Group I Practicum Presentation:

Ian CampbellDara Boland

Mark AllenTommy O’ Brien

Graham Tate

Business Plan for a Cloud Computing-Based Payroll

System

24th August 2011

Our Idea• A user–friendly payroll system that can be accessed

remotely using cloud computing technology.

• Passing on the cost-savings associated with a cloud service to the end-user in the form of an affordable annual subscription fee.

• Fully revenue compliant system that updates automatically at year end.

• Focus on the small-medium enterprise market in Ireland with companies employing between 2-35 employees: Over 6600 limited Irish companies of this size.

Primary Market Research

Research ObjectivesIdentify:

1.Characteristics of respondents’ current payroll system.

2.Perceived issues & limitations with this system.

3.Attitudes towards a cloud-based system & willingness to adopt

4.Respondents’ understanding of internet/mobile technology

Key Research Findings

Key Research Findings

Key Research Findings

Reasons for Switching

Key Research Findings

Legal Considerations

• Data Protection Act (1988 & 2003)

• European Communities Regulations: Electronic Communications, Networks & Services (2003)

• Revenue Compliance

Revenue Compliance• Automatic Updates in line with budgetary

amendments: PAYE/USC

• Related-payroll tax forms: P30, P35,P45,P46 & P60

Payroll Software Developer Association (PSDA) - Membership

Who is the target?

Any Irish SME with ≤ 35 employees

Over 6600 limited Irish companies of this size

Payroll Software Services Industry valued at €286 m for 2011

~ Barnes Report

Customers

The Target Market

CCPPSS Competition30 day free trial (download)

10 day free trial (download)

30 day free trial (download)

€140 p/a €149 p/a €149 p/a

Fastest response to legislative change

Quickpay (max 25 employees)

Payroll lite (3 employees - €99)

No online support Quickpay free (5 employees) 30 day customer support

Leverage off their succesfull accounting software and above the line marketing

Technology PlanCreate a cost-effective, easy-to-use payroll

program through a SaaS model.

The Software as a Service (SaaS) model provides a number of benefits to users:

Ability to process payroll from any computer with internet access.

Automatic backup of their data. Guaranteed Revenue Compliance.

Microsoft AzureThe service will run over Microsoft’s Azure PaaS

system.

Platform as a Service (Paas) vs. Amazon EC2 Infrastructure as a Service (IAAS)

ISO 27001 Information Security Management Standard certification

Allows CPS to geo-specify locations where data can be stored.

Security• Security is a large concern for organisations placing information

within the “cloud”.

• Microsoft Azure platform and database storage will ensure that customers data is stored according to ISO 27001 certified data protection procedures.

• Greenstein and Vasarhelyi (2002) outline five categories of security to ensure data transferred between a user and a website are kept secure:

1. Confidentiality2. Integrity3. Authentication4. Non-repudiation5. Access Controls

System Architecture

Web Application Firewall

Presentation Layer

Computational Layer

Data Access Layer

Database Firewall

Storage Layer

Finances

The Revenue ModelCPS will generate revenue through annual

subscriptions.

The idea of our revenue model is that a customer has to pay a subscription price in order to have access to the Payroll service that CPS is offering.

Users are charged an annual subscription fee of €121 (including VAT), to use the payroll service.

Start – Up Financings – Up Financings CPS will look to generate income in year 1 via Equity and Debt financing:

Equity Financing: Holdings of each shareholder:

Executive Shareholders

Mr Dara Boland: Input Value: €15,000. Percentage in the company: 20%Mr Graham Tate: Input Value: €15,000. Percentage in the company: 20%Mr Ian Campbell: Input Value: €15,000. Percentage in the company: 20%Mr Mark Allen: Input Value: €15,000. Percentage in the company: 20%Mr Tommie O’ Brien Input Value: €15,000. Percentage in the company: 20%

Equity financing from individual directors comes to the sum total of €75,000

Debt Financing Financing The company will be further financed by a loan of €60,000 from Bank Of Ireland

Annual Subscriptions Year 1, 2 and 3Annual Subscriptions Year 1, 2 and 3

Break Even AnalysisEven Analysis

Break Even - April 2013: (1125 subscriptions)

After this date, the company will begin to make profits based on estimated costs and Sales

Forecasted Profit/Losses – Year 1, 2 and 3Year 1 forecasted losses of (-€22,558)Year 2 forecasted profits are calculated at

€16,113.Year 3 forecasted profits are calculated at €31,

241.

MeasureableMeasureable

Traceable

Focused

Low Cost Per Lead

High ROIHigh ROI

Organisational

Strengths Weaknesses

Environmental

Threats Opportunities

FIT

Internal Analysis

External Analysis

Strategic fit“When a particular plan, product etc is suitable in relation to an organization's strategy”Longman Business English Dictionary

Strengths (Internal)•“Simple Software” - Ease of use• Digital Marketing Competencies

Opportunities (external)•Cloud Computing - platform for “Software as a Service” eliminates traditional costs involved in installing, servicing and hosting software products.

Weaknesses (Internal)•Managment not from Technology background•Financial Resources – limited budget for e.g. marketing

Threats (external)Existing brands with larger nrand equities and resources

CPS In the Mix…Product – CPS Payroll Software – USP - its simple!

Simple to understand, trial, buy (download) and use

Use with Microsoft Office

Seamless transition

Price – No Initial Fee, no update costs, no additional user license agreements just one simple yearly Subscription!

€99.99 excl. VAT (penetration -Set price low in order to: Build Sales and Market Share)

Per office/company and not per user

Promotion – PR (press releases, business awards, networking groups and seminars) Sales Promotion (The CPS Challenge and Affiliate Marketing) Personal Selling ( From Lead Generation to Customer Care / Support)

Internet Marketing

Place – cloudpayrollsolutions.net

SaaS – centralized distribution

Competitive Strategy : Operational Excellence: - lead the industry in price and convenience. Achieve Cost reductions through an efficient delivery system (cloud)

Digital Marketing Strategy

Social Media

Social Media MarketingTwitter

• Inbound and outbound messages.

Facebook• Brand awareness.• Help SEO.

YouTube• Information and

Awareness tool.• Increase SEO.

SEO and SMMCompetitive Advantage

for CPS is cost. Digital Marketing is cheap advertising.

SMM can help provide search engines what they require.

Apply SEO thinking to Social Media (Keywords, relevant content etc).

Paid Advertising and MetricsGoogle AdWords

• Flexible budget.• Bidding for

specific keywords.

Google Analytics• Evaluate ROI.• Monitor each

webpage via bounce rate, views and time.

www.cloudpayrollsolutions.netinfo@cloudpayrollsolutions.net

“Payroll Made Easy”