Proactiv develops payroll solution

Roy Mellon has built his business on the premise that running payroll is one of the least favourite functions inside most businesses.

Proactiv Payroll sets out to make life easy for businesses that want to streamline their payroll or outsource the function entirely.

In a tough market, the West Perth business has achieved strong growth in all key metrics, primarily through positive word-of-mouth referrals.

A key measure of growth is the increase in staff numbers to 18 in the current financial year.

Chief executive Roy Mellon, who was a winner in the 2014 40under40 Awards, has also implemented a number of strategic moves to position the business for long-term growth.

This included recruiting Giuseppe Leone as a non-executive director, to broaden the board’s skills and experience.

Mr Leone’s experience includes time as regional finance director for mining services company Cape plc, and chief financial officer for ASX-listed Tempo Australia.

The Proactiv story goes back to 2009 when Roy Mellon, just out of the defence force, established RDM Consulting.

He became the first sole trader in Australia to gain the title of ‘gold reseller’ of the HR3 payroll and HR software package.

Three years later, at the age of 26, he was approached by global company activpayroll to head its Australian operations.

Twelve months on, Mr Mellon recognised that he needed his own business if he was to grow personally and professionally, resulting in the purchase of activpayroll’s client list and the establishment of Proactiv Payroll.

Proactiv provides a payroll outsourcing service and also has in-house clients who obtain a broader suite of end-to-end HR services.

Its goal is to continually streamline manual processes and minimise administration performed outside the payroll system.

The business is still a reseller of the HR3 payroll software but is developing its own software.

Chief technical officer Tyson Stolarski leads a team of four people working on the development of Definitiv, a cloud-based employee management software in which payroll is only a small piece of the platform.

Mr Mellon believes the software will be seen as a game changer in the payroll and HR world.

The company’s close working relationship with its clients means it knows their employee management needs, including legal complexities and compliance requirements, and the frustrations that occur during payroll processing.  

Proactiv has a major focus on retaining and supporting its own staff.

Incentives to support staff include provision of parking, rostered days off, social days, flexible working hours, and involving staff in decision making.

The business also provides training and mentoring to help its staff grow professionally.