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Payroll and HR for Hospitality Businesses

Hospitality businesses consist of multiple departments under one roof—guest services, housekeeping, food and beverage, events, and more. Juggling different roles, pay structures, seasonal staffing, and compliance requirements takes more than just spreadsheets. Simplify your operations with tools built for the fast-paced, guest-focused world of hospitality.

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Enhance Hospitality Operations with Payroll and HR Software

Running a successful hospitality business requires more than providing memorable guest experiences. Behind every happy customer is a well-managed team, and that starts with having the right HR and payroll systems in place.

Whether you manage a hotel, bed and breakfast, resort, café, spa, or any other type of hospitality business, the Paper Trails platform powered by isolved is built to help you streamline operations and simplify workforce management while staying ahead of the rapidly evolving compliance challenges—so you can focus on keeping your guests coming back.

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Payroll and HR Challenges Hospitality Businesses Face

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Managing tipped and non-tipped employees

Tracking reported tips, managing tip pooling arrangements, and calculating FICA tip credits can quickly become overwhelming. Staying compliant with tip-related regulations and reporting is complex, and a single mistake can lead to penalties or audits.

 

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Handling multi-roles and various pay rates

In many restaurants, employees work multiple roles—sometimes even across different locations—with different pay rates for each. Calculating blended overtime and ensuring accurate pay each shift is tedious, error-prone, and time-consuming.

 

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Staying compliant with evolving labor laws

Federal and state labor laws are constantly changing. From Maine’s Earned Paid Leave and Paid Family and Medical Leave Program to minimum wage updates and employee classification rules, staying compliant takes time, attention, and up-to-date knowledge.

 

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Employee turnover, hiring, and onboarding

With high turnover and seasonal staffing needs, you're constantly bringing on new employees. Without an efficient process in place, sourcing candidates, hiring, and onboarding becomes a paperwork headache—slowing down operations and increasing the risk of errors.

 

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Labor cost and scheduling management

Tight margins and unpredictable demand make labor management a constant challenge. Overstaffing during slow periods drains profits, while understaffing during peak times leads to poor service and burnout. Without clear visibility into labor trends, it’s easy to fall out of balance.

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Multiple roles, departments, and locations

When you're overseeing multiple properties or departments, keeping schedules aligned and labor reports consistent can feel impossible. Juggling different teams, roles, and locations often leads to miscommunication, inconsistent staffing, and time-consuming manual tracking.

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Evolving federal and state labor laws

Federal and state labor laws are constantly changing. Whether it’s meal breaks, minimum wage requirements, blended overtime calculations, employee classifications, earned paid leave laws, or any other compliance issue, noncompliance can lead to hefty penalties for hospitality businesses.

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Turnover, hiring, and onboarding

In hospitality, frequent turnover and seasonal staffing are the norm. Without a streamlined and reliable process in place, hiring and onboarding quickly become a paperwork burden—slowing down operations, frustrating managers, and increasing the chance of costly errors.

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Key Payroll and HR Features of Our Software

Tip Management & Compliance

Our software takes the stress out of tip management by automatically tracking reported tips, calculating FICA tip credits, configuring tip pooling rules, and distributing tips accurately—helping you stay compliant, avoid errors, and reduce the risk of audits.

Custom POS Integration

We create custom integrations that connect your business' POS system directly to isolved, eliminating manual data entry and reducing the risk of costly errors. Whether you’re using Toast, Square, Aloha, or another platform, we configure tailored import tools that automatically pull in time punches, tip totals, job codes, and more—so your payroll is accurate, fast, and stress-free.

Multiple Pay Rates & Blended Overtime

Employees working in many hospitality businesses often work multiple roles. Our system supports blended overtime, shift differentials, and multiple job rates across locations, departments, and roles.

General Ledger Integration

We’ll build custom general ledger reports tailored to your accounting system or QuickBooks, making it easy to reconcile and report payroll expenses.

Custom Reporting

Generate custom reports for audits, labor costs, and tip tracking. Whether you need payroll summaries by job role, shift, or location, or detailed breakdowns for overtime and service charges, our team can tailor reports to fit your restaurant’s exact needs.

