Local firms offer payroll solutions

By MICHAEL FOREMAN

Businesses now being swamped by IRD and ACC payroll-related paperwork may find solace in two locally developed systems launched last week.

As Nettpay from Auckland-based Datacom and PayGlobal from Christchurch-based TimeMaster are both based on the application service provider model, compliance requirements are taken care of centrally.

The big advantage is that changes in statutory requirements can be handled by the service provider, without users having to upgrade their software.

"Compliance issues can cause big headaches for a small or medium-sized business," said Datacom's employer services general manager, Murray Polson.

"The IRD for example is now insisting on monthly filing and there are penalties for lateness, but a lot of this worry can be taken away by payroll outsourcing."

Though Datacom has provided payroll services to large organisations for 20 years - the company boasts it handles the pay of 16 per cent of New Zealand's workforce - Nettpay is aimed at businesses with between 5 and 50 staff.

Mr Polson said customers could access Nettpay through a web browser and are charged on a pay-as-you-use basis at $5 per employee, irrespective of whether they are paid weekly, fortnightly or monthly.

Datacom will be marketing the system directly, but Esolutions, the ASP alliance between Telecom, EDS and Microsoft, has also launched Nettpay as part of its eOffice suite, and ASB Bank also plans to launch it as ASB Fastpay in October.

Nettpay had been "designed from the ground up for the internet" and exploited the company's experience in IT outsourcing and internet development, Mr Polson said.

Though some of Datacom's existing large payroll customers would migrate to Nettpay, the product would greatly extend Datacom's reach.

"Approximately half of New Zealand companies fall into Nettpay's target size. It should be quite a large market."

Payglobal from Christchurch-based TimeMaster Systems is aimed at a much broader range of organisations and provides wider functions.

TimeMaster chief executive Donald Hastie said PayGlobal was unique in combining payroll processing with labour scheduling and rostering, and human resource functions including time and attendance records.

Mr Hastie said pricing was equivalent to Nettpay, but payroll alone would start at $1 per employee.

PayGlobal runs as a Delphi-based application. Mr Hastie said this environment offered a superior graphical interface than an HTML-based browser-accessible product.

However PayGlobal does include a browser-based employee "self-service section" which staff may use to change details, such as their address, via the internet from home.

Mr Hastie said the package was developed in conjunction with nine TimeMaster clients, including Progressive Enterprises, owner of the 3 Guys supermarket chain, with 10,000 employees.

PayGlobal already includes compliance data necessary for both Australia and New Zealand, which has made it popular with TimeMaster's transtasman customers such as Glassons, Hallensteins and Pumpkin Patch.

TimeMaster, which was backed by No 8 Ventures last year with $3 million of venture capital last year, plans to expand into Singapore next month and hopes to announce a British partner by the end of the year.

Mr Hastie said the package had been designed for easy localisation and he estimated it would take between five and 10 days to implement Singaporean legislative requirements.

Mr Hastie said the seeming disadvantage of the relatively small software market in New Zealand had helped TimeMaster by forcing the company to build generic applications to suit a large variety of organisations.