How Booksellers Association cut payroll time by 75% and integrated HR – without spending a penny more
75%
reduction in monthly payroll processing time
3 days
saved each month on payroll admin
£0
additional cost vs. previous provider
Company
Booksellers Association
Industry
Community
Employees
45
Business Type
Core
Location
UK
Favourite Features
About the business
The Booksellers Association is the trade body for independent bookshops across the UK and Ireland. With around 45 staff across two connected businesses, the association itself and the National Book Tokens brand, the team provides vital services to over 1,000 members nationwide. As CFO, Phil Goodson oversees all shared services, including finance, IT and HR.
The challenge
Phil and the team were previously managing payroll in-house using Sage. While functional, the system demanded time-consuming manual work and didn’t offer broader HR capabilities. With no dedicated HR staff, the team relied on an external consultancy and quickly realised that a system that could simplify payroll while also supporting HR admin, compliance and learning long-term, would be a win-win. Not only would this reduce the time lost to manual processes, back-and-forth and data syncs, but it would also be far more cost effective.
Key challenges included:
- A payroll-only platform with no wider HR functionality.
- No dedicated HR person in-house.
- Potential risk with documents and data stored in shared drives.
- A cost-conscious environment and an aim of doing more with less.
“Sage worked, but we were doing everything ourselves. I wanted a platform that could add broader value as opposed to just processing payroll.”
The solution
By implementing Employment Hero’s Employment Operating System, the team quickly saw major time savings, with a particular priority focused on getting payroll running smoothly. Payroll processes that used to take up to four days a month are now completed in just one.
And although the system has only been up and running for a few months, the team is already exploring how modules like leave management, onboarding, the learning management system (LMS) and compliance can improve existing HR processes. Crucially, Employment Hero provides a secure, structured way to manage sensitive HR documents, something Phil sees as a futureproof step away from shared drives and paper records.
“With Employment Hero, we now pay for a system that supports multiple HR functions in one, as opposed to paying the same cost for a payroll-only platform. Each month our confidence grows and the system has already saved us a huge amount of time.”
The ROI
For a small team wearing multiple hats, Employment Hero has helped lay the groundwork for streamlining operations and building scalable HR foundations.
- 75% time saved on payroll processing each month.
- More secure document handling, replacing paper and shared drives.
- Value-add features like leave, onboarding and the LMS included in one subscription.
- Increased value for money by upgrading from a payroll-only system to full HR platform.
- Scalable infrastructure to support future growth, without extra headcount.
Why it matters
For a lean, multi-functional team, time is everything. Employment Hero has freed up three days a month previously spent on payroll admin, giving Phil and his team more time to focus on strategic work. And as more features are adopted, the platform will help Booksellers Association build a smoother, more streamlined HR operation.
“We were looking for the best product at the most sensible price and Employment Hero came out on top. It’s opened up the door to not only solve my initial concerns around payroll, but it’s also given us the roadmap to do much more within the HR space.”
Jump into Employment OS.
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Frequently Asked Questions
The Booksellers Association had a payroll tool, but didn’t have anything to support HR. With no in-house HR team and important documents stored across shared drives, they wanted a platform that could streamline payroll while also supporting HR admin, compliance and learning in the long term, all without increasing costs. Employment Hero offered the best value: a secure, multi-function HR and payroll system for the same price they were paying for payroll alone.
Yes, that’s exactly why it works so well for the Booksellers Association. With HR responsibilities shared across finance and an external consultancy, Employment Hero centralises tasks like onboarding, leave, document storage, training and compliance. Its intuitive interface and automated workflows reduce manual admin and keep processes consistent, even without a full in-house HR team.
For the Booksellers Association, ROI was immediate. Payroll processing time dropped by 75%, saving three full days every month. They also gained secure document storage, automated HR workflows and access to learning and compliance tools, all without paying more than their previous payroll-only system. For organisations wanting more value from a single subscription, Employment Hero delivers measurable time and operational savings.
Employment Hero automatically stays up to date with UK payroll legislation and HMRC requirements, reducing risk and removing the need for manual checks. For the Booksellers Association, it added peace of mind by providing one secure platform for storing contracts, maintaining audit trails and keeping sensitive HR data off shared drives.
Absolutely. The platform is designed to support small and mid-sized organisations that want enterprise-grade HR and payroll tools without enterprise-level overhead. In this instance, the Booksellers Association has around 45 employees and Employment Hero has helped them centralise payroll, streamline HR admin and build scalable foundations for future growth, all with a lean internal team.