HR Consulting Support

Augment your internal HR team with our HR consultants. Whether you need policy updates, compliance guidance, or strategic advice, our local experts are here to help.

Employee Financial Wellness

Employee financial wellness benefits such as financial coaching and low-interest lines of credit (via FinFit) and early access to earned wages (via ZayZoon) right inside the isolved People Cloud mobile app.

Empowered Employees

Improve the employee experience by providing 24/7 access to self-service accounts, allowing employees to manage their benefits, access payroll information, change direct deposits, and other HR tasks, and more from any device.

Department Tracking & Labor Allocation

Track labor costs more accurately by assigning wages and hours to specific locations and departments. Our system supports detailed labor allocation and department coding, giving business owners clear visibility into where every labor dollar is going.

Workers' Comp Administration

Accurately break down workers' compensation premiums by department or class code. Pay-as-you-go options keep billing tied to real-time payroll data instead of large upfront payments, which is a great cash flow tool for hospitality businesses.

Retirement Plan Integrations

Easily manage retirement plan contributions and eligibility with direct integration to many 401(k) and SIMPLE IRA providers, as well as to the Maine Retirement Investment Trust (MERIT). Our system simplifies tracking, enrollment, and payroll deductions—ensuring compliance with state requirements and reducing administrative burden for your team.

Compliance & Security

Our software helps you stay compliant with evolving labor laws and tax regulations unique to the restaurant industry. From managing employee classifications and calculating blended overtime to automating FICA tip credits and preparing for programs like Maine PFML and MERIT, we make it easy to meet your legal obligations—without the stress.

Applicant Tracking & Onboarding

Hiring is a never-ending part of operating a hospitality business. Effortlessly manage the process from start to finish with our streamlined applicant tracking and onboarding solutions. Our platform allows you to post job openings across multiple channels, track candidate progress, and streamline new hire onboarding with mobile-friendly electronic forms.

Mobile Time Tracking & Scheduling

Easily track employee hours and manage even the most complex schedules with our mobile-friendly tools. Whether your team is full-time, part-time, or seasonal, our platform supports flexible shift planning. Employees can check their schedules, request time off, and clock in right from their phones, while managers can automate approvals and monitor coverage. Geofencing ensures staff are clocking in from approved locations—keeping operations accountable.

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Juggling Schedules, Staff, and Compliance?

We get it. Let’s talk about how to take the chaos out of your payroll and HR.

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Types of Hospitality Businesses We Serve

city government payroll and HR

City Governments

Managing HR and payroll for city employees can be overwhelming, especially when dealing with complex union agreements, blended overtime calculations, and ever-changing local labor laws.

Paper Trails provides city governments with a centralized payroll and HR platform through isolved, automating complex payroll calculations, tracking time-off policies, and maintaining secure employee records. Our compliance monitoring ensures that city governments stay up-to-date with local regulations, while our Maine-based support team is always available for guidance.

County offices payroll and HR

County Offices

County offices must manage diverse departments with unique payroll needs—ranging from public safety to administrative roles—each with different overtime rules, shift differentials, and reporting requirements.

Paper Trails simplifies county payroll management with isolved, offering customizable workflows that accommodate the unique payroll needs of each department. Our platform supports automated calculations for overtime, blended rates, and shift differentials, reducing errors and saving time.

NGO payroll and HR

Public Service Organizations

Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and public service entities often have limited budgets and resources, making it difficult to manage HR and payroll efficiently. These organizations may struggle with onboarding volunteers, tracking employee hours, and maintaining compliance with labor laws.

Paper Trails supports these organizations with simple employee and volunteer onboarding, time and attendance tracking, and payroll calculation automation.

school payroll and HR

Educational Institutions

Schools, colleges, and universities face the challenge of managing both full-time staff and part-time faculty, each with different pay rates, seasonal schedules, and benefits eligibility.

Paper Trails makes payroll management for educational institutions simple with a platform that automates pay calculations for salaried and hourly staff, handles seasonal employment, and manages benefits administration.

