California Institute Solves Payroll Crunch with Online Timesheets

Company Profile

The Institute for Applied Behavior Analysis (IABA) helps over 1,000 developmentally disabled clients throughout the state of California. The organization provides a wealth of services to both children and adults, helping them obtain jobs and live independently, while also training others on behavioral support across the globe.

Founded in 1981, the company has grown to over 600 employees with 5 offices throughout the state. But this growth has posed an increasingly difficult problem for its time-tracking processes, which up until recently were completely paper-based.

The Challenge

Nearly all IABA employees work solely in the field. This required every employee to drive to the office, submit their timesheets in-person, or mail them. More than just an inconvenience for employees, this process was incredibly taxing on IABA's accounting department.

"We were collecting over 600 pieces of paper, processing all those pieces of paper, and putting in the hours from all those employees, so it was really a huge challenge for us." said Darva Coleman, Accounting Manager at IABA.

This challenge was exacerbated by a complex payroll system. The organization has 20 different departments, all with different pay rates and activities billed to different funding sources.

In an effort to alleviate these time-tracking burdens, and ultimately save money in the process, IABA began the search for a paperless, web-based system.

The Solution

Customized to Specific Needs

IABA evaluated several systems for time and attendance, but none matched the flexibility and functionality of Replicon's products.

IABA even reviewed solutions that were designed specifically for companies in its own industry, but those options still could not meet the organization's unique needs.

"Most of the stuff that we did evaluate is totally related to the industry we're in, to the funding that we have, and the type of clients we serve." said Ashley Cleary, Director of Administrative Services. "However, they were not muscled enough for us. They didn't have enough of what we needed as far as the custom side of it. That's why Replicon was a better choice for us."

IABA chose TimeAttend and TimeBill which enabled IABA to track all employee activities in one online system while accounting for the many different pay rates and funding sources. Employees in the field could also enter their time from anywhere, eliminating the need for driving to the office.

"Before Replicon, our 600 employee timesheets were physically delivered to 1 office location, every pay period." said Cleary. "Replicon was able to accommodate a lot of the customization needs we needed in order for us to go electronic and get us out of the paper environment."

Easy, Stress-Free Setup

Having used a paper-based system for nearly 30 years, some IABA employees were a bit nervous about the change, Cleary admitted, but these concerns were quickly eased once the implementation began.

Because of IABA's complex pay structure and unique customization needs, Replicon staff worked closely with IABA throughout the entire process.

"There was a little bit of fear there to make this transition with nearly 600 employees and 5 satellite offices, but our representative from Replicon was really great." said Cleary. "He was really helpful, totally available and made our process a lot smoother than we anticipated."

The Results

No More Paper

Switching to a web-based system has already eliminated all the man hours previously devoted to handling paper timesheets. Replicon has made IABA’s time-tracking processes easier, faster and more cost-efficient.

"Everyone doesn't have to come into the office. They don't have to drive in or Federal Express all this paper in, so it saves us time as well as it saves us money," said Coleman. "And you can input your timesheet from wherever you are, while you're at home, or even while you're with clients."

With Replicon, managers can track all schedules and time in one place, on-screen, in real-time. Reports can be generated for billing, payroll or other needs within minutes. In addition to numerous standard reports in the system, IABA can also configure reports to its specific needs with just a few clicks.

By streamlining the process for submitting timesheets and collecting data from each timesheet manually, the organization reduced the amount of time associated with timesheet management. IABA field reps can now spend this time better serving their clients.

The software has also sped up the organization’s move to a completely paperless environment and helped the organization meet its eco-friendly goal of eliminating paper.

"Because timesheets and expenses and billing are such a huge part of what we do, we really needed that assistance in moving paperless." said Coleman. "My staff and I are not spending a lot of time touching and processing a bunch of paper."

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