Inova’s fast facts [3.0 stars]

Pricing: Custom quotes

Key features:

  • Full suite of HR, payroll, compliance, benefits and other tools.
  • Employee self-service for payroll, benefits and more.
  • Existing integrations with accounting software and API to create new integrations.
  • Option for extra HR assistance.
Learn More on Inova’s Site

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Inova offers a complete human capital management (HCM) system through its cloud-based software. Its full suite of HR, payroll, time and benefits tools makes it a powerful alternative to separate payroll and human resources software ― and a good option for businesses that want to streamline HR and payroll as much as possible.

However, if Inova’s comprehensive approach sounds like too much, you may prefer to look at Inova alternatives instead. We’ll cover Inova and its top alternatives in detail through the rest of this buyers’ guide.

Inova payroll pricing

Instead of offering a clear flat or per-user rate, Inova provides custom quotes to businesses interested in its software.

The cost of Inova for your business will depend on factors like how many employees you have and what features you want. For instance, extras like HR assistance will raise your price. Given everything Inova includes, expect it to cost more than an HR-only or payroll-only solution.

Unfortunately, Inova does not offer a free trial. The best users can access is a 30-minute product demo.

Key features of Inova Payroll

Unified HR, benefits and payroll system

Inova calls itself an ecosystem, which mostly points to how it combines payroll software, HR software and more all in one package.

Fortunately, Inova has the kind of features you’d expect from any one of those kinds of software. On the payroll side, for instance, you get features like these:

  • Payroll compliance tools.
  • Wage garnishment wizard.
  • 401(k) plan integrations.
  • Tax forms.

Figure A

Inova includes all kinds of standard payroll tools, including pay calculators.
Inova includes all kinds of standard payroll tools, including pay calculators. Image: Inova.

On the HR side, you get these features:

  • Onboarding and offboarding.
  • Incident management.
  • Organizational news.
  • Benefits enrollment.

Additionally, users get access to labor management tools like time tracking, reporting and analytics and a learning management system.

Figure B

Inova reporting and analytics draw from every part of its unified system.
Inova reporting and analytics draw from every part of its unified system. Image: Inova.

With Inova, you get all these features in one place. You don’t have to mess around with duplicate employee records, for example. When you pull reports, they’ll draw from tons of available data ― not just payroll or HR data. When employees use Inova self-service, they’ll be able to manage their employment all in one place instead of needing logins for multiple services. Inova’s ecosystem even removes the need for tons of software integrations.

In other words, Inova can streamline and simplify things for your whole team.

HR Assist

Inova HR Assist is an optional add-on that acts as an extension of your existing HR team. Inova can take over tasks like onboarding, benefits enrollment, regulatory compliance and even employee training.

Inova offers three different tiers of HR support, so you can decide exactly how much HR assistance you need ― whether that’s just communications and benefits on the Silver plan or a full stack of HR services (including performance management) on the Platinum plan.

HR Assist lets your HR team focus on specialized initiatives instead of mundane tasks. It may even save you money by removing the need to expand your HR team.

Benefits brokerage

Benefits administration is a core Inova feature, but the software also offers benefits brokerage services as a strategic add-on. These services help you find the right benefits packages for your business, including basics like healthcare and extras like wellness programs. Inova can connect you to popular insurance carriers like Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna and more.

And if you select insurance plans through Inova, it can create a custom benefits guide for your employees and conduct enrollments with your team, including both on-site and virtual options.

Note that Inova doesn’t offer brokerage services in all states. If your state is excluded, though, Inova will connect with partner brokerages to help you.

Inova payroll pros

Customer support

While Inova offers customer support only during regular business hours, it has a good customer service reputation. In Inova payroll reviews, users report that Inova answers questions quickly and thoroughly. So if you ever run into trouble with one of Inova’s many tools, customer support will have your back.

Scalability

Inova says it can help businesses with anywhere from one to hundreds of employees. And sure enough, it has all the hallmarks of a scalable software solution. Its different modules — like payroll management and labor management — make it so you can use just a couple of the tools or the whole suite. As your business grows, Inova can grow to meet your needs.

Software integrations

Inova natively integrates with popular business accounting software. It also offers an API platform that lets you create integrations for nearly any other software. Even better, Inova is available to help customers set up those integrations, making things easier for you.

User interface

Most users agree that Inova has a clean, usable interface. Sure, a few people find the number of features overwhelming; but for the most part, people say Inova is easy to learn ― especially when compared with competitors like Paychex.

Figure C

Inova’s modern interface makes it simple to use for both your HR team and employee self-service ― like this onboarding process.
Inova’s modern interface makes it simple to use for both your HR team and employee self-service ― like this onboarding process. Image: Inova.

Inova Payroll cons

Pricing

Inova doesn’t have transparent pricing. You’ll need to talk with a rep to get a custom quote for your business. That’s not necessarily uncommon for HR and payroll software, but it’s still frustrating.

Lack of a free trial

We wish Inova offered a free trial. Yes, a demo can help you see how Inova payroll works. Still, getting started with Inova is a big commitment. It would be nice if you could have more hands-on time with the tool to make sure it fits your preferences.

Mobile access

While Inova claims to have an Inova payroll app for both iOS and Android, we couldn’t find an Inova payroll app in either app marketplace. Now, you can still log into Inova and use it via your mobile web browser, but customer reviews say the mobile interface is clunky and unpleasant — so if you need mobile capabilities, shift your search to some of the top payroll apps on the market.

If Inova Payroll isn’t ideal for you, check out these alternatives

Gusto

Like Inova, Gusto is a human resources payroll software solution. It has many similar features to Inova, from employee self-service to time tracking to onboarding tools. With three different plans, Gusto can also scale from very small businesses to much larger teams.

Unlike Inova, Gusto has simple, clear pricing, making it an ideal alternative for businesses that want to make a decision ASAP. Likewise, the low-cost Simple plan makes Gusto a good option for businesses that need basic HR and payroll on a budget.


Try Gusto

Rippling

Rippling is another top HR and payroll software solution. Similar to Inova, Rippling helps with onboarding, payroll processing, benefits administration and more, but Rippling also adds features for IT management.

Plus, Rippling works better for global workforce management. It has everything you need to comply with local laws and convert to local currencies, giving it a broader reach than Inova’s national compliance tools.


Try Rippling

Paychex

Paychex also has a lot in common with Inova, from tax management to employee benefits to payroll. And just like Inova, Paychex can scale from very small businesses to large organizations thanks to a broad suite of features.

Paychex does have some extras that Inova doesn’t, though, like business insurance management. So if Inova doesn’t seem comprehensive enough for your taste, Paychex may offer what you need.


Try Paychex

Review methodology

To develop our Inova review, we thoroughly researched its software and services, as well as customer reactions to and reviews for those features. We graded Inova on dozens of different factors, including payroll options, software integrations, customer reviews and scalability. This research process helped us see how Inova compares to other human resources payroll software options in order to write our review.

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