Softline VIP buys into software as a service

Softline VIP, leading developer, implementer and support provider of payroll and human resource management software, has acquired InfoSlips technology in a move to provide its clients with electronic total compensation statements.

MD Anton van Heerden says the company is embracing this new 'payslip' concept, believing that software as a service and electronic communication is the way forward for payroll and HR service providers.

"The increasing use of technology can help improve communications with employees, but can also assist in transactional HR and payroll functions. We believe that an InfoSlip will offer our customers several advantages. These not only include better data quality, but an overall improvement in communication across the company and within an HR or payroll department," says Van Heerden.

Softline CEO Ivan Epstein says the acquisition strengthens Softline VIP's position in the market. He also endorses the acquisition of the technology and says one of the key benefits of software as a service is the fact that it is based on service and not technology.

An InfoSlip is an interactive document that replaces a paper document. Offering the versatility of a Web page, InfoSlip's integrate data from diverse sources into an easy-to-read and safe and interactive package. Instead of printing a payslip, now known as a total compensation statement, an extract from the VIP system is used to create a tamper-proof InfoSlip. These are stored in a secure archive and then e-mailed to the recipient.

Van Heerden says that by offering employees a payslip as an InfoSlip, companies can show the employee's total worth to the company. This means you not only display the relevant payroll information to each person, but also integrate data from the HR database, the medical aid database, each person's pension or provident benefit statement, or share statement and personal details from almost any source they choose - even offering financial advice.

"The employee can simply click on their pension contribution to view their accumulated totals, or click on her medical aid deduction to immediately view her latest benefit statement," says Van Heerden.

Alan Burger, CEO and founder of InfoSlips, says it is like having a payslip on steroids. He says the acquisition provides Softline VIP with a significant value-add. "Not only will customers save costs by removing the need to procure, print or distribute documents, it will dramatically reduce the number of queries, while improving communication and saving labour."

An InfoSlip combines information from multiple sources and packages it in a readable format. It is also a secure method of communicating with audited delivery and can notify the sender once it has been read. Van Heerden says InfoSlips complies with the ECT and Access to Information Acts and copies are retained for the legal life of the document.

In terms of compliance regulations, Van Heerden says an InfoSlip is the ideal vehicle to extract data from various sources, package it so that it's easy to read and send it securely to employees within the company. Management can ensure every person who should receive the information actually gets it and reads it.

Like an e-mail, each InfoSlip is also encrypted and secured to ensure the information delivered is the same as the information sent and nobody has intercepted the message and read or changed the data.

"In an age where data security is top of mind for most IT managers, an InfoSlip is ready for the most stringent of security policies.

Van Heerden views the InfoSlips acquisition as strategic for his business. "We are in the business of providing a total service to our customers and this acquisition enables us to extend our service offering and have a direct impact on employee satisfaction and the customers' bottom line. A win-win situation for all concerned."