ADP acquires Pequity to expand compensation solutions

NEW JERSEY and CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES — ADP, a global provider of HR and payroll solutions, has announced its acquisition of compensation management software provider Pequity. 

The move is designed to broaden the suite of tools ADP offers its mid-size, enterprise, and multinational clients to navigate the increasingly complex landscape of pay transparency, regulation, and talent management.

“We are excited to welcome the Pequity team to ADP and will leverage the deep expertise across both teams to further innovate and address the evolving compensation management landscape,” said Sreeni Kutam, President of Global Product and Innovation at ADP, in ADP’s press release

ADP scales compensation tech with Pequity

ADP, with over 75 years of experience, provides a comprehensive suite of tools—from talent management to compliance—for more than 1.1 million clients worldwide. 

This extensive infrastructure and client base position the firm to rapidly integrate and scale specialized new technologies, a strategic logic clearly demonstrated in its latest acquisition. 

This move brings Pequity into the fold, a modern compensation management platform trusted by high-growth companies like Instacart and Canva to streamline pay cycles, manage bands, and promote transparency. 

Pequity is backed by $19 million in funding from firms like First Round Capital, its targeted mission to create equal pay now gains the global reach and resources of its new parent company.

Advanced pay management drives strategic growth

The acquisition would be a strategic initiative by ADP to respond directly to the changing market trends of compensation solutions. 

Kutam notes, “From changing pay transparency laws and regulations to the growing need for deeper insights and analytics, employers today need flexible compensation solutions to help them address the dynamic talent market and make informed pay decisions.”

With the Pequity platform, ADP can access the latest features instantly, including AI-enhanced insights, budgeting and scenario planning applications, and flexible configurations that meet current compensation requirements. Pequity technology is poised to fill a significant gap in the market, as it offers the ease of a spreadsheet with the strength of automation on a large scale. 

This solution enables employers to develop compensation cycles, approvals, and budgets in days, not weeks, and handle complex aspects such as sales commissions and executive compensation on a single platform. 

These added features will enable ADP to provide a more comprehensive and unified solution for its clients’ most critical compensation choices, going beyond traditional HR and payroll services.

Leveraging scale to accelerate innovation and delivery

One of the underlying reasons why the acquisition is beneficial is the fact that Pequity’s agile innovation is combined with ADP’s vast resources and global presence. Kaitlyn Knopp, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Co-Founder of Pequity, noted that by becoming a member of ADP, her team will be in a position to advance the future of compensation management innovation on scale. 

This move combines the best-in-class software developed by Pequity, with only 23 staff and 11 engineers, with ADP’s experience in deploying enterprise-level software worldwide. 

In terms of operations, the acquisition is likely to alleviate the administrative burden on the Pequity staff, allowing them to focus more on product development and customer experience (CX). 

Knopp explains, “A larger company brings infrastructure and support systems that free our team to focus even more on innovation and customer experience.”

“All the daily tasks of running a company, from billing operations, to company credit cards, to scheduling company all-hands – these and more internal processes will be handled by our adjacent ADP teams and systems.”

“This gives our engineers and customer teams more time to do what they love: building and supporting the best compensation software on the market.”

This collaboration will maintain Pequity’s innovative culture and customer-focused approach, while boosting its delivery capabilities with the help of ADP’s established infrastructure.