SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Zenefits today revealed new and enhanced apps to help small businesses easily manage the complexities of today’s HR requirements, including compliance. On the heels of Zenefits' industry-defining Z2 launch, the company’s Winter Release features the industry’s first and only fully integrated HR compliance app, a sophisticated new documents app, new mobile capabilities, ten new platform integrations, expanded payroll availability and a new simplified pricing structure.
“The reaction to Z2 from customers, prospects and industry analysts has been very positive, and we're building on that momentum with HR One. This release adds critical new functionality to help customers deal with the growing regulatory burden on small businesses,” said David Sacks, CEO of Zenefits. “As we head into 2017, small businesses need tools that will guide them through what may be a year of uncertainty and change on the HR front. Our Compliance Assistant App is perfectly timed for that.”
New Industry-Leading Compliance Features
Today’s small businesses face a minefield of uncertainty with compliance and regulatory challenges constantly evolving. In fact, a 2016 study by Babson College estimates small businesses spend up to 200 hours a year dealing with regulation and compliance issues. To help them navigate this complexity, Zenefits has built compliance into its platform and workflows throughout the employee lifecycle (hiring, promotion, qualifying life events, termination, administering benefits, etc.). Expanding these capabilities, Zenefits today announced new Compliance Assistant & Documents Apps that will help to further eliminate confusion and guesswork related to compliance obligations.
Zenefits Compliance Assistant App helps business leaders track and manage federal compliance deadlines for benefits, payroll, taxes, and basic HR. Businesses can also create custom deadlines and sync with internal calendars, as well as see the status of compliance obligations. Compliance Assistant can be used in conjunction with access to Zenefits HR experts and HR Library app, giving businesses unprecedented compliance coverage.
For example, when hiring an employee, companies are required to review eligibility documents in person and complete a Form I-9 within three business days of the employee’s start date. The company must maintain a copy of the form for three years from the hire date or one year after employee termination. Compliance App will flag this requirement when the new employee is added to Zenefits and provide the Administrator with the information they need to take action. If the employee was hired using the Zenefits Hiring App, these documents are automatically collected and stored - all in one place.
Zenefits Documents App provides a centralized solution for managing personnel documents and is highly complementary to the Compliance Assistant. The app automatically stores documents collected in Zenefits workflows (hiring, promotion, termination, etc.), creating a single document repository for all employees. HR administrators can quickly see the collected and missing documents for each employee, providing insight into the most compliance-critical documents and their status. They can add new document categories, request documents from employees, upload documents and match them to employee profiles - all within the Zenefits’ system.
“Before Zenefits, I was concerned about compliance landmines - that we would miss critical steps in the onboarding and offboarding process. With Zenefits, I'm confident we're on top of all the requirements. I also feel like I save a lot of time and avoid costly penalties,” said Tim Cailloux, Treasurer, Chattahoochee Hills Charter School. “I’m excited about Zenefits’ new Compliance Assistant as it will help us stay ahead of any changing requirements in the coming year.”
New Partner Integrations to Zenefits Platform
Zenefits continues to expand its total app experience for small business HR with 27 total platform integrations and more than 50 others in development. Since launching the Zenefits Platform in October 2016, the company reports nearly 85,000 user accounts already syncing previously disconnected applications through Zenefits. The new partners span across 401(k), document storage, productivity tools, travel planning, employee engagement and custom integrations, furthering Zenefits’ ability to offer the most comprehensive ecosystem of apps for small business administration.
Administrators can connect apps directly into their Zenefits dashboard in minutes without need for technical expertise. Once connected, apps can share information securely through the platform, creating a seamless experience for users and creating a common system of record for employees across all aspects of HR. For example, during the Zenefits hiring and termination workflows, third-party apps can be automatically provisioned and de-provisioned for employees. Apps can also request additional information within these workflows, saving administrators countless hours by eliminating the need for data entry across systems. Additionally, the API now allows companies to build custom integrations.
New platform integrations include:
- 401(k): Principal Financial Group, Co-Pilot Powered by PAi
- Productivity Tools: Box, Asana, Hive
- Commuter Benefits: Lyft
- Connector Applications: Zapier, Workato
- Travel Planning: NexTravel
- Employee Engagement: Giftedd
- Custom Integrations: The API now allows customers to build private integrations with internal systems like POS and CRM systems.
Expanded Payroll Availability
Zenefits Payroll, which provides an automated and integrated payroll solution for small businesses, will be accepting customers in five additional states starting March 1st: New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Colorado and Arizona. With Zenefits Payroll, relevant changes made anywhere in the Zenefits platform, such as in Time & Attendance, Hiring, Benefits and more, are automatically updated in payroll, improving accuracy, speed and efficiency for administrators. These five new states complement existing availability in California, Washington, Texas and Florida. Zenefits plans to offer Zenefits Payroll in 30 states by July and nationwide by the end of the year.
Mobile
Zenefits also announced several new features for its award-winning iPhone and Android mobile apps, including the ability for employees to access their HR documents, submit time sheets and receive HR-related action items and notifications through a new inbox within the mobile apps. More than 20% of employees access Zenefits via their mobile phones.
New Product Bundles and Reduced Pricing for Nonprofits
Zenefits’ new simplified pricing model bundles the majority of Zenefits’ apps into four competitively priced packages. The Bronze plan will continue to offer free basic HR and benefits administration to small businesses while the Silver, Gold and Platinum plans offer premium HR apps and services. In addition, Zenefits will now offer a 25-percent discount to the hundreds of nonprofits already on the platform. The pricing model for nonprofits reflects Zenefits’ commitment to support social entrepreneurship nationwide.
About Zenefits
Zenefits is the first total app experience for small business HR. Designed as a connected ecosystem of apps, Zenefits gives small businesses the most comprehensive all-in-one HR solution and enables best-of-breed providers to join the Zenefits platform. For thousands of small business owners nationwide — from restaurants and fitness clubs, tech companies and clothing stores, dentists’ and doctors’ offices, architects and schools, Zenefits eliminates thousands of hours of paperwork. Combining HR expertise and broker services with a suite of deeply integrated technologies, Zenefits helps entrepreneurs do what they do best: grow their business. For more information, visit www.zenefits.com.
