How HCM software reduces costs & increases efficiency

Rising labour costs. Evolving compliance and legislation. Complex workforce needs and inefficient processes.

HR and payroll teams are under more pressure than ever—expected to do more with less. From juggling manual processes and managing data across systems to generating HR and payroll reports and meeting rising employee expectations, demands keep piling up.

The cost—and complexity—of staying compliant, efficient, and competitive continues to grow, making it difficult for HR and payroll teams to keep up.

With the right HCM software, organizations can navigate today’s challenges with confidence and clarity. A modern HR and payroll system is essential for driving cost savings and efficiency. By automating manual tasks, improving accuracy, empowering employees, and transforming data into actionable insights, HCM software helps reduce costs and boost productivity across your entire organization.

Let's explore why traditional HR and payroll systems cost you more than you think, nine key areas where HCM software can help you save time and money, and how to find the right solution for your business.

Why traditional HR and payroll is costing you more than you think

Outdated systems and disconnected processes create unnecessary complexity in daily tasks—leading to costly errors, compliance risks, and lost opportunities. Productivity takes a hit when employees are forced to work around system shortcomings and inefficient tools instead of focusing on core responsibilities and the tasks that drive success. Over time, these frustrations impact employee trust, workplace culture, and your bottom line. Let’s take a closer look at the hidden costs of relying on traditional HR and payroll systems.

Manual processes: Manual HR and payroll processes increase the risk of costly errors due to inaccurate data entry and miscalculations. On top of that, time spent on repetitive tasks pulls your payroll and HR team away from strategic initiatives that drive real business value — ultimately dragging down productivity and increasing labour costs.

Compliance headaches: Traditional HR and payroll systems make it harder to stay on top of evolving compliance requirements — from Canadian employment laws to tax regulations — increasing the risk of missed deadlines and costly penalties.

Inefficient reporting: With traditional HR and payroll systems, generating reports or accessing accurate, real-time data is a struggle. Information is often scattered across multiple systems and must be gathered and verified manually—leading to delays, errors, and missed opportunities for timely, informed decision-making and strategic planning.

Siloed systems: Using multiple systems often result in poor communication and duplicated data that cause inconsistencies, inefficiencies, and increased risk. HR and payroll teams spend unnecessary time collecting information—draining resources and reducing overall productivity.

Lack of employee self-service: Employees often spend valuable work hours on routine HR and payroll tasks. While these tasks may seem minor, they are time-consuming, frustrating, and can slow productivity. Repetitive inquiries also increase the risk of errors and reduce overall job satisfaction.

Nine key areas where HCM software delivers ROI

1. Employee self-service tools

Employees often spend hours checking pay stubs, vacation balances, benefits coverage, schedule changes, or clocking in and out. These small tasks can add up to 30 minutes per employee each week. With employee self-service tools, staff can manage these day-to-day needs independently, without relying on managers, payroll, or HR teams for support.

Self-service cuts that time in half, reduces errors, and speeds up response times. HR can then focus on higher-impact work, like boosting performance and improving morale, while employees can stay focused on their core responsibilities. Ultimately, this means a more efficient, empowered workforce—and tens of thousands of dollars saved annually in labour costs.

2. Accurate time & attendance tracking

Accurately tracking employee hours can be challenging and time-consuming—especially without integrated time and payroll systems. HCM software simplifies this process by seamlessly tracking and managing hours worked. With features like biometric clocks, mobile geofencing, and real-time syncing, managers can monitor attendance, overtime, early departures, and break durations with ease. This reduces errors, ensures payroll accuracy, and significantly cuts down on time theft—saving thousands annually in excess workforce costs.

3. Predictive & real-time overtime management

Overtime can be a powerful tool, especially in industries with seasonal or fluctuating demand. Without visibility, labour costs spiral out of control—hurting your bottom line. That’s where HCM software comes in. Integrated payroll and workforce management help cut overtime costs in half.

Real-time insights let managers spot overtime trends early and adjust schedules on the fly. Predictive tools calculate overtime costs before schedules are posted, allowing for proactive adjustments. The result? Smarter, workforce planning and significant annual savings.

4. Automated onboarding & HR workflows

Some of the biggest time-wasters for HR teams are routine tasks like sending onboarding documents, chasing employees for signatures, and reminding them of important deadlines.

HCM software streamlines and automates these processes, dramatically reducing manual effort. With automated onboarding tools, HR teams can onboard new hires in under an hour—delivering a consistent, engaging experience from day one. From welcome emails to task completion, every step is visible and trackable—boosting productivity, ensuring compliance, and giving HR more time to focus on work that needs the most attention.

5. Advanced reporting & analytics

A big part of HR and payroll’s role is delivering key insights to your executive team. With HCM software, HR, time, and payroll data are securely stored in one centralized platform. You can access ready-to-use HR and payroll reports with just a few clicks—eliminating the need to chase down data across multiple systems. That means less time spent sourcing data and more time delivering real-time, data-driven insights that support smarter decisions and reduce administrative overhead.

6. Talent acquisition & performance management

An organization’s top priority is its people—and attracting and retaining top talent is key to long-term success. But manual processes and inefficiencies can cause delays in hiring and make it harder to identify and support high-performing employees.

