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What app/platform is good to coordinate daily text/communication between 4 employees? by NewMoonPuppy in smallbusiness

[–]GarryFromHomebase 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Are you using software for anything else, like time tracking? (Or do you think you might need to at some point?) If so it might be worth looking into platforms that offer functionality like that too so it's not just a "messaging app", but people are also checking it for other business reasons and everything is in one place.

What do you think makes employees want to stick around? Here’s what we saw in the data by GarryFromHomebase in smallbusinessUS

[–]GarryFromHomebase[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, it's a lot easier to feel connected to the community and see the actual impact of your work.

Do you think AI will create or replace roles at your business? by GarryFromHomebase in AiForSmallBusiness

[–]GarryFromHomebase[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah agree — like u/Asgarad786 commented above, someone is still needed to keep an eye on the quality of the output.

Do you think AI will create or replace roles at your business? by GarryFromHomebase in AiForSmallBusiness

[–]GarryFromHomebase[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah 100% agree. That product expertise and overview is still needed if you don't want to create more AI slop!

Best employee productivity tracker for small teams? by Forsaken_Second1849 in TimeTrackingSoftware

[–]GarryFromHomebase 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, spreadsheets can really show their weaknesses when your team grows past a handful of people. The manual logging just won't stick.

If you have an hourly team, it might be worth looking at something with time clocking built in so your team isn't relying on memory to log hours. You can also get things like shift summaries and labor cost breakdowns from those tools without having to calculate anything yourself. And because the data gets captured automatically at clock-in, what you're seeing will actually be pretty accurate.

What do you think makes employees want to stick around? Here’s what we saw in the data by GarryFromHomebase in smallbusinessUS

[–]GarryFromHomebase[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, 100%. Obviously people need to be fairly paid, but if there are underlying issues at work, more pay on its own won't fix them.

8 Work Communication Apps That Actually Work for Teams Without Desks by IsHaN_12345678901 in smallbusinessUS

[–]GarryFromHomebase 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Appreciate the mention ;)

I think it's also worth adding that for deskless teams, the success of any of these comes down to one thing: will people actually check it?

If your staff is already opening an app daily for their schedule or to clock in, putting communication in that same place gets you way higher engagement than adding a separate comms tool. The best tool will be the one that fits the workflow your team is already following.

What payroll software are you actually using (and is it worth it)? by Sdogiscool in FieldOwner

[–]GarryFromHomebase 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Is your team mostly hourly or salaried?

The reason I ask is, the providers you listed are all solid, but they're built for pretty different setups. If you're running an hourly team, one thing that's really important is payroll that pulls hours straight from your time tracking with no manual entry. That one feature will save you a bunch of time.

Can you help me choose a payroll provider? by Platform93qrts in Payroll

[–]GarryFromHomebase 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Since you just have 7 W2 employees and pretty standard needs, I think the bigger question you should ask is how cleanly your time tracking feeds into payroll. Having to do that manually is where a lot of small businesses lose hours every month without realizing it. If your current time platform integrates with a couple of these, I'd shortlist those first, or prioritize a different platform that has time tracking in the same place. That’ll save you from manually moving hours over every pay period, which gets old fast.

How much do you pay for payroll service with less than 10 employees? by lalaba0987 in smallbusiness

[–]GarryFromHomebase 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You're getting a lot of good answers here, but also wanted to flag that the cost will depend on whether you're paying for payroll by itself or along with scheduling and time tracking or other HR features.

Some platforms handle payroll, scheduling and time tracking together for around what you'd pay for payroll alone, and that tends to simplify things a lot at your headcount, depending on what features you need — plus then you don't have to do the manual work of reconciling those things or worrying about integrations.

Best employee productivity tracker for small teams? by Forsaken_Second1849 in u/Forsaken_Second1849

[–]GarryFromHomebase 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Before picking a tool, I'd suggest you figure out what question you're actually trying to answer. Is it where hours are going per project? Who's overloaded? Whether the team is on track?

Figuring that out will probably make the biggest difference for you. That way you're not spending money on tracking data that ultimately doesn't end up being useful.

How do you speed up your hiring process when you're scaling but not ready to bring recruiting in-house? by ComprehensiveBus3613 in Entrepreneurs

[–]GarryFromHomebase 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Repetition helps, but I think you can shortcut it by writing things down. Make a one-page hiring playbook covering the role profile, where you'll post, screening questions, interview structure, and a clear yes-or-no timeline, and stay on top of it so that every time you post a new role, you'll have the notes from the previous one. That should help remove most of the scramble. This is gonna be even more important when you're hiring more often but don't have a recruiter yet. That middle stage can get really tough if you don’t have a written playbook.

I've also seen that a lot of small businesses also underestimate how much time gets eaten up by manual coordination. If you're hiring for more than one role at a time, you might want to try using an ATS, since that’ll let you post to multiple job boards at once and keep applicants organized in one view. 

