase per-employee cost significantly
  • Requires minimum 50 employees, not suitable for small businesses
  • Setup fees of $2,000 or more for additional modules

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 Workforce Now

$23/employee per month

No published plan breakdown. See the ADP Workforce Now review.

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 Workforce Now if

  • You need payroll processing.
  • You work on Web, Mobile.
  • You also want tax administration.
ADP Workforce Now review

Choose Fishbowl if

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

Questions people ask

Is ADP Workforce Now or Fishbowl better?
Neither clearly leads. ADP Workforce Now starts at $23/employee per 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 Workforce Now or Fishbowl?
ADP Workforce Now starts at $23/employee per month and Fishbowl at $4395/one-time.
Does ADP Workforce Now or Fishbowl run on more platforms?
ADP Workforce Now runs on Web, Mobile. Fishbowl runs on Windows, Cloud.
What can ADP Workforce Now do that Fishbowl cannot?
ADP Workforce Now covers Payroll Processing, Tax Administration, HR Management, Benefits Administration. Fishbowl covers Inventory management, Manufacturing, Work orders, Barcode scanning.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

ADP Workforce Now: How much does ADP Workforce Now cost?

ADP Workforce Now pricing starts around $23 to $30 per employee per month as base cost. Additional modules like recruiting cost extra, typically $3 per employee per month plus $2,000 setup fee.

Source
ADP Workforce Now: What payroll features does ADP Workforce Now include?

ADP Workforce Now includes payroll processing, benefits administration, time and attendance tracking, compliance management, and AI-powered anomaly detection that flags potential payroll errors before processing.

Source
ADP Workforce Now: Does ADP Workforce Now integrate with other systems?

Yes, ADP Workforce Now integrates with Workday through Flexspring connectors for near-real-time data sharing. Employee benefits, new hire data, and payroll information sync automatically between systems.

Source
ADP Workforce Now: Who is ADP Workforce Now suitable for?

ADP Workforce Now is built for organizations with 50 or more employees seeking comprehensive payroll and HR management with enterprise-grade features.

Source
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Related pages

More on ADP Workforce Now

More on Fishbowl

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