Payroll goes paperless

Starting this fall, Norwich University payroll services became completely paperless to create "efficiency," according the NU human resources director.

"This way the data entry has to only be handled once," said Jay Wisner, director of human resources. "It's all online, and anyone who needs to see it can see it."

The online system will also increase accuracy of time recording, according to Wisner.

The new system is designed to make people's lives a little easier.

"As far as the students, supervisors and the payroll office, this will make things much easier," said Payroll Specialist Nichole Rocheleau.

The new system eliminates the role of the supervisor logging hours for the students. "(The new system) allows the employee to enter their own time in and out," Rocheleau said. When it comes to getting paid, the responsibility falls on the employee instead of the supervisor, she said.

"It's a lot more efficient," said Leland Brunswick, a 19-year-old junior communications major from San Francisco, Calif.

"It adds up all your hours for you," said Brunswick. There are no mistakes made when calculating hours.

"You don't have to run around and get signatures from your employer," said Brunswick. "All you have to do is type it in either before or after work and it's done."

Everything recorded into the system is saved as history to keep an accurate record for each student worker.

This is a more accurate way to record hours "as long as people record the correct hours," said Scott Mullen, the Norwich athletic equipment manager. Mullen is a supervisor for several students with work-study.

Mullen is happy with the move to a paperless system.

"Instead of having to send (timesheets) up to payroll and worry about it getting lost or late, it's all right there (on the computer)," Mullen said.

"Now I go online, click on the name and verify the hours and it's done," Mullen said.

The system will also cut down on fraud.

"If the supervisor isn't keeping track then there is always possible fraud," Rocheleau said. Fraud will be much more "identifiable because we are tracking in and out times."

"We're really trying to come back to the basic employment laws," Rocheleau said. "You have to be hired in order to work." This is a way to cut down on any issues with fraud that may have existed with the old method, she said.

This is a way to keep people honest because the new system has history that allows people to track students' hours, according to Mullen.