Before adopting Rippling, Beam used Gusto as its payroll provider and benefits administrator. In the early days, when Beam had fewer than 100 employees, this was adequate for the company’s needs. 

After surpassing 100 employees, Beam needed a more powerful payroll and benefits platform than Gusto—one that could really help them scale. They also wanted a product that could integrate their preferred systems and automate time-intensive processes.

“When you outgrow a system’s typical employee count, it gets clunky and slow. It isn’t designed to answer the questions you have. It doesn’t support the integrations you need for a larger headcount,” said Craig Shapiro, Beam’s Controller.

Not only were we looking for a system that could accommodate us today. We also wanted a platform that would allow us to grow.

Craig Shapiro,

Controller at Beam Benefits

With Rippling, Beam found a platform that seamlessly integrates all of its core HR and finance systems while automating processes within payroll, benefits, onboarding, and more.

In his search for a Gusto replacement, Craig evaluated competitors like Zenefits, Namely, and BambooHR. All of them supported some of the integrations that Beam needed. But none of them supported all—except Rippling.

“Only Rippling checked all the boxes with our integrations. We chose it because it could connect with the software we were using and also the software we plan to use. Implementing Rippling caused the least amount of disruption with our current processes.”

Rippling’s integration with NetSuite was a huge factor in Craig’s choice of Rippling. He can map specific departments and locations to the correct journal entry and seamlessly feed payroll journals from Rippling’s system into Beam’s accounting books.

Beam’s benefits broker, Filice, was a trusted partner while searching for Gusto’s replacement. The team at Filice knew Beam needed a system where benefits administration and payroll were tightly integrated. Although they had never worked with Rippling before, the team at Filice was convinced after seeing the depth of Rippling’s carrier form automation.

“Not only were we looking for a system that could accommodate us today. We also wanted a platform that would allow us to grow,” Craig said. With Rippling, he found the right fit for both present and future.

It wasn’t long before Craig saw results. “We used to download payroll journals and map them in Excel, which took at least 2 hours per pay run,” Craig said. “And since we’re not machines, that process was subject to human error. With our first pay run on Rippling, I knew we’d made the right decision.” 

Automating payroll with Rippling saved time and eliminated mistakes. “I was a lot more confident the first time I ran payroll in Rippling. Rippling’s ability to highlight missing information is game-changing. When I run it and someone’s bank info is incorrect, Rippling lets me know to follow up with them.”

The rest of Beam’s HR team has benefited from automation, too. Previously, when an employee had a change in benefits coverage, the team would have to manually update enrollment. This process easily took a couple of hours every month. Now, with Rippling, the team is getting that time back.

Eliminating administrative tasks so people can focus on the job they were hired to do is huge,

Craig Shapiro,

Controller at Beam Benefits

“Eliminating administrative tasks so people can focus on the job they were hired to do is huge,” Craig said. “All of us, especially HR and recruiting, are really excited about that.”

“The first thing I noticed about Rippling is that the reports load quickly and easily,” Craig said. “Getting instant results when I’m trying to quickly analyze compensation reports or send an answer to the CEO and CFO during updates to the board matters.”

Customizability was just as important. With Rippling, Craig is able to quickly build custom reports that show his colleagues the data they need to see, without unnecessary clutter. “Being able to choose data a la carte has been super helpful” he said. “Especially when I want to show parties information they need and exclude information they don’t.”

Many platforms force customers to choose between power and usability. Having seen Rippling’s speed and customization, Craig was surprised by how simple and intuitive its design was, too.

“When it comes to system design, sometimes less is more,” he said. “Rippling’s platform looks like an iPhone. It’s easy to figure out where to go and how to use it—but it’s really powerful, too.”

Switching to a new platform can be stressful, but Rippling made it a smooth transition for Craig and his team. “It was a very hands-on partnership. Our implementation manager walked us through each step. It felt like he was invested in our success on the platform.”

For all questions, big or small, there was a quick answer. “Our implementation manager was super-responsive and helped us resolve small technical hiccups along the way,” Craig said.

Our implementation manager was super-responsive and helped us resolve small technical hiccups along the way.

Craig Shapiro,

Controller at Beam Benefits.

In light of Beam’s explosive growth, Craig and his team chose Rippling’s most robust implementation package, Managed. “To anybody considering Rippling, I would strongly recommend the package we got. It made our transition seamless and easy.

“Generally, if something is wrong, people will tell you about it,” Craig said. “But that hasn’t happened with Rippling. Everybody is super happy with it.”

• Across payroll, onboarding, offboarding, benefits administration, and other HR functions, Beam saves 20 administrative hours a month with Rippling automations. 
• With Rippling, Beam’s HR team can barrel through new hire workflows at three times the speed. 
• Rippling syncs with all other systems Beam uses to hire, manage, and pay employees.