Looking for a Heartland Payroll alternative? See how Netchex compares to Auris.
Heartland Payroll is now Auris, following Acrisure’s acquisition of Heartland Payroll Solutions and its rebrand unveiled at SHRM26 in June 2026. Netchex is known for getting payroll right and picking up the phone. Here’s the real, side-by-side comparison: features, review-platform ratings, and what actual switchers say.
7,500+ organizations trust Netchex
Netchex vs. Auris, in one paragraph.
Heartland Payroll spent years as Global Payments’ payroll and HCM division, cross-sold to small and midsize retail and restaurant merchants already using Heartland for card processing. In October 2025, Acrisure closed a $1.1 billion acquisition of Heartland Payroll Solutions, moved roughly 50,000 clients over, and unveiled the payroll and HCM business at SHRM26 in June 2026 as an independent brand called Auris. Auris carries real strengths on paper, including a G2 rating of 4.2/5 from 136 reviews and a Capterra rating of 4.3/5 from 102 reviews, with some reviewers praising its support team and interface. Other reviewers describe off-shore support centers, slow responses, and a pay-category or access-level setup that reportedly still runs through phone calls and paper forms rather than self-service. Netchex holds a 4.5/5 G2 rating across 7,500+ businesses, ahead of Auris on both G2 and Capterra, and backs it with a support team that answers 90% of calls in under a minute with first-call resolution. If you’re weighing Heartland Payroll’s new Auris identity against a provider with a consistent track record before and after any rebrand, here’s the honest comparison.
Choose Auris if:
You’re an existing Heartland Payroll client already comfortable with the platform, or a small retail or restaurant business that wants payroll bundled with Acrisure’s broader fintech ecosystem and card-processing relationship.
Choose Netchex if:
You want a single HR and payroll platform built for hourly, multi-location, and multi-EIN teams, self-service configuration instead of phone calls and paper forms, and a support team with a consistently strong track record.
Netchex and Auris, side by side.
| Netchex | Auris (Heartland Payroll) | |
|---|---|---|
| G2 rating | 4.5/5 (7,500+ businesses) | 4.2/5 (136 reviews) |
| Capterra rating | Not flagged in this research | 4.3/5 (102 reviews) |
| G2 support score | 8.9/10 | No numeric subscore published; reviewer sentiment on support is mixed |
| Best fit company size | 50-5,000 employees | Small and midsize businesses, historically bundled with card-payment processing |
| Implementation | Free, project-managed, about 6 weeks, dedicated Implementation Manager | Not detailed in available research since the Auris rebrand |
| Ongoing support | Dedicated Account Manager. 90% of calls answered in under a minute, with first-call resolution. | Mixed reviewer reports, ranging from quick and helpful to slow and off-shore-routed. Auris’s own marketing claims a typical response under two hours, though that is a company claim, not an independently verified metric. |
| Shift differential pay | Native | Not documented in this research |
| Piece rate pay | Native | Not documented in this research |
| OSHA and safety tracking | Built in | Not documented in this research |
| Multi-EIN / multi-entity | Single login | Not documented in this research |
| Mobile app | Strong, high daily adoption | Not documented in this research |
| Employee engagement and social tools | Practical, high-adoption tools | Not documented in this research |
| Documented tax filing issues | None reported | None reported, though a billing dispute over ongoing charges after service ended was reported to the BBB |
*Rows marked with third-party sources cite G2, Capterra, and BBB. Data collected as of September 2026 and subject to change.
Why companies switch from Auris to Netchex.
Self-service that doesn’t require a phone call or a paper form
Reviewers of the pre-rebrand Heartland Payroll platform described basic, outdated configuration options, including needing to call support to rename a pay category and submitting a paper form to change an employee’s access level. Netchex handles both directly in the platform.
A support reputation that isn’t a coin flip
G2 and BBB reviews of Heartland Payroll and Auris show a genuinely split picture: positive experiences with quick, helpful reps alongside complaints about off-shore support centers and slow responses. Netchex’s support team answers 90% of calls in under a minute with first-call resolution, backed by a 98% customer satisfaction score (97% most recent reading).
