Published on the 22/07/2010 | Written by Newsdesk
A Kiwi start-up has put payroll online for small business in a similar move to that of online accounting success Xero – as well as integrating with Xero…
Our increasingly mobile workforce has inspired a new mobile, web-based payroll application developed in New Zealand.
FlexiTime integrates rostering, time-sheet and payroll for small businesses, such as cafes and bars, which tend to have casual or mobile employees. The web means the application is accessible 24/7 from any computer. It allows for secure data, employee access and automatic back-ups.
Developer and company director Robert Owen says such integration makes sense for small businesses, which he describes as the “engine room of the New Zealand economy” – 96 percent of all Kiwi business is small business.
The web-delivered application will allow small business owners to relax and get on with growing the business rather than worrying about software, says Owen, who developed the application with fellow developer Sam Newton.
The application could soon be available in Australia and in the UK. The new company has struck a deal with local online accounting firm Xero, which, in turn, offers its services to Australians via Telstra. FlexiTime, which, Owen says, already has 100 clients and recorded monthly growth of 20 percent in the four months to June 2010, is on for a UK launch next year.
The application works by making paying employees a one-step process, with rostered employee time becoming the starting point for paying staff. Time actually worked is entered in as a simple change to the roster or imported from another system. Staff can view their work schedule online and record time worked, for approval by their manager, or managers can make changes to time actually worked.
Once these changes have been made, payroll can be created in one step from the time-sheets, although the application can also be used by companies that don’t use rosters or time-sheets, says Owen.
The application can also cope with default pay amounts and keep track of leave, as well as calculating KiwiSaver and student loan payments.
