Have you ever built a relationship with a payroll partner, only to have them disappear six months later?
What if you're stuck between staying with unreliable national brands or taking on the massive investment of licensing software directly?
That's the trap Venti Accounting found themselves in.
Josh and Laura Streimer had built a thriving accounting practice in Coral Springs, Florida. Their clients trusted them. Their relationships were strong. But their payroll service was holding them back in ways they couldn't ignore anymore.
The system was outdated. They processed payroll manually through QuickBooks, prepared tax returns by hand, then mailed everything to clients and hoped those clients would actually file them. When IRS notices inevitably arrived, someone at the firm had to clean up the mess. It was stressful, inefficient, and definitely not what their clients deserved.
So they tried partnering with the big names: ADP, Heartland, Paychex. That's when they discovered something worse than an outdated system: constant turnover.
"We really believed that clients weren't getting the best value for the service that was being provided," Josh said.
They had two paths forward: license directly from isolved and build their own operation, or find a partner who'd actually stick around. The decision came down to one question: What's the smartest move for where we are right now?
Here's the story of how Venti Accounting made that choice and the one thing Josh wishes he'd done differently from day one.
Manual Payroll and Paper Returns Were Creating Constant Problems
Before we talk about solutions, let's talk about what wasn't working. Venti's manual payroll process was exactly what Josh calls it: "an outdated system." It's something he knows a lot of accountants still do—processing payroll after the fact then crossing their fingers.
"We were doing it through QuickBooks, and then mailing it out to the clients for signature and then relying on the clients to actually go through and file them," Josh explained. "In addition to that, now you're dealing with all of the headaches and the IRS notices."
Clients had to sign forms, print them, make trips to the post office. The firm had to track whether clients followed through. And when those IRS notices came in? Someone had to drop everything and fix it.
The system technically worked. But it wasn't scalable. It wasn't modern. And it wasn't the level of service Josh and Laura wanted to provide.
So they made what seemed like the obvious move: they partnered with the big national brands. That's when things got worse.
Why National Payroll Providers Failed: The Problem Wasn't Software—It Was People
"We would have a rapid turnover in the client success manager with one of those national brands," Josh said. "And then one of two things would happen.
- They were either fired because they weren't doing a good job
- Or they were promoted because they were doing a good job.
Every six months, Venti had to rebuild. New person. New explanations. New processes to learn. The contact who finally understood how their firm worked? Gone. The person who knew their clients by name? Gone.
It didn't matter if it was ADP, Heartland, or Paychex. The pattern was always the same.
"The experiences were awful," Josh said flatly.
This is the part of the story that matters most: the problem wasn't technology. It was consistency. Or rather, the complete lack of it.
When Josh talks about the difference Whirks made, he doesn't lead with features or pricing. He leads with this:
"The great benefit that we've had in working with Whirks is that there's been extreme consistency. Kacie does a phenomenal job. Being able to work through any type of issues that we have on the client side or being able to just walk us through how we can better serve our clients."
Same person. Month after month. Year after year. Someone who knows the firm, knows the clients, knows how they work.
That consistency became everything.
Choosing Between Direct Licensing and Partnership: How to Decide What's Right for Your Firm
Once Venti decided to move away from the national brands, they had to figure out what came next. They looked at everything.
Their local Heartland group offered to purchase their book of business. Josh and Laura passed. They didn't want someone to buy their clients—they wanted someone to help them grow.
Then there was isolved. Josh and Laura had multiple conversations with isolved reps throughout the year. The platform was solid. The technology made sense. If they were going to build a serious payroll operation, isolved was the right software.
But here's the thing about going direct: it requires a massive investment.
Not just money (though that's part of it). It requires dedicating your sales and marketing resources to payroll. It requires building out a full payroll division. It requires taking on all the overhead and infrastructure that comes with being a direct reseller.
"Over the course of a five-year time span, our sales and marketing efforts were not directed towards the payroll side," Josh explained. "We've been more focused on our internal accounting and tax side for the time being."
That's the reality for a lot of accounting firms. Payroll is important. You want to offer good service. But you're not ready to make it your primary focus. You're not ready to invest heavily in payroll-specific sales and marketing. You're not ready to staff an entire payroll division.
So what do you do when you need enterprise software but you're not ready to go all-in as a direct reseller?
You find a partner who gives you access to that software while you build.
"This gave us an opportunity to continue to have a platform for our payroll that we know we one day plan to elevate onto our own isolved network," Josh said. "However, for the time being, we know that we have a great partner in Whirks that we can not only trust, but we enjoy working with."
The decision wasn't about choosing between partnership and independence. It was about timing. Partnership now, with a clear path to independence later when they're ready.
Two things mattered most: having a path to independence when they're ready, and having a partnership they could trust in the meantime.
How to Staff Payroll in Your Accounting Firm: Building Experts Instead of Generalists
Once Venti decided to partner with Whirks, they had to figure out how to staff payroll internally. And this is where Josh and Laura made a decision that a lot of accounting firms struggle with.
They could have assigned payroll to an existing staff accountant or manager—someone who'd handle payroll alongside their other responsibilities. That's what a lot of firms do.
They didn't do that.
