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Willful is an online platform that provides services for end-of-life planning, like creating a will, for individuals and couples. It launched in 2017 after the unexpected loss of a family member who hadn’t pre-planned and the company’s founders saw first hand the challenges that situation creates. They started Willful to help Canadians who haven’t started end-of-life planning by making the process simple, affordable and convenient.
Since its launch, Willful’s team of 14 employees has helped tens of thousands of Canadians create their legal documents and has partnered with companies like Allstate Canada. They’ve expanded to eight provinces and even landed a Dragons’ Den deal with Michele Romanow. 😱🐉
Willful Co-Founders, Erin Bury, CEO, and Kevin Oulds, Head of Research and Innovation
on the set of Dragons’ Den.
Wagepoint runs in the business.
Before her husband, Kevin Oulds, started Willful, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Erin Bury says she was using Wagepoint for the boutique marketing company she ran. It worked so well and she liked it so much that it only made sense to continue using the software for this new venture.
I actually used Wagepoint at my previous company (I ran a boutique marketing agency). When we were starting Willful, it was a natural choice for us. We love the platform and it’s Canadian, which means we can also support a local company.
— Erin Bury, CEO, Willful
Payroll that’s more than “eh” okay. 🇨🇦
The fact that Wagepoint is a Canadian company is a big deal for Erin. Since Willful is a Canadian company, having a software and support team that understand her payroll needs is tantamount to handling payroll with as few hiccups as possible.
On top of originating in the Great White North, there are a number of other reasons Wagepoint was the obvious solution for the new business.
The user experience is great versus a lot of the big incumbents, which are clunky and not user-friendly. It gives our employees an easy portal to log in and find their own paystubs and info. It’s easy to onboard and offboard employees, and our external accountant can use it in tandem with us.
— Erin Bury, CEO, Willful
👉 Take the guesswork out of managing your employees with these six must-have skills.
No payroll automation? No way!
When it comes to working with employee data, pay runs, payroll remittances and reporting, Erin says payroll automation is a must. The idea of running payroll manually is completely outlandish to her. (Maybe a bit like poutine that doesn’t use cheese curds.)
In the battle of manual payroll versus using a payroll software, she says there’s no competition. Especially with the options available in this day and age, like Wagepoint.
Wagepoint is affordable and makes it one-click easy to generate payroll, plus you have the added benefit of an online portal for employees to use (versus answering employee questions and pulling data from spreadsheets).
— Erin Bury, CEO, Willful
Simplicity in complicated situations.
Wagepoint takes potentially complicated payroll situations and tasks and breaks them down so they’re easy to understand and navigate. Erin shares the different ways the software has done that for her and Willful, including when the pandemic threw a wrench into everyone’s plans.
Benefits of Wagepoint:
- Simple payroll solution.
- Reminders about stat holidays and guidance on various exemptions and other payroll considerations.
- Extremely responsive and helpful customer support (I can always get an answer via email almost immediately).
And the biggest benefit during COVID-19 was the thought leadership on government benefits, including the break on payroll taxes — this was very helpful in understanding what we were eligible for.
— Erin Bury, CEO, Willful
Give’er and grow your business.
Wagepoint‘s user-friendly interface also helps the business beyond just completing payroll for their employees. With the software, Erin is able to pull information that can help the growth overall, too.
I handle a lot of our grant applications and associated paperwork, so it makes it very easy to pull paystubs, records of employment and other records to provide for those grant applications.
— Erin Bury, CEO, Willful
Erin, we’re so thrilled by your love of Wagepoint! It’s awesome to hear how it’s helping Willful focus on giving Canadians and their loved ones peace of mind when it comes to end-of-life planning. And congrats on your Dragon’s Den deal!
👉 Take a look at our previous case study, Crossing the Payroll Wilderness With Fresh Adventures, for more small business love for Wagepoint.
