Two Ways to Clock in a Good Idea

Co-owners make individual strengths a unified force at Dominion Payroll Services Richmond Times Dispatch Monday, Nov 26, 2007 By AARON KREMER, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

David Fratkin and David Gallagher have the same first name, but it's their differences that make their company click.

When it's time to make decisions -- hiring employees, tweaking the corporate strategy or investing in software -- the co-founders of Dominion Payroll Services say their alternate viewpoints allow them to assess an issue from all angles.

The company offers payroll service, charging $40 to $50 per account and $1 to $4 per check, depending on the contract.

"We're a local firm with the same products and services as a national provider but with a personal touch," Fratkin said.

Fratkin is a deliberate 42-year-old with an MBA and a background in corporate management. He plays tennis and takes photographs in his free time.

"I'm calm and detail-oriented, and I stress financial discipline," Fratkin said.

Gallagher, on the other hand, is a gregarious 34-year-old with a background in sales. "I'm brash emotion," he said of himself. When not working, Gallagher water skis.

The co-founders, who started Dominion Payroll Services in a garage in 2002, try to come to a consensus on big decisions. Other times they compromise. Always, they respect each other.

"When we come to a point where we can't agree, if it's a growth issue, I yield to David," Fratkin said. "If it's an operations issue, he yields to me."

Judging by the company's growth, most of their decisions seem to have been correct. Dominion Payroll Services has 600 clients and purchased an 8,200-square-foot office in downtown Richmond earlier this year. For the fourth quarter, the company anticipates adding 60 customers.

The company handles payroll for firms that want to outsource the often tedious task of keeping track of hours, cutting checks and handling payroll taxes.

Dominion targets companies that already outsource payroll, figuring the sales process is faster because the target company already understands the value of outsourcing. Ninety percent of new clients are companies that had used one of two national companies, Automatic Data Processing Inc. (ADP) or Paychex.

Karen Coltrane, president and CEO at the Children's Museum of Richmond, said Dominion is easier to work with than the national company that formerly managed her payroll. Dominion provides payroll services free to the museum, saving the foundation around $10,000 a year.

"It's typically an error-prone business with temporary employees, part-time employees submitting funky hours and people coming and going at certain times of the year," Coltrane explained.

"It's important not to have any glitches because employees need to get paid," Coltrane said.

Fratkin and Gallagher say their advantage is their small size and their dedication to customer service.

Logan Bragg, a principal at the Richmond IT staffing firm Udig Technologies, switched from Paychex to Dominion four years ago because he wanted to add a 401(k) to the payroll. Paychex couldn't do it, he said.

"Dominion made it work as a seamless operation. They were willing to listen to us and came up with a solution that met our needs," Bragg said, adding, "They made us feel like we were a good client."

Stealing business from the national payroll companies has proved fruitful, partly because Gallagher used to work in sales for ADP. He brainstormed Dominion's future business plan while still an ADP employee.

Fratkin and Gallagher say they are constantly aware of maintaining an emphasis on customer service, and acknowledge that sometimes when small companies grow into big ones, the original focus on customer service can dissipate.

"We don't ever want to lose that personal touch," Gallagher said.

The company has 16 employees and figures it will probably stop growing when it has 30.

"When we fill up this building, we'll stop," Gallagher said.

Richmond Times Dispatch 05/27/2007

Richmond-based Dominion Payroll Services was recognized as one of the top four companies nationally for overall growth by Payroll Associates, a national provider of payroll processing and human resources application software. Each year Payroll Associates recognizes those top organizations that demonstrate exceptional client growth out of 300 payroll service bureaus with special achievement awards. This year Dominion Payroll Services received one of five top Platinum Awards, the highest award given. Dominion Payroll Services has won this award for the past two years, receiving the Gold Award three years ago as one of the industry's top 10 companies. Beginning operations in 2001, Dominion Payroll Services employees 16 people and offers a full suite of human resources, payroll and time and attendance services and products.