What are Vista users saying about the software?
Read what people like you have said about using Vista software through verified user reviews
User Review Highlights
4.56
16 Reviews
Ease-of-use
out of 5Customer Support
out of 5Value for money
out of 5Functionality
out of 5"PDS continues to improve and add to the system. Every department is very responsive to customer needs."
"Implementation team is great, very responsive. Very excited about the employee self-service components."
"The customer service is very important. Software allows multi states."
"The position structure is very cumbersome and difficult to update."
"The applicant tracking system and the candidate drop off that we have."
"Job history has been really hard to accurately track. Tracking applicants in multiple reqs has also been hard."
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Showing 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
daniel
Company size: 201-500 employees
Industry: Public Policy
Time used: More than 2 years
Review Source
This review was submitted organically. No incentive was offered
October 2018
Flexibility built in from the foundation
The customer support makes this system a great system and the company a great company to do business with.
Pros
I have supported many HR and Payroll systems and this is by far the most flexible and risiliant systems that I have worked with. The system is designed to allow for installing updates as well as for including custom code in a way that preserves the functionality and integrity of the original base code. This is essential when considering the long term support and maintenance of a system. Customer support is great and very personal. The techs know me and my system and are always able to provide insight and assistance in a timely manner.
Cons
I am not a fan of the crystal reporting engine but this implementation seems to be sound and pretty resiliant. We were able to create reports we needed to fit our organizations needs. I prefer SSRS.
Wendy
Company size: 201-500 employees
Industry: Public Policy
Time used: More than 2 years
Review Source
This review was submitted organically. No incentive was offered
October 2018
Vista 7 is a hit with employees
Overall we have been happy with the Vista 7 upgrade. I look forward to seeing what the payroll change will bring.
Pros
We upgraded to the Vista 7 platform in September after being on PDS Vista for 9 years. The new version is a lot more intuitive and our self-service employees love the icons instead of drop downs for finding their information. As a payroll user I like that there is more information on each tab, a lot less clicking. I also like that all the payroll processes, reports and timesheets are in one pop up box.
Cons
Some of the things that used to work fine in 4.1 don't work in 7. I like that there is more screen print buttons added , but they only print the screen showing, not all the information on the page if you have to scroll down. It kind of defeats the purpose when it doesn't print all the information. Also when using the timesheet to add deduction or fringe adjustments that apply only for the specific pay period it doesn't stay on the same tab when changing employees.
Lydia
Company size: 201-500 employees
Industry: Real Estate
Time used: Less than 2 years
Review Source
This review was submitted organically. No incentive was offered
October 2018
Vista 7 Review
Pros
It is cleaner than 4 and it is more intuitive. The upgrade went smoothly thanks to the help of PDS Team. They were very knowledgeable.
Cons
The position structure is very cumbersome and difficult to update. Though it has changed quite a bit from Vista 4 the changes made weren't for the better.
Tonia
Time used: Less than 2 years
June 2015
Tip of the Iceberg
Pros
Vista HRMS is a complete and comprehensive HR system, from the hiring process, through benefits, payroll, taxes, time management, etc. The Vendor is always on top of the latest tax laws (at least in the US) as well as always moving forward in the use of new technology while maintaining for those who haven’t quite caught up in technology. In addition, the system is open enough to allow the general super user to customize to fit their needs or for higher level customizations to meet even the most out-of-reach needs.
Cons
I personally came in after our Vista HRMS was installed and in use. What I found was our staff was lacking the training to make the system do what they needed. When inquiring our staff of this, it was expressed that the training they did receive was rushed and not understood. Since we went through a 3rd party instead of PDS directly, we were not able to work with PDS which reflected this lack of training. I cannot say that this is the vendors down fall exactly as I know my users but had there been a choice we would choose to work directly with PDS.
Melissa
Company size: 501-1,000 employees
Industry: Transportation/Trucking/Railroad
Time used: Less than 2 years
Review Source
This review was submitted organically. No incentive was offered
October 2018
I'm a new HRMS Analyst who has been using Vista 4.1 for almost a year, and am anxiously awaiting our "Go Live" date on Vista7.
I am genuinely excited to see what the future holds for the PDS group and Vista products. If you like personalized service and a team who genuinely cares about their customers you should definitely consider use of this product.
Pros
I love the multitude of layers available in security, and the ease with which the system can be customized to meet our needs. Customer service is top notch! It seems to me each person I've encountered with PDS handles my questions and concerns as if it were personally impacting them. I have never been made to feel like I should have known how to do something before reaching out for help and for that alone I am eternally grateful!
Cons
Vista 4.1 is a bit less user friendly than other HRMS systems I have used in the past, but I think this may be attributed to our initial installation and set-up. We are working to improve those things as we prepare to upgrade to the new platform.
Linda
Company size: 501-1,000 employees
Industry: Insurance
Time used: More than 2 years
Review Source
This review was submitted organically. No incentive was offered
October 2019
Long time client, still happy with product!
Pros
We love the recent upgrade to Vista 7; it provided a fresh new face to the system. We also love (and value) the relationship we have with PDS Support employees. Always quick to jump in for assistance when needed and to follow up to make sure it worked. The PDS conference is well worth the investment. Networking with other users has provided so much insight into the system that we wouldn't have been able to explore on our own. Plus how many conferences do you attend where you can sit with the CEO and just talk?!?
