The Starting Point
payrollnow is a Swiss payroll provider based in Zurich with two products on one platform: payroll software Switzerland for companies that want to run payroll themselves, and payroll outsourcing Switzerland, where a Swiss payroll team takes over the entire process. Both run on the same platform and can be switched at any time.
At the start there was a product, a founding team and a registered domain. Everything that makes a company visible in the market was missing: brand, website, search presence, content, and a product interface that shows the platform's strength.
We built the complete digital presence and have supported payrollnow continuously since. From the logo mark to the employee app.
What We Delivered
Brand and Design System
Established providers in Swiss payroll outsourcing work with purple and lifestyle photography. payrollnow needed a clear contrast: precise, technical, no stock imagery.
| Element | Implementation |
|---|
| Logo mark | Two waves meeting in a single point. Stands for the stream of events from which every payslip is calculated |
| Colour world | Deep olive as primary colour, acid lime as accent for live data and actions |
| Typography | Sans display for headings and numbers, no serifs, no monospace figures |
| Brand assets | Logo set in seven variants (light, dark, app icon, lockups), favicon, usage documentation |
| Imagery | No stock photos. All visuals are code-based dashboard replicas of the real platform |
Logo mark
ImplementationTwo waves meeting in a single point. Stands for the stream of events from which every payslip is calculated
Colour world
ImplementationDeep olive as primary colour, acid lime as accent for live data and actions
Typography
ImplementationSans display for headings and numbers, no serifs, no monospace figures
Brand assets
ImplementationLogo set in seven variants (light, dark, app icon, lockups), favicon, usage documentation
Imagery
ImplementationNo stock photos. All visuals are code-based dashboard replicas of the real platform
The logo mark is drawn once when the website loads. The animation respects reduced-motion settings.
Website: Two Products, One Clear Path
The website has to serve two different buyers. Those who want to run payroll themselves search for software. Those who want to hand over online payroll entirely search for a provider. Both paths are visible on every page.
| Page | Purpose |
|---|
| Homepage | Positioning around online payroll, both products side by side, pricing calculator, FAQ |
| Payroll Software | Self-service product: event-based data entry without payroll expertise |
| Payroll Outsourcing | Done-for-you product: scope of service in four pillars, clearly named exclusions |
| Employee App | Self-service for employees: payslips, personal data, missing information |
| Payroll integrations | Connections to accounting, time tracking and HR systems, listed by name |
| Migration | Switching process with back-testing, parallel run and acceptance protocol |
| Pricing | Interactive cost calculation per employee and month |
| Industries | Dedicated pages for hospitality, construction and staffing |
Homepage
PurposePositioning around online payroll, both products side by side, pricing calculator, FAQ
Payroll Software
PurposeSelf-service product: event-based data entry without payroll expertise
Payroll Outsourcing
PurposeDone-for-you product: scope of service in four pillars, clearly named exclusions
Employee App
PurposeSelf-service for employees: payslips, personal data, missing information
Migration
PurposeSwitching process with back-testing, parallel run and acceptance protocol
Pricing
PurposeInteractive cost calculation per employee and month
Industries
PurposeDedicated pages for hospitality, construction and staffing
All pages are fully available in German and English, with their own navigation, own meta data and clean hreflang links. Every contact form runs through a dedicated API with spam protection and delivery to the team.
Interactive elements instead of screenshots: the pricing calculator computes live, the hero sections show rebuilt dashboards with real data structures, and event streams run through animated.
SEO Strategy and Content
Keyword research came before the first layout. From around 20 core keywords with close to 9,000 monthly searches we formed clusters and assigned exactly one page to each.
| Keyword cluster | Target page |
|---|
| Lohnabrechnung online, Lohnbuchhaltung | Homepage |
| Payroll Software, Lohnsoftware Schweiz | Payroll Software |
| Payroll Outsourcing Schweiz, Lohnbuchhaltung auslagern | Payroll Outsourcing |
| Payroll Integration, Automatisierung | Integrations |
| Payroll services Switzerland, payroll companies | English product pages |
| Long tail: costs, comparisons, Abacus switch, industries | Blog |
Lohnabrechnung online, Lohnbuchhaltung
Payroll Software, Lohnsoftware Schweiz
Target pagePayroll Software
Payroll Outsourcing Schweiz, Lohnbuchhaltung auslagern
Target pagePayroll Outsourcing
Payroll Integration, Automatisierung
Payroll services Switzerland, payroll companies
Target pageEnglish product pages
Long tail: costs, comparisons, Abacus switch, industries
On that basis we produced 36 blog articles in German and English. Among them comparisons, cost overviews, a seven-part series for companies switching from Abacus, and specialist articles on withholding tax, tips under the hospitality collective agreement and minimum wages in construction. Every article leads back to both products with concrete references.
Structured Data
Every page carries one consolidated Schema.org graph. No scattered blocks, but a single block per page with clear references.
| Schema type | Where used |
|---|
| Organization | Full on homepage and about page: founders, address, geo data, areas of expertise |
| ProfessionalService | Homepage: service catalogue with four pillars, industry sub-catalogue, price range |
| SoftwareApplication | Product page: feature list of the platform |
| Service + FAQPage | Industry pages: offer and questions per industry |
| BlogPosting | All articles with image, publisher and date including time zone |
| BreadcrumbList | All sub-pages |
Organization
Where usedFull on homepage and about page: founders, address, geo data, areas of expertise
ProfessionalService
Where usedHomepage: service catalogue with four pillars, industry sub-catalogue, price range
SoftwareApplication
Where usedProduct page: feature list of the platform
Service + FAQPage
Where usedIndustry pages: offer and questions per industry
BlogPosting
Where usedAll articles with image, publisher and date including time zone
Built to Google's requirements for rich results: complete address data, dates with time zone, logo on the publisher.
