i9 Intelligence vs. Paycom

The I-9 is one checklist in a payroll system

Paycom's I-9 lives in its onboarding tool, and its E-Verify feature builds the case from the employee's I-9 data. That's a real convenience. It's also one task among hundreds in a system that reviewers on G2, Capterra, and TrustRadius most often describe as having a steep learning curve and navigation that takes several screens to get anywhere. The Paycom customers we talk to describe the same I-9 problems, from managers completing Section 2 on site to a separate person running E-Verify afterward and new hires showing up without their documents.

When ICE asks for your I-9s

A Notice of Inspection gives an employer at least three business days to produce its Forms I-9 (8 CFR 274a.2(b)(2)(ii)). What matters then is whether every form is complete and correct, whether the audit trail holds up, and whether someone who has been through an inspection is on your side. Paycom's E-Verify page promises help "from account registration to audit prep," meaning stored I-9s and a dashboard of pending or incomplete forms, and Paycom's own guidance for a Notice of Inspection is to involve legal counsel early. Our compliance team has helped employers through ICE audits since 1998. We pull your I-9s, review them with you before they go out, and help you correct what the rules allow. Our account reviews also flag open Section 2s, unresolved E-Verify cases, and forms past their retention date long before an audit.

Section 1 and prefilled data

Paycom's onboarding page says details like a new hire's name and phone number are prepopulated from the job application, and elsewhere on its site Paycom says that once a candidate is hired, one click takes the information from the application and flows it systemwide. The December 2023 DOJ and ICE guidance on I-9 software says programs shouldn't prepopulate the Form I-9 with information pulled from outside sources, so ask Paycom exactly which I-9 fields, if any, arrive filled in. Our redesigned Section 1 works on a phone, in English or Spanish, and flags errors as the employee types.

Who answers the hard questions

Paycom assigns each client a dedicated specialist for the platform, and reviews describe that support as uneven. The questions behind most I-9 violations aren't platform questions. A TPS holder whose country's designation was terminated or extended this year, an asylee or refugee presenting a Form I-94 instead of a card, a work permit covered by an automatic extension, a receipt, or an expiring document that has to be reverified on Supplement B all need someone who knows the rules. Calls to us go to the I-9 compliance team, who have handled exactly these cases since 1998.

The I-9s you already have

Changing I-9 systems doesn't end your duty to the old forms. Under 8 CFR 274a.2(e)(4)(ii), existing Forms I-9 have to stay in a system that remains fully accessible for as long as each one must be kept, so a move to Paycom means migrating them or keeping the old system open. We migrate older I-9s into i9 Intelligence, including older form editions and Supplement B history, so every form sits in one searchable place with its retention date tracked. Current i9 Intelligence customers who add Paycom don't have to move anything.

Remote hires

Paycom doesn't supply anyone to examine documents, so a remote hire means reviewing them yourself over live video under the DHS alternative procedure, which requires E-Verify (USCIS), or arranging a representative near the new hire. On i9 Intelligence, a manager or representative you choose completes Section 2 at no extra cost, or our US-based team does it by video.