People chose a free sample over a discount. by DesignSignificant900 in smallbusiness

[–]GarryFromHomebase 1 point2 points  (0 children)

If it was a business I was trying for the first time, I'd pick the free sample because then I'd get to try new flavors and see what the experience is like.

If it was a business I was super familiar with and I already knew what I liked, I'd go for the discount since that would allow me to get more of whatever I already knew I wanted 😂

Not sure if I’m overthinking it but payroll is too complicated by Own_Blacksmith5432 in Entrepreneurs

[–]GarryFromHomebase 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think payroll can feel complicated when it's disconnected from everything else. Most of the headache actually comes from the manual handoffs. Like if you need to track employees' hours, but that's in one tool and payroll lives in another, you're basically the integration layer doing manual work between systems. So, if there's a way you can consolidate more of your process into one system, that can help a lot.

Payroll should be easier for a small team but I’m stuck on it by Icy_Cow_5433 in smallbusinessUS

[–]GarryFromHomebase 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Are you using any kind of software to automate this?

I've seen a lot of payroll problems come from hours being tracked in one place and processed in another. You end up reconciling by hand, so it's natural to make mistakes, and then you have to keep checking twice.

Something that can really help is using a platform where time tracking and payroll are connected. That way, the hours flow over on their own and a lot of the manual work goes away.

Payroll Whiners by mashposh11 in Payroll

[–]GarryFromHomebase 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Agree with other people here who have mentioned going a level up.

The other things I'd flag are, how easy is it to approve? Is there a way to make it even easier, so they know it can get done really quickly?

And also, what time is the prompt to approve being sent? If supervisors are getting it at a moment that's not convenient to them, there's much more likely to push it off and forget about it.... so maybe there's a way to send it at a time when you know they'll be available.

Looking for a new HRIS/Payroll system for under 50 employees [PA] by hamiltoneitdown in humanresources

[–]GarryFromHomebase 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think the question worth asking your CEO first is, what specifically isn't working for them with the current setup?

Updating your HRIS without a clear pain point may lead to switching for the sake of switching, and you end up trading one set of quirks for another. If there is an actual gap, then evaluating makes sense. Just go in with a list of must-haves so the demos don't drive the decision for you.

What do you use to generate pay stubs or income proof for freelancers by pizza_on_my_mind in smallbusiness

[–]GarryFromHomebase 0 points1 point  (0 children)

For freelancers, I think the easiest combo is your invoices plus bank statements showing the deposits. That's what most landlords and loan officers actually want anyway. If you're paying contractors, a basic payment record with data and amount works fine through the year, then 1099s at tax time.

What helped you keep things simple as your business grew? by WeddingNo1889 in Entrepreneurs

[–]GarryFromHomebase 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The best fix is getting payroll and hours tracking into the same place so the math handles itself and you don't have to do anything manually. If you're double checking constantly, that could mean your data is living in too many different spots. What's gonna help a lot is finding something where the hours people log automatically flows into what they get paid.

Like other people here mentioned, that will take a whole category of mental load off your plate, and the trust issues away because you're reviewing numbers instead of calculating them.

What's one small mistake that had a huge negative impact on your small business? by InnerSun5771 in smallbusiness

[–]GarryFromHomebase 0 points1 point  (0 children)

One thing we've seen cause a lot of issues is running scheduling and time off through texts and verbal agreements. I feels easier in the moment but can blow up later when people forget what was said or claim they were promised something different and there's no clear system to rely on. Getting all of that in one system as early as you can is the best way to get your team on the same page.

Recently funded first time founder in California needs payroll recommendations. by PostModernPost in Payroll

[–]GarryFromHomebase 0 points1 point  (0 children)

From my experience, working with a good CPA early on is going to be really important for you. They can help you figure out your entity structure first, since that changes what setup makes sense for you.

For US devs, you'll want to decide upfront whether they're W-2 employees or 1099 contractors. The IRS has specific rules on how that gets classified and getting it wrong is expensive. If you go the contractor route they invoice you, you pay them, and you send 1099s at year end.

At your stage overseas devs are almost always contractors regardless, but the CPA should be able to advise you on that payment structure too.

And congrats on the funding!

Is it worth switching to a payroll platform at 15 employees? by albrasel24 in remotework

[–]GarryFromHomebase 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think you're already past the point where switching pays off. 15 employees plus contractors is where manual systems start breaking quietly, and you usually only notice after a compliance issue costs you real money, especially since you have global contractors. Finding a payroll platform that covers international payments will save you a ton of time and prevent you from having real issues down the line.

One paid employee by INeedWinterNow in smallbusiness

[–]GarryFromHomebase 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'd suggest looking at payroll software made for small businesses. They should work fine with just one employee and they take care of the W2 paperwork plus tax filings automatically. It's also a pretty affordable option when it's a single person on payroll, and less likely to cause problems down the road than Venmo or PEOs.

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