Designing a Native Payroll System to Reduce Operational Friction and Unlock a New Revenue Stream
Project Details
Role: Product Designer
Type: New Application
Team: Product Designer, PM, Engineering Lead
Executive Summary
Payroll is one of the most operationally sensitive workflows for childcare centers. Before this project, Procare customers exported staff hours into third-party tools like QuickBooks or Gusto, creating errors, delays, and frustration.
Procare identified a high-value opportunity:
bring payroll in-house to eliminate manual work and create a new recurring revenue stream.
My responsibility was to design the end-to-end experience, reshaping a third-party boilerplate, aligning it with Procare’s data models, and ensuring it matched how childcare centers actually process payroll.
💼 Business Problems
• Revenue leakage: Procare couldn't monetize payroll if customers relied on external platforms.
• Churn risk: Third-party tools increased churn risk and fragmented workflows.
• Data model gaps: Procare’s system lacked several payroll specific fields required by CheckHQ
👩🏫 Customer Problems
• Hours of manual data re-entry every payroll cycle
• Inconsistent deadlines and compliance rules creating anxiety
• Errors that resulted in incorrect staff pay
• Switching between 2–3 systems just to complete payroll
Why This Project Mattered
Payroll sits at the intersection of time tracking, staff management, billing, and compliance.
A native payroll system would:
Reduce workflow friction and human error
Strengthen product stickiness
Help Procare own the full financial lifecycle
Establish a foundation for future financial products
💼 Business Goals
• Reduce payroll processing time
• Eliminate dependency on third-party payroll tools
• Establish a reliable, scalable revenue stream
quired by CheckHQ
👩🏫 Customer Goals
• Run payroll without siwtching systems
• Avoid manual entry errors
• Trust deadlines, pay periods, and calculations
Constraints & Reality
CheckHQ provided a boilerplate template that didn’t fit childcare workflows.
Procare’s data model lacked key payroll fields, requiring UI-side workarounds.
Timecard sync wasn't available in Phase 1, meaning missing or incomplete data.
Compliance rules dictated flow order and deadlines.
Engineering resources were split, requiring a phased approach.
Before (CheckHQ Boilerplate)
Generic boilerplate not aligned with childcare workflows
Inconsistent terminology and missing payroll fields
Did not match Procare's design system or IA patterns
After (Procare Redesigned UI)
Rebuilt to fit Procare's visual language and component system
Structured workflows based on childcare-specific needs
Clear hierarchy, improved readability, and reduced user confusion
Key Decisions I Led
Introduced Autosave to Prevent Lost Work
Payroll sessions can take 20–40 minutes. Losing progress was catastrophic.
Autosave stabilized the workflow and reduced abandonment.
Designed a Step-Gap Flow for Missing Timecard Data
Since syncing wasn’t ready for Phase 1, I designed a modal that allowed admins to complete payroll without missing data blocking them.
Rebuilt the Boilerplate UI to Match Procare’s System
The original template didn’t reflect Procare’s terminology, hierarchy, or design language. Rebuilt UI within Procare’s design system for consistency and trust
Projected Business Impact
Although the project was put on hold before launch, we designed the solution to drive measurable business results. If implemented, we expect:
20-30%
Increase in Payroll adoption vs. third-party integrations
30–50%
Reduction in payroll setup time due to data syncing
15-20%
Projected increase in annual revenue
Next Steps
1. Full Timecard Synchronization
Removes the stop-gap and achieves truly automated payroll.
2. Pay Simulation Tool
Preview net pay, taxes, and adjustments before submitting.
3. Workflow Analytics
Identify hesitation points to streamline future iterations.
This positions payroll as a scalable financial product — not just an operational feature.
⭐ Final Summary
Procare Payroll was a foundational step toward integrating financial operations directly into the childcare management ecosystem.
Despite technical and compliance constraints, I designed a resilient, scalable workflow that significantly reduced manual work, improved trust, and positioned Procare to expand its financial services offering.