How Hawkins & Co. Accounting scaled to 100+ payroll clients with Wagepoint

Hawkins & Co. Accounting is redefining how accounting firms deliver value. 

Since 2013, the Windsor-based firm has built its reputation on empowering small business owners across Canada and globally to make confident decisions by truly understanding their financial data.

Central to this mission is their tech-forward “Powered Process“, a service model that automates back-office administrative tasks through an ecosystem of modern, integrated apps that make it easier to see what matters and act on it.

Through this model, Hawkins & Co. has transformed payroll into a scalable, high-value service that strengthens client relationships and fuels firm growth — a strategy they’ve now proven with over 100 clients on Wagepoint.

Here is how they did it.

Foundations of a payroll powerhouse

Hawkins & Co. started with traditional compliance work, focused primarily on T2s and income tax preparation. 

But, early on, they identified that payroll was a major source of stress for business owners; specifically what Danielle Ramsten, COO, calls “brown envelope worries” over Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) notices. 

To solve this, the firm introduced a self-managed payroll option using Wagepoint. Danielle knew clients don’t want to become payroll experts; they just need something simple, reliable, and easy to manage alongside running a business.

That ease of use, combined with a seamless Xero integration, gave the firm a foundation to build on. Hawkins & Co. deliberately avoids siloed systems that don’t speak to each other. They needed a payroll tool that connected seamlessly with their core accounting software, making Wagepoint a “no-brainer” that allowed payroll and financial data to flow effortlessly across their entire workflow.

Evolving the offer: Scaling to fully managed payroll 

As the firm grew, they realized they could expand their impact by offering a fully managed payroll service. This evolution was a collaborative journey: as Wagepoint evolved with new features and enhancements, Hawkins & Co. grew right along with it. “We’re on the journey together to expand to bigger and better things for payroll services with our firm,” says Danielle. 

This growth was spearheaded by Dana Erickson, Staff Accountant, who applied her new PCP (Payroll Compliance Professional) certification to lead the firm’s managed payroll offering. While the self-service model was perfect for hands-on owners, the managed service allowed the firm to take over the entire payroll function end-to-end and provide more value for clients who just want to run the businesses they love without any compliance headaches. 

Key features driving growth

Today, Hawkins & Co. leverages specific automation tools within Wagepoint to drive internal efficiency and support both their firm’s and their clients’ growth while keeping the entire process effortless. Some of their standout features include:

The partner dashboard

Real-time notifications and a visual payroll calendar ensure that processing deadlines are never missed.

Streamlined self-onboarding 

Employees and contractors enter their own personal and banking information, which has cut setup time in half and eliminated the need to chase staff for tax forms.

Bulk custom codes

For clients with more complex setups, like a physiotherapy clinic with numerous pay codes, Dana can assign codes in bulk rather than updating each employee profile individually. 

Seamless Xero integration

Hawkins & Co. eliminates manual data entry by automatically syncing every pay run into Xero. This connection uses split billing to provide real-time cash flow visibility and makes bank reconciliations effortless for their clients.

Reputation built on modern innovation

Using a modern payroll solution like Wagepoint helps to enhance the firm’s reputation, and makes it easier to sell their payroll services, says Danielle. 

She explains that in the digital age, clients expect their advisors to be at the forefront of technology. If an accountant recommends a tool that looks like it belongs in a previous decade, it can undermine the client’s confidence in the firm’s overall expertise.

“The last thing you want is to have someone log into something and it looks like it’s from 1987. [Clients] trust us as their advisors for accounting, payroll, and financial services. That trust is much easier to build when they know that we’re staying on top of our knowledge and what’s going on out there in the industry.”

— Danielle Ramsten, COO, Hawkins & Co. Accounting

By delivering a clean, easy-to-use payroll experience, the firm reinforces its position as a forward-thinking partner rather than just a traditional service provider.

Impact that matters 

Beyond reputation, Wagepoint has significantly increased the firm’s capacity in a number of meaningful ways: 

• Capacity to scale: The firm now manages over 100 total clients on Wagepoint, including both those who self-manage and those whose payroll is fully managed by the Hawkins team. 
• Capacity for high-value advisory: Automation of “grunt work” allows the team to focus on virtual CFO services and deep financial education for business owners.
• Capacity for deep relationships: Rather than chasing paperwork, the team spends their time building trust and empowering their clients to truly understand their numbers so they can make confident decisions.