CASE STUDY · HR & PAYROLL
Payroll operations & workforce management suite
We built the digital tools behind a payroll and workforce services provider: an operations console for the payroll team, and a mobile app that gives employees and managers self-service access to time, schedules, time off and pay.
3connected applications: web console, mobile app and PWA
iOS + Androidemployee and manager app
6punch types, from labour and projects to training and transfers
3languages: English, French and Spanish
THE CHALLENGE
What needed to happen
Running payroll for many client organisations meant juggling pay runs, electronic payments, cheques, reconciliations and ledgers across disconnected tools, with strict control over who can see which client’s data. On the other side, employees needed a simple way to clock in, check schedules, request time off and access pay documents, and managers needed to approve requests and correct time without paperwork.
WHAT WE DELIVERED
From the payroll desk
to every employee’s phone.
Payroll operations console
- Client, organisation and payroll master management
- Pay-run dashboard with status tracking
- Electronic funds transfer, pre-authorised debit and employee cheque dashboards
- Cheque reconciliation with file uploads and status history
- Remittances, general ledger and summary templates
- Excel and PDF exports and operational reports
Identity, security & access
- Single sign-on with Microsoft Entra ID (Azure AD)
- Directory user sync and migration of existing accounts
- Group security and role-based permissions
- Access scoped by client and payroll master
- Two-factor authentication
- Event logging for an audit trail of changes
Employee mobile app
- Clock in and out with location and photo capture
- Labour, project, training and transfer punches, plus paid breaks
- Personal and team schedules, open shifts, shift swaps and releases
- Time-off requests, balances and availability changes
- Payroll documents and void-cheque upload for direct deposit
- In-app chat, push notifications and three languages
Manager tools
- Approve or decline pending employee requests
- Time corrections and punch analysis
- Attendance and exception charts
- Team schedule management
- Enterprise and free self-registration modes
Time-clock configuration
- Per-client time-clock settings
- Endpoint configuration for connected clocks
- Time data flowing straight into payroll
Progressive web app
- Organisation-based sign-in from any browser
- Account creation for new users
- A foundation for bringing self-service to the web
ENGINEERING & OPERATIONS
- A Node.js API on Microsoft SQL Server, with versioned endpoints
- Automated build and release pipelines in Azure DevOps
- Separate testing and production environments
- Server-side PDF generation and merging for payroll documents
- Real-time messaging over WebSockets for in-app chat
- Push notifications and crash reporting for the mobile app
- Offline detection so employees know when their actions will sync
- Structured logging across backend services
WHAT IT MADE POSSIBLE
- One console for payroll operations that had been spread across separate tools
- Fine-grained control over who can access each client’s payroll data
- Employees able to clock in, swap shifts and request time off from their phones
- Managers approving requests and fixing time without paperwork
- Payroll documents available to employees whenever they need them
- Support for multilingual teams from day one
TECHNOLOGY
Tools we used
ReactAnt DesignDevExtremeTailwind CSSNode.jsExpressSequelizeSQL ServerMicrosoft Entra IDReact NativeSocket.IOFirebaseAzure DevOpspdf-libExcelJS
Client name and confidential details withheld.MORE WORK
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