Namely Review 2023: Is It the Right HR Software for Your Business?
Charlette has over 10 years of experience in accounting and finance and 2 years of partnering with HR leaders on freelance projects. She uses this extensive experience to answer your questions about payroll.
Robie has more than five years of content writing experience and specializes in writing about payroll and human resources software for small businesses.
This article is part of a larger series on Payroll Services.
Namely is a cloud-based HR software that’s optimal for mid-size businesses with 25 to 1,000 employees. It integrates a suite of HR tools and compliance solutions into one platform, enabling users to efficiently handle employee-related processes. It also offers managed services designed to reduce administrative tasks in processing employee payroll and administering benefit plans.
Its core platform is an intuitive system of record with self-service tools, task lists, analytics, an employee directory, and a company news feed. Pricing is customized—and Namely requires you to purchase the core system before getting its other modules, like recruiting, payroll, time tracking, HR compliance, and benefits administration.
Pros
- Easy to use
- Wide range of HR tools in one solution
- Cloud-based and customizable platform (you can choose paid HR modules to add to its core platform)
- Offers managed services to help you handle payroll and benefits administration
Cons
- Pricing isn’t transparent
- System setup and implementation takes a long time (average of six to eight weeks)
- Lacks international payroll capabilities
What We Recommend Namely For
Namely helps businesses efficiently manage all facets of the employee lifecycle while streamlining processes. It has a customizable platform to which you can add other modules, like time tracking, compliance, and benefits management. Aside from offering cloud-based HR solutions, it has HR managed services that allow you to outsource day-to-day payroll and benefits administration tasks.
Namely Deciding Factors
Supported Business Types | Small to midsize businesses (with 25 to 1,000 employees) in the ecommerce, life sciences, technology, and finance industries; also offers HR solutions for non-profit organizations |
Free Trial | None, but you can request a free demo |
Pricing | Namely pricing details are not available on its website; you have to call the provider to request a quote |
Standout Features |
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Ease of Use | Relatively simple to learn and use, but having basic knowledge of managing HR and running payroll will help you navigate its system more easily |
Customer Support |
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Looking for something different? Read our guide to the top-ranking HRIS/HRMS software for small businesses to find a solution that’s right for you.
How Namely Compares With Top Alternatives
Best For | Free Trial | Starter Monthly Fees | Our Reviews | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Midsize businesses looking for an integrated HR software | ✕ | Custom-priced | |
 | Companies that want an all-in-one HR, payroll, and IT solution | ✕ | $35 base fee plus $8 per employee* | |
 | Businesses needing full-service payroll and solid HR support | 30 days** | $40 base fee plus $6 per employee | |
 | Small companies requiring basic HR tools only | 14 days | $10 per employee | |
*Pricing is based on a quote we received
**Gusto’s 30-day free trial is a special offer provided to Fit Small Business readers. Note that this promotion can change at any time.
Namely Pricing
To get Namely pricing details, you have to contact its sales team to discuss your requirements and request a quote. The provider offers an HR Fundamentals plan, which is its core HR platform that comes with all the basic tools you need to manage employee information, new hire onboarding, PTO, tasks, and reports.
If you want to enhance its core platform, you can get its add-on modules for payroll, employee benefits, time and attendance, recruitment, and compliance. It also has an Enhanced Services package that allows you to subscribe to its managed payroll and benefits services.
Namely Features
Namely’s cloud-based solutions are designed to help you recruit, onboard, pay, and manage employees. It also offers mobile apps (for iOS and Android devices) and a self-service tool that enables employees to request PTO and view pay slips online.
Aside from storing employee information online, you can use Namely to track important staff movements and milestones like hiring, name and address changes, terminations/separations, and rehiring. With its streamlined integrations, employee information flows seamlessly between Namely’s modules and its partner systems.
Namely’s employee profiles contain each staff’s data, such as personal information, skills, banking details, and compensation history.
Finding and hiring top talents will be much easier tasks with Namely’s recruiting and onboarding solutions. Its features include custom job workflows, offer letters, a resume parser, and a searchable database.
Its integration with E-Verify and Adobe allows you to easily conduct background checks and have electronic documents signed online, respectively. Namely also has a calendar sync feature that lets you keep track of recruiting-related deadlines on Gmail and Outlook calendars.
In addition, you are granted access to onboarding templates that you can modify to fit your business’ new employee orientation requirements. Namely even helps to eliminate the need to maintain manual forms since all new hire documents are securely stored within its platform.
Namely can help you monitor PTO requests and track employee clock-ins and outs. It comes with a real-time scheduling tool that allows eligible users to create and manage employee schedules.
With Namely’s mass editing feature, you can change employee schedules and/or approve PTO requests in just one click.
Given Namely’s integrated platform, all employee data (such as personal details, time and attendance, and benefits information) flow seamlessly into its payroll module. This makes it easy for you to process employee pay without having to manually extract data from various systems and upload it into Namely.
This module also has the capability to process payroll for multiple pay groups—from bi-weekly to monthly paid employees. You can even change employee pay cycles as many times as you need.
Apart from pay processing, Namely offers simple tax filing of federal, state, and local payroll taxes. The provider can also handle your year-end reporting, such as Forms W-2 and 1099.
Its benefits administration solution features plan management, online employee benefits enrollments, carrier feeds, and embedded help tools. It comes with Affordable Care Act (ACA) reporting in which Namely files 1094 and 1095 forms on your behalf.
After your employees have selected their plan options in Namely, they can be automatically enrolled with benefits carriers using EDI feeds.