Lodging Payroll & HR

Hotels, Inns, & B&Bs

Lodging and accommodations businesses operate around the clock, often with high turnover, rotating shifts, and seasonal staffing needs. Managing housekeeping, front desk, maintenance, and food service teams—each with different roles and schedules—can quickly become overwhelming.

 

Paper Trails supports hotels, inns, and B&Bs with a centralized HR and payroll platform powered by isolved, helping you onboard staff efficiently, track hours across departments, and manage varying pay structures. Our tools reduce administrative burden and help you stay compliant—so you can focus on delivering a seamless guest experience.

Food & Beverage Payroll & HR

Food & Beverage

Cafés, coffee shops, breweries, and counter-service businesses rely on fast-moving, guest-facing teams that often include tipped employees and shift-based roles. With high employee turnover and fluctuating demand, managing payroll accurately and on time is a constant challenge.

 

Paper Trails helps food and beverage businesses streamline tip reporting, manage variable pay rates, and stay compliant with evolving labor laws. From self-service onboarding to real-time labor tracking, we reduce errors and give you more time to focus on quality and service.

Catering and Events Payroll & HR

Catering & Events

Catering companies and event venues often operate on unpredictable schedules with temporary staff, on-call workers, and pop-up teams. Managing labor costs, last-minute shifts, and time tracking across locations can quickly get out of hand.

 

Paper Trails makes it easier to handle seasonal hiring, custom pay rates, and event-specific scheduling. Our platform keeps payroll organized and compliant—even when your operations change from week to week.

Retail Payroll & HR

Retail & Guest Services

From spa staff to retail clerks to concierge teams, guest-facing roles in hospitality require flexibility and accuracy in scheduling, payroll, and compliance. Many of these businesses manage part-time employees, weekend shifts, and seasonal help—all with unique pay and time-off needs.

 

Paper Trails gives hospitality retail and service providers the tools to manage employee data, track hours, and automate complex payroll processes. That means fewer errors, better reporting, and more time to focus on serving guests.

Hotels, Inns, & B&Bs

Lodging and accommodations businesses operate around the clock, often with high turnover, rotating shifts, and seasonal staffing needs. Managing housekeeping, front desk, maintenance, and food service teams—each with different roles and schedules—can quickly become overwhelming.

Paper Trails supports hotels, inns, and B&Bs with a centralized HR and payroll platform powered by isolved, helping you onboard staff efficiently, track hours across departments, and manage varying pay structures. Our tools reduce administrative burden and help you stay compliant—so you can focus on delivering a seamless guest experience.

Lodging Payroll & HR
Food & Beverage Payroll & HR

Food & Beverage

Cafés, coffee shops, breweries, and counter-service businesses rely on fast-moving, guest-facing teams that often include tipped employees and shift-based roles. With high employee turnover and fluctuating demand, managing payroll accurately and on time is a constant challenge.

Paper Trails helps food and beverage businesses streamline tip reporting, manage variable pay rates, and stay compliant with evolving labor laws. From self-service onboarding to real-time labor tracking, we reduce errors and give you more time to focus on quality and service.

Catering & Events

Catering companies and event venues often operate on unpredictable schedules with temporary staff, on-call workers, and pop-up teams. Managing labor costs, last-minute shifts, and time tracking across locations can quickly get out of hand.

Paper Trails makes it easier to handle seasonal hiring, custom pay rates, and event-specific scheduling. Our platform keeps payroll organized and compliant—even when your operations change from week to week.

Catering and Events Payroll & HR
Retail Payroll & HR

Retail & Guest Services

From spa staff to retail clerks to concierge teams, guest-facing roles in hospitality require flexibility and accuracy in scheduling, payroll, and compliance. Many of these businesses manage part-time employees, weekend shifts, and seasonal help—all with unique pay and time-off needs.

Paper Trails gives hospitality, retail, and service providers the tools to manage employee data, track hours, and automate complex payroll processes. That means fewer errors, better reporting, and more time to focus on serving guests.

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FAQs for Hospitality Payroll & HR

What is HORECA payroll?

