PaySimpli

Run payroll in 5 minutes without HR headaches

Score: 8.0/10ArgentinaMedium BuildReady to Spawn
Brand Colors

The Opportunity

Problem

Small business owners are forced to handle payroll and compliance manually due to overly complex and expensive HR software unfit for basic needs.

Solution

PaySimpli automates basic payroll calculations, tax withholdings, and payslip generation for small teams. Owners input hours or salaries once, and it handles everything else with one-click runs. No complex setups or endless forms—just compliant payroll tailored for 1-50 employee businesses.

Target Audience

Small business owners (1-50 employees) handling basic payroll and compliance without dedicated HR teams

Differentiator

Ultra-minimal interface with guided wizards, 90% fewer clicks than competitors like Gusto

Brand Voice

friendly

Features

Employee Onboarding

must-have8h

Quick add employees with salary/hourly setup

Payroll Calculator

must-have12h

Auto-calculates gross/net pay, taxes, deductions

One-Click Payslips

must-have10h

Generate and email PDF payslips

Run History

must-have6h

Track past payrolls with search/export

Basic Tax Withholding

must-have15h

US federal/state tax presets (updates quarterly)

Multi-User Access

nice-to-have8h

Invite bookkeepers or co-owners

Custom Deductions

nice-to-have6h

Add 401k, health insurance fields

Reports Export

nice-to-have5h

CSV/PDF summaries for accountants

Total Build Time: 70 hours

Database Schema

users

ColumnTypeNullable
iduuidNo
emailtextNo
business_iduuidNo

Relationships:

  • foreign key to businesses.id

businesses

ColumnTypeNullable
iduuidNo
nametextNo
eintextNo
statetextNo

Relationships:

  • one-to-many with employees, payroll_runs

employees

ColumnTypeNullable
iduuidNo
business_iduuidNo
nametextNo
salaryintYes
hourly_rateintYes

Relationships:

  • foreign key to businesses.id

payroll_runs

ColumnTypeNullable
iduuidNo
business_iduuidNo
period_starttimestampNo
total_grossintNo

Relationships:

  • foreign key to businesses.id

API Endpoints

POST
/api/businesses

Create business profile

🔒 Auth Required
POST
/api/employees

Add employee

🔒 Auth Required
POST
/api/payroll/calculate

Compute payroll preview

🔒 Auth Required
POST
/api/payroll/run

Finalize and generate payslips

🔒 Auth Required
GET
/api/payroll/history

Fetch past runs

🔒 Auth Required

Tech Stack

Frontend
Next.js 14 + Tailwind + shadcn/ui
Backend
Next.js API routes + Supabase Edge Functions
Database
Supabase Postgres
Auth
Supabase Auth
Payments
Stripe
Hosting
Vercel
Additional Tools
Resend (emails)puppeteer (PDFs)

Build Timeline

Week 1: Core setup & auth

25h
  • Project scaffold
  • Auth & user onboarding
  • Business profile

Week 2: Employee management

30h
  • CRUD employees
  • DB schema

Week 3: Payroll engine

35h
  • Calculator API
  • Tax logic

Week 4: Payslips & runs

30h
  • PDF generation
  • Run history

Week 5: UI polish & payments

25h
  • Stripe integration
  • Landing page

Week 6: Testing & launch

20h
  • E2E tests
  • Deploy
Total Timeline: 6 weeks • 165 hours

Pricing Tiers

Starter

$0/mo

1 payroll run/month

  • Up to 5 employees
  • Basic calculations
  • Payslip previews

Pro

$25/mo

Up to 25 employees

  • Unlimited employees
  • Unlimited runs
  • Email payslips
  • History export

Growth

$79/mo

Up to 50 employees

  • All Pro + Multi-user
  • Custom deductions
  • Priority support

Revenue Projections

MonthUsersConversionMRRARR
Month 12003%$150$1,800
Month 61,5008%$3,000$36,000

Unit Economics

$40
CAC
$500
LTV
4%
Churn
88%
Margin
LTV:CAC Ratio: 12.5xExcellent!

Landing Page Copy

Ditch spreadsheets. Run payroll in minutes.

Perfect for small teams—simple, affordable, compliant. No HR degree required.

Feature Highlights

5-min setup
Auto taxes & payslips
Unlimited runs on Pro
Cancel anytime

Social Proof (Placeholders)

"'Saved me hours weekly!' - Sarah, Cafe Owner"
"'Finally payroll I understand.' - Mike, Freelance Agency"

First Three Customers

Post in r/smallbusiness and r/Entrepreneur with a free beta offer; DM 10 local businesses via LinkedIn searched for 'owner 1-50 employees'; offer 3 months free for testimonials.

Launch Channels

Product Huntr/smallbusinessr/SaaSIndie HackersTwitter #smallbiz

SEO Keywords

small business payroll softwarecheap payroll for startupssimple payroll apppayroll for 1-50 employeeseasy US payroll taxes

Competitive Analysis

$40+/mo base
Strength

Full HR suite

Weakness

Overkill for basics, steep learning

Our Advantage

5x cheaper, 10x simpler for core payroll only

ADP Run

adp.com
$60+/mo
Strength

Enterprise scale

Weakness

Complex setup, high cost

Our Advantage

Instant start, no contracts

🏰 Moat Strategy

Speed to simplicity + quarterly tax update data moat from user feedback loops

⏰ Why Now?

Rising remote work + inflation squeezes small biz margins, demand for lean tools spikes post-2023 layoffs

Risks & Mitigation

legalmedium severity

Tax law changes break calcs

Mitigation

Disclaimer + quarterly IRS sync script

markethigh severity

Low adoption due to inertia

Mitigation

Free tier + viral employee invites

technicallow severity

PDF/email failures

Mitigation

Fallback downloads + monitoring

Validation Roadmap

pre-build7 days

Interview 20 small biz owners on pain

Success: 80% confirm manual payroll issue

mvp14 days

Beta with 10 users, track completion rates

Success: 70% run first payroll

launch30 days

PH launch, aim 500 signups

Success: 5% to paid

Pivot Options

  • Add invoicing for solopreneurs
  • Focus on gig economy hourly tracking
  • White-label for accountants

Quick Stats

Build Time
165h
Target MRR (6 mo)
$3,000
Market Size
$5000.0M
Features
8
Database Tables
4
API Endpoints
5