Platform Philosophy
SSimplify Suite
Simplify Suite is purpose-built for small teams of 1 to 25 people who need business operations in one place. Every module — budgets, cash flow, planning, tickets, documents, meetings, expenses, performance, and sales packs — is included in a single subscription. No per-module fees, no minimum seats, no implementation projects.
The platform is designed for founders, COOs, and team leads who want to see budget health, team capacity, and project progress in one calm dashboard. Simplify eliminates the need for 6-7 separate SaaS tools.
RRippling
Rippling is a workforce platform built around a unified employee graph. It combines HR, IT, and Finance into one system where employee data flows automatically across payroll, benefits, device management, app provisioning, and spend management. It is designed for companies scaling from 25 to 2,000+ employees.
Rippling excels at automating employee lifecycle management: onboard someone and their payroll, benefits, laptop, and app access are all configured automatically. For smaller teams that do not yet have complex HR needs, this power comes with corresponding complexity and cost.
| Feature | Simplify | Rippling |
|---|---|---|
| Target Audience | Yes Teams of 1-25, startups, agencies | Yes 25-2,000+ employees, scaling companies |
| Single Subscription (All Modules) | Yes Everything included in one plan | No Per-module pricing, custom quotes |
| Setup Complexity | Yes Sign up and start immediately | Partial Guided setup, may need onboarding call |
| Unified Employee Graph | No | Yes Core differentiator — all data flows from employee records |
HR & People Management
SSimplify Suite
Simplify's Team Planning module provides resource scheduling with half-day granularity. See who is available, manage sick leave, holidays, and events. Leaders get clear capacity overviews that directly inform sprint planning.
Performance Management lets you run review cycles, set goals, conduct check-ins, and evaluate team members with data connected to their project contributions. Meeting Scheduling replaces Calendly with booking pages and calendar integration built into the platform.
For a 10-person team, this covers the HR basics without the overhead of a full HRIS.
RRippling
Rippling HR Cloud is a comprehensive HRIS: employee onboarding/offboarding, org charts, document management, PTO tracking with configurable policies, compliance management, and ACA/EEO reporting. Payroll handles multi-state and international payments with automatic tax filing.
Benefits administration lets you manage health insurance, 401(k), FSA, and commuter benefits. The employee lifecycle automation is Rippling’s biggest differentiator — a single trigger (new hire, termination, role change) cascades across every connected system.
For companies with 50+ employees, compliance requirements, or multi-state payroll, Rippling’s HR depth is unmatched.
| Feature | Simplify | Rippling |
|---|---|---|
| Resource Planning | Yes Half-day granularity with capacity views | Partial Headcount planning in spend management |
| Leave Management | Yes Sick leave, holidays, events in one view | Yes Configurable PTO policies with approval workflows |
| Performance Reviews | Yes Review cycles, goals, check-ins | Yes Performance management module available |
| Meeting Scheduling | Yes Booking pages with calendar integration | No |
| Payroll | No | Yes Multi-state, international, automatic tax filing |
| Benefits Administration | No | Yes Health, 401(k), FSA, commuter benefits |
| Employee Lifecycle Automation | No | Yes Onboard/offboard cascades across all systems |
| Compliance & Reporting | No | Yes ACA, EEO, labor law compliance |
Financial Management
SSimplify Suite
Simplify's Budget module provides transaction management, financial forecasting, and scenario planning with direct bank integration. See real-time balances alongside projected cash positions. "What if" scenarios let you model hiring decisions, revenue changes, and more.
Cash Flow Analysis calculates burn rate, reveals product vs. project revenue mix, detects seasonal trends, and provides year-over-year comparisons. Expense Notes let team members submit claims with receipts for manager approval.
This is the financial visibility a founder needs — not an accounting system, but operational financial awareness.
RRippling
Rippling Spend Management covers corporate cards, expense management (with receipt OCR), bill pay, and spend policies. Corporate cards offer real-time spend controls and automatic categorization. Policy enforcement means expenses can be auto-approved or flagged based on rules.
Rippling does not offer budget forecasting, cash flow analysis, or scenario planning. Its financial tools are focused on controlling and tracking spend, not on financial planning or cash management.
| Feature | Simplify | Rippling |
|---|---|---|
| Budget Forecasting | Yes Visual forecasting with scenario planning | No |
| Bank Integration | Yes Direct bank connection for real-time data | Partial Corporate cards with bank-grade controls |
| Cash Flow Analysis | Yes Burn rate, runway, trends, YoY comparisons | No |
| Scenario Planning | Yes "What if" modeling for business decisions | No |
| Expense Management | Yes Claims, receipts, manager approval | Yes OCR receipts, policy enforcement, auto-approval |
| Corporate Cards | No | Yes Real-time controls with automatic categorization |
| Bill Pay | No | Yes AP automation with approval workflows |
Project Management & Productivity
SSimplify Suite
Simplify's Tickets module provides Kanban boards, a sortable list view, and an interactive Gantt chart with dependency arrows, rubber-band multi-select, and five zoom levels. Work breakdown structures decompose projects hierarchically.
Tickets support multi-assignee, internal/external comments for client work, file attachments, todo checklists, time tracking, and a full audit trail. The client portal lets external users submit tickets directly.