HORECA stands for Hotels, Restaurants, and Cafés/Catering. Payroll in this sector must account for tipped income, multiple job roles, and varying compliance requirements. Our software is built to handle these complexities while supporting businesses across the full hospitality spectrum.

How long does it usually take for a hospitality business to implement new payroll software?

Implementation time varies based on the size and complexity of your business. However, with Paper Trails’ hands-on support, most clients are up and running in just a few weeks—with full training provided.

What makes great hospitality payroll management software?

Great software is tailored to the industry. That means it supports blended overtime, tip compliance, tracks certifications and licenses, supports state and federal laws, works alongside your POS and property management systems, and comes with local, responsive, and knowledgeable support.

How does hospitality payroll software impact my employees?

Your staff is the heartbeat of your hospitality business, and how you manage payroll and HR behind the scenes has a direct impact on their performance, morale, and retention. When employees can easily access their pay information, submit time-off requests, and trust that their hours and tips are calculated accurately, they’re more engaged and focused on delivering great service.

With better scheduling visibility and fewer payroll errors, your team experiences less stress and more predictability—leading to smoother operations and a better guest experience. Over time, this consistency not only reduces turnover but also helps build a strong reputation for your business as a great place to work and stay.

Does hospitality HR software impact my HR team?

Yes—hospitality HR software can have a significant impact on how efficiently and effectively your HR function operates. Juggling payroll, compliance, benefits, and scheduling in-house often stretches internal teams thin, especially in fast-paced, guest-facing environments.

By streamlining and automating HR processes, your team spends less time on paperwork and manual tasks and more time focusing on employee experience and operational excellence. From managing complex payroll for tipped and seasonal staff to syncing scheduling, timekeeping, and payroll in one place, the right software reduces errors, boosts efficiency, and helps your team make smarter labor decisions.

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Behind-the-Scenes Work Shouldn’t Steal the Show

Streamline your HR and payroll processes—without missing a shift.

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Why Work With Paper Trails?

Choosing the right HR and payroll partner is essential for hospitality businesses juggling high turnover, seasonal staffing, and complex labor compliance. Paper Trails offers more than just payroll software—we provide hands-on support, deep hospitality industry knowledge, and tools built to meet the unique demands of guest-focused operations.

Local Support, Real People

Work with a Maine-based team that understands your needs—no call queues, just real people ready to help.

Deep Industry Experience

We work with hundreds of hospitality businesses in Maine and the surrounding states, from 3-employee mom and pops to 300-employee multi-location operations. 

Hands-On Implementation

From setup to staff training, we’re there every step of the way to ensure a smooth transition and long-term success with your payroll and HR processes.

Hospitality-Focused Features

From POS imports to tip calculations and tax credits, we understand the industry because we’ve worked in it.

Regulatory Expertise

Our team stays on top of local, state, and federal mandates, ensuring you're always prepared for audits or legislative changes.

Powered by isolved

We’ve partnered with isolved, one of the most robust and reliable HCM platforms available, to deliver a modern and secure experience.

Paper Trails Team
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What clients are saying about the team at Paper Trails

5-star

We love Paper Trails! Such speedy and personalized service, and everyone who works there is incredibly helpful and knowledgeable. We switched to a large national payroll company for one year, and it was the worst decision. As soon as that year was up, we RAN back to Paper Trails. Look no further!!

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Colby Marvin Bracy
The Nonantum Resort

5-star

We began with Paper Trails at the beginning of 2020 and have never once regretted the decision. Jeff, Chris, and Teresa have all made the process amazingly seamless which has let us focus on so many other important things to continue to grow our business. Paper Trails has saved me countless hours and headaches over the last few years. Congdon’s Doughnuts is better equipped for future growth thanks to Paper Trails.

Congdon

Jillian Shomphe
Congdon's Doughnuts

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Is Your Payroll Situation Less than Perfect?

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

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207.721.8575

10 Main Street, 2nd Floor Kennebunk, ME 04043

1 Bowdoin Mill Island, Suite 302 Topsham, Maine 04086

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