TeamPayEase

Employee self-service payroll for small teams.

Score: 7.8/10FranceMedium BuildReady to Spawn
Brand Colors

The Opportunity

Problem

Small business owners with teams under 20 employees find HR payroll software too expensive, overly complex, and lacking simple integrations with accounting tools.

Solution

TeamPayEase provides a simple portal where employees view schedules, submit hours, and access pay stubs, while owners approve and pay effortlessly. It reduces admin time with mobile-friendly approvals and basic compliance checklists. Ideal for under-20 teams avoiding complex HR.

Target Audience

Small business owners with teams under 20 employees

Differentiator

Employee portal-first design: 80% self-service to minimize owner touch-time.

Brand Voice

supportive

Features

Employee Portal

must-have12h

Self-view stubs, submit hours, download W2s.

Owner Approval Workflow

must-have10h

Review/approve hours before payroll.

Compliance Checklists

must-have8h

Guided I-9, W4 setup per employee.

Mobile Hours Entry

must-have10h

PWA app for clock-in/submissions.

Payroll Dashboard

must-have8h

Overview of approvals pending/paid.

Shift Scheduling

nice-to-have12h

Basic calendar sharing.

PTO Tracking

nice-to-have8h

Simple vacation balances.

Email Notifications

nice-to-have6h

Automated alerts for approvals/stubs.

Total Build Time: 74 hours

Database Schema

organizations

ColumnTypeNullable
iduuidNo
nametextNo

users

ColumnTypeNullable
iduuidNo
organization_iduuidNo
is_employeeboolNo

Relationships:

  • organization_id -> organizations.id

timesheets

ColumnTypeNullable
iduuidNo
user_iduuidNo
hoursintNo
statustextNo
period_endtimestampNo

Relationships:

  • user_id -> users.id

compliance_docs

ColumnTypeNullable
iduuidNo
user_iduuidNo
typetextNo
completedboolNo

Relationships:

  • user_id -> users.id

API Endpoints

POST
/api/employees/invite

Send employee invite

🔒 Auth Required
POST
/api/timesheets/submit

Employee submit hours

🔒 Auth Required
PUT
/api/timesheets/approve

Owner approve

🔒 Auth Required
POST
/api/payroll/generate

From approved sheets

🔒 Auth Required
GET
/api/stubs/:id

Download stub

🔒 Auth Required
GET
/api/compliance/:userId

Check docs status

🔒 Auth Required

Tech Stack

Frontend
Next.js 14 + Tailwind CSS + shadcn/ui
Backend
Next.js API routes
Database
Supabase Postgres + Realtime
Auth
Supabase Auth
Payments
Stripe
Hosting
Vercel
Additional Tools
PWA support

Build Timeline

Week 1: Auth & portals

20h
  • Dual-role auth
  • Employee/owner UIs

Week 2: Timesheets workflow

25h
  • Submit/approve flows

Week 3: Payroll & stubs

25h
  • Generation
  • Portal access

Week 4: Compliance & mobile

20h
  • Checklists
  • PWA

Week 5: Test & launch

15h
  • Realtime updates
  • Landing

Week 6: Polish

10h
  • Notifications
  • Beta fixes
Total Timeline: 6 weeks • 115 hours

Pricing Tiers

Free

$0/mo

No payments/compliance

  • Up to 5 employees
  • Hours tracking

Pro

$20/mo
  • Unlimited self-service
  • Payments
  • Compliance

Enterprise

$40/mo
  • All Pro
  • Custom checklists
  • API access

Revenue Projections

MonthUsersConversionMRRARR
Month 11804%$144$1,728
Month 61,10010%$2,200$26,400

Unit Economics

$45
CAC
$600
LTV
4%
Churn
91%
Margin
LTV:CAC Ratio: 13.3xExcellent!

Landing Page Copy

Let Employees Handle Their Own Payroll

Self-service portal cuts your admin time by 70%. Easy for teams under 20, $20/mo.

Feature Highlights

Mobile hours submission
Instant approvals
Auto-stubs & W2s
Built-in compliance

Social Proof (Placeholders)

"'Employees love the portal' - Tom, Restaurant Mgr"
"'Zero complaints on payday' - Emma, Agency Owner"

First Three Customers

Share beta access in r/humanresources and small biz Discord servers. Run $50 Facebook ads targeting 'small business owner' + 'team management'. Cold DM 30 restaurant/coffee shop owners on Instagram who post about staffing.

Launch Channels

Product Huntr/humanresourcesIndie HackersLinkedIn Groups

SEO Keywords

employee self service payrollsmall team payroll portaleasy employee pay stubspayroll approval app

Competitive Analysis

BambooHR

bamboohr.com
$6/emp + base
Strength

Full HR

Weakness

Complex, costly for payroll-only

Our Advantage

Payroll-centric self-service at fraction cost

🏰 Moat Strategy

Network effects from employee adoption; sticky via compliance docs.

⏰ Why Now?

Shift to self-service post-remote work boom; millennials expect portals.

Risks & Mitigation

marketlow severity

Employees resist new tools

Mitigation

Mobile-first, intuitive design

legalmedium severity

Onboarding doc liability

Mitigation

Templates only, user responsible

Validation Roadmap

pre-build7 days

Validate with 15 owners/employees

Success: 90% prefer self-service

mvp21 days

Onboard 8 real teams

Success: 6 active weekly

growth30 days

Referral program test

Success: 20% referral rate

Pivot Options

  • Pure employee scheduling
  • PTO tool only
  • Contractor invoicing portal

Quick Stats

Build Time
115h
Target MRR (6 mo)
$2,200
Market Size
$4000.0M
Features
8
Database Tables
4
API Endpoints
6