Our first conversations with new partners often start the same way: they’re excited about launching payroll but unsure if they have everything they need to get started. This guide breaks down what’s truly required versus what’s nice to have - and what you might add to your backlog to build a market-leading product over time.
One thing we encounter almost every week is platforms who think they're not ready:
“We just need to tweak our [worker experience / time tracking / backend] before we launch payroll.”
But what often gets overlooked is how painful and clunky your customers’ current payroll experience is - and how easy it is to replace that pain with something far better.
[.c-highlighted]We’ve seen platforms launch payroll without all the bells and whistles and still deliver a significantly better experience.[.c-highlighted] One standout example: a partner serving businesses with hourly workers launched payroll before building a time tracking feature, and their customers still found it to be a much better product than what they left behind. A year later, they launched a fully integrated time tracking solution - after already gaining the benefits of retention, revenue, and customer satisfaction that payroll unlocked.
We share that to reassure platforms still on the fence: if you’re already managing worker data, it’s usually better to start now and improve over time.
What do you actually need to get started?
At the most basic level, the key to building a great product is simple: collect or have access to as many payroll-related data fields as possible. If your system already holds the data needed to run payroll, it makes sense to run payroll there. Adoption tends to be higher, and the experience is far better than what most businesses have today. That said, you don’t need to have everything built on day one - we’ve helped platforms launch strong payroll products by starting with what they have and improving over time. [.c-highlighted]Legacy tools have set the bar low, so even a simple, integrated solution within your platform can be a big step forward.[.c-highlighted]
Key elements to support payroll - what is needed now, and what can come later
Good: What you likely already have
A logical home for the payroll interface
The first step is deciding where to embed the payroll experience. We recommend starting with a web-based application - where business owners and admins are already spending time. While we’re excited to see someone crack a great mobile-first payroll run, we haven’t seen it done successfully yet. A web-based home remains the most reliable and familiar starting point.
Basic employer information
You can make payroll setup feel effortless by pre-filling it with business data you already have - like legal name, address, owner details, and payroll admin (if different). No need to worry about collecting complex, payroll-specific fields like filing info - Salsa’s onboarding flow handles that seamlessly.
Employee identity
Having worker names and contact info on hand means businesses won’t need to re-enter employee details during payroll setup. With just an email or phone number, employers can trigger Salsa’s self-onboarding link - letting employees enter the rest themselves for a faster, smoother experience.
Better: What elevates the experience
Employee wage data
The more compensation data you collect, the better the payroll experience for your customers.
Leading embedded payroll products live in platforms that are the source of truth for earnings - whether that’s time and attendance, tips, commissions, or base pay.
[.c-highlighted]If your platform already captures hourly rates, salaries, or when workers earn, your customers can run payroll where they already manage worker data - saving time, reducing errors, and improving accuracy.[.c-highlighted]
If you don’t yet have this data, think about whether you can collect it through new features or integrations. Salsa can help - we integrate with tools like timesheets.com and can work with whatever your customers are already using.
Bonus: What sets your product apart
Solutions for specific industry problems
Watching how your customers run payroll can reveal industry-specific pain points - and great product opportunities. Whether it’s certified payroll for contractors, union rules in entertainment, compliance for healthcare, or clearer payslips for salon workers, solving these nuances builds products that are more useful, more adopted, and more profitable.
Our product research team is here to help you identify these challenges and design solutions that truly fit your market.
A direct relationship with workers
Not every platform serves both employers and workers - but when you do, it unlocks powerful opportunities. Even a simple worker dashboard for downloading payslips, updating info, or accessing tax documents can streamline operations and reduce employer workload.
From there, you can layer in features like pay cards, earned wage access, or other financial products. It all starts by giving workers a reason to engage with your platform directly.
A modernized experience
Give your customers something competitors don’t - a more worker-centric payroll experience that helps them attract and retain talent. We’re excited to support partners who envision faster payments, better transparency, and features built specifically for their users.
At an on-site visit with one of our partners, we met their customer, who mentioned they couldn’t estimate their net pay each week. That insight led to a new feature: an embedded hourly earnings tracker for workers.
Your industry likely has similar opportunities. There’s still plenty of low-hanging fruit in payroll - and we’d love to help you find it.
Bottom line: Start simple, grow over time
Whether you have all the pieces or just a few, we can help you launch quickly. With Salsa’s components, playbooks, and guides - you can launch a complete payroll product - fast. Features like time off tracking, overtime, deductions, bonuses, and integrated contractor and employee payroll can all be supported without heavy engineering work.
[.c-highlighted]Many of our easiest deployments go live in just a few weeks, making it fast and low-lift to start delighting customers.[.c-highlighted]
We meet you where you are and give you a clear path to build as your product grows. And we’re unique in that we love partnering on research to help you create standout experiences that solve real customer pain.
Ready to get started? Book time with our team.
