Mini Web Design Conference & Meetup Recap

Posted on May 16, 2013 by Stephen Jagger

Last night we hosted the Mini Web Design Conference and Meetup at the PayrollHero offices in the Philippines. We had over 50 attendees come to learn and network with other designers in the area.

MiniFFC is short for Mini Form Function & Class. It is the smaller, more informal version of our annual web design conference where folks from the industry can gather, share experiences, and mingle with fellow colleagues. These meetups are held every 3rd Wednesday of the month and are organized by the Philippine Web Designers Organization (PWDO). (details)

PayrollHero’s Tin Sanchez was asked to be one of the speakers. Tin spoke about PayrollHero’s Philippine payroll platform, the interface and some hints at to what was coming next. Also speaking was Christian Besler of Kickstart and a couple others.

If you have an event in Manila or Whistler and are looking for a location, be sure to reach out and see if it is a fit for our offices. We love having guests!

Entrepreneurs’ Organization Global Leadership Conference Manila

Posted on May 5, 2013 by Stephen Jagger

I had the honor of speaking at the Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) Global Leadership Conference (GLC) in Manila this past week. The GLC is a 3 day event that takes place twice a year. It is an event that brings together the leaders of every chapter of EO from all over the world, this year, Panama City and Manila were the chosen locations.

The topic I spoke on was “Online Tools To Cut Costs And Grow Your Business“. The 90 minute presentation is a quick run through of many tools that we use within our business to not only operate the company but grow the business. My business partner and PayrollHero’s CEO Michael Stephenson is the driving force behind many of these tools we use to operate the business. His constant focus on kaizen (read: improvement) drives our team to continue moving forward. The second portion of the presentation is about promotion and includes parts from my book Sociable ! as well as some of the tools that we use within the company to grow the business. Many of these tools we have been using for quite some time and some we are testing in Southeast Asia.

I have spoken to quite a few EO Chapters all over the world as well as the 2009 GLCs in Hong Kong and New Orleans and EO always does it right. The events are top notch, designed to “wow” the EO members and show them the local area. This one in Manila was no exception.

The first night there was an opening cocktail party in the Makati Shangri-la Hotel followed by the choice of 3 dinners put on by EO Philippine members. I choose the “Taste of Bordeaux” dinner. It was a fantastic dinner put on by EO Philippine member Edouard Miailhe who splits his time between Manila and Bordeaux where his family owns Chateau Siran Margaux winery. The dinner was at the ‘Old Manila’ restaurant in The Peninsula Hotel which was kindly opened up for the event. Edouard had paired 6 of his wineries wines with a fantastic dinner and explained how they came to be. It was a truly once in a life time event.

The next day, after the sessions for the leaders of each chapter were complete, EO organized a dinner at the Shangri-la Hotel. It was quite a spectacle They presented dinner in a way I had never seen before. About 6 roasted pigs were dressed in clothes and carried into the ballroom with quite a fanfare, followed by a talk from the creator of the very successful “Its More Fun In The Philippines” worldwide marketing campaign.

The last night was a big surprise as no one knew what was in store. Everyone (over 400 people) was told to be in the lobby of the Shangri-la to meet our transportation to dinner. EO had organized a whole bunch of air-conditioned jeepneys to take us to the National Museum of the Philippines. It was a great ride as all of the jeepneys had karaoke in them. Upon arrival to the museum, waiting to welcome us outside was a great band, multiple spot lights shooting into the air and the whole outside of the building lit up. One foot in the door and there were many servers standing by with wine. It was a great way to arrive at dinner. After dinner we were transported by bus to a new nightclub called Hyve that has not officially opened yet. Overall it was another amazing EO event and the EO Philippine team as well as EO Global should be very proud.

STAC Silicon Valley Announces 2012 ON3 Winners (PayrollHero WINS!)

Posted on April 10, 2013 by Stephen Jagger

Exciting news! PayrollHero was chosen as one of the 2012 ON3 Winners and will receive a 3 month immersion package in Silicon Valley provided by Plug and Play Tech Center in Sunnyvale, California. Below is the press release that was just sent out to announce the winners. We are excited to amongst such a great group of startups!

A big shout out to Tin Sanchez and Nico Suria of the PayrollHero team who pitched at the event! Great work!

