When people think about payroll, their minds often jump to calculations, payslips, or net pay. But payroll begins much earlier, in what can be called the “first mile.”
In a marathon, the last mile often gets the most attention. Who is running ahead, ready to cross the finish line? The first mile of the marathon is ignored. But this first mile can make or break the entire outcome of the race. The first mile determines the speed and condition of the runner to set him up to finish first.
In payroll, the “first mile” is where raw inputs are gathered: time and attendance records, compensation details, benefits data, HR information, and local pay practice rules. These elements form the foundation of gross pay. When they are mishandled, the impact cascades through every subsequent stage of the payroll process.
The majority of payroll failures can be traced back to problems in this early stage. Data arrives in inconsistent formats. Country-specific rules are misapplied. Manual pay logic is layered into spreadsheets. Information goes missing or doesn’t align across systems.
When this happens, payroll teams spend significant time trying to reconcile discrepancies, and even then, errors often slip through. The consequences are far from trivial.
These are not just administrative oversights. They are systemic failures in building gross pay correctly.
At the heart of the issue is the fact that most payroll systems were never designed to construct gross pay. They assume the inputs are already correct and ready. Yet in reality, those inputs come from multiple sources: HR systems, benefits platforms, timekeeping tools, and local compliance rules. Data from a variety of sources must be connected and interpreted consistently.
Gross pay is not simply a calculation; it is an integration challenge. And as organizations expand internationally, this complexity only multiplies.
Praxima’s software, Praxipay, was designed to address this complexity. Instead of focusing solely on calculations and outputs, we built our ‘build-to-gross’ feature which focuses on the first mile of inputs.
This shift involves:
When organizations manage the first mile effectively, the rest of the payroll cycle becomes dramatically smoother. Payroll teams move away from firefighting and reconciliation, toward accuracy and assurance.
The forgotten first mile deserves more attention in the global payroll conversation. By treating it as the foundation rather than an afterthought, organizations can avoid the costly mistakes of the past, safeguard employee trust, and ensure compliance in every country where they operate.
“The majority of payroll failures can be traced back to problems in the first mile—when raw inputs are inconsistent, incomplete, or incorrectly applied.”
Praxipay was the recipient for the GPA Payroll Innovation Award in 2025 for what we termed ‘Build-to-Gross’ technology to address the issue of the “first mile” in payroll processing.
We designed it to address the increasing complexity global organisations face when calculating payroll from diverse and numerous data sources. Previously, these calculations relied heavily on spreadsheets managed by multiple teams worldwide, increasing the risk of errors, compliance issues, and inefficiencies.
Praxipay is a unified, automated system that standardises payroll processes globally. A single, robust platform that integrates time and attendance data, territory-specific compensation rules, and employee-specific payroll considerations such as leave, overtime, and expatriate adjustments.
The centralization and automation of these diverse inputs enhances compliance, accuracy, and auditability across payroll territories. The achievements of Praxipay underscores Praxima’s commitment to operational excellence, driving forward our vision of providing scalable, compliant, and reliable payroll solutions.