A rating advantage on the review platforms that matter
Auris carries a 4.2/5 G2 rating from 136 reviews and a 4.3/5 Capterra rating from 102 reviews. Netchex’s 4.5/5 G2 rating, drawn from 7,500+ businesses, is ahead of Auris on both platforms.
A brand still finding its footing
Auris only unveiled its new identity at SHRM26 in June 2026, after Acrisure’s $1.1 billion acquisition of Heartland Payroll Solutions closed in October 2025. Netchex spent that same period building the track record above, not introducing itself to the market for the first time.
| Netchex | Auris (Heartland Payroll) | |
|---|---|---|
| Calls answered in under 1 minute | 90% | Not documented in this research |
| First-call resolution | 90% | Not documented in this research |
| Customer satisfaction | 98% (97% most recent reading) | Not documented in this research |
| Account manager | Dedicated | Not documented in this research |
| Ranking | #1 on G2 for Service | Not documented in this research |
Where Netchex and Auris actually differ.
On-time payroll, with no surprises at tax time.
Netchex guarantees accurate, on-time payroll with no documented tax-filing failures. Available research on Auris doesn’t document a specific tax-filing failure, though pricing aggregators describe its fee structure as complex and hard to predict up front.
Built for hourly and multi-location teams.
Netchex includes native shift differentials, piece rate pay, and geofenced or biometric clocking. Available research doesn’t detail Auris’s shift differential, piece-rate, or geofencing capabilities specifically.
A dedicated team, from rollout to renewal.
Every Netchex client gets a dedicated Implementation Manager for a free, project-managed rollout that typically takes about 6 weeks. After that, a dedicated Account Manager stays on the account for the life of the relationship. Auris is still settling into its new identity after the Acrisure acquisition closed in October 2025, and available research doesn’t document its current implementation timeline or account-management model.
A mobile experience employees actually use.
Netchex’s mobile app sees strong daily adoption for clocking in, requesting time off, viewing pay stubs, and recognition, all in one place. Available research doesn’t document Auris’s mobile app or engagement tools in comparable detail.
Fewer surprises on the invoice.
Netchex includes free, project-managed implementation and data import with no setup fee. Third-party aggregators studying Heartland Payroll’s pre-rebrand pricing described the structure as complex and opaque, making total cost hard to predict up front. Auris has not published its own pricing structure since the rebrand.
What switching to Netchex actually sounds like.
“Coming from an in-house payroll company and moving to Netchex has opened so many wonderful doors. Netchex provides so much assistance with my payroll and HR needs, allowing me more time with other important duties.”
“Netchex has been fantastic. We enjoy personalized service, we know the people that we deal with, and they bend over backward to get what we need done.”
“The entire staff, from sales to implementation to service, has been stellar in their delivery. The culture of Netchex is one of a company that demonstrates the importance of relationships with clients.”
“Netchex is the Chick-fil-a of payroll providers.”
“We used to print out each email and application, sometimes hundreds a day, write who it was for, and then go stick it in that manager’s mailbox. Now we don’t have to do any of that since we use NetRecruiter. So much less paper and so much less time spent on it.”
“Netchex has the best support of any service provider I’ve ever worked with. There aren’t any hoops to jump through with Netchex support.”
Auris vs. Netchex, answered.
Is Heartland Payroll still around, or is it now Auris?
Do Auris and Netchex offer similar payroll and HR features?
What size companies are the best fit for Auris vs. Netchex?
Who has better customer service, Auris or Netchex?
How does Auris pricing compare to Netchex?
Why did Heartland Payroll change its name to Auris?
How does Auris compare to other payroll providers like ADP or Paychex?
Comparing other HR and payroll providers?
See how Netchex stacks up against other budget and small-business payroll providers.
See why 7,500+ businesses picked Netchex over Auris.
Get a live demo built around your industry, not a generic feature tour.
Request a Demo