How a One-Woman Team Reclaimed 15 Hours Per Pay Period by Eliminating Payroll Complexity

In construction, payroll isn’t hard because of headcount, it’s hard because of complexity. Multiple job sites, field-based crews, multi-state taxes, varying remittances, and often, one person is responsible for keeping it all accurate and on time.

Anna Wilson is the payroll administrator for Memphis-based Image Enterprises, Inc., a specialty contracting company focused on industrial and commercial welding and fabrication, plant maintenance, and new construction.

“Like most small businesses, I handle a lot. From a payroll standpoint, I manage everything end-to-end, payroll processing, payroll taxes, remittances, timekeeping through ExakTime - all of it.”

Aside from her normal payroll tasks, she also handles benefits administration, including 401(k), along with some marketing, social media, website work, and event planning.

Being stretched thin, Anna didn’t need her payroll process to be clunky and time-consuming. She needed one that did all the heavy lifting.

Modernizing Time Tracking + Payroll

Image Enterprises was used to manual, paper payroll processes.

“In construction, labor reporting has historically been very analog, like using paper time sheets coming from superintendents in the field,” Anna admits.

But that started to change a couple of years before Anna joined the company. In 2022, digital time tracking solutions were researched, distinctly for fraud prevention. But Anna says the system they chose didn’t have the functionality they needed, and adoption was a struggle.

“I knew that to get buy-in from the field and project managers, the system had to be seamless. I also needed something that would integrate directly with payroll to reduce manual work.”

With the company’s multiple locations, there was a need to manage everything in one place, but not at the expense of automation.

“(The old solution) didn’t integrate with payroll, so it actually created more manual effort. That’s when I started looking for something that would work better with our accounting and payroll systems.”

Arcoro Provides a Complete Solution

ExakTime by Arcoro provided a complete solution for all Anna’s payroll needs. ExakTime’s time tracking was made for a mobile workforce that’s spread across multiple locations.

“I came across ExakTime while researching construction-specific timekeeping and job costing software. After implementing ExakTime, it was a natural progression into payroll.”

Arcoro Payroll, launched in 2025, not only offered a secure connection between time tracking and payroll through direct integration but it has a slew of features Anna could use to automate other time-consuming tasks.

“The integration, along with automated tax payments, child support processing and direct deposits, was incredibly appealing since I had been doing all of that manually before.”

ExakTime plus Payroll allows users to automatically file taxes monthly, quarterly and annually and has tools to help navigate construction-specific requirements including certified payroll reporting, prevailing wage calculations, multi-state taxation and union-specific deductions.

“My previous payroll system was basically stuck in the 1980s. Not having to manually calculate withholding limits or track those deductions has significantly reduced my mental load. And the tax liabilities reporting in Arcoro has also been extremely helpful, it’s all in one place and much easier to reconcile.”

Along with the time savings gained by using ExakTime plus Payroll, Anna says Arcoro’s customer service has been a bright spot.

“My payroll specialist, Shannon White, has been phenomenal. The Arcoro and ExakTime teams are proactive, responsive and genuinely interested in improving the product based on user feedback.”

Payroll Sorted

Today, payroll at Image Enterprises looks very different.

Nearly 100% of employees use ExakTime to track their hours, including field workers with varying levels of technical experience. Payroll data flows directly into Arcoro Payroll without manual re-entry, tax calculations happen automatically and compliance requirements are easier to manage and reconcile, all from one system.

“I’ve honestly saved about a full day, around 15 hours per pay period,” Anna says. “That includes time I used to spend working nights or weekends just trying to get everything done. Not having to manually calculate deductions or track limits has significantly reduced my mental load.”

And Anna no longer has to sacrifice nights or weekends to keep the business running.

Payroll is no longer the thing that slows them down. It’s simply handled.