If you run a services company—consulting, IT support, maintenance—you know the payroll headache. Different hourly rates for different projects, overtime rules that change by state, and employees who show up at different offices. A client of ours, a 50‑person field‑service company, was spending 20 hours every two weeks just to cut paychecks. And they still made mistakes. One guy got paid for a day he didn’t work; another was shortchanged by $300. Staff morale was dropping fast.
Where It All Went Wrong: Manual timesheets and no integration
Employees filled paper timesheets, managers approved them by signing a sheet, and then the HR person typed everything into a payroll spreadsheet. No one knew who was working where at any given moment. Project profitability was a myth. ERPNext Consulting stepped in and set up a simple web‑based timesheet system tied directly to project codes and pay rules. Each employee now logs hours via a mobile app—no paper, no guessing.
- Configured hourly rates per project and per employee tier (junior, senior, lead)
- Automated overtime calculation based on company policy (1.5x after 40 hours per week)
- Created a payroll summary report that feeds directly into the accounting module
The Payoff: Accurate payroll in 2 hours instead of 20
The first cut of payroll after the change took less than 90 minutes. Error rate went from 10% to 0%—the owner said it was the first time in three years that no one complained. Plus, project managers could see real‑time labour costs and adjust staffing on the fly. One project that seemed profitable was actually losing money because too many senior people were assigned. They fixed that in week two.
If You’re Still Doing Payroll by Hand, Start Here
- List every unique pay rule you have (different rates, overtime, per‑diem, etc.)—that’s your system requirement
- Get a mobile timesheet solution that employees can use from their phones—no excuses
- Run a parallel test with your old method for one pay period before switching fully
ERPNext Consulting didn’t just automate payroll—it restored trust between management and staff. When people get paid correctly and on time, they work happier. That alone is worth the investment.