RC Jones & Associates

Robert Jones, the founder and president of RC Jones and Associates, built his accounting practice around advising his clients and helping them achieve their goals. Early on, he recognized that payroll was a critical service his clients struggled with. Initially, he would advise his clients to find their own payroll provider, but many failed to follow through, leaving them vulnerable and stressed. To ensure his clients’ needs were met, Robert decided to offer payroll processing as a service in-house.

The Problem

Managing payroll internally came with significant challenges. When Robert started to provide this service, mistakes were made along the way. He managed the payroll in-house, which brought all of the risk associated with compliance to his firm, and it took up much of his time. As his practice grew, so did the complexity and volume of payroll tasks, eventually reaching over 500 pay records. He didn’t have the staff to manage the load or the supplies and materials needed, like servers, etc. Rather than feeling like he was a partner who offered payroll services, his practice started to feel like a payroll provider with a side advisory business.

Robert’s first solution to this problem was to sell all his clients to a national third-party payroll provider. This removed the need for his team to provide payroll support, but his clients hated it. The personal connection and relationship they had come to know and appreciate were gone — a result that did not align with his firm’s high-touch approach.

“I quickly discovered that the third-party provider couldn’t service my clients. We are a high-touch firm, working alongside our clients, informing them how every decision would impact them and their employees,” Robert says. Eliminating payroll as a service from his practice lightened their workload, but it significantly damaged their client relationships. The RC Jones and Associates Inc. team needed a payroll solution that allowed them to create and foster meaningful relationships based on trust with their clients, without having to shoulder all of the responsibility of payroll.

The Solution

Starting from scratch, Robert built another in-house payroll practice, supporting about 300 records. It quickly became more than he could handle yet again. Payroll touches were crucial for these advisory-based relationships, but RC Jones didn’t want to manage all the compliance work. Handling clients with employees in different states and locations became overwhelming. Robert was looking for a partner, not just a vendor. After exploring the market, he decided to partner with IRIS Managed Payroll Services.

IRIS Managed Payroll Services took responsibility for complying with all federal, state and local payroll laws and regulations, including remote worker and multi-state complexities. IRIS took over the heavy lifting, ensuring all federal, state, and local payroll regulations were met, which allowed RC Jones to focus on their core advisory services.

The Results

With IRIS managing the payroll, the team at RC Jones and Associates Inc. were free to return their focus to advising clients, strengthening relationships, and growing the business.

With the help of automation, information is immediately inputted and shared, ensuring that data is always up-to-date and accurate. “It almost runs as if on autopilot,” said Jones.

This shift allowed RC Jones & Associates to deepen client relationships without increasing their staffing costs. Now, their clients have their payroll managed through IRIS Managed Payroll Services and can see the value it provides them.