Documents provide editing, file sharing, encryption, and hierarchical pages with bi-directional linking. Sales Packs bundle proposals and case studies into shareable packs with analytics.
RRippling
Rippling does not have a project management or ticketing system. Its IT Cloud handles device management, app provisioning, and inventory — not project workflows.
For project management, Rippling users typically pair it with a dedicated tool like Jira, Asana, or Monday.com. This is the core difference: Rippling manages your workforce, Simplify manages your work.
| Feature | Simplify | Rippling |
|---|---|---|
| Kanban Board | Yes 10 status columns with drag-and-drop | No |
| Gantt Chart | Yes Dependencies, multi-select, 5 zoom levels | No |
| Ticketing System | Yes Full ticket lifecycle with audit trail | No |
| Client Portal | Yes External users submit tickets directly | No |
| Document Management | Yes Editing, sharing, encryption, templates | No |
| Sales Packs | Yes Shareable proposals with tracking | No |
| Device Management | No | Yes Provision, manage, and wipe company devices |
| App Provisioning | No | Yes Auto-provision SaaS apps on hire/departure |
IT & Security
SSimplify Suite
Simplify is a cloud-hosted SaaS platform with zero infrastructure management. Security is handled at the platform level with data encryption. There are no IT administration features — Simplify is not an IT management tool.
For small teams that do not have a dedicated IT department, this simplicity is a feature, not a limitation.
RRippling
Rippling IT Cloud is one of its strongest differentiators. It includes device management (ship, configure, and wipe laptops remotely), app management (auto-provision and deprovision SaaS access), identity management (SSO, MFA), and inventory tracking.
For companies with 50+ employees where IT onboarding and offboarding is a real operational burden, Rippling’s IT automation saves significant time. For a 10-person team, these capabilities are typically overkill.
| Feature | Simplify | Rippling |
|---|---|---|
| Device Management | No | Yes Remote ship, configure, wipe laptops |
| App Provisioning (SSO) | No | Yes Automatic SaaS access management |
| Identity Management | No | Yes SSO, MFA, directory services |
| Zero IT Overhead | Yes Cloud-hosted, nothing to manage | No Requires IT admin to configure and maintain |
Pricing & Total Cost
SSimplify Suite
Simplify starts at $120/month for up to 15 users with every module included. No per-seat math for individual modules. For a 10-person team, that is $12/user/month for budgets, cash flow, planning, tickets, documents, meetings, expenses, performance, and sales packs.
There are no implementation costs, no onboarding fees, and no minimum contract length.
RRippling
Rippling uses custom pricing based on modules selected. Base platform pricing starts around $8/user/month, but adding payroll, benefits, IT, and spend management increases costs significantly. Published estimates suggest $15-25/user/month for a typical HR + IT + Finance stack.
For a 10-person team, Rippling would cost roughly $150-250/month — but you still would not have project management, budgets, or cash flow analysis. You would need additional tools for those, adding to total spend.
| Feature | Simplify | Rippling |
|---|---|---|
| Starting Price (all features) | Yes $120/mo for up to 15 users | No $150-250/mo for 10 users (HR + IT + Finance only) |
| Transparent Pricing | Yes Published pricing, no sales call needed | No Custom quotes, must contact sales |
| Project Management Included | Yes Full ticketing, Gantt, documents | No Not available — need separate tool |
| Budget & Cash Flow Included | Yes Forecasting, scenarios, bank integration | No Not available — need separate tool |
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Simplify a replacement for Rippling?
They solve different problems. Simplify replaces your project management, budgeting, cash flow, expense, performance review, meeting scheduling, document, and sales pack tools. Rippling replaces your HRIS, payroll, benefits admin, and IT management tools. For small teams (1-25) that do not need payroll or IT automation, Simplify covers more ground at a lower cost.
Can I use Simplify and Rippling together?
Yes. Some growing companies use Rippling for payroll and benefits, and Simplify for day-to-day business operations (budgets, projects, team planning, documents). They complement each other well — Rippling handles the workforce infrastructure while Simplify handles the work itself.
Does Simplify have payroll?
No. Simplify provides budget management, cash flow analysis, and expense tracking — the financial tools small teams need for operational visibility. For payroll, you would use a dedicated service like Rippling, Gusto, or your local payroll provider.
Which is better for a 10-person startup?
It depends on your biggest pain point. If you are juggling spreadsheets for budgets, using Trello for projects, and Calendly for meetings, Simplify consolidates all of that. If your biggest challenge is payroll compliance, benefits enrollment, and laptop provisioning, Rippling is the priority.
Does Rippling have project management?
No. Rippling focuses on HR, IT, and Finance (spend management). For project management, ticketing, Gantt charts, or client-facing collaboration, you would need a separate tool — which is exactly what Simplify provides.
How does pricing compare?
Simplify is $120/month for up to 15 users with all modules. Rippling starts around $8/user/month for base HR, with modules added on top. A 10-person team with HR, payroll, IT, and spend management might pay $150-250/month — and still need project management and budgeting tools on top of that.
Who is Simplify built for?
Simplify is built for companies with 1 to 25 people: startups, agencies, consultancies, and growing teams who want one calm dashboard for budgets, projects, team planning, documents, and more — instead of six separate SaaS subscriptions.