In today's fast-paced business environment, managing payroll for a temporary workforce can be complex and time-consuming, particularly in the dental community, where reliance on temporary staff is common. At Shift Accounting, we understand the unique challenges practice owners face, including compliance with labour laws, time-consuming payroll processes, and the need for accuracy in compensation. These challenges can divert valuable time and resources away from patient care.
We recently caught up with Sheniff Dosani, the visionary founder of Tempwize, to discuss how he and his platform can help practice owners overcome these challenges. With a mission to revolutionize how businesses handle temporary workforce compensation, Sheniff has combined his extensive expertise in payroll and technology to create a seamless, efficient, and hassle-free solution. Tempwize empowers organizations to streamline payroll processes, ensuring accuracy, compliance, and timely disbursement.
Here are some insights from our conversation with Sheniff:
What inspired you to create Tempwize, and how has your vision evolved since its inception?
"In my 15 years of experience in dental, we have had to bring in hundreds of temporary employees to fill in for employee vacations, illnesses, and other unexpected emergencies. Finding them was half the battle, but paying temporary employees was also a challenge. So many questions crossed our path: Do we pay overtime? Do we add them to our existing payroll? How do we collect their information? What information do we collect? Do we need to provide tax forms at the end of the year for contractors? I found myself asking my mom (a Certified Payroll Manager) these questions to ensure we were compliant with CRA and provincial labour standards. It became very clear that there was a knowledge vacuum when it came to paying anyone who was not one of our regular employees. We quickly realized that there was no payroll solution for temporary employees. So, we embarked on a journey to create a solution to pay temporary employees that was compliant with CRA guidelines and simple to use."
Can you explain how Tempwize's automated payroll processing works and the key benefits it offers to businesses managing a temporary workforce?
"The Tempwize platform is super simple to use. Once the clinic registers with Tempwize, they instantly receive two QR codes via email. The first QR code is a link for the temporary employee to register with Tempwize. The second QR code is a link to that clinic's digital timesheet.
Once the temporary employee has completed a shift, they simply scan the first QR code to register and then scan the second QR code to enter their hours.
This sends an email to the clinic to 'Approve' or 'Reject' the hours. Once they approve the hours, Tempwize processes payroll, debits the clinic's account, and pays the temporary employee within 1-2 business days.
After registration, the only thing the clinic needs to do is approve hours, and they can do that directly in the email. No more handling paper forms or collecting personal information from the temporary employee."
Staying compliant with labour laws is a significant challenge for many businesses. How does Tempwize ensure that its users remain compliant with ever-changing regulations?
"The great part about using Tempwize to pay your temps is that you do not need to ensure compliance. That's our job. We are so lucky to have Nasim (my mom) as part of our team. She has over 35 years of professional payroll experience in a variety of different organizations. She brings a wealth of payroll knowledge and expertise to the Tempwize team. Her role is to ensure we are staying up-to-date with payroll legislation and provincial labour laws. If there are changes, our development team will incorporate them into our platform on short notice."
Is there a benefit to the temporary employee for using Tempwize?
"Temporary employees are a vital part of the dental ecosystem. They play a crucial role in maintaining the health of our patients when our existing team members are not able to, so we want to ensure they are paid in a timely manner.
A temporary employee only has to register once with Tempwize. Once they are in our system, there is no need to register them again, even if they work for another clinic. As long as the clinic uses Tempwize, the AI will recognize them as a registered user.
Tempwize allows temporary employees the ability to choose their employment type: contractor or employee. This is an important factor in determining how they should be paid.
If the temporary employee chooses the employee employment type, our platform allows them to decide the tax level that best fits their finances but always ensures the appropriate tax amount based on their hourly rate is deducted at a minimum. They are never under-taxed.
Tempwize lets the temporary employee decide how they want to be paid: either direct deposit or email transfer.
Tempwize provides a pay statement to the employee and employer after every shift.
A temporary employee can request a Record of Employment directly from Tempwize. There is no need to track down the right person at the clinic.
At year end, Tempwize will provide one consolidated T4 to each temporary employee (T4As for contractors) for all shifts paid through Tempwize. There is no need to chase any of the clinics that are registered with Tempwize. A consolidated T4 will be uploaded to their Tempwize account."
With various payroll solutions available, why should employers choose Tempwize over other options in the market?
"If a clinic uses one of the existing payroll systems that are available in the market, they run the risk of two things taking place. First, they need to ensure they inactivate the employee after the payroll run or they will be paying a fee for them on each payroll run thereafter, potentially costing hundreds of dollars per temporary employee. They also risk under-taxing the employee because their payroll systems work on a bi-weekly, semi-monthly, or monthly frequency. The system thinks that this person only earned so much during the pay period, so the taxation amount will be low in comparison to what should actually be deducted.
Tempwize has the payroll expertise, the dental industry expertise, and the technology expertise. We can confidently say there are no other payroll-only platforms out there for temporary employees in Canada. Tempwize gives the dental clinic the freedom to find temporary employees anywhere (Facebook groups, word of mouth, etc.) and ensure professionalism when it comes to paying them.
In addition, Tempwize does not charge a monthly subscription fee. We charge a flat rate of $6 per shift. So if your clinic only needed a temporary employee once the entire year, they would only pay $6 and that includes the payroll automation, the pay statement, the transaction fee to debit the clinic bank account, the transaction fee to pay the employee, and the T4 at the end of the year."
Dental professionals often rely on temporary staff to manage their practices effectively. How can dental professionals get started with Tempwize to streamline their payroll processes?
"You will need 3 things:
- Payroll #: your 9 digit business number followed by RP 0001
- Void Cheque for your the bank account you want Tempwize to debit in order to pay your temporary staff
- Assign a Timesheet Approver: this person will receive the email to approve the hours of the temporary staff once they submit their shift details.
Once you have registered, you will immediately receive 2 emails from Tempwize.
Welcome Email: This email will have an attachment with 2 QR codes on it. The first QR code is for the temporary employee to register with Tempwize. The second QR code is a link to your clinic's digital timesheet. Once the temporary employee has registered with Tempwize, they scan the 2nd QR code to enter their shift details to submit for approval.
Upcoming Shift Email: This email can be sent to the temporary employee as soon as you schedule them in. It has the link to register with Tempwize and a link to your clinic's digital timesheet. This allows the temporary employee to register with Tempwize in advance and saves time on the day of their shift.
That's it. Once you have those emails you are now ready to start using Tempwize. It's really simple. If you have any questions, at any time, you can always email me at payroll@tempwize.com and we can setup a time to walk through the registration together."
For practice owners facing the daunting task of managing payroll for temporary staff, Tempwize offers a simple and effective solution. By leveraging Tempwize, practice owners can streamline the payroll process, eliminate the administrative burden, and ensure compliance with CRA and provincial labour laws. With Tempwize, you can navigate the complexities of payroll with ease, knowing that you have a reliable and efficient partner to pay your temporary workforce.
This not only saves valuable time and resources but also allows practice owners to redirect their focus toward other critical areas of practice management. Whether it's enhancing patient care, improving operational efficiency, or strategizing for growth, automation in payroll processing empowers practice owners to invest their energy where it matters most.
Moreover, automating processing contributes to a smoother workflow within the practice, fostering a more productive and cohesive work environment. By embracing automation tools like Tempwize, practice owners can drive success and growth for their dental practices.