Payroll demands less of our time. It’s now a far more efficient process. Now we key once, work is reduced and accuracy is greater.
- Chris Elvidge, Finance Director at Drive Vauxhall
“We never had any in-house payroll expertise. For us, it was a case of completing data entry and then passing it to a payroll services provider who could check what we were doing and take the next steps. We originally chose Cintra (formerly known as Trace) because they offered precisely the service we needed – something simple and effective. That was the service they offered then – and it’s the reason we continue to rely on them.” – Chris Elvidge, Finance Director at Drive Vauxhall – an industry leader in digital dealing.
When Drive Vauxhall began its relationship with Cintra Payroll Services in 2004 the process contained a large manual element. HR services were driven separately via another supplier, resulting in the need to double-key information. Chris was acutely aware that combining payroll and HR would reduce inaccuracies and improve efficiency.
Cintra’s Easipay Plus web application would allow Chris to streamline his payroll processes and add a fully integrated HR system. After 5 years with Cintra, Chris looked for possible alternatives to ensure he wasn’t missing a better solution at a better price.
“I must have looked at five or six different systems that offered some combination of payroll and HR – but I found I kept coming back to Cintra. Many of the alternatives were far too complex for our purposes. We need powerful efficiency, but if it wasn’t simple to use then we’d never realise the best from it.”
The service Cintra offered Drive Vauxhall was precisely what Chris needed, but the price still needed to be competitive.
“Of all the providers I considered, Cintra not only offered the service that met our needs most effectively; they were the most competitively priced of all the options.”
Switching to a new, combined service may have made financial and business sense for Drive Vauxhall, but they remained tied to a six-month notice period with their previous HR supplier. To help, Cintra gave Drive Vauxhall immediate use of its integrated HR system and let them use it for six months without charge. This allowed Drive Vauxhall to start enjoying immediate benefits and avoid paying for two HR systems during the transition.
Drive Vauxhall also benefited from preferential pricing as part of the General Motors RCRP (Retail Cost Reduction Programme) programme. The programme allows all GM dealers to benefit from reduced setup fees and preferential payslip pricing.
Easipay Plus has opened up payroll to Drive Vauxhall’s dealerships. It gives each dealership greater input and responsibility and has reduced the workload in Head Office while retaining overall control.
The effect has been noticeable. “Payroll demands less of our time. It’s now a far more efficient process. Double keying meant there was always an ‘accuracy lag’ between our payroll and HR. Now we key once, work is reduced and accuracy is greater.”
The service also includes electronic payslips which confer benefits on business and individual alike.
“Almost 100% of our payslips are now delivered electronically,” says Chris. “Implementing the system was easy and our people appreciate getting their payslips this way. It’s more secure for the recipient, it helps us meet our environmental aspirations as it cuts down on paper usage, and it reduces the cost of delivery.”
Employees also benefit from MyPayRewards which gives them vouchers and offers from leading retailers – an added service which costs Drive Vauxhall nothing.
Easipay Plus has transformed the way Chris manages his payroll and HR. Yet success is a result of far more than a powerful system. “Each month, once our keying is complete, we send it to one contact at Cintra. That makes a real difference to us.
“It means there’s someone at Cintra who really understands what we do. It means that if we change something we have to tell one person, once. That familiarity with our business is something you can’t get from a system. That has to come from people.”
And that’s why, years on, Drive Vauxhall continues to trust Cintra Payroll Services.
