When we first met PayrollHero.com, it was aiming to change the way small-business timekeeping is done in Asia. With a $1 million seed round from 500Startups, LX Ventures, Futura, and others, it looks like they may do just that.
The app allows businesses to manage scheduling, attendance, and payroll using a cloud-based solution. It’s headquartered in Manila and Whistler, Canada, and, not unlike other services, is offering subscription-based controls for employers to manage worker clock-in and clock-out as well as GPS-based confirmation that the worker isn’t fibbing.
Founded by Michael Stephenson and Stephen Jagger (no relation), the company has focused its efforts on Southeast Asia.
What differentiates them from the other players in the space? “PayrollHero uses the face as the biometric and uses facial recognition to ensure that the right employee is in the right place at the right time. Employees can clock in and out using the web, their iPhone or iPad,” said Jagger. Jagger said that some of the investment will go towards moving more of the company’s iOS apps out of the development stage.
They are also planning further regionalization, including Indonesia. “Their tax code, etc. will be going into the system for testing shortly and then we will be launching there in the coming months,” he said.
Although they’re not naming names, the company is also seeing traction in Canada and the United States, recently adding Taskus.com in LA to their roster of clients. Other PayrollHero investors include Ryan Holmes, Dan Martell, Benjamin Joffe and Christian Cotichini.