“The payroll business is the perfection business. A penny too much, and the employer’s not happy. A penny too little, and the employees aren’t happy. Neither scenario is a good scenario.”
That’s how Joe Beverly, President and Founder of Corporate Payroll Services, sees the high standards set for his company’s work. And factoring in the presence of the federal government, along with the unique compliance regulations of 50 states, plus localities and territories, the expectations become even more demanding.
“The governmental agencies are unforgiving when it comes to mistakes,” he says. “The tax penalties can be significant, and they rack up very quickly. Things have to be right all the time.”
Joe started Adaptable Systems Corporation in 1984, initially providing companies with computerized hardware and software solutions, before pivoting the business toward the payroll industry and starting Corporate Payroll Services in 1991.
Building a business in any industry has its challenges, but with the web of tax codes and evolving regulations placed on payroll companies, Joe remembers a particularly trying path of getting to where they are now.
“When I look all the way back to when Corporate Payroll Services started, it was a difficult run for a lot of that time,” he says. “I’m thankful we’ve got some great people running our day-to-day operations.”
The company has maintained impressive growth over the past three decades. Last year was their 29th consecutive year of increasing revenue and client count, and their original client list of one has expanded to over 6,000 today. They now have five offices in the United States and one in India.
And as the scale of the business changed, Joe found his needs from a banking partner change along with it.
“We used to work with a large, well-known bank,” he says. “In working together, they were asking things of me that I found very unreasonable – even though we’d been a client of theirs for a long time. So, in 2008, I started looking around for another bank.”
Joe quickly discovered Atlantic Capital, which at the time had just received its charter. And after a series of conversations with CEO Doug Williams and SVP, Treasury Services, Donyale Getz, Corporate Payroll Services became the bank’s first payroll client.
“Fundamentally, our relationship with any bank is, we send them a data file, and they use that information to debit and credit all of the correct accounts at the specified numbers,” Joe explains. “This process is almost fully automated, so it’s not like we’re getting on the phone every day. But I need to be confident that the automation will run smoothly, and if there is a mistake from either our end or theirs, we need the mistake to be fixed quickly.”
“That’s absolutely right,” Donyale adds. “And we make sure we follow those guidelines. If there’s a problem, we take care of it. We don’t try to dance around it. We’re aware that timing is crucial to what they do.”
The relationship between Corporate Payroll Services and Atlantic Capital has been harmonious from the beginning. As both businesses have grown, each has come to view the other as a trusted partner that understands the requirements of maintaining long-term success in the financial industry.
“Our businesses are very similar in that we’re dealing with other people’s money, day in, day out,” says Nathan Ottinger, SVP, Payments Industry Banking. “And the trust associated with that is of the utmost importance. When you think about this business, trust is where it all starts.”
Joe agrees, and for his part, he’s happy he made the switch to Atlantic Capital.
“Overall, my experience with Atlantic Capital has been exceptional,” he says. “I trust that, if in the rare case there’s an issue, I can call them up and I’m not going to get an answering machine. I can talk to someone, and we’ll get the situation figured out.”
At Atlantic Capital, we’re proud to occupy that position of trust for our clients, wherever in the country they do business.