# ADP RUN for Partners Review: Pricing, Features, Alternatives ADP RUN for Partners: Partner edition of RUN, where the firm processes client payroll instead of referring it. Pricing from On request, SOC 2 yes (type ii), and how it compares to the alternatives, for US accounting and bookkeeping firms. Source: https://node8.ai/accounting-tools/payroll/adp-run-for-partners/ --- [Accounting Tools](https://node8.ai/accounting-tools/) · [Payroll & PEO](https://node8.ai/accounting-tools/payroll/) # ADP RUN for Partners Strong Option · ADP Partner edition of RUN, where the firm processes client payroll instead of referring it [Visit ADP RUN For Partners](https://www.adp.com/who-we-serve/by-partner/accountants.aspx) [All 19 payroll & peo tools](https://node8.ai/accounting-tools/payroll/) Best for Firms building a payroll or CAS line who want a national provider carrying the tax filing risk Starting price On request SOC 2 Yes (Type II) Multi-factor auth Unconfirmed Ownership ADP, Inc. Integrates with QuickBooks, Xero, Sage, Accountant Connect, ADP Marketplace, Expensify, +2 more The read ## What ADP RUN For Partners does Of the three tracks ADP offers accountants, this is the one that keeps the firm in the processing seat. RUN for Partners is the same cloud payroll platform that roughly 900,000 small businesses use, positioned so the firm onboards the client, enters or imports payroll, and lets ADP carry the tax deposit and filing obligation. RUN itself is aimed at employers with 1 to 49 employees and sold in four tiers, from Essential Payroll up to HR Pro. Around it sits Accountant Connect, which ADP gives partner firms free: one dashboard across the client book, authorised access to payroll data and tax forms, scheduled multi-client payroll reports, general ledger mapping into QuickBooks, Xero and Sage, compensation benchmarking from ADP DataCloud, BizEquity valuations, and a CCH AnswerConnect tax research library. The operating model matters more than the feature list. Reporting runs across the whole book at once, but payroll does not. Each client is a separate RUN account with its own run, so a firm with thirty payroll clients works through thirty processes rather than one batch. That is the structural difference between this and an engine like Accounting CS Payroll or Payroll Relief, where the firm processes a book in a pass. What ADP gives in exchange is that nobody at the firm owns the filing liability, the calculations, or the state registrations, and there is a local sales representative, implementation help and training behind it. The gap a firm should press on is billing. ADP publishes no partner pricing and no statement of whether the firm buys at a wholesale rate and marks it up, or the client is billed directly at a partner discount. The public partner page talks about earning more through add-on services, health insurance, retirement, time tracking and workers' compensation sold into the client base, which suggests attachment commissions are a real part of the economics. But the core question of who invoices the client for payroll, and at what spread, is a conversation with a representative rather than something you can evaluate from the website. Compare that with Gusto, which states its three billing options publicly, and the opacity is a genuine mark against it. The other trade-offs are the familiar ones with a large provider. Pricing is negotiated per firm and per client, so two clients of similar size can end up on different rates. Feature changes and price increases arrive on ADP's schedule. And the same sales organization that supports the partner firm also runs Refer and Earn and a program to buy the firm's payroll base outright, so the incentives are not perfectly aligned with a firm trying to build payroll as its own service line. Strong option is the right placement and the inherited tier stands. It is a credible way for a small firm to run client payroll at national-provider scale without hiring a payroll specialist, and Accountant Connect at no cost is a real asset even before the first client moves. It is not the default because the economics are unpublished and because the per-client processing model does not scale the way a batch engine does past a few dozen clients. Capabilities ## What you get Cloud payroll processing on behalf of clients, with tax deposit and filing handled by ADP Accountant Connect dashboard bundled at no cost, with scheduled multi-client payroll reports General ledger import and direct mapping to QuickBooks, Xero and Sage Add-on health insurance, retirement, time tracking and workers' compensation sold through the firm CCH AnswerConnect tax