THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, August 24, 1994 TAG: 9408230142
SECTION: ISLE OF WIGHT CITIZEN PAGE: 09 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ALLISON T. WILLIAMS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: SMITHFIELD LENGTH: Medium: 56 lines
Randy Philpott is in the business of other companies' business.
Philpott runs Time+Plus of Tidewater, a computerized payroll service, from his Gatling Pointe home.
``Essentially, we are number crunchers,'' Philpott said. Besides calculating and cutting employee paychecks, Time+Plus files tax records and prints detailed attendance and quarterly reports for the companies it serves.
Time+Plus' operation revolves around a computer time clock installed at businesses that have contracted the payroll company. According to Philpott, employees are given cards with magnetic strips to run through the clock whenever they report to work.
Time transactions are sent to Philpott's office by modem each night. In turn, this allows Time+Plus to keep a running record of each employee's time and pay, Philpott said.
This feature is what makes Time+Plus' service different from competing payroll service companies, said Philpott. Other companies require a representative from each business to calculate employee hours and pay before the payroll service will write the checks.
A growing number of Hampton Roads' businesses have contracted Time+Plus to handle their payroll obligations, said Philpott. Most small and medium-sized companies are finding it saves them time and money, he said.
``Outsourcing is the wave of the future,'' Philpott said. ``More and more businesses have found that hiring outside people to handle certain duties cost less than having an in-house employee do it.''
Savings are evident in reduced personnel expenses, such as providing health insurance and vacation time, Philpott said. But the benefits also can be measured in a business' increased personnel productivity, he added.
``Business is going real good,'' Philpott said. ``I think I've really found my niche in serving restaurant businesses.''
The service is particularly beneficial to employers like restaurants, where employees often work in different departments at different pay scales. The computerized system makes it easier to compute employee pay, Philpott said.
Philpott charges his clients a base fee that ranges from $10 to $20, depending on the company's pay schedule, and a $1 fee per check.
Businesses also are in charge of buying the computer time clock that goes in their business. They may buy it for $395 or lease it for one year at $9 per week, with the option to buy it for $100 at the end of the year. MEMO: For more information, call Philpott at 1-800-357-3240.
ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by JOHN H. SHEALLY II
Randy Philpott runs his computerized payroll service from his
Gatling Pointe home.
by CNB