Paylocity Acquires Trace to Enhance HR Software Solutions

Paylocity, a cloud-based human resources and payroll software solutions company, acquired headcount planning firm Trace.

The move will enable Paylocity to expand its platform and offer labor planning tools to model, forecast, implement and analyze headcount decisions, the company said in a Monday (Dec. 4) press release.

Paylocity said in the release it aims to enhance its integrations and workflow tools by incorporating Trace’s headcount planning capabilities. The integration will lead to better decision-making and faster execution of business processes.

It’s important for firms to manage the number of employees they have, according to the release. However, many organizations still rely on manual planning cycles that are disconnected from business systems and lack process automation. Paylocity aims to address these challenges by using Trace’s capabilities to offer a more intelligent solution for analyzing, approving and implementing company-wide headcount plans.

“We built Trace to help organizations manage their most important investment — their people,” said Trace CEO Mike Gonzalez in the release. “…Together [with Paylocity,] we can better enable businesses to optimize headcount planning as part of their overall [human capital management] strategy.”

Payroll technology is an important tool in getting workers access to their wages. Amid tightening budgets and an inflationary environment, more employees want faster access to their pay.

According to findings detailed in “Measuring Consumer Satisfaction With Instant Payouts” a PYMNTS Intelligence and Ingo Money collaboration, U.S. consumers are increasingly choosing instant payments for various types of disbursements, with 72% expressing a preference for this method when given the choice.

A closer look at specific categories showed that those receiving income and earnings disbursements for freelance, contract or consulting work have the highest preference for instant transactions, at 81%. These workers are particularly willing to pay a fee for the convenience of receiving disbursements instantly, surpassing other individual categories in terms of enthusiasm for this option.

Interest in instant income and earnings payouts is in line with the rising popularity of early-access compensation among workers who are keen to move away from the typical biweekly salary payouts and access their earned wages whenever they want.

Employers are acknowledging these changing preferences of employees and integrating new payroll systems to meet this need. The move increases employee satisfaction and grants employers an edge in today’s competitive labor market.