How Hillman AV saves 25 hours a month and runs payroll in under 30 minutes with Collage

Company

Hillman AV is a commercial integration business based in Regina, SK. The company is a regional leader and delivers low voltage audio visual systems ranging from corporate boardrooms and acoustic treatments to safety, security, and control systems. With a thriving business and a tight-knit team of 10 employees, Hillman AV relies on efficient systems that allow its people to focus on client projects without unnecessary administrative complexity.

Overview

In 2024, Hillman AV moved from a mix of QuickBooks Time, QuickBooks Payroll, and spreadsheets to Collage. The goal was to centralize HR and payroll in one place, cutting down on manual steps and giving employees easier access to everything they need. Today, payroll runs in under 30 minutes, employees can see their pay stubs before payday, and managers have clear visibility into time off through an Outlook integration.

“I love that everything is in one place. Staff can do timesheets, see their pay stubs, and request time off without jumping between tools.”
-Chelsea Alderson, VP

The Challenge

Before Collage, Hillman AV’s HR processes were scattered across several tools. Timesheets and payroll required separate systems, with extra uploads and approvals that slowed down every pay run. Training lacked a clear sequence, making it harder to manage technical onboarding, while employees often had to juggle multiple logins just to find the right information. Every pay run took six hours and the organization wanted a better way for the whole team. With Chelsea managing all of finance, HR, compliance, and operations, she looked for the best path forward for the whole company.

“Before Collage I sent a spreadsheet to our payroll system, waited for an upload, approved it in another system, then circled back again. Too many steps and too many opportunities for error. Now, we do everything in one system. Combining all of HR and payroll in Collage saves us 25 hours per month.”
-Chelsea Alderson, VP

The Solution

Hillman AV selected Collage for its ability to streamline all of its HR and payroll processes while bringing everything into one platform. Timesheets, payroll, hiring, documents, training, and time off are now centralized, with data flowing directly from timesheets into payroll. Allowances, commissions, and benefits deductions are simple to add, cutting down on manual work. Employees benefit from seeing their pay stubs before payday and syncing time off directly with Outlook.

When hiring, the team can also build job postings in minutes, review applicants, and convert successful candidates into active employees through Collage’s ATS. Customer service has also been a differentiator. Chelsea described quick and helpful support through the in-app chat, with responses continuing by email when necessary.

“Customer service has been very good. The chat is helpful and responses are quick. It feels like a company that cares about its clients. This is often not the case with other providers.”
-Chelsea Alderson, VP

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Collage’s payroll software feels different from other platforms, and Chelsea has had previous experiences with multiple platforms. Collage is built with the user in mind.

“Having used ADP, Ceridian, and QuickBooks for payroll, I can really appreciate how intuitive and easy Collage Payroll is to use. Other platforms are clunky. Collage saves me over five hours per pay run and their support team is there to answer any questions. Collage has a great platform and team.”

Key Benefits

Since adopting Collage HR, Hillman AV has been able to streamline its workflows in several ways. Payroll now runs in under 30 minutes, with no need for manual uploads or follow-up emails. Employees appreciate having everything in one place, from timesheets to documents and pay stubs, and managers benefit from syncing time off directly into Outlook. Sensitive payroll and HR data is now stored securely in one system, instead of being spread across spreadsheets and emails.

“Payroll used to take six hours across multiple systems. Now it is under 30 minutes. This has made a huge impact on our business and will continue helping us grow.”
-Chelsea Alderson, VP

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