Corporate days at Bergers Stores

Back in 1997, Ian Hurst and Karen Morrison worked for Bergers Stores, a large clothing retail chain owned by the Morkels Group. Ian was the Human Resource Manager and Karen was involved in the corporate training department. During that particular year, Ian was tasked with investigating the option of outsourcing the company’s payroll; or, alternatively, converting the existing rather cumbersome payroll for a significantly more streamlined inhouse option.

Bergers opts for a streamlined inhouse VIP Desktop solution

The outcome of Ian’s payroll investigation revealed that there weren’t any outsource companies that offered an easy payroll processing alternative. The only payroll solution proved to be rather complicated and cumbersome: the client was required to submit hand-written forms and documents to an outsource company for processing. In other words, this meant that, what the client ‘put in’ the client ‘got out’: errors and all. Consequently, the payroll solution that was decided upon, was for Bergers Stores to implement a desktop version of VIP. The implementation was successful.

Seeds of Paymaster’s beginnings germinate

It was during this time, the beginning of Paymaster’s history, that the seeds of the fledgling company started to germinate: In 1998 Bergers Stores was sold to Dunns clothing stores. This prompted Ian and Karen’s decision to cease their jobs with Bergers and their involvement in the corporate sphere if business. Instead, they recognised a gap in the market: namely, to use a desktop version of VIP to process clients’ payroll, but also, to add further value to their service offering by ensuring that their own payroll administrators checked for accuracy and compliance. This resulted in a truly unique outsource company being registered and established: An authentic payroll processing company that genuinely understood the importance of all things payroll. At the time, inaccurate and clumsy payroll departments fell guilty of regularly demotivating its employees because payroll-run mistakes and errors where happening during almost every payroll-run.

1 March 1999: Paymaster is born

Paymaster’s doors officially opened on 1 March 1999. It took just two months for Ian and Karen to sign their first corporate client with Aries Packaging. Paymaster had taken off and the company’s ascent to new heights had just begun.

Paymaster: Built upon an early well-researched solid foundation

One of Paymaster’s core beliefs was to build its business model upon a solid foundation: it’s founding members wisely took the time to research what was needed to build a solid foundation—A foundation that would ensure that Paymaster was suitably able to service its client base well into the distant future.

Since 1998 Paymaster has achieved consistent year-on-year growth

Since 1998, Paymaster has achieved slow, steady and consistent year-on-year growth. Every time Paymaster signed new clients, Ian and Karen (and the competent team of Paymaster payroll professionals) would patiently and professionally ‘settle them down’ and make sure that they were always happy with their payroll runs. An error-free payroll has always been, and continues to be, the benchmark that Paymaster People Solutions strives to achieve for its clients.

2002: Amber Stynes joins Paymaster

In 2002 Amber Stynes joined the Paymaster team. Amber soon became indispensable to the Paymaster team and in 2011, she was appointed as director. Today Amber heads up the day-to-day operations at Paymaster People Solutions.

2006: Paymaster procures an online payroll software platform

Since 1999 when Paymaster was founded, payroll software technologies continued to rapidly evolve. Accordingly, in 2006 Paymaster’s directors took the strategic decision to evolve with changing technologies by procuring an online payroll software platform. After a year-long investigation, it was finally decided that Paymaster would partner with PaySpace.

Paymaster uniquely branded PaySpace’s online payroll software platform and migrated all of its existing clients to the new online payroll platform. The strategic decision was a huge success. So too was the migration of Paymasters’ clients to the new online system.

Online payroll software platform an absolute winner

Paymaster’s online payroll software platform has been and absolute winner—An excellent move it has certainly proved to be. Online payroll allows Paymaster to offer its clients a rich assortment of online-specific benefits and features. Now, not only do Paymaster People Solution’s clients have full online access to their own payroll data and information, but they also benefit from being able to access and manage human resource functions such as leave, training and disciplinary action records.

2016: Paymaster rebranded to Paymaster People Solutions

Over subsequent years, Paymaster continued to show excellent growth of its client base. For this reason, in 2016, Paymaster was rebranded to Paymaster People Solutions. This change suitably represented the significant growth that had taken place in the rich collection of additional benefits and services that Paymaster was now offering its many happy clients.

2019: Paymaster People Solutions celebrates its 20^th Birthday

This year, Paymaster People Solutions proudly celebrates its 20^th birthday!

The staff team consist of 18 full-time employees servicing more than 700 clients. These many satisfied clients make use of a combination of payroll solutions: from fully outsourced ‘we-do-it-for-you’ services, to the basic ‘you-do-it-yourself’ online package. Additionally, over 80% of Paymaster People Solutions’ clients sign up for the empowering self-help Employee Self-service module.

Looking ahead: the next 20 years and beyond

Ian Hurst, CEO of Paymaster People Solutions believes that the payroll service and function will always be central to the success of any company or organisation. Hurst maintains that “the ongoing success of the companies that we offer services to, is based on the our ability to keep up with technology, whilst also being able offer our clients customised levels of service that they require in order to efficiently manage their payrolls.”

As Paymaster People Solutions looks forward to the next 20 years, Hurst believes that there will always be ongoing changes to legislation, changes in software technology, and changes to the way in which payrolls are processed. “What won’t change however” says Hurst, “is the expectation that to be successful we will resolutely and proudly continue to deliver exceptional customer service to our many happy and valued clients.”