From Five Systems to One—A Payroll Specialist’s Journey to Future-Ready Operations with Powerpay

From Five Systems to One: A Payroll Specialist’s Journey to Future-Ready Operations with Powerpay

When Tammy first stepped into the payroll specialist role for Montreal Cannabis Corp and its group of companies, she inherited five entities spread across multiple provinces, each running payroll in its own way. One used Sage. Another used ADP. Another relied on Desjardins. One was already on Powerpay. Every system had its own cadence, its own rules, and its own quirks.

Leadership asked her to bring everything together on a single platform. As she put it, “We were using four different systems and none of them talked to each other. We needed consistency. We needed something that would work across all of our companies.”

She had complete freedom in choosing the new standard. She could have rolled out ADP across the group. She could have centralized everything on Sage or consolidated under Desjardins. But after years of hands-on experience with all four systems, she made her choice quickly.
 
 “I chose Powerpay because it works. It is user friendly, it handles complex payroll, and the customer support is unmatched.”

That support mattered. Tammy was responsible for employees in Quebec and across Canada, and she needed a platform that kept up with every jurisdiction. “I had never processed Quebec payroll before. Powerpay walked me through everything. Every time I had a question, someone picked up the phone. That is what made the difference.”

As she moved each entity into the new structure, the benefits became immediate. Instead of navigating five different systems, she worked from a single source of truth. ROEs, remittances, pay code setups, and compliance settings were all aligned. Vacation tracking, benefits coding, and time sheets stopped being manual, time-consuming tasks.

 “There is no way I could manage five payrolls on my own without Powerpay. With it, my time is cut in half.”

She later added Time and Attendance, which removed an entire layer of administration for hourly teams. “No more printing time sheets. No more hand-calculating hours. Approved time just flows right into payroll. It saves days of work.”

While her weekly cadence became easier, the real shift happened at year end. Instead of focusing on past challenges, Tammy immediately saw the strategic value of Powerpay’s year-end support offering. “I saw it pop up inside the platform and I screenshotted it right away. I said to my leadership, we need this. This is how we future-proof payroll.”

Having a year-end specialist validate her codes, spot issues early, and ensure the setup was correct for every entity changed the entire experience.

 “Just knowing someone with deep expertise is reviewing everything gives you confidence for the whole year, not just December.”

It also gave her the reassurance she needed to lead a growing department. “I have an administrator helping me now, but I am still accountable. Powerpay’s support means I know everything is set up correctly. That peace of mind is invaluable.”

Today, Tammy processes two payrolls one week and three the next. She closes them efficiently, moves between companies in seconds, and supports leaders with consistent reporting.
 
 “It used to take two and a half days to process payroll for one of our entities. Now I do all five payrolls in the same amount of time.”

Looking back on the consolidation, she is clear on why Powerpay became the platform of choice. “I could have gone with any of the systems we already had. But Powerpay was the only one that checked every box. Easy to use. Scales with the business. And the service is the best I have ever worked with.”

When asked what she would tell another payroll professional who is evaluating platforms, she does not hesitate.
 
 “Look at where your business is going, not just where it is today. Choose a platform that grows with you. Powerpay made my job easier, it gave me confidence, and it let me focus on the work that actually matters. I will be a Powerpay user for life.”