Industry Solutions
Payroll in Switzerland is heavily shaped by collective labour agreements. Instead of one generic page we built dedicated solution pages for the three most complex industries.
| Industry | Focus |
|---|
| Hospitality payroll | L-GAV, tips, casual staff. Presented as part of a complete hospitality solution with POS, receipts and banking |
| Construction payroll | LMV minimum wages, bad-weather compensation, site allowances |
| Staffing payroll | Hourly wages, staffing collective agreement, withholding tax, staffing cockpit for the staffing workflow |
Hospitality payroll
FocusL-GAV, tips, casual staff. Presented as part of a complete hospitality solution with POS, receipts and banking
Staffing payroll
FocusHourly wages, staffing collective agreement, withholding tax, staffing cockpit for the staffing workflow
The hospitality page has its own contact form with a selection of the payroll system currently in use, so the team already knows where the business is coming from before the first call.
Product UI: Portal and Employee App
The calculation platform existed. What was missing was an interface that makes its strength visible: payslips emerge from events, not from a monthly run. We redesigned the customer portal and the employee app.
| Area | Implementation |
|---|
| Design system | Cards with mono labels, semantic colours for open, overdue and running, consistent avatars |
| Employee overview | Key figures, salary curve, missing data, open tasks and recent events on one page |
| Tasks | Due-date groups, filters by category, assignment, search |
| Payrun dashboard | Table with status counters, payroll check with error cards, direct PDF links |
| Employee app | Mobile first with dashboard hero, floating bottom navigation, documents and notifications views |
| Multilingual | German, English, French and Italian, switchable per user |
Design system
ImplementationCards with mono labels, semantic colours for open, overdue and running, consistent avatars
Employee overview
ImplementationKey figures, salary curve, missing data, open tasks and recent events on one page
Tasks
ImplementationDue-date groups, filters by category, assignment, search
Payrun dashboard
ImplementationTable with status counters, payroll check with error cards, direct PDF links
Employee app
ImplementationMobile first with dashboard hero, floating bottom navigation, documents and notifications views
Multilingual
ImplementationGerman, English, French and Italian, switchable per user
Automation Inside the Product
Bare Creative did not only build the interface, but also workflows that take manual work off the payroll team. The platform remains the single source of truth: the assistants prepare, people check and confirm.
| Workflow | What it does |
|---|
| Onboarding assistant | Reads employment contracts and personal documents, pre-fills employee data and lists what is missing |
| Hours import | Excel or CSV data from time tracking becomes payroll events. Surcharges are calculated by the platform |
| Plausibility check | Seven checks across closed periods, anomalies land as tasks with the team |
| Chat for analysis | Questions about payroll costs and events in natural language, with access control and rate limiting |
Onboarding assistant
What it doesReads employment contracts and personal documents, pre-fills employee data and lists what is missing
Hours import
What it doesExcel or CSV data from time tracking becomes payroll events. Surcharges are calculated by the platform
Plausibility check
What it doesSeven checks across closed periods, anomalies land as tasks with the team
Chat for analysis
What it doesQuestions about payroll costs and events in natural language, with access control and rate limiting
More on how we approach such projects: AI Integration and Automation.
The Collaboration
| Role | Responsibility |
|---|
| payrollnow | Product, payroll expertise, scope of service, pricing, approvals |
| Bare Creative | Brand, website, SEO, content, structured data, product UI, automation |
| Technology partner | Calculation platform and salary declarations |
payrollnow
ResponsibilityProduct, payroll expertise, scope of service, pricing, approvals
Bare Creative
ResponsibilityBrand, website, SEO, content, structured data, product UI, automation
Technology partner
ResponsibilityCalculation platform and salary declarations
The rhythm: short alignments, local preview before every release, and every new page with a complete SEO setup from day one. Engine and payroll logic were left untouched. We built interface, communication and workflows only.
The Result
| Factor | Result |
|---|
| Market presence | Independent brand with clear contrast to the competition, no stock imagery |
| Website | Over 60 pages in two languages, both products visible on every page |
| Visibility | Keyword clusters with one target page each, 36 blog articles, Schema.org on every page |
| Industries | Three solution pages for the most complex collective-agreement industries |
| Product | Redesigned portal and employee app in four languages |
| Automation | Four workflows that speed up data entry and control |
Market presence
ResultIndependent brand with clear contrast to the competition, no stock imagery
Website
ResultOver 60 pages in two languages, both products visible on every page
Visibility
ResultKeyword clusters with one target page each, 36 blog articles, Schema.org on every page
Industries
ResultThree solution pages for the most complex collective-agreement industries
Product
ResultRedesigned portal and employee app in four languages
Automation
ResultFour workflows that speed up data entry and control
Payroll is a business of trust. Brand, website and product have to radiate the same precision the customer expects from their payslip.