With its talent management solution, you can assess employee performance and automate review cycles. It comes with configurable templates, intuitive forms, goals management, and unlimited performance reviews. You can even use it to define and add competencies, allowing your employees to pull these directly into their performance review forms.
Namely can help you track the progress of company goals and annual performance review cycles.
With its HR Compliance module, you are granted unlimited access to certified HR advisers who can help you mitigate employee-related compliance risks. It comes with Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) logs for recording workplace injuries, an updatable “living handbook” that contains your company’s policies, and a learning management solution to educate employees about business-related regulations.
The module also includes a dedicated portal named Tell Us, where employees can submit anonymized reports at any time. They can choose their preferred confidentiality level and indicate if they are reporting on behalf of another person or themselves, add details of the people involved and their roles in the incident, and upload relevant documents or materials.
An employer can then address and resolve the complaint through a masked, two-way communication with the person who reported the incident. The portal works to track reports from start to finish, and ensures proper documentation from an anonymous portal.
This feature supports consistent compliance programs that align with regulatory standards to avoid costly litigation and reduce reputation damages. Its law alerts even allow you to view the latest updates to employment regulations. If you have a multi-state business, you can compare policies and regulations in the states you operate in directly through Namely.
One way to keep your workforce engaged is to recognize their good work. With Namely’s company news feed, you can praise your employees while keeping them informed of important company updates. What I like about the tool is that it has a social media platform feel to it, enabling employees to “like” posts and add comments.
Namely’s company news feed shows the employees who were recently hired and are celebrating important milestones, such as birthdays and work anniversaries.
Namely has a comprehensive reporting tool, wherein you can either run pre-made reports or create a custom one that meets your needs. It also comes with point-in-time reporting, allowing you to compare key HR metrics based on specific dates.
You also get dashboards that contain visual analytics on various HR metrics.
Namely Ease of Use
- User-friendly interface
- Onboarding tools
- Implementation specialists
- Employee self-service and mobile apps
- In-app help button
- How-to guides and a community forum
- Access to HR advisers
Customizability and having a user-friendly interface are some of the factors you need to consider when looking for an HR software. With Namely, you get platform configurability and a comprehensive solution suite designed to help you efficiently manage all aspects of the employee’s entire lifecycle. Plus, it has an interface that’s easy to learn and use.
Similar to popular HR platforms, Namely offers self-service tools that let your employees manage basic HR tasks themselves, like requesting and tracking PTOs, accessing payslips, and viewing benefits information online. This enables you to focus more on business-building strategies and spend less time handling day-to-day HR processes.
Namely offers live phone support if you need help or have questions about its functionalities. The provider also has an online chat and an in-app help tool, or you can even connect with other Namely clients through a community forum. If you need expert assistance, HR advisory services are available, as well as data migration and implementation help for new clients.
Namely’s open application programming interface (API) allows users to connect it to other business apps, such as applicant tracking systems (ATSes), learning solutions, benefits account and Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) administration providers, and international payroll tools. It also has a robust selection of integration options. Here are some of its partner systems.
- ATSes: Greenhouse, JazzHR, Breezy, Jobvite, ApplicantStack, Recruiterbox
- Benefits and COBRA administration providers: Discover Benefits and Ameriflex
- Identity management and single sign-on tools: Okta, BetterCloud, and Google Workspace
- International payroll solutions: Blue Marble Payroll, iiPay, and Vistra
- Employee recognition systems: Bonusly, Kazoo, and Fond
- Learning platforms: Absorb, Litmos, Travitor, and Lessonly
- Employee feedback software: Culture Amp, 15Five, Lattice, and Small Improvements
- Compensation management tools: SimplyMerit, CompensationCloud, and Payfactors
- Time and attendance solutions: TSheets, Boomr, and Replicon
- Other business systems: Workato, Pingboard, OrgChart Now, and Zapier
Namely’s mobile app is available for Android and iOS devices, which allows users to view their pay stubs, send time-off requests, and view company newsfeed and benefits info. The app, however, has limited features for managers compared to the full software. Managers can create or edit schedules on the app, view who’s clocked in and out, and manage time-off requests. However, managers cannot run and process payroll with the mobile app.
Features in Namely’s mobile app for employees include a company directory, time-off requests, benefits, and pay stubs.
What Users Think About Namely
Many users who left Namely reviews online said that its ease of use, integrated solutions, and onboarding tools are its standout features. They also like that it has a wide range of HR solutions, enabling them to efficiently manage employees, staff information, benefits, and payroll.
On the other hand, there are mixed reviews about its customer service. Some users said the support team isn’t always responsive and helpful, while others commented that they received good service. A few users also complained about system setup challenges, limited report customization options, open benefits enrollment errors, and “clunky” workflows.
| Users Like | Users Don’t Like |
|---|---|
| Easy to use; has a modern interface with many customizations | Not all of its features are intuitive; you sometimes have to click several tabs instead of just one |
| Efficient onboarding tools | Some of its HR tools are “clunky” to use (such as workflows and benefits enrollments) |
| The community forum is a helpful resource | Inconsistent customer support |
| Offers an all-in-one HR platform | Reporting tool could use some improvements (add more customization and data filter options) |
At the time of publication, Namely reviews earned the following scores on popular user review sites:
- Capterra: 4.2 out of 5 based on 400+ reviews
- G2: 3.9 out of 5 based on nearly 300 reviews
Bottom Line
Namely is an ideal option for midsize businesses (with 25 to 1,000 employees) needing a customizable HR platform with employee management, payroll, and benefits administration tools. System setup may not be as quick as other HR software, but you are granted access to a team of specialists to guide you through the implementation process. If you need assistance processing payroll and benefits, you can subscribe to its managed services.
Sign up for a free Namely demo today.