– – –

Contact: Christina Laskowski, President
STAC Silicon Valley
(415) 425-1900

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

STAC Silicon Valley Announces 2012 ON3 Winners
NEXTIX, Payroll Hero and SpellDial Win Plug and Play Tech Center Immersion

April 10, 2013 – Palo Alto, CA and Manila, Philippines – The Science & Technology Council officially announced the 2012 ON3 winners which include NEXTIX (GroupJump and Mii Move), Payroll Hero and SpellDial. The path of the 2012 ON3 Finalists started a year ago in April when each company presented their 3-minute pitch to a panel of judges during one of the four Regional competitions held in Davao, Cebu, Pangasinan and Manila. “The judges during the coaching sessions challenged us each time to justify our technology, target market, and team.” says Bobby Suson, Founder of GroupJump. “We used their feedback to finalize our presentation for competition day and we have been looking forward to the 2012 announcement.”

The ON3 competition is one that has an extremely unique format. ON3 takes place twice a year in the Philippines beginning with the Regional competitions hosted in cities across the country. There are two competitions in Luzon to enable participants from the northern and southern communities to participate, one in the Visayas and one in Mindanao. The best performers of the Regional leg come together to compete in the final competition where they are judged by a panel of angel investors, venture capitalists and professionals for their pitch performance. The short list of companies are then required to demonstrate ability to execute their business model over a period of three months and submit monthly reports. Companies that demonstrate an ability to execute and achieve milestones are then considered for the grand prize of a three month immersion package provided by ON3’s Platinum sponsor Plug and Play Tech Center in Sunnyvale, California.

Plug and Play Tech Center is a global accelerator providing a unique platform to help international companies succeed. “As a judge during the Regionals in Manila, the entrepreneurs demonstrated their drive and approach to solving a global problem using technology and I am confident that the entrepreneurial ecosystem for the Philippines is headed toward success,” says Saeed Amidi, CEO of Plug and Play. To help facilitate their immersion, ON3 2012 winners will be supported in part through a grant from the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) which will help offset the living expenses during their three month stay in Silicon Valley. The Department of Trade and Industry and the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has championed the cross border partnership and development of the entrepreneurial ecosystem supporting STAC SV and its ON3 program. The private sector support has been led by Novare Technologies, SMART Communications, and Globe Telecom who not only support ON3 but each are active in contributing to the ecosystem independently.

ON3 is a nationwide business plan search for emerging technology companies in the Philippines. In August 2009, The Philippine Government (Departments of Science & Technology, Trade & Industry and Foreign Affairs) signed a Memo of Agreement with STAC-SV to formalize a working relationship that together would create a platform in the Philippines designed to support efforts of local entrepreneurs, scientists and graduate students with attractive global business models. The prototypeON3 competition was launched at the 2010 eServices conference serving as the first competition of its kind in the Philippines. Jojo Flores, co-founder of Plug and Play Tech Center who also serves as Vice President of STAC-SV, led the event and currently serves as the ON3 Director.

About STAC Silicon Valley. The Science & Technology Advisory Council-Silicon Valley is a 501c3 non-profit organization that serves as an advisor to the Philippine Government in the areas of Science & Technology to promote entrepreneurship, support R&D investments by DOST and foster innovation. The organization’s members operate the ON3 Acceleration Program and are building a platform that will help support viable global businesses. STAC Silicon Valley is a partner of The Global Entrepreneurship Program, a U.S. State Department-led effort to advance entrepreneurship in emerging markets and developing countries. For more information about STAC SV: www.excelr8.org. For more information about GEP: http://www.state.gov/e/eb/cba/entrepreneurship/gep/index.htm

About NEXTIX Groupjump. Groupjump is a social and mobile e-group networking site that allows users the ability to fully control and manage the security and privacy of their virtual social groups. Groupjump can easily be accessed anywhere too—through the web, and mobile devices. For more information: www.groupjump.com

About NEXTIX Mii Move. MiiMove is the app that allows seamless real-time coaching and interaction between students and coaches around the world so you can improve and master any sport you like. Its platform enables users to engage the services of professional coaches from anywhere in the world, receive real-time instruction and analytical data to improve one’s game all on a social e-learning platform. For more information: www.miimove.com

About Payroll Hero. PayrollHero is a Consumer-friendly Time, Attendance, Scheduling and Payroll app that is in the cloud built for web and mobile. For more information: www.payrollhero.com

About SpellDial. Spelldial is an app that allows customers to remember names not numbers. Its platform enables users, merchants and brands to stay connected whenever wherever. For more information: www.spelldial.com

