Payroll confidence for Manawatū council with Datapay

Manawatū District, in New Zealand’s lower North Island, is known for its rich rural heritage, stunning landscapes, and deep community ties. From Feilding’s bustling sale yards to Manfeild Circuit’s world-class event centre, the district thrives on effortless connection – something Manawatū District Council needed in its payroll operations. 

MDC provides infrastructure, community services and regulatory functions to Manawatū residents. It has been proactive in adopting innovative solutions to streamline operations and improve customer satisfaction.  

Managing payroll for a diverse workforce had become increasingly complex with outdated systems requiring manual data entry, disconnected leave management and slow support response times. Manawatū District Council needed a solution that could streamline processes, support ongoing compliance and reduce administrative burden.

Fifteen years ago, Manawatū District Council chose Datapay – an enterprise-grade payroll solution designed to navigate complexity without compromise. Today the council continues to reap the benefits Datapay provides with an efficient, integrated and stress-free payroll experience. 

Before implementing Datapay,  Manawatū District Council struggled with manual data entry, disconnected systems and a lack of reliable and timely support. Payroll and leave management operated in silos, forcing staff to manually key in leave requests, which was time-consuming and prone to error. 

"Our previous system didn’t integrate with our leave management, so we had to enter everything manually," says Maree Brown, Human Resources Officer at Manawatū DC. "That meant more time spent on data entry and a higher chance of errors creeping in." 

Beyond inefficiencies, Manawatū DC also faced challenges with limited support and compliance management. Their previous provider offered minimal helpdesk support, making it difficult to resolve urgent payroll issues. 

"If something went wrong, we had to submit a request through IT, and it would take a long time to get resolved. When new legislation came in, we had to do all the testing ourselves. It was frustrating and made us feel like we couldn’t fully trust the system," Maree says.

With payroll being a mission-critical function, the council knew it needed a powerful solution that offered automation and compliance support that was swift and local. 

Manawatū DC selected Datapay as its payroll provider because of its ability to seamlessly integrate leave management, automate payroll processes and provide crucial compliance support for the council. 

A key factor in the decision was Datapay’s local customer support. Unlike their previous system, where queries often went unanswered, Datapay offered a responsive Customer Success team that could categorise and prioritise issues in real time. 

"It makes such a difference knowing someone is onto it straight away. Whether it’s a system query or an issue we need resolved quickly, the support team is always responsive," says Maree. 

Additionally, Datapay’s reporting and analytics capabilities transformed how Manawatū DC managed payroll data. Instead of manually exporting spreadsheets and cross-referencing multiple sources, the council now generates real-time reports on pay rates, HR metrics and audit compliance at the click of a button. 

"The reporting system is incredible. We can now analyse pay rates and staffing trends easily, and it’s so much more efficient than trying to piece together data manually," Maree says. 

Since moving to Datapay, Manawatū DC has significantly reduced manual workloads, improved payroll accuracy, and gained greater visibility over compliance processes. 

• Leave management without the hassle: Integrated leave functionality eliminates manual data entry, reducing errors and saving time. 

• Stronger compliance & auditing: The ability to track and trace approvals ensures MDC remains compliant with local regulations. 

• Responsive local payroll support: The Datapay Customer Success team provides real-time assistance, ensuring payroll runs smoothly every cycle. 

• Smarter payroll insights: Advanced reporting tools allow MDC to extract key HR and payroll data with ease. “The reporting capability allows us to run data and analyse different aspects of our staffing or pay rates. We use a lot of the reporting for HR metrics, which we never had before. Previously, we'd be running everything out of spreadsheets or trying to transfer data into them. Now, we just select what we need, export it into Excel, and there are no problems,” says Maree. 

• Employee self-service made accessible: "The self-service features have made life so much easier for our employees. They can view their payslips, apply for leave, and manage their payroll details without hassle.”. 

While every new system requires an adjustment period, the overall sentiment at Manawatū DC has been overwhelmingly positive. 

"Most staff find the system really easy to use, and any challenges have been minor. If someone needs help, we can quickly walk them through it or reach out to the Datapay team for support," says Maree. 

With Datapay leading the way, Manawatū District Council has successfully transformed its payroll operations, supporting better accuracy, compliance, and efficiency. 

Payroll is no longer a frustrating, error-prone process for the council. Instead, it’s a powerful, streamlined function that enables them to focus on what truly matters – looking after their people and their community.