In 2007, Jesse Burgess joined his family’s payroll business and quickly noticed the inefficiencies faced by the team. The company’s six payroll clerks were struggling with repetitive and time-consuming tasks, creating bottlenecks in their workflows. Determined to address this challenge, Burgess set out to design tools that would automate these tasks and simplify operations. His efforts led to the successful development of workflow automation tools, fundamentally transforming how the business managed its payroll processes.
Transforming Automation Into Opportunity
Over time, Burgess began to recognize an even larger potential for the tools he had created. The manual work and inefficiencies he initially observed were not unique to his family’s business — they were common challenges across the payroll industry. With this realization, Burgess envisioned adapting his automation solutions into a scalable model that could serve other small and mid-sized businesses facing similar obstacles.
Driven by this vision, several years after joining the company, Burgess decided to take a bold step. He transitioned from improving his family’s business operations to building a comprehensive platform that could assist companies everywhere in managing payroll and HR processes more efficiently. This pivot marked the early stages of what would eventually become the HR software startup OnPay.
Building OnPay for Broader Impact
The journey to transform his automation tools into a full-fledged software solution came with its challenges. Burgess focused on rethinking the user experience, ensuring the tools were intuitive, efficient, and capable of meeting the diverse needs of businesses, regardless of size or industry. Combining his family’s payroll expertise with modern technology, OnPay was designed to offer services beyond basic payroll, incorporating HR functions like benefits management, employee onboarding, and compliance — all in one streamlined platform.
OnPay’s flexibility and simplicity immediately resonated with small and mid-sized business owners seeking reliable solutions to manage their teams. The platform gained traction not only for automating payroll but also for relieving business owners of administrative burdens, allowing them to focus on core operations. Burgess continued to prioritize innovation and adaptability to ensure the software stayed ahead of industry trends.
Combining Tradition with Innovation
What sets OnPay apart is its unique origin story. The platform’s foundation is built on decades of insights from Burgess’s family payroll business, allowing it to address real-world pain points with a deep understanding of the industry. At the same time, its modern features leverage cutting-edge technology to ensure businesses are equipped to handle today’s challenges. By marrying traditional expertise with forward-thinking innovation, OnPay meets the needs of evolving workplaces.
Today, OnPay is a testament to Burgess’s entrepreneurial spirit and problem-solving approach. What started as a simple effort to streamline tasks in a family business has blossomed into a powerful HR and payroll platform helping countless businesses thrive. Burgess’s journey showcases how identifying inefficiencies and creating tailored solutions can lead to transformative change on a much larger scale.