When Payroll Fails, People Pay the Price

Thank god I saw the email or else he would have spent the weekend on the street. 

A retail worker's lease was up and the new place he had lined up needed proof of income before they'd hand over the keys. The leasing office closed in 15 minutes, so he needed the pay stub NOW. 

But when he hit “download” in the payroll app… nothing happened. 

He was panicking. I was 2,000 miles away. The only way he had to reach me was by email, but he didn't know if I'd see it in time. Luckily, I did. 

I sprung into action. I sent him his most recent pay stub and called the payroll company. 

Their response? “Tell him to delete and re-download the app.” 

Cool. This guy's about to be homeless and your advice is to unplug it and plug it back in. You don't think we tried that already? 

This guy didn't have a ton of resources to fall back on. He was living paycheck to paycheck, making it work. He did everything right—worked his hours, found the apartment, filled out the paperwork. But when the system failed, he was at the mercy of some faceless lady 3 time zones away (me). 

The point isn’t whether he could’ve called himself. He shouldn’t have had to. Payroll bugs have real-world consequences. He needed someone to give a damn.

He didn't spend the weekend on the street, but we'd put him through panic, frustration, and probably some humiliation.

Next payday, he checked again. Same glitch. He was furious. He thought we were hiding something. He was threatening legal action. Can't say I blamed him.

(And no, I didn’t ask if he’d deleted and re-downloaded the app yet.)

$h*tty payroll software is more than a minor annoyance. It’s a liability. It erodes trust. It creates crisis.

If you’re in charge of payroll, it's on you to deal with it. Hopefully you rise to the occasion. Too many don’t.

That’s why I don’t put my reputation—or anyone’s housing—on the line with lousy software.

Payroll isn’t just about getting people paid. It’s about protecting people from the fallout of dumb bugs.

I trust: 

👉 Rippling – for secure, connected systems that scale. 

👉 Gusto – for something simple, reliable, and easy to use. 

👉 Justworks – for something like Gusto, but with a PEO. 

If your payroll sucks, hit me up. I can hook you up with discounts for any of my favorites. I don't take a cut—I just want to lower the barrier to change so your team doesn't have to go through what this guy did. I can help with implementation, though.

Book a free call