Understanding and managing employee benefits can be complicated. There are so many benefits products and packages to choose from and, at the same time, you have to make sure you comply with state and federal regulations. To simplify these processes, most organizations, big and small, rely on employee benefits management software.
What is Employee Benefit Management System?
Employee benefits management software (sometimes called a ben-admin system) is used by companies to manage employee benefits as well as ensure compliance with state and federal regulations. A typical benefit management software will assist with medical insurance, pension & retirement, stock options, and leave. These systems automate processes and tasks to make it easier to manage your employee benefits.
Benefits management software can be used as a standalone system or integrate with other HR and enterprise software. Integration add-ons can cost anywhere from $1 PEPM (Per Employee Per Month) up to $5 PEPM depending on the software.
Ease vs Employee Navigator vs Bernie Portal vs GoCo
Let’s take a look at the four of the most popular benefit management administration systems for you to get an idea of which one is right for your business.
The Different Pricing Costs of Each System
Firstly, let’s look at a cost comparison between these four systems. Some or all of the cost will be paid for by your employee benefits broker. Although, most brokers will only offer one software platform to choose from.
Here at Benefit Leader, we don’t believe in the ‘one-size fits all’ mindset. We work with all benefits management systems.
Ease
This system has a great benefits management feature and basic HR management and record keeping. The employee onboarding can be added at a small monthly cost. However we believe your broker should pay for this, we certainly do. The more robust HR management features like PTO management can also be added for a small monthly fee between $2-$4 a month. This is usually paid for by the employer.
Employee Navigator
This software is very similar to Ease and is paid for by your broker. There is no additional cost to the employer, however, different brokers may not pay for all features. If you want to make sure you have all of the features Employee Navigator has to offer, it’s best to make sure your broker has at least the Elite Employee Navigator package.
Bernie Portal
Similar to both Ease and Employee Navigator, the basics are covered by your broker. If you want to add on PTO tracking, applicant tracking, time & attendance, they would each cost $5 per employee per month.
GoCo
GoCo works a little bit differently. GoCo was built as an HR management system first, so they charge $5 per employee per month. This will include the basics of HR management, including onboarding, and document management. The benefits management feature is an add on for GoCo and costs an additional amount. The cost of the benefit management feature should be paid for by your broker.
Time-off tracking can be added for an additional fee, usually around $3 -$5 per employee per month.
Additional Features
All four benefit management systems offer similar systems, however, the starting packages may only provide the basics. Features such as software integrations, ACA forms, and payroll sync are usually charged as extras (per employee per month).
Payroll Integrations Costs
All four benefit management software systems integrate with many different payroll applications. Insurance carrier integration is generally quite comprehensive. The biggest difference between the four is whether or not they integrate with your payroll provider and what does that integration cost.
The integrations between payroll companies can sometimes be a different cost based on the payroll provider.
Ease
Ease integrates with ADP, Heartland, & Paylocity. The cost for each integration is between $2-$3 per employee per month depending on the payroll provider.
Employee Navigator
Employee Navigator integrates with ADP, Paylocity, Paycor, Benefitmall, Kronos, and more. Your broker will need to have the Elite package and there is usually a fee associated with the connection to each payroll provider.
Bernie Portal
Bernie Portal integrates with ADP, Paycor, and Proliant.
GoCo
GoCo integrates with all payroll providers and this is one of their best features. They charge a flat fee of $3 per employee per month. They have an automatic electronic connection with many payroll providers, like ADP, Paylocity, Paychex, and even Gusto.
If they don’t have a direct feed to your payroll provider, they will manually take care of any payroll deduction changes for you at no additional cost.
Benefit Management and Payroll Integration Process
Regardless of what the different software companies and payroll providers say, integrating the two pieces is not always an easy task. This can take days or even weeks with many back and forth reporting and error corrections between the two.
This is why Benefit Leader has an integration team that does it all for you! We’ve managed the integration process many times and understand the nuances and difficulties involved. This is why we take care of the process entirely for our clients at no additional cost.
