Case Study: Alpena County halves payroll processing time and boosts accuracy with Pontem Software

Michigan County Clerk’s Office Streamlines Manual System from Punch to Payroll

Alpena County’s Clerk’s Office was managing bi‑weekly payroll for more than 150 employees across 40 departments and multiple unions using paper time sheets, manual Excel entry and separate Pontem Fund Accounting and Payroll processes. That fragmented, error‑prone system required nearly three days to process payroll, forced remote offices to courier time sheets, and made consistent application of union rules and leave entitlements difficult. Pontem Software (using its Pontem Payroll/Fund Accounting solution) was the vendor the county wanted to integrate with an automated time and attendance system.

Pontem Software worked with Advanced Time’s Attendance Enterprise to create a seamless, single‑entry payroll workflow: employees punch in/out and access an online self‑service portal, supervisors get real‑time timecards, and hours flow automatically into Pontem Payroll and the general ledger. The integrated solution cut payroll processing time in half, eliminated routine courier trips (saving several staff hours monthly), standardized policies across unions and departments, improved accuracy and accountability, and made cost‑and‑schedule reporting by budget center immediate and reliable.

Alpena County

Bonnie Friedrichs

Clerk