About Plug and Play Tech Center. Plug and Play Tech Center is a thriving Silicon Valley global accelerator that hosts a community of over 300 startups from all over the world. It accelerates growth of its startups via strategic partnerships, including 170 investors who participate in regular screening sessions exclusive to Plug and Play members. For more information: www.plugandplaytechcenter.com

About Globe and Kickstart Ventures. Globe™ is a leading telecommunications company in the Philippines whose mission is to transform and enrich lives through communications by way of its vision of making great things possible. Kickstart Ventures, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Globe Telecom, is an angel fund dedicated to investing and incubating Philippine start-ups. It is committed to build innovative businesses in cooperation with like-minded individuals and organizations by providing funding, mentorship and education. www.kickstart.ph

About Novare Technologies. A Philippine flag carrier with global reach in the world of strategic consulting, Novare Technologies continuously provides business value to its customers through its excellence and innovation, driven by best-in-class people. Novare offers a comprehensive, 360-degree approach to solutions architecture through consultancy, solutions development, and support: from backend integration of various solution vendor technologies, to the development and customization of multiple front-end applications on different platforms, Novare is a trusted partner of some of the most prestigious names in the Telecommunications and the Financial Services industries. Staffed by more than 130 professionals, it is headquartered in Hong Kong, with its Regional Operating Headquarters in Makati, Philippines, and branches in Silicon Valley, USA and Beijing, China. For more information: http://www.novare.com.hk/

About SMART Communications. Smart Communications, Inc. (SMART) is the Philippines’ leading wireless services provider with 49.0 million subscribers on its GSM network as of end-December 2011. SMART has built an international reputation for innovation, having introduced world-first wireless data services, such as Smart Money (the world’s first electronic wallet linked to a mobile phone), Smart Load (electronic prepaid top-ups in sachet denominations), Smart Padala (mobile-based remittance service) and the Netphone (Android-based operator feature phone). SMART is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Philippines’ leading telecommunications carrier, the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company which is listed at the New York Stock Exchange. For more information: www.smart.com.ph

2 Days of Training (Zendesk and PayrollHero)

Posted on April 7, 2013 by Stephen Jagger

Our office in the Philippines is used by quite a few companies for events. We have, what we call, a “think tank” that works great for events. We have been the location for Google, Amazon and most recently been asked to host an event for Zendesk.

Zendesk is running a day long session on April 17th 2013 in our think tank and since Zendesk and PayrollHero share a few customers we thought it would make sense to run a bootcamp of our own the day before to make it easy for companies that wanted to attend both.

Join us!

PayrollHero – April 16th 2013 (Register Here)
Zendesk – April 17th 2013 (Register Here)

PayrollHero Manila Bootcamp Recap

Posted on March 28, 2013 by Stephen Jagger

We ran the first PayrollHero bootcamp in Manila, Philippines the other day and it was a great success. We had a full house of customers interested in learning more about the PayrollHero platform and how the time, attendance, scheduling and payroll functionality works within their operations. Below are a few pictures from the event… hopefully you can make our next bootcamp!

(above: Nick Franklin, Zendesk Head of Southeast Asia Sales dropped by to showcase the Zendesk product)

(above: Anna, Cres and Tin, PayrollHero bootcamp leaders)
541233_584423674904039_2134292382_n (above: Tin getting the bootcamp setup)

PayrollHero: Philippine Feature Set

Posted on January 14, 2013 by Stephen Jagger

I was asked the other day for a list of features that PayrollHero has for Philippine companies. Here are the main features of PayrollHero for clients in the Philippines looking for Philippine payroll.

If you have questions or want to chat further about how PayrollHero can help your business – feel free to fill in the form at PayrollHero.com and we will be in touch right away.

Time:
Clock In/Out
Break In/Out
Grace Period for Lates

Attendance:
Review attendance
Resolve Attendance
Edit Attendance
Export Employee Attendance Report
Resolves Lates and Absences
Resolves Undertime
Resolves Overtime

Scheduling:
Create Shifts
Create Multiple Shifts
Schedule Calendar
Weekly Scheduler
Paid Day Off
Unpaid Day off
Scheduling Worksites (location)
Non-scheduled clock ins
Holiday
Calendar Notes/Events

Payroll:
Gross and Net Pay Calculations
Tax Computation
Government Mandated Contributions
13th month pay calculation
Calculates Pay for Special Holidays
Calculates Pay for Regular Holidays
Calculates Payroll for all kinds of Holidays
SSS, Philhealth, PagIbig reports (monthly and quarterly hardcopies)
Paysheet reports, payslip reports (Detailed and summary)
Payroll Register ( Breakdown of Payroll, this report allows to specify an arbitrary date range to report)
Bank reports (electronic and hardcopies) PH integrate to your bank own payroll program.
BIR reports (1601C, 2316, 1700, Alphalist (soon)
Employees ID Card Template with company Logo
“Various employment documents
– Government Certificate of Contribution
– Certificate of Employment”
Various Forms ( for employees application in various Government agencies) BIR 1902 ( TIN application, SSSE1 ( SSS application), Philhealth M1A ( Philhealth application), Pag-Ibig FPF090 MDF ( Pag-Ibig application).

