Certusi, who terms the former Sage offering limited, says her company got back into payroll because the acquired company has a cloud platform which is "tightly integrated on the backend. You can think of it as the outsourced model." She also says Paychoice has a "very robust technology platform." Besides utilizing licensees, Paychoice also has a direct sales channel. "Our ultimate goal is to make it available especially to accountants where we can help them provide the payroll services," Certusi says. She adds that "a significant number of the licensees are accountants." The 260 Paychoice employees will remain as will the management team. CEO Robert Digby will continue to manage the business. Sage acquired the business from investment firms Great Hill Partners, Baird Venture Capital and North Hill Ventures.
SAGE BACK IN PAYROLL WITH PAYCHOICE Featured
Sage is buying Mount Laurel, N.J.-based Paychoice in what will turn into a multi-pronged return to the payroll business. Paychoice’s payroll products will be integrated with the major financial software lines. And Sage will also utilize Paychoice’s licensee program to encourage accountants to deliver payroll services via the platform, says Connie Certusi, EVP of Sage’s Small Business Division. Sage is paying $157 million in cash to buy Paychoice, which also has human resource applications. It marks a return to payroll for Sage, which sold its prior business in this arena to a company then known as CompuPay several years ago.
