ADP Launches ‘Conversational’ Approach to SMB Payroll

Roll by ADP

ADP launched Roll, a payroll app designed to give small businesses more flexibility in running payroll while remaining secure and compliant.

Stressing ease of use, the product uses a conversational interface to guide business owners through the complete process using simple prompts such as “run my payroll” while eliminating tasks that chew up more time. The result, ADP said, is “payroll without friction,” with no training necessary, reminders that keep business owners up-to-date and the ability to run payroll on any device, from any location.

.@ADP launched Roll, a payroll app designed to give small business more flexibility in running payroll while remaining secure and compliant. #HR #HRTech Click To Tweet

“Roll by ADP completely upends the way small businesses will think about payroll by turning it into an experience as familiar as having a conversation with a friend,” said Joe DeSilva, ADP’s president of small business solutions.

And, indeed, Roll by ADP is built almost completely around a chat interface. Users enter phrases in plain language, which lead the system to respond with information or questions, in context and in conversational tone.

To set up the service, users download the Roll by ADP iOS or Android app and step through a roughly 15-minute set-up process that includes entering EIN, bank account and other information you’d expect. Once everything’s in place, the product sends reminders for associated to-dos and deadlines.

Over time, the machine-learning engine behind the system learns user preferences as a way to further simplify the work involved in managing payroll and help to assure compliance.

The same approach is used by employees to keep personal information up to date and access pay statements.

Roll is not a full-blown accounting package like ADP’s RUN Payroll. Instead, ADP describes it as a complementary service for a different audience, specifically entrepreneurs who want to handle the nuts and bolts of payroll on their own.

Image: ADP

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