US Government Chooses Partners For Payroll Updates

The U.S. government is updating its payroll systems and has picked payroll partners to support the modernization process.

In an announcement on Thursday (Sept. 12), the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) revealed that Carahsoft Technology Corporation and Grant Thornton have been chosen for multimillion-dollar task orders. The partnerships are part of the government’s NewPay blanket purchase agreement, which was developed to modernize the government’s payroll systems – itself an initiative that is part of the broader 2019 Management Agenda.

The GSA noted that NewPay aims to overhaul existing legacy payroll systems to improve efficiency and security using Software-as-a-Service. The government will collaborate with payroll service providers and SaaS vendors, it noted.

“Today’s NewPay task orders are an important step in modernizing our federal payroll system as we move forward in providing quality shared services,” GSA Administrator Emily Murphy said in a statement. “We look forward to working with the Carahsoft and Grant Thornton teams as they provide SaaS solutions to ensure constant innovation and security in our payroll services.”

According to the GSA, the federal government is one of the nation’s largest payrolls, with more than 2.2 million civilian employees under its umbrella. The task orders initiate Carahsoft and Grant Thornton to develop two different payroll solutions for the government.

The Carahsoft team, which will include collaboration from immix Technology and Deloitte Consulting, will offer Kronos and SAP tools. Grant Thornton’s team will include The Arcanum Group and CGI Federal, which have proposed an Infor payroll solution, the GSA said.

Reports first emerged of the government’s payroll modernization plans in February, with officials revealing a $20 million upgrade plan that would unify government agencies’ payroll operations, allowing different departments to use a single, cloud-hosted solution maintained out of Kansas City, Mo.

“As the last proposal accepted in 2018, the Board believes the NewPay proposal is a critical step forward to transform an antiquated technical and operational process,” said Federal Chief Information Officer Suzette Kent in a statement at the time.