Case Study
BDO
BDO favour using multiple best-of-breed technology providers over all-in-one solutions when it comes to payroll
Background
Accountancy and business advisory firm BDO LLP provides integrated advice and solutions to help businesses navigate a changing world.
Their clients are Britain’s economic engine – ambitious, entrepreneurially-spirited and high-growth businesses that fuel the economy. They share their clients’ ambitions and their entrepreneurial mind-set, with the right combination of global reach, integrity and expertise to help their clients succeed.
Situation
It is vital for BDO UK that their culture of exceptional client service and innovation is evident in every aspect of their business, including in the technology used for payroll service delivery.
Throughout her payroll career, Maria has used many enterprise
payroll solutions in large bureau environments. In her experience, the choice
of all-in-one payroll software providers is extremely limited for service
providers processing client payroll.
Maria did not believe that there was a singular system on the market that was good enough to utilise in a growing payroll bureau, and so instead she decided to build her payroll technology stack at BDO UK around best of breed software products from different providers.
Solution
BDO UK works with best of breed providers PayDashboard and Payflow to deliver an exceptional payroll service.
Alongside her existing payroll software, Maria uses two software systems:
1. ‘Payflow’ by NewOrbit - A workflow management system designed for payroll bureau
2. PayDashboard – An online payslip and data delivery platform
Payflow is used as a tool to manage the payroll process across hundreds of clients, ensuring that all deadlines are met, and the flow of data related to payroll is managed effectively.
Once calculated in the payroll software and approved by the client, the payroll data is uploaded to PayDashboard to schedule and deliver payslips, PAYE forms and other payroll documents securely and on time.
Result
With these two best-of-breed products in place, BDO are well positioned to grow their payroll business.
Utilising PayDashboard and Payflow alongside their payroll software allows BDO UK to:
• optimise the payroll process;
• deliver the best possible experience for clients; and
• minimise admin time so that their team of qualified payroll consultants spend their time analysing the payroll data, not administering systems.
With this infrastructure in place, Maria and her team have a solution that can accommodate any client, from start-up businesses through to global payroll solutions, across many countries.
BDO UK also sees payroll as a key growth area over the next five years and is confident that its growth targets will be achieved with collaborations involving companies like PayDashboard.
“Firstly, you minimise your business risk. If you only use one supplier, you have the potential of a single point of failure - if their software goes down, your entire service grinds to a halt. You are also at the mercy of their price increases, and it becomes increasingly difficult to move away if you are unhappy with the service provided.
Secondly, and contrary to the common perception, I have found that purchasing three products from three suppliers can be more cost effective than purchasing three products from the same supplier. When you buy add-on services from a single supplier, the pricing is often influenced by their clients being a captive market, and the need to generate the maximum revenue per client – whereas best of breed providers know and understand the value of their single product and price it accordingly.
Working with multiple best-of-breed providers, you harness not only the best products on the market but the expert knowledge that these providers also bring. I’ve found that companies such as PayDashboard and NewOrbit share my ambition and my vision for how payroll and technology should work together – and are willing to work with me to achieve this. Which is exactly what I want from a supplier whose product is being used directly by my clients every pay cycle.”