"The reason why we decided to go with a dedicated staff person is because we wanted a master of the domain," Josh explained. "Where if something came up, this person would have experience, have seen it, will have some inkling of how the system works, how payroll in general works. And that was important to us."
They took someone already on their team—a staff accountant—and transitioned her to payroll full-time. She became their payroll specialist. Not someone who does payroll sometimes. A specialist.
"What we found when we started [thinking about] the idea of a manager or a staff accountant is their experience is not in the payroll field," Josh said. "And it's not something that they can't learn or do. But when it comes to something that has a material financial impact on your clients and their employees, we wanted to make sure that we were putting forward an expert in that domain."
This is payroll. It affects whether people get paid correctly and on time. It affects tax compliance. It affects whether the business gets hit with penalties.
That's not something you want handled by someone splitting their attention between payroll, financial statements, and tax prep.
The Training Investment That Made Everything Possible
Before they went live, Venti made sure their team was ready. Not sort-of ready. Actually ready.
They sent their team through isolved University. They completed every training session with Whirks. They wanted to feel confident they were providing expert service, not stumbling through a new platform blind.
"We were able to really feel confident in the service that we were going to provide so that it wasn't just us going into a new endeavor completely blind and having payroll processing issues, reporting issues, client experience issues," Josh said.
How Legacy Clients Responded To The Technology Shift
For clients, the transition was surprisingly smooth, but not every client immediately loved the change. Some of Venti Accounting's longtime clients had been with them for 10 or 15 years. They were used to the old way.
For those clients, the technology itself felt new. They weren't used to logging into portals or accessing reports online. Paper forms and manual processes felt familiar, even if they were inefficient.
"Looking back on it a few years later, I'm very proud that we were able to bring those clients forward because technology has just continued to advance overall," he said.
Venti converted about 100 entities. Out of those 100, maybe five had complications.
The key was making sure clients felt taken care of during the transition. Venti Accounting didn't just flip a switch and expect clients to figure it out.
"Based off of those five clients, we knew about them going in. So we had internally created those checklists to make sure that everything was taken care of appropriately and accordingly," Josh said.
"We really wanted to [make sure] that they had a great product in hand, and they felt that. And as a result, I think that carried over to them having a net positive experience. And that was our goal directly from the beginning."
That investment in training paid off. The conversion went smoothly. The clients felt taken care of. The team felt competent.
But there was one thing Josh wishes he'd done differently.
The One Thing Josh Would Change: Build Your Backup From Day One
When I asked Josh what he'd do differently knowing what he knows now, his answer was immediate.
"I think internally it's figuring out who's going to be the backup in the office."
Here's what happened: Venti had one payroll specialist. She was great at her job. She handled everything. Then one day, she submitted a time-off request. Suddenly, the firm realized they had a problem.
"The hard part is when that person goes on vacation, who's the person that does processing or reviewing, follow-up with clients?" Josh said. "It becomes a little bit difficult any time there's a team of one."
Josh's advice to other firms? Don't wait.
"So we figured it out a little bit later on. Oh hey, we need a backup person because we just got a time-off request from our one payroll specialist."
Start with two people going through training at the same time. Both should treat it like they're going to be in the role full-time. Build redundancy into your team from the beginning.
It's not about having two full-time payroll people. It's about making sure you're never vulnerable when your specialist needs time off.
5 Lessons Accounting Firms Can Learn from Venti's Payroll Partnership Journey
Venti Accounting's story shows what happens when you stop accepting mediocre partnerships and start building something better for your clients.
Their journey reveals five lessons every accounting firm can apply:
- National brand names don't matter if the people keep changing. Six-month turnover in client success managers means you're constantly rebuilding relationships and re-explaining your needs. Consistency matters more than brand recognition.
- Your clients deserve a payroll expert, not a generalist. When payroll has a material financial impact on your clients and their employees, put forward someone who knows that domain cold.
- Legacy clients will resist change, and that's okay. Bring them forward anyway. A few years later, they'll appreciate the better technology and improved experience.
- Partnership can be smarter than going direct right now. If your sales and marketing focus is on accounting and tax, not payroll, partnering lets you offer great service without the overhead of being a reseller.
- Train a backup from day one. Don't wait until your payroll specialist requests time off to realize you're vulnerable. Build redundancy from the start.
If you're frustrated with payroll partners who can't give you consistent support, or if you're wondering whether you should partner versus license directly, Venti Accounting's story shows there's a middle path.
You can have enterprise software. You can have consistent support. You can build toward independence without taking on everything at once.
And it starts with finding a partner who actually acts like a partner.
How to Find a Payroll Partner Who Actually Acts Like One
Whether you're frustrated with national brand turnover or considering whether to partner versus go direct, the right partnership can make all the difference.
At Whirks, we've designed our Network Partner Program specifically for accounting firms that want to offer better payroll services without the inconsistency and turnover that plague national providers.
Want to learn more about what the first 90 days look like when you partner with Whirks? Check out our article, "Inside the Whirks Network Partner Journey: What to Expect in the First 90 Days."
If you're ready to start a conversation about whether the Whirks Network Partner Program is right for your firm, schedule a discovery call today. We'd love to hear about your vision and explore how we might help you get there.
