German Guys Restaurant Streamlines Payroll to Save Time, Money
German Guys in Stockton, Calif., was paying over $600 a month (and over $7,000 a year!) for payroll software that still required co-founder and owner Ady Cogiel to calculate numbers on paper.
“It was a really bad experience for us,” Cogiel said. “I had to put everything in manually. Nothing was automated. Every day I had to track hours for 10 employees and keep track of numbers by hand on spreadsheets. It was super stressful and uncomfortable. On top of that, the price was a nightmare. It was a lot of money for a brand-new business.”
To save time and money, Cogiel and his wife Kate turned to Hourly for seamless payroll. Now, when they process payroll they can do it with the single press of a button—and save about $500 each month.
“Hourly and our old payroll service are two different worlds. We went from a physical timesheet that I tracked manually to having staff clock in and out themselves on the phone,” Cogiel said.
Another benefit the Cogiels love since moving to Hourly? The GPS feature.
“The GPS feature is a great tool for us. It’s our favorite feature of the platform and a big plus that it prevents people from clocking in when they’re not at the restaurant. It also helps us keep track of employees who have left the restaurant but forgot to clock out. If we’re catering or working a big event somewhere else, we have the option to add new locations or turn the GPS off if everyone is clocking in at a different location or facility. We don’t have to manually record where and when everyone clocks in and out.”
German Guys owners Ady and Kate Cogiel immigrated to California from Germany in May 2019. In three months, they opened their restaurant in Stockton serving traditional German dishes and beer. Now they’re a popular staple beloved by locals and tourists alike. Today it’s a family affair with both Ady’s mother and step-father joining the crew.
As German Guys expand and tackle new projects, they no longer need to worry about payroll hassles because Hourly takes care of it. This has given the Cogiels more time to grow the business and plan for the future.
“Since we’ve saved so much admin time with Hourly, we’ve been able to look ahead to new challenges. We’d like to buy the building we’re in, make the parking lot bigger, maybe expand a little bit.” Cogiel shared.
Learn more about Hourly here.