StublyPay

Instant compliant pay stubs for your tiny team—no spreadsheets needed.

Score: 7.8/10FranceEasy BuildReady to Spawn
Brand Colors

The Opportunity

Problem

Small business owners with tiny teams are stuck using error-prone spreadsheets for payroll and compliance because expensive HR software doesn't scale down for them.

Solution

StublyPay lets small business owners input employee hours and generate error-free pay stubs with automatic tax calculations tailored for 1-10 employee teams. It handles federal and state compliance basics, eliminating spreadsheet math errors. Export PDFs or email stubs directly to employees in seconds.

Target Audience

Small business owners with tiny teams (1-10 employees)

Differentiator

Ultra-simple stub generation with one-click compliance checks for micro-teams, at a fraction of Gusto's cost.

Brand Voice

friendly

Features

Employee Setup

must-have8h

Add employees with basic info (name, rate, tax status) in under 60 seconds.

Pay Stub Generator

must-have20h

Enter hours, auto-calculates gross/net pay, deductions, and taxes.

Compliance Checker

must-have12h

Flags common errors like overtime miscalculations or withholding issues.

PDF Export & Email

must-have10h

Generate and send professional pay stubs via email or download.

Payroll History

must-have15h

Store and search past stubs with YTD totals.

Custom Deductions

nice-to-have8h

Add recurring deductions like 401k or health insurance.

Bulk Hours Import

nice-to-have10h

CSV upload for weekly hours entry.

Tax Form Previews

nice-to-have12h

Preview W-2/1099 forms.

Total Build Time: 95 hours

Database Schema

organizations

ColumnTypeNullable
iduuidNo
nametextNo
statetextNo

Relationships:

  • users.org_id -> organizations.id

employees

ColumnTypeNullable
iduuidNo
org_iduuidNo
nametextNo
hourly_rateintNo
tax_statetextNo

Relationships:

  • org_id -> organizations.id

pay_stubs

ColumnTypeNullable
iduuidNo
employee_iduuidNo
period_starttimestampNo
hours_workedintNo
net_payintNo
pdf_urltextYes

Relationships:

  • employee_id -> employees.id

API Endpoints

POST
/api/organizations

Create new org

🔒 Auth Required
POST
/api/employees

Add employee

🔒 Auth Required
POST
/api/pay-stubs

Generate stub

🔒 Auth Required
GET
/api/pay-stubs/:id

Fetch stub details

🔒 Auth Required
GET
/api/pay-stubs

List stubs for org

🔒 Auth Required

Tech Stack

Frontend
Next.js 14 + Tailwind + shadcn/ui
Backend
Next.js API routes
Database
Supabase Postgres
Auth
Supabase Auth
Payments
Stripe
Hosting
Vercel
Additional Tools
pdf-lib for stubsResend for emails

Build Timeline

Week 1: Core setup & auth

20h
  • Project scaffold
  • Auth & org creation
  • Basic dashboard

Week 2: Employee & stub gen

25h
  • Employee CRUD
  • Stub calculator

Week 3: Compliance & PDF

25h
  • Tax logic
  • PDF generation

Week 4: Polish & payments

20h
  • Email stubs
  • Stripe integration
  • Landing
Total Timeline: 4 weeks • 90 hours

Pricing Tiers

Free

$0/mo

No history, no email

  • 1 employee
  • Basic stubs
  • PDF export

Pro

$35/mo
  • Up to 5 employees
  • Unlimited stubs
  • Email & history
  • Compliance checks

Enterprise

$99/mo
  • Up to 10 employees
  • All Pro + custom deductions
  • Priority support

Revenue Projections

MonthUsersConversionMRRARR
Month 11003%$105$1,260
Month 68008%$2,240$26,880

Unit Economics

$25
CAC
$420
LTV
5%
Churn
88%
Margin
LTV:CAC Ratio: 16.8xExcellent!

Landing Page Copy

Ditch Spreadsheets: Compliant Pay Stubs in Seconds

Perfect for 1-10 employee teams. Auto-taxes, no errors, just $35/mo.

Feature Highlights

Instant stub generation
Built-in compliance
Email ready
YTD tracking
CSV import soon

Social Proof (Placeholders)

"'Saved hours weekly!' - Mike, Cafe Owner"
"'Finally affordable!' - Sarah, Freelance Mgr"

First Three Customers

Post in r/smallbusiness and IndieHackers about the pain of stub generation, offer free lifetime Pro access for feedback. DM 10 owners from LinkedIn small biz groups who complain about payroll. Run $50 FB ad targeting 'small business payroll spreadsheet'.

Launch Channels

Product Huntr/smallbusinessr/SaaSIndie HackersTwitter #buildinpublic

SEO Keywords

pay stubs for small businesscheap payroll stubsemployee pay stub generatorsmall team payroll software

Competitive Analysis

$40+/mo + per emp
Strength

Full HR suite

Weakness

Overkill & expensive for <10 emp

Our Advantage

Stub-only focus, instant & cheaper

ADP Run

adp.com
$60+/mo min
Strength

Enterprise scale

Weakness

Complex setup

Our Advantage

One-click simplicity

🏰 Moat Strategy

Speed to stub generation + org-specific tax data accumulation

⏰ Why Now?

Increasing state tax complexity and remote work requiring digital stubs.

Risks & Mitigation

legalmedium severity

Tax calc inaccuracies

Mitigation

Disclaimers + basic fed/state only, consult lawyer

marketlow severity

Low adoption

Mitigation

Free tier + targeted outreach

Validation Roadmap

pre-build7 days

Interview 10 small biz owners on payroll pains

Success: 5+ confirm stub pain >$35 value

mvp30 days

Build stub gen demo, get 3 paid betas

Success: $100 MRR

Pivot Options

  • Add time tracking
  • Invoice generator for contractors
  • Expense tracker

Quick Stats

Build Time
90h
Target MRR (6 mo)
$2,500
Market Size
$2000.0M
Features
8
Database Tables
3
API Endpoints
5