Cons
Reporting within Crystal isn't always the easiest but we always find a way to report on the data.
Barbara
Company size: 1,001-5,000 employees
Industry: Government Administration
Time used: More than 2 years
Review Source
This review was submitted organically. No incentive was offered
December 2021
Been a customer for over 20 years and extremely satisfied with the product
PDS/Vista has been an incredible vendor to work with. My manager told me that she wished all of our other vendors were as attentive to the customer and as easy to work with as PDS is.
Pros
PDS/Vista is on top of the ever changing HR/Payroll world. We love the fact that we can customize the application as we need to. The employees love the easy to use Open Enrollment feature and that they can view their accruals/pay stubs with one click. PDS/Vista customer support is the BEST in the business!
Cons
Some of the programs are still in COBOL but PDS is working to rewrite them.
Star
Company size: 201-500 employees
Industry: Transportation/Trucking/Railroad
Time used: More than 2 years
Review Source
This review was submitted organically. No incentive was offered
November 2018
Benefits, HR and Payroll work well together
Looking forward to moving to V7
Pros
Improvements are constantly being made. Changes in benefits directly affect payroll. There is no need for duplicate entry. Exit programs make it easy to customize the software without requiring software changes.
Cons
Missing tracking of intermittent FMLA. Customs were required to accomplish this task that all employers must comply with.
David
Company size: 51-200 employees
Industry: Real Estate
Time used: More than 2 years
Review Source
This review was submitted organically. No incentive was offered
November 2021
Easy to Use and Customize
We have move our timesheet entry on-line and have integrated many other systems seamlessly. There support is excellemt
Pros
The vendor has created many user configurable application options that don't require IT involbement
Cons
Reporting could be better but they do provide analytics
Reasons for switching to Vista
Sage Abra was End 0f Life and not using current technology
Rose
Company size: 501-1,000 employees
Industry: Insurance
Time used: More than 2 years
Review Source
This review was submitted organically. No incentive was offered
August 2021
Reveiw
Very please with software and customer support.
Pros
The customer service is very important. Software allows multi states.
Cons
The time it took to learn Crystal reports and the system files.
Reasons for choosing Vista
We have more control on setup and data.
Reasons for switching to Vista
Customer Service.
Keith
Company size: 501-1,000 employees
Industry: Retail
Time used: Less than 12 months
Review Source
This review was submitted organically. No incentive was offered
October 2018
Currently in implementation - so far, so good!
We are going online with HR and Payroll, next will be Benefits Admin and Performance Management.
Pros
Full service program, covering entire employee life cycle. We are coming from a setup where we have 4-5 disparate systems "talking" to each other. Having everything under one umbrella is great. Love the base system model vs. chopping up and paying for modules. Very customizable to our processes, some of which are rather unique. Implementation team is great, very responsive. Very excited about the employee self-service components.
Cons
I don't think there is anything that I don't like at this time. There are things that we can't do 100% the same as we did before, but we can get pretty close.
Raissa
Company size: 201-500 employees
Industry: Wholesale
Time used: More than 2 years
Review Source
This review was submitted organically. No incentive was offered
November 2019
Great Support, Lots of Functionality
Pros
The software has lots of functionality. PDS continues to improve and add to the system. Every department is very responsive to customer needs.
Cons
Set-up can be cumbersome. Report writing - you need to have someone who is familiar with crystal reports to effective write reports. PDS does can help write custom reports.
Cody
Company size: 501-1,000 employees
Industry: Electrical/Electronic Manufacturing
Time used: Less than 2 years
Review Source
This review was submitted organically. No incentive was offered
October 2018
Vista Review
Pros
The flexibility of customization and the back end reporting. The SQL ability was a must for our organization.
Cons
The applicant tracking system and the candidate drop off that we have. People have to create a profile and apply, would be nice not to have to create the profile.
Lydia
Company size: 201-500 employees
Industry: Real Estate
Time used: Less than 12 months
Review Source: Capterra
This review was submitted organically. No incentive was offered
November 2017
Vista Time has been easy to use and implement I wish other software were this easy.
Before we did everything manual including payroll now I know it saves time, energy and our time is more easily viewed.
Pros
Easy to change features within the system. If you want to add something it can be done to only a few people or a lot.
Cons
Reporting isn't easy if you want something different. The system has canned reports but anything else is difficult to achieve. Also the audit reporting isn't very clear.
Cody
Company size: 501-1,000 employees
Industry: Electrical/Electronic Manufacturing
Time used: Less than 12 months
Review Source
This review was submitted organically. No incentive was offered
November 2017
LI PDS Exp
Pros
Flexibility and Customer service. The security in the system is also great for multiple companies in multiple pay groups.
Cons
Job history has been really hard to accurately track. Tracking applicants in multiple reqs has also been hard.
Debbie
Industry: Electrical/Electronic Manufacturing
Time used: Less than 6 months
August 2015
Recently purchased and currently in implementation phase
Pros
Flexible full HRMS solution. This is PDS' core product line versus developers who also dabble in payroll, project accounting, accounts payable, etc. For PDS it is their bread and butter.
Cons
The old COBOL reports that currently exist in the system. However PDS is in process of replacing these in 2017.

Vista
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