Sunshine Solar: Tackling Payroll With Ease
"It gives me time to do what I really need to do for the business." - Emilie O'Leary, Sunshine Solar, LLC
When she started her state-of-the art solar panel installation company, Emilie O'Leary struggled to deal with payroll for part-time crews she hired in the states her business had work. At the time, she was using the ACH solution provided by her bank and it often took 20 minutes to do one person's payroll. Now she's getting all of her payroll done in 20 minutes with ADP®.
"It would take me 20 minutes to do one person's payroll."
Innovative small businesses need state-of-the art partners. When O'Leary launched Sunshine Solar, a solar-panel installation company that's worked with clients like Target, L'Oréal and Amazon in its first two years, she struggled to execute payroll using the ACH solution provided by her bank.
The problem was the unconventional nature of the business. Sunshine Solar is a small business that performs large-scale instillations around the country, flying in a small crew of its own and then hiring 30 to 40 locals. "We had a crew in Mississippi last week, and now they're working in California," she said. "We have to combine those hours from that project to this project — it gets complex." Which is to say nothing of the deductions for transportation, lodging and per diem.
Her bank's payroll solution simply wasn't up for that level of complexity. "It would take me 20 minutes to do one person's payroll," she said. "It was ridiculous."
"It gives me time to do what I really need to do for the business."
O'Leary's banker had a relationship with an ADP sales representative, who came to meet O'Leary in person at the bank. "We met there three times," O'Leary said. "We talked about my concerns, and she showed me how it worked. I liked that."
Now, with ADP's RUN Powered by ADP®, O'Leary can get her people paid quickly and easily. "It would take me a whole day to do payroll," she said. "Now it takes me 20 minutes."
And with ADP's mobile app, she can do it whenever and wherever she has time. "I literally was doing payroll in baggage claim of San Francisco airport," she said. "I like that usability."
With less time devoted to payroll, O'Leary is freed up to concentrate on more important things. "It gives me time to do what I really need to do for the business," she said. "I pay bills, I call clients and I focus on what my job is supposed to be as CEO."
Company Vitals
- Name: Sunshine Solar, LLC
- Industry: Energy
- Established: 2016
- Owner: Emilie O'Leary
- Employees: Three full-time, 30-40 part-time
- Locations: One
- Headquarters: Marietta, GA.
- Business Challenge: Running payroll for a complex, geographically dispersed workforce was a nightmare.
- How ADP Helped: RUN Powered by ADP® is equipped to handle and adjust for the differences in state payroll requirements.
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