research library and ADP DataCloud compensation benchmarking Client onboarding support, product training and co-branded marketing materials Pricing, security, integrations ## What it costs and what it connects to ADP does not publish a price for ADP RUN For Partners; it is quoted per firm, usually on firm size or entity count. ADP RUN For Partners holds a SOC 2 Type II report. ADP RUN For Partners connects to QuickBooks, Xero and Sage. Supporting more than one ledger matters for firms whose clients are split across them. Beyond that: Accountant Connect, ADP Marketplace, Expensify, SignNow and ZayZoon. [Vendor pricing page](https://www.adp.com/who-we-serve/by-partner/accountants/payroll-processing-hr-management.aspx) · [Vendor security page](https://www.adp.com/about-adp/data-security.aspx) Our rating ## Why we rate ADP RUN For Partners a Strong Option ADP RUN For Partners is rated Strong Option, alongside 8 other of the 19 payroll & peo tools in this directory. A credible choice that wins on a specific fit rather than across the board — a price point, a niche, a workflow, or an integration the top picks do not cover as well. [How these ratings are decided](https://node8.ai/accounting-tools/methodology/). Same vendor ## More from ADP ### [ADP Refer & Earn](https://node8.ai/accounting-tools/payroll/adp-refer-and-earn/) ADP's referral track for accountants, paying revenue share instead of a wholesale margin Strong Option Alternatives ## ADP RUN For Partners alternatives ### [Gusto](https://node8.ai/accounting-tools/payroll/gusto/) Small-business payroll with a partner program that lets firms choose how they bill Top Pick ### [ADP Refer & Earn](https://node8.ai/accounting-tools/payroll/adp-refer-and-earn/) ADP's referral track for accountants, paying revenue share instead of a wholesale margin Strong Option ### [Paychex Flex Pro](https://node8.ai/accounting-tools/payroll/paychex-flex-pro/) Mid bundle of Paychex Flex whose main addition is an optionally assigned payroll specialist Dated ### [Payroll Relief](https://node8.ai/accounting-tools/payroll/payroll-relief/) Batch payroll processing platform licensed to the firm, which bills clients at its own rates Dated ### [QuickBooks Payroll Premium](https://node8.ai/accounting-tools/payroll/quickbooks-payroll-premium/) Middle payroll tier for QuickBooks Online clients, adding time tracking and same-day deposit Strong Option ### [Paychex Oasis](https://node8.ai/accounting-tools/payroll/oasis/) Legacy PEO brand Paychex acquired in 2018 and has since folded into Paychex HR Dated [Compare all 19 payroll & peo tools](https://node8.ai/accounting-tools/payroll/) Sources ## Where these facts came from Researched from public sources. Pricing and security claims change without notice, so check the vendor before you buy. Last reviewed September 8, 2026. ### [ADP partner options for accountants](https://www.adp.com/who-we-serve/by-partner/accountants.aspx) Retrieved 2026-09-08 ### [Payroll processing and HR management for partner firms](https://www.adp.com/who-we-serve/by-partner/accountants/payroll-processing-hr-management.aspx) Retrieved 2026-09-08 ### [Accountant Connect overview](https://www.adp.com/who-we-serve/by-partner/accountants/accountant-connect.aspx) Retrieved 2026-09-08 ### [RUN Powered by ADP product page](https://www.adp.com/what-we-offer/products/run-powered-by-adp.aspx) Retrieved 2026-09-08 Keep browsing ## Other categories [Practice Management (49)](https://node8.ai/accounting-tools/practice-management/)[General Ledger & Bookkeeping (26)](https://node8.ai/accounting-tools/general-ledger/)[Tax Workflow & Document Automation (26)](https://node8.ai/accounting-tools/tax-workflow/)[Tax Preparation (18)](https://node8.ai/accounting-tools/tax-preparation/)[Tax Planning & Advisory (13)](https://node8.ai/accounting-tools/tax-planning/)[Tax Research (13)](https://node8.ai/accounting-tools/tax-research/)[Month-End Close Automation (11)](https://node8.ai/accounting-tools/close-automation/)[Proposals & Engagement Letters (9)](https://node8.ai/accounting-tools/proposals-engagement/)[Spreadsheet Reporting & Ledger Sync (6)](https://node8.ai/accounting-tools/spreadsheet-reporting/)[Tax Resolution & IRS Representation (6)](https://node8.ai/accounting-tools/tax-resolution/)[AI Meeting Assistants (5)](https://node8.ai/accounting-tools/meeting-assistants/) ## Got the stack, still doing the work by hand? Node8 builds the automation and AI layer that sits between the tools a firm already pays for: intake, document extraction, review workflows, and the handoffs nobody has time to chase. [AI for accounting firms](https://node8.ai/acct) Book a strategy session