Philippine Payroll File Support:
Maybank
BPI
BDO
HSBC
RCBC

Analytics:
Leaderboard
Weather vs Attendance
Home Location vs Attendance

Philippines CyberPress Awards PayrollHero “IT Startup of the Year”

Posted on December 26, 2012 by Stephen Jagger

The I.T. Journalists Association of the Philippines, also known as CyberPress, held its annual awards ceremony at the Arts in the City events center in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig the other night. The event saw the country’s top technology journalists, guests from the IT industry, PR firms and partners gather for the year end celebration and the annual CyberPress Awards recognizing the Philippines’ top I.T. company, startup, product, story and Lifetime achievement awardee for the year.

It is a great honor that PayrollHero was chosen as the IT Startup Of The Year!

From the press release… “Payroll Hero, a Filipino start-up that is making a name in the international scene, was selected as “IT Start-up of the Year.” Payroll Hero uses employees face as primary biometric to avoid bundy punching and ghost employees. These clock-in pics are further given a mood rating to establish an array of business intelligence to companies corollaries between productivity and mood.”

The 2012 Winners:

I.T. Company Of The Year – Samsung Philippines
I.T. Product Of The Year – DOST’s Project Noah
I.T. Startup Of The Year – PayrollHero.com
I.T. Story Of The Year – Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012
Lifetime Achievement Awardee – Diosdado “Dado” Banatao

—
Official Press Release (via daddyjoey.com):

CyberPress Fetes 2012’s Best In Local IT

For launching a number of hit products that allowed the company to dominate the consumer tech market, Samsung Philippines was cited as “IT Company of the Year” by the IT Journalists Association of the Philippines, also known as Cyberpress, during a recent awards ceremony in Taguig City.

The South Korean firm, which rolled out this year popular devices such as the Samsung Galaxy S3and the Samsung Note II, beat tech behemoth IBM Philippines by the slimmest of margins to take the crown.

IBM Philippines celebrated its 75th anniversary this year and was an early front-runner in the race. Known by the moniker “Big Blue”, the company brought in this year Sam Palmisano, its former CEO and chair in the Philippines, and opened two new offices in Davao and Clark, Pampanga.

Although it narrowly lost out to Samsung as the country’s top tech firm, IBM’s first female local chief was named “IT Executive of the Year” by the Cyberpress. Mariels Almeda Winhoffer, who is in her first year in office, was recognized by the IT scribes for deftly leading the company in a number of initiatives, particularly in building up the Philippines as the social analytics hub of IBM.

The DOST’s Project Noah was adjudged as “IT Product of the Year”, a pioneering program that contributed in saving thousands of lives in a year that saw devastating typhoons pummel the country.

Payroll Hero, a Filipino start-up that is making a name in the international scene, was selected as “IT Start-up of the Year.” Payroll Hero uses employees face as primary biometric to avoid bundy punching and ghost employees. These clock-in pics are further given a mood rating to establish an array of business intelligence to companies corollaries between productivity and mood.

The passage of the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012, which set off a wave of protests from Pinoy netizens, was the runaway choice as “IT Story of the Year”.

Honored as this year’s “Lifetime Achievement Awardee” for his meritorious contributions to the local and global IT industry is Silicon Valley-based Filipino tech icon Diosdado “Dado” Banatao.

Banatao, who is currently chairman of PhilDev Forum, pioneered a number of PC technologies such as the graphics accelerator chip that are still being used in the high-tech industry. His brother, Victor, received the plaque in his behalf.

Also during the awards night, members of the Cyberpress raised more than P40,000 for victims of Typhoon ‘Pablo’ by auctioning off three major raffle prizes (iPhone 5 from Globe Telecom, iPad Mini from Bazinga, and an Olympus digicam from Metrobank). Chinese phonemaker ZTE, through its local distributor MSI-ECS, also donated 50 phone units for the typhoon victims.