About the Author: Chris Cluff

Role: President, Paper Trails

Specialties: Business process improvement, payroll operations, workflow optimization, systems implementation, client experience strategy

Industry Experience: Payroll & bookkeeping services, banking & financial services, technology development, hospitality, community leadership, emergency services

Chris Cluff President Paper Trails

Our responsibility is to stand alongside Maine businesses as a trusted partner — simplifying payroll, strengthening compliance, and building systems that support long-term growth.

About Chris

Chris Cluff is the President of Paper Trails, where he leads strategic growth, operational refinement, and client experience initiatives for small and mid-sized businesses. His work focuses on building systems and processes that make payroll, HR, and compliance more efficient, reliable, and scalable. Chris is committed to helping business owners gain clarity around their operations so they can focus on growing their companies with confidence.

Before leading Paper Trails, Chris built his career in banking and business process management. He served as a Sales Performance Officer and Business Systems Analyst at Kennebunk Savings Bank, where he worked on enterprise-wide process improvements, sales strategy initiatives, and system implementation projects. His experience studying workflows, identifying inefficiencies, and implementing structured improvements continues to shape how Paper Trails delivers service today.

Chris’s leadership extends beyond Paper Trails. As a former Selectman for the Town of Kennebunk, he has been deeply involved in supporting thoughtful growth, responsible governance, and a strong local economy. His diverse experiences reflect a long-standing commitment to service, community leadership, and practical problem-solving. Chris cares deeply about Maine’s business community and understands the challenges local employers face because he has worked alongside them—not only as a business owner, but as a community leader. That perspective shapes how he leads Paper Trails: focused on strengthening Maine businesses, building long-term relationships, and creating systems that support sustainable growth.

 

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All Recent Payroll & HR Blog Posts

Offering health benefits to your employees is one of the most important things you can do as a business owner. But between the different options...

Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) are one of the most useful benefits available to employees, but the rules around them change regularly and can be...

The business world is changing quickly, and for many employers, it can feel like the rules keep shifting before they’ve had a chance to catch up....

More About Paper Trails

Paper Trails Story

Paper Trails was founded in 2004 to relieve small businesses’ financial preparation headaches and to allow you to work smarter no matter your size. While human resource management and payroll can be stressful, we are here to help run your business and to give you the time to do what you want to do – work your business!

We are a local small business without an 800 number that consists of a team of fun and local experts purveying convenient, high tech, compliant services. We live, work and party right here in the southern Maine community, so when a question or need arises, we are right around the corner!

From running payroll, to human resource and compliance services, Paper Trails allows you to handle the work, while we handle the paperwork.

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Our Mission

Paper Trails offers intuitive, trusted, bespoke and forward-thinking payroll, human resources and compliance services to the backbone of Maine and beyond, which are our small and mid-sized businesses.

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Our Vision

The business world is rapidly evolving. We are designed to always be looking around the next corner for future business challenges and offer solutions and insight to our clients who have built and support our local communities.

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Our Common Purpose

We empower employers to build a business and workforce for today, tomorrow and beyond.

You handle the work. We’ll handle the paperwork.

We’ll stay in the weeds to manage your payroll, Human Resources, and compliance needs.

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