Managed Payroll Services | UKG Ready Partner
Managed Payroll Services That Are Actually Managed
Three national vendors announced managed payroll this spring. Axiom has been running it for years on UKG Ready. 571 clients. 24 people who answer the phone. Pick how much payroll and HR you want off your plate.
Payroll is not a software problem. It is a Tuesday-at-4pm, the-import-failed, someone-got-garnished problem.
Software vendors discovered that this year. Suddenly every platform sells "managed payroll services." Most of them are selling a ticket queue with a new name.
We do it differently, and we have been doing it since 2011.
Quick Answer: Managed payroll services means a partner runs payroll inside your system instead of handing you software and a support number. Axiom HRS offers three tiers on UKG Ready: a Technology Package at $5-10 PEPM, Turnkey Payroll Processing at $30-50 PEPM, and full HR Outsourcing at $50-75 PEPM. Your team keeps final approval on every payroll run.
Everybody Sells "Managed Payroll" Now. Almost Nobody Runs It.
Three separate Big Box vendors rolled out managed payroll offerings in three consecutive weeks this spring. One of their CEOs told investors that a managed payroll client is worth two to three times the revenue of a software-only client.
That tells you why they are selling it. It does not tell you they can do it.
"After watching one of the national vendor demos, a payroll bureau operator put it bluntly: it looked more like managed data entry than true managed payroll."
Matt Vaadi, Payrollin' Podcast. Watch the episode.
Managed data entry means someone keys what you send them. The thinking, the checking, the catching, that still lands on your team.
Real managed payroll services look different. Someone who knows your pay groups runs the import. Someone reconciles the benefit deductions before the run, not after the complaint. Someone answers your employee's paycheck question so your office manager does not have to.
That takes people who stay on your account. A 24-person boutique can staff that. A Big Box vendor with millions of customers cannot, and the demos prove it.
We have run payroll this way for years, across 571 clients in healthcare, senior living, manufacturing, construction, and the skilled trades. The trend finally caught up to the model.
Choose Your Level: Three Tiers of Managed Payroll and HR
Tier I
You run payroll. We keep the machine running.
- Access to UKG Ready
- High-level system support
- Payroll tax filings
- All garnishments set up
- Benefit rates updated annually
- New tax jurisdiction setup
Built for: Companies with a strong payroll team that just want the platform, taxes, and garnishments handled.
Get Tier I PricingTier II
We run payroll. You approve it.
- Everything in Tier I
- Axiom imports & processes payroll
- Your final approval on every run
- Benefit deductions maintained
- Employee payroll questions answered by us
- Payroll reports on request
Built for: Companies that lost their payroll person, never want to hire one, or have better things for that person to do.
Get Tier II PricingTier III
We are your HR department. You run the business.
- Everything in Tier II
- Full benefits administration
- Compliance: I-9, E-Verify, FMLA, ACA
- Applicant tracking & onboarding
- Employee lifecycle management
- A witness in the termination meeting
Built for: Companies that want HR done right without building an HR department.
Get Tier III PricingEvery tier runs on UKG Ready. Every tier includes payroll tax filings and garnishment setup. The difference is how much of the work your team keeps.
| What you get | Tier I | Tier II | Tier III |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price (per employee, per month) | $5-10 | $30-50 | $50-75 |
| UKG Ready access | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Payroll tax filings | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Garnishment setup | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Axiom imports and processes payroll | No | Yes | Yes |
| Employee payroll questions answered by Axiom | No | Yes | Yes |
| Benefit deductions maintained by Axiom | No | Yes | Yes |
| Full benefits administration and open enrollment | No | No | Yes |
| Compliance: handbooks, I-9, E-Verify, FMLA, ACA alerts | No | No | Yes |
| Applicant tracking, onboarding, lifecycle management | No | No | Yes |
| Your team keeps final payroll approval | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Side-by-side detail on every tier lives on our payroll and HR software pricing page. If Tier III sounds like your situation, our HR outsourcing page goes deeper on what full outsourcing looks like.
Why Mid-Market Companies Pick a Boutique Over a Big Box
The math is simple. National vendors price managed payroll around $50 PEPM on top of platform fees, and one of their CEOs told investors a managed client is worth two to three times a software-only client. To a Big Box vendor, you are the margin story.
Here is what that money buys at Axiom instead:
- A named team on your account. 25 payroll and HR specialists, so the person who answers already knows your pay groups.
- Deep vertical experience. 571 clients across healthcare, senior living, manufacturing, construction, and the skilled trades.
- One bench for platform and service. UKG Ready Preferred Partner and Authorized Reseller, so your software questions and your payroll questions go to the same team.
