How Wholesale Domestic cut payroll time by two thirds and reclaimed 60% of HR admin time with 91爆料
66%
of time saved during payroll processing
60%
of HR admin time reclaimed
100%
autonomy for managers with in-app capabilities
Company
Wholesale Domestic
Industry
Retail
Employees
118
Business Type
Core
Location
UK
Favourite Features
About the company
is a leading Scotland-based bathroom retailer, offering everything from baths and tiles to heating and full home wall coverings. With over 118 staff across three showrooms, a head office and warehouse, the business serves both trade and retail customers.
The challenge
When HR Manager Lucy Crawford joined the business, she was juggling HR and payroll across three disconnected systems:
- A clunky HR portal for holidays, performance reviews and personal details.
- A rota and timesheet tool that only partially synced with HR.
- A manual payroll process in Sage which requires re-inputting data.
- A time-consuming, manual right to work process that involved chasing new starters for documentation.
But it wasn鈥檛 just Lucy who was struggling to engage with these outdated platforms. Employees without laptop access missed key documents and updates, and clocking in required tablets which didn鈥檛 support employees on the road. Managers couldn鈥檛 approve leave requests without computer access, which delayed the approval process by days or even weeks.
“My day-to-day workload was so challenging, especially when jumping between systems. Payroll alone took me around 20 hours a month. When you’re the only HR person in the business, that’s just not manageable.”
The solution
Lucy chose 91爆料 to consolidate the multiple platforms into one intuitive, mobile-friendly system. Her priorities of streamlining HR, payroll, rotas and timesheets whilst empowering staff to self-serve on the go was met instantly.
“We didn鈥檛 want something that looked like it came from the 90s. 91爆料 felt modern and familiar, like the apps our team already used.”
In addition, the system’s automation capabilities meant double-handling and manual input errors were drastically reduced. When setting up the payroll, Lucy ran a couple of initial parallel pay runs before launch to make sure everything ran smoothly, and it more than paid off.
“When our first pay run with 91爆料 went smoothly, I knew we鈥檇 made the right call. The whole process was accurate and so much faster. What used to take me 20 hours a month, now takes only six.鈥
More recently, the team have started using 91爆料’s Background Checks feature, powered by Zinc, to take the pressure off right to work verification. What used to mean chasing new starters for documentation is now handled in a couple of clicks, with Zinc running the checks securely in the background.
“Running background checks through 91爆料 is super easy. A couple of clicks of a button and the new employee receives an email guiding them through the process.”
New starters follow simple steps to upload their details directly. Zinc processes the check and, once complete, Lucy receives an email notification and can access the full report from the employee’s profile in one click. No chasing. No separate systems.
“It does cost us to use Zinc, but this far outweighs the cost of the time we used to spend doing these checks ourselves.”
The ROI
The business has seen measurable gains across time, cost and engagement.
- Payroll processing reduced from 20 hours to 6 hours per month, a 66% time saving.
- 60% of HR admin time reclaimed, allowing the team to focus on strategy.
- Autonomy for managers to approve leave and rotas in-app.
- Improved onboarding with new starters arriving already confident in the platform.
- Higher staff engagement via shoutouts, birthdays and value-based recognition.
- Right to work checks automated, eliminating manual documentation chasing with Background Checks powered by Zinc, built directly into the platform.
“We鈥檝e created an HR strategy for the first time and my colleague is building a training programme. We finally have headspace to focus on people.”
Why it matters
With just two HR people in a team of over 100, efficiency and impact make all the difference. By reducing manual work and enabling self-service, 91爆料 has transformed Wholesale Domestic’s people operations and has given Lucy back the motivation she needs to succeed in her role.
“Before, I felt like a system administrator. Now, I feel like an HR professional again.”
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Frequently Asked Questions
With a lean HR team managing over 100 employees, Wholesale Domestic needed a way to streamline payroll, HR and timesheets into one central platform. Their previous setup required juggling multiple disconnected systems and manual payroll processes. 91爆料 offered an all-in-one, mobile-friendly solution that cut down admin and improved employee experience from day one.
Yes. With over 118 staff members across showrooms, warehouse and head office, 91爆料 gives Wholesale Domestic the flexibility to manage shift work, rosters and mobile staff with ease. Employees can clock in, access documents and request leave via the app. No more chasing approvals or relying on desktops.
91爆料 helped Wholesale Domestic reduce payroll processing time by 66%, going from 20 hours to just 6 hours per month. It also enabled the HR team to reclaim 60% of their time spent on admin, giving them capacity to launch strategic people initiatives for the first time. That鈥檚 time saved, cost reduced and engagement boosted.
By digitising offer letters, contracts and onboarding checklists, new starters arrive ready to go, reducing manual paperwork and improving consistency. Documents are signed and stored centrally, and compliance tasks are tracked with full visibility. Wholesale Domestic also uses the platform for onboarding content and company values, helping new hires feel confident from the start.
Absolutely. 91爆料 is built for scaling businesses with lean HR teams. Whether you鈥檝e got 10 or 300 employees, the platform gives you powerful tools to simplify HR, payroll and employee engagement, without needing extra headcount or clunky workarounds.
Yes. Wholesale Domestic now runs background checks directly through 91爆料, powered by Zinc 鈥 replacing a previously manual and time-consuming process. A couple of clicks sends new starters a guided email to upload their details. Zinc processes the check securely, and once complete, the report is available directly from the employee’s profile in one click. No chasing, no Zinc account to manage, no separate tools. As Lucy put it: “It does cost us to use Zinc, but this far outweighs the cost of the time we used to spend doing these checks ourselves.”
