3 min read
A national care group with support workers operating across multiple sites and regions. The Payroll team processes timesheets for a large and growing workforce on a regular cycle. Accuracy and timeliness are essential because care workers depend on being paid correctly and on time.
Service: Managed IT Care sub-sector: Residential, domiciliary, supported living, specialist care
Timesheets were submitted manually and processed by the Payroll team by hand. Every pay cycle, the team would receive timesheets in varying formats, chase missing submissions, manually check entries, and key everything into the payroll system. It was slow, repetitive, and prone to errors.
For a care organisation with a large, distributed workforce, this was more than an inconvenience. Late or incorrect pay damages trust with frontline staff in a sector that already struggles with retention. And the hours the Payroll team spent on manual processing each cycle were hours they couldn't spend on more valuable work.
The process had no built-in approval workflow either. Timesheets went from the support worker to Payroll with no structured sign-off in between. If there were discrepancies, they were caught late in the cycle or not at all.
We built an electronic timesheet workflow using Microsoft Power Automate, connecting directly into the organisation's existing Microsoft 365 environment. No new software to license, no new platforms to learn.
The workflow routes timesheets through a structured approval process before they reach Payroll. Managers receive timesheet submissions, review and approve them, and the approved data arrives in Payroll in a consistent, ready-to-process format. Every submission follows the same structure, every approval is recorded, and the Payroll team receives clean data instead of a mix of spreadsheets and emails.
Automated reminders prompt staff and managers at key points in the cycle, reducing the amount of chasing the Payroll team had to do manually. If a timesheet hasn't been submitted or approved by a certain point, the system flags it.
The entire build sat within the organisation's existing Microsoft 365 licensing. We designed, built, tested, and deployed it at no additional charge.
The Payroll team now receives timesheet data in a single, consistent format with manager approval already completed. The hours previously spent on manual processing, chasing, and data entry each pay cycle have been significantly reduced.
Errors have dropped because the data arrives clean and structured, not hand-typed from a paper form or copied from an inconsistent spreadsheet. Staff are paid accurately and on time, which matters in a sector where workforce trust and retention are constant priorities.
The approval trail also gives the organisation a clear record of who approved what, providing accountability that the manual process lacked entirely.
It's a straightforward example of automation done well: solving a real operational problem, using tools the organisation already had, without adding complexity.
Electronic timesheets built on Power Automate · Structured approval workflow · Consistent data format for Payroll · Automated reminders for submissions · All delivered at no additional cost
Related service: Managed IT