- Published pricing. $5 to $75 PEPM depending on tier, posted on our site, no demo required to see a number.
- A 90-day satisfaction guarantee, in writing.
- A 15-year head start. Axiom has run managed payroll and HR outsourcing since 2011, before the trend had a name.
Five Questions to Ask Any Managed Payroll Provider
Take these into every demo. Including ours.
- Who actually keys, imports, and reconciles each payroll run, your team or theirs? Get the answer in the contract, not the slide deck.
- How many humans touch our account, and do we get their names? A queue is not a team.
- What happens when a benefit deduction is wrong? Listen for "we catch it before the run," not "submit a ticket."
- Do we keep final approval on every run? If the answer is fuzzy, walk.
- What does it cost, per employee per month, in writing? If they cannot answer without a discovery call, they are deciding how much of your money to spend for you.
Ask us the same five. The answers are on this page.
What Clients Say When Payroll Stops Being Their Problem
Anyone that has spent hours on the phone trying to solve payroll problems with the larger providers will appreciate the boutique service that Axiom provides.
Axiom HRS has been so helpful getting me onboarded with my new company. I love the updates in my inbox and also minimal emails coming through- the balance is perfect!
Every need I have had, they have met. Every question I had, they have answered in a timely and good natured way. I have never felt like an inconvenience or bother to them.
Loretta B.
Managed Payroll Services: Questions We Actually Get
What is a managed payroll service, really?
It means your provider does the payroll work inside the system instead of just hosting the software. At Axiom, our team imports the hours, processes the run, reconciles the deductions, and answers the questions. You review and approve. If the "managed" offer you are evaluating still has your team keying data and chasing errors, it is managed in name only.
How much do managed payroll services cost?
Our three tiers run $5-10 PEPM for the Technology Package, $30-50 PEPM for Turnkey Payroll Processing, and $50-75 PEPM for full HR Outsourcing. PEPM means per employee, per month. Most providers make you sit through a demo to hear a number. Ours are on the pricing page.
Do we still get final approval before payroll runs?
Yes. Every run, every time. We import and process, then it goes to your designated approver before anything pays out. It is your money and your people. You keep the last word.
Who answers our employees' questions about their paychecks?
We do, on Tier II and above. Your employees get answers from the same Indianapolis-based team that processed the run, not a call center reading a script. Your managers get their time back.
How is this different from the managed payroll the Big Box vendors just announced?
Watch their demo and count how many humans touch your payroll. The national offerings we have seen amount to data entry on top of their software, staffed by a queue. Ours is a named team on your account, inside UKG Ready, doing the reconciliation and compliance work before the run. They built a feature. We built a service, and we have been running it since before it was a trend.
Can we start with the Technology Package and move up later?
Yes. All three tiers run on the same UKG Ready platform, so moving from Tier I to Tier II to Tier III is a service change, not a reimplementation. No new system, no data migration, no starting over. Plenty of our clients started with technology and handed us the keys later.
How long does it take to switch?
It depends on your headcount, pay groups, and integrations, and we will give you a real timeline before you sign anything. Clean cutovers usually land on a quarter boundary so your tax filings stay tidy. What we will not do is rush you live and let your first two payrolls be the test. We have done this across 571 clients. The implementation plan comes first.
Do you handle payroll taxes, year-end W-2s, and filings in every state we operate in?
Yes. Employment tax filings are included in every tier, and new tax jurisdiction setup is part of the package, so expanding into a new state does not become your problem. Year-end, W-2s, amendments, the works.
About the Author
Andy Zelt is the Founder and CEO of Axiom Human Resource Solutions, a boutique HR outsourcing and UKG Ready partner headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. Andy has spent nearly 25 years in payroll, HR, and human capital management, helping organizations clean up payroll operations, improve HR processes, and build better workforce systems.
Andy specializes in helping organizations with 50 to 2,000 employees replace fragmented HR systems with integrated, accurately configured HCM platforms, particularly those in healthcare, manufacturing, construction, and long-term care.
Connect with Andy on LinkedIn.
About Axiom Human Resource Solutions
Axiom Human Resource Solutions is a boutique HR outsourcing, payroll services, and UKG Ready support firm headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. Axiom helps growing businesses manage payroll, HR administration, benefits, time and labor, compliance support, and workforce technology with dedicated, named experts instead of call centers.
📍 9400 Priority Way W Dr, Indianapolis, IN 46240
📞 (317) 587-1019
🌐 axiomhrs.com
📧 [email protected]
Your Payroll Should Have a Name On It. Ours.
Your team has a business to run, and payroll was never supposed to be a second job. Tell us where it hurts and we will tell you which tier fixes it, with real numbers, from a real person.