HCM software streamlines talent acquisition and performance management to keep your team engaged, challenged, and excited to grow. Automated recruiting tools and centralized applicant tracking eliminate time-consuming tasks, allowing you to focus on analyzing data and making better hiring decisions. With automated workflows, you can easily capture key candidate information and ensure top applicants stand out—reducing turnover, improving productivity, and helping you build a stronger, more future-ready workforce.

7. Simplified scheduling & approval processes

Managing multiple employee groups, pay rates, benefits, and scheduling requirements is complex. It often leads to error-prone schedules and manual processes that drain time and resources.

An integrated HCM system simplifies scheduling by centralizing time and attendance data and syncing it with payroll. You can efficiently build schedules that account for availability, shift premiums, break and overtime rules, and shift eligibility—all in one platform. Custom rules and automation reduce scheduling time by up to 50%, helping you ensure every shift is covered by the right team and skill set—so you can focus less on planning and more on execution.

8. Flexible, in-control payroll processing

With in-house Canadian payroll software, you're in control. You can process payroll, make real-time updates, and run unlimited pay cycles—on your schedule without paying extra or waiting for support.

HCM software flexibility eliminates third-party payroll provider processing fees, reduces administrative overhead, and keeps your organization compliant. HCM software streamlines payroll processes, improves accuracy, and ensures employees are paid correctly and on time — reducing costly errors and freeing up resources.

9. Interest earned on holding remittances

Outsourced payroll providers earn millions in interest by holding payroll deposits early—tying up company funds that could be deployed elsewhere, such as purchasing inventory or other capital investments.

With the right HCM system, your organization retains control of remittance funds—such as taxes, benefits, and deductions—until they’re due. That means you can earn interest on those funds instead of your payroll provider. By keeping money within your business longer, you improve cash flow, reduce reliance on outsourced payroll providers, and redirect capital to support your business’s top priorities and growth, boosting efficiency and reducing overall costs.

Real results: How Columbia College streamlined HR & payroll with Avanti

Columbia College struggled with outdated systems that made payroll and onboarding processes slow and error-prone. Manual data entry led to inaccuracies, while paper-based onboarding created bottlenecks between departments. Employees also had limited visibility into their HR and payroll details, resulting in frequent inquiries and costing them time and efficiency.

With Avanti’s integrated HR and payroll solution, Columbia College achieved major savings:

• 5 hours saved per week by automating payroll tasks like manual data entry and report generation
• 7 hours saved per month by having access to quick, intuitive payroll reports
• 23 hours saved onboarding new employees with automated recruiting tools and centralized applicant data
• 20 hours saved per month using employee self-service tools
• 100% reduction in printing and mailing costs with online pay statements, ROEs and T4s

With Avanti’s integrated HCM system, Columbia College automated payroll processes, reduced manual effort, and improved both the onboarding and employee experience—proving the real impact of modern HCM software on cost savings and efficiency.

Want to dive deeper? Read the case study to see how Columbia College’s HR and payroll team saved time, cut labour costs, and simplified onboarding with Avanti’s all-in-one HCM software.

Choosing the right HCM software for your business

The search for a new HCM can be a lengthy, overwhelming process. Finding your HCM match is worth it in the long run. Here are five steps that will help guide you through this journey to find the right HCM software solution for your organization.

Research HCM providers: Research at least three payroll providers and evaluate them using a checklist with factors such as features, reputation, pricing, customer support, and system compatibility. If your organization uses an RFP process, create one for this purpose.

Develop a method of evaluation: Use a scoring matrix or checklist to rate each vendor based on specific criteria, such as functionality, ease of use, implementation timeline, and total cost of ownership. Collaborate with stakeholders to ensure alignment with organizational priorities

Request demos and pricing: Schedule product demos and gather pricing information from your top payroll providers. Ensure the demo addresses your specific needs, as this reflects the vendor’s commitment to your success. Request a comprehensive quote detailing all costs, including project management, implementation, training, upgrades, additional modules, etc.

Compare and rank alternatives: Score and rank each vendor based on how well they meet the criteria you outlined in your evaluation methodology. This will narrow down your choices and identify the top contenders that best align with your organization’s feature and budget requirements.

Now for the exciting part – pick your top HCM provider!

If you’ve just started your search for a new HCM system and you’re looking for tips on how to communicate the unique benefits to your HR and payroll team, check out our guide on how to build a compelling business case to secure buy-in from key decision-makers within your organization.

Looking for more information on HCM software? Check out our complete guide: Everything you need to know about HCM.

Conclusion

With HCM software, you can get more done in less time. For Canadian businesses, an integrated HCM system isn’t just another tool—it's a strategic asset that delivers real value — simplifying HR and payroll teams' most time-consuming tasks by automating and syncing payroll, HR, and workforce management processes. The result? Lower overhead, greater productivity, and a more efficient, high-performing team.

It’s time to leave scattered tools and tedious manual tracking behind. By choosing the correct payroll and HR solution, you equip your team with the tools to work smarter — not harder — while building a strong foundation for long-term efficiency, better decision-making, and sustained growth.

Ultimately, investing in HCM software is an investment in your people and the future of your business. Make the most of it.

Additional Reading Links

1. Everything you need to know about HCM
2. How to find your HCM match
3. Is your HCM helping or hindering your payroll & HR effectiveness?