Should Planday focus on integrating with more third-party payroll systems or developing our own built-in payroll solution?

Introduction

The key trade-off we're examining is whether Planday should focus on integrating with more third-party payroll systems or develop our own built-in payroll solution. This decision has significant implications for our product strategy, user experience, and market positioning. I'll analyze this trade-off by considering our business context, user needs, technical feasibility, and potential impacts on our ecosystem.

Step 1

Clarifying Questions (3 minutes)

• Context: I'm assuming Planday is a workforce management platform. Is our primary focus on small to medium-sized businesses, or do we serve enterprise clients as well?

Why it matters: Helps tailor the solution to our target market Expected answer: Primarily SMBs with some mid-market clients Impact on approach: Would influence the complexity and scalability requirements of our payroll solution

• Business Context: Based on our current revenue model, I'm thinking payroll might be a potential new revenue stream. How does payroll integration or development align with our strategic priorities and revenue goals?

Why it matters: Determines the urgency and resources we should allocate Expected answer: High priority, could significantly increase average revenue per user Impact on approach: Would justify faster timeline and more investment in development

• User Impact: I'm assuming our users currently have to manually input payroll data from Planday into their existing systems. What percentage of our users have expressed frustration with this process?

Why it matters: Helps quantify the potential impact of either solution Expected answer: Around 60-70% of users find it time-consuming Impact on approach: High percentage would lean towards prioritizing a built-in solution

• Technical Feasibility: Considering our current tech stack, how complex would it be to develop our own payroll solution compared to expanding our integration capabilities?

Why it matters: Influences the timeline and resources required for each option Expected answer: Built-in solution more complex, but within our capabilities Impact on approach: Would need to weigh development time against potential benefits

• Resource Allocation: What's our current team capacity for taking on either of these initiatives? Do we have the necessary expertise in-house?

Why it matters: Determines if we need to hire or reallocate resources Expected answer: Current team at capacity, would need to hire for payroll expertise Impact on approach: Might favor integration in the short term while building capacity