How Booksellers Association cut payroll time by 75% and integrated HR – without spending a penny more

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.”