The website URL for the Payroll Co. is morethanpayroll.com. That describes the companies business model because the company, which has offices in Little Rock, northwest Arkansas, Kansas City, Mo., and Springfield, Mo., does a lot more than handle payroll functions.
“We truly embody the essence of ‘more than payroll’ for our clients,” said Nick Polk, a partner with TPC. “With TPC’s robust human-capital-management technology backed by our exceptional local customer service support, we empower companies to navigate the evolving demands of their most valuable asset — their people.”
Polk said TPC’s commitment goes beyond ensuring accurate payments; it is about granting employees at all levels access to perform tasks easily at any time and from any device.
“The intelligently connected features of TPC’s HCM solution bring automation to routine tasks like onboarding and recruiting,” he said. “By merging cutting-edge, future-proof technology with personalized customer support from the outset, we cater to our clients’ needs comprehensively.”
Industry versatility is one of TPC’s most significant advantages. Polk said its solutions seamlessly adapt, whether for restaurants, banks, manufacturing or law firms. The common thread across these diverse industries, particularly in today’s landscape, is the shared imperative to attract and retain top talent. Polk said by leveraging HCM technology and a distinctive capacity for a personalized approach, the TPC team crafts holistic solutions that enable clients to address current and future company initiatives effectively.
“We want to make sure we are prepared to implement on the front end flawlessly,” Polk said. “We are very detail oriented when it comes to that because you have to be. The most significant advantage lies in our true industry versatility. Our solutions seamlessly adapt, whether for restaurants, banks, manufacturers, law firms or the many other types of industries we serve.”
Established in 2001, TPC still boasts the loyalty of its very first employee, a testament to the company’s enduring culture, Polk said.
“Our continuous growth reflects our commitment to a personable approach with clients, striving for genuine partnerships, rather than mere transactions,” he said. “We prioritize effective communication and mutual assistance in our relationships. Unlike larger payroll entities, where you might be just a number in a bucket, we, as a privately-owned company, emphasize personal connections. With an average employee tenure of seven years, our customer service representatives forge meaningful relationships, actively engaging with clients to discuss any issues or improvements.
“At TPC, our strength lies in the quality of our personnel and the personal touch we bring to each interaction. We seek not just clients, but quality partnerships where we can genuinely contribute and make a positive impact.”
Polk said TPC collaborates with companies of diverse sizes, catering to those with just a single employee to those exceeding 2,000. He said the strength of TPC solutions lies in recognizing that people and businesses vary widely, and the company’s HCM solution is designed to be flexible to meet the unique needs of each company.
“Embracing the inevitability of change, we effortlessly adapt to evolving requirements, ensuring a fluid partnership with our clients,” Polk said.
Andrew King, president of Complete Payroll Services in Little Rock, said companies use CPS’ services to save time on payroll and human resources tasks, minimize their liability, reduce their costs and the expense of hiring in the payroll and human resources departments, have access to unlimited support by certified payroll experts, and use world-class software.
“Some other advantages would be increasing retention of staff by utilizing the tools in our system, like benchmarking and report analysis, or offering our other services to their employees, like integrated 401(k) or earned wage access where they can receive their pay early,” King said.
Regardless of the type of business the company services, every industry has the same basic need of paying their employees, and CPS can meet that need, King said. Industries served by the company include construction, nonprofits, professional services, manufacturing, retail, hospitality and government. King said he has not found a type of client who could not use CPS to process payroll because of the type of work the company does.
Companies served can range from one employee to 1,500. CPS mainly works with small- and medium-sized businesses, rather than businesses with more than 1,500 employees.
“Both small and medium or large companies benefit from using us, but for different reasons,” King said. “The small companies typically find value in not having to hire someone with payroll knowledge and saving money on paying a full-time payroll person. Medium-to-large companies find value in using our robust system to handle all aspects of the life cycle of the employee. Most companies, even large, cannot afford to write their own software to handle payroll, time and human resources.
“Also, because of the frequent changes in compliance, software that was purchased once or built internally couldn’t stay ahead of those changes. The large companies also appreciate our opinions on different approaches to solve big-picture problems since we have seen so many different scenarios.”
Payroll is only about a third of what the company offers clients. Its other two tentpole features are human resources, as well as time and attendance. The time and attendance tentpole includes tracking punches and workers’ time and automating time-off requests and scheduling. Human resources include features such as recruitment, paperless onboarding, benefit administration and performance reviews.
Most small companies will use payroll and possibly time and attendance. The medium and large companies will almost always use payroll, human resources and possibly time and attendance, King said. Complete Payroll spends a lot of time with new clients talking about time, attendance and HR because those systems create so much automation and efficiency in a client’s processes, he added.
Cybersecurity is a primary concern of the business world today. Complete Payroll’s software products handle sensitive information that are audited for internal control and security in what is known as a system and organization controls audit.
“This is called a SOC audit,” King said. “We also require all client applications to use multi-factor authentication, which is where you need a text code or something similar to access the system, in addition to a password. We also have internal training around client interaction. Most cyberattacks on payroll are around a hacking email and trying to request changes to the payroll system. For instance, a hacker will breach a client’s email and then email our people to change someone’s direct deposit. We train on verbally confirming this type of data and reviewing emails for irregularities.”
King recommended businesses shopping for a payroll service company consider four main areas: expertise, technology, support and service, and cost. For expertise, businesses should make sure the people they will interact with at the payroll company have certifications or credentials in payroll, he said. These are the people who can be trusted, so if they are not performing continuing education and achieving certifications, they are not much better than the company doing the payroll itself, he added.
“For technology, see if the software is a single program that will handle all the needs the company has or if there are several softwares integrated together,” King said. “It makes a difference in efficiency. Also, ask them how they protect the data and guarantee the system is secure. For support, confirm if you will have a single person to contact or if you have to put in tickets or email general mailboxes. Ask what kind of response times they have [or] guarantee. If all the above needs are met, cost is less important, but it is also good to understand cost and if there are any hidden fees.
“Also, check if they cap how often they can raise your fees and by what percentage. We see some providers who start a client at a very low price and raise the fee 25 to 35 percent in a single year.”
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