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Product Design · ADP Small Business

Reimagining the Payroll Experience for Small Businesses

Designed core payroll, dashboard, and onboarding experiences for ADP's Small Business division — serving 920K+ businesses and simplifying one of the most complex workflows in HR tech.

0K+
Businesses Served
0M+
Workers on Payroll
0
Product Areas
The Platform

ADP Small Business

ADP RUN powers payroll and HR for over 920,000 small businesses in the US — a multi-billion dollar division and one of the most trusted names in payroll. The opportunity: rethink the core product experience for the next generation.

Small business owners wear every hat — they're the CEO, the accountant, and often the entire HR department. Running payroll shouldn't require a finance degree. Yet the existing tools felt built for enterprise power users, not a bakery owner running payroll for the first time.

I worked within the product design team to redesign the payroll dashboard, onboarding flows, and mobile experience — bringing modern UI patterns and thoughtful information architecture to one of the most complex domains in business software.

The goal was clear: make payroll feel as effortless as the best consumer apps, while maintaining the compliance rigor that ADP is known for.

Small business owner working on payroll
Systems Thinking

Mapping the Experience Architecture

Before touching pixels, I mapped the full journey — every decision point, edge case, and integration surface. Good design starts with understanding the system.

User Flow

Onboarding → First Payroll

The complete first-time user journey — from account creation through company setup to running their very first payroll. Every branch represents a real decision point or validation gate.

Onboarding to First Payroll user flow diagram
System Map

Previous Payroll History

Migrating payroll history from legacy systems — handling data integrity, quarter boundaries, and multi-state tax considerations for seamless transitions.

Previous payroll history system flow
Design Principles

Guiding the Redesign

Four principles that guided every design decision throughout the project.

🎯
Progressive Disclosure
Show only what's needed, when it's needed. Payroll has dozens of fields — surface them contextually, not all at once.
🤝
Dual-Persona Design
Equally serve the business owner (who runs payroll) and the employee (who onboards) — two distinct experiences, one cohesive system.
⚡
Smart Defaults
Pre-fill everything possible. Suggest, don't ask. Reduce cognitive load so owners can run payroll in under 5 minutes.
🔐
Compliance by Design
Bake regulatory requirements into the flow invisibly — compliant without feeling bureaucratic.
The Payroll Experience

A Modern Dashboard

The payroll dashboard needed to surface the right information at the right time — upcoming deadlines, team insights, and actionable data — without overwhelming users who just want to pay their people.

Desktop Experience

Full dashboard with AI-powered assistant, payroll summary, and calendar integration — designed for quick scanning and confident action.

ADP Dashboard with AI assistant
Payroll summary view
Calendar and scheduling view
Data Visualization

Purpose-built data cards — from payroll trends to shift coverage — each designed to answer a specific question at a glance.

Payroll trend chart
Shift coverage card
Funding status card
Team on deck card
YTD payroll card
Employee rewards card
Mobile Experience

Payroll on the go — designed for quick checks and approvals between meetings. Every screen optimized for one-hand navigation.

Mobile payroll overview
Next payroll detail
Team management
New hire onboarding card
Goals Achieved

What We Accomplished

Key design outcomes that shaped the next generation of ADP's small business payroll experience.

🎨
Modernized Visual Design
Pushed the visual design language forward to resonate with a younger, digital-native demographic of small business owners.
📊
Surfaced Actionable Data
Designed purpose-built data cards that surface the metrics small business owners actually care about — at a glance, beautifully presented.
💬
Integrated Chat Experience
Rearchitected the dashboard to incorporate an AI-powered conversational assistant, making complex payroll tasks feel as simple as asking a question.
📱
Mobile-First Payroll
Designed a complete mobile experience for payroll, team management, and hiring — optimized for one-handed use between meetings.
⚡
Simplified Information Architecture
Restructured the entire navigation and content hierarchy to reduce cognitive load and help owners find what they need in fewer clicks.
🔄
Unified Cross-Platform Design
Created a cohesive design system that ensures the same quality experience across desktop, tablet, and mobile — consistent patterns, same confidence.

Payroll, reimagined.

Proving that the most complex business software can feel simple, modern, and even delightful — when you put the user first.

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