Paylocity
An American cloud-based provider of payroll, human capital management, and spend management software.
Last updated August 22, 2026
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Overview
Paylocity Holding Corporation is an American software company that provides cloud-based payroll, human capital management, workforce administration, and spend management tools. Its principal customers are small and mid-sized organizations, particularly employers with approximately 50 to 1,000 employees that want payroll, human resources, time management, benefits, recruiting, learning, employee engagement, and financial workflow capabilities in an integrated platform. The business began in 1997 when Steve Sarowitz founded Ameripay Payroll Ltd. The company initially focused on payroll services before broadening its scope into a more comprehensive human capital management offering. It adopted the Paylocity name in December 2005. During its early expansion, the company moved from Franklin Park to Elk Grove Village and later Arlington Heights in the Chicago metropolitan area. It subsequently established its headquarters in a large office complex in Schaumburg, Illinois, formerly associated with Zurich Insurance North America. A significant management transition occurred in 2007, when Steve Beauchamp joined as president and chief operating officer. He became chief executive officer within the following year. Paylocity also began attracting institutional capital during this period, raising a $10 million Series A financing round from Adams Street Partners in 2008 and a $27.3 million Series B round in 2012. These funds supported product development, sales expansion, and the company's movement from a payroll-focused provider toward a broader HCM platform. Paylocity expanded its market presence through acquisitions as well as internal product development. Its 2010 acquisition of Payroll Online strengthened its payroll and HCM operations. From 2018 through 2024, the company added capabilities in benefits administration, employee learning, collaboration, international payroll, employee engagement, workforce planning, and corporate spending. Notable transactions included BeneFLEX, VidGrid, Samepage, Blue Marble Payroll, Cloudsnap, Trace, and Airbase. The Airbase transaction was particularly relevant to Paylocity's expansion into spend management and accounts-payable-related workflows. The company became publicly traded through an initial public offering in March 2014. The offering raised approximately $120 million, and founder Steve Sarowitz held a substantial ownership position at the time. Paylocity's shares trade on the Nasdaq under the symbol PCTY. Its current product approach combines payroll processing with employee records, recruiting, onboarding, performance management, learning, benefits, time and labor management, employee communication, analytics, and expense or spend workflows. Paylocity generally positions itself as an integrated alternative to using separate point solutions for payroll and HR administration. Its cloud delivery model enables customers to access the platform through web and mobile interfaces, while the company's acquisitions have broadened its reach beyond traditional domestic payroll. Paylocity remains an active publicly listed software company headquartered in Illinois.
History
Paylocity was established in 1997 by Steve Sarowitz under the name Ameripay Payroll Ltd. Its initial business centered on payroll processing, but the company later developed into a broader provider of cloud-based human capital management software. The Paylocity name was adopted in December 2005, marking the transition toward the identity used by the modern company. The business expanded within the Chicago metropolitan area, relocating from Franklin Park to Elk Grove Village and later Arlington Heights before establishing a headquarters in Schaumburg, Illinois. The Schaumburg location occupied a 309,000-square-foot office complex that had previously served as the headquarters of Zurich Insurance North America. The move reflected Paylocity's growth from a specialized payroll business into a larger enterprise software organization. Management and financing changes helped support this expansion. In September 2007, Steve Beauchamp joined Paylocity as president and chief operating officer. He became chief executive officer within approximately a year. Paylocity secured its first institutional financing in 2008, raising $10 million in a Series A round from Adams Street Partners. In 2012, it raised a further $27.3 million Series B round. The financing supported the company's product development and commercial expansion as it broadened into human resources and workforce management. Paylocity made an early acquisition in 2010 when it purchased Payroll Online. The transaction expanded the company's payroll presence and contributed to its development as an HCM provider rather than a payroll-only service. The company subsequently pursued a wider acquisition strategy, adding specialist products around the core payroll platform. In March 2014, Paylocity completed an initial public offering that raised approximately $120 million. Its shares began trading on Nasdaq under the symbol PCTY. At the time of the offering, founder Steve Sarowitz retained approximately 44 percent ownership of the company. The IPO gave Paylocity public-market access to support continued investment and acquisitions. The company's later expansion concentrated on adjacent HCM categories. BeneFLEX, acquired in March 2018, contributed benefits-administration expertise. VidGrid, acquired in April 2020, added video-based learning capabilities, while Samepage, acquired in November 2020, brought team collaboration functionality. In September 2021, Paylocity acquired Blue Marble Payroll, expanding its international payroll offering. Cloudsnap followed in January 2022 and was associated with video-based employee engagement. In December 2023, Paylocity acquired Trace, a headcount-planning tool. In September 2024, it acquired Airbase Inc., extending the company into spend management software. Paylocity's platform now spans payroll, employee records, time and labor, benefits, recruitment, onboarding, learning, performance, employee communication, engagement, analytics, workforce planning, and spending workflows. The company primarily serves small and mid-sized employers, with an emphasis on bringing multiple HR and payroll functions together in a cloud environment. Its evolution illustrates the broader software-industry shift from standalone payroll processing toward integrated HCM and workforce-management platforms.
- 2024
Airbase acquisition
[1]Paylocity acquired Airbase Inc. to expand into spend management software.
- 2023
Trace acquisition
[1]The company acquired Trace, a headcount-planning tool.
- 2022
Cloudsnap acquisition
[1]Paylocity acquired Cloudsnap, associated with video-based employee engagement functionality.
- 2021
Blue Marble Payroll acquisition
[1]The acquisition expanded Paylocity's international payroll capabilities.
- 2020
VidGrid and Samepage acquisitions
[1]Paylocity added video learning through VidGrid and collaboration capabilities through Samepage.
- 2018
BeneFLEX acquisition
[1]The company acquired benefits-administration provider BeneFLEX.
- 2014
Initial public offering
[1]Paylocity completed its Nasdaq IPO in March, raising approximately $120 million.
- 2012
Series B financing
[1]The company raised a $27.3 million Series B financing round.
- 2010
Payroll Online acquisition
[1]Paylocity acquired Payroll Online, expanding its payroll and HCM market presence.
- 2008
First institutional financing
[1]Paylocity raised a $10 million Series A round from Adams Street Partners.
Products and positioning
An integrated, cloud-based payroll and human capital management platform for small and mid-sized employers, expanded through adjacent workforce and spend-management capabilities.
Payroll software
Paylocity Payroll
Paylocity's core payroll functionality is designed to calculate and administer employee pay within a cloud platform. It is integrated with employee records, time and labor data, tax-related workflows, reporting, and other HCM functions, allowing employers to manage payroll alongside broader workforce administration.
HCM software
Paylocity Human Capital Management
The HCM platform combines employee information, HR administration, workflows, analytics, and workforce-management functions. It is primarily aimed at small and mid-sized employers seeking a single system for core HR operations and employee lifecycle management.
Benefits software · 2018
Paylocity Benefits Administration
Benefits administration tools support the organization and management of employee benefit programs. Paylocity strengthened this area through the acquisition of BeneFLEX and connects benefits processes with employee data and payroll-related administration.
Workforce management software
Paylocity Time and Labor
Time and labor capabilities help employers record working time, manage schedules, support attendance processes, and connect labor information with payroll. The product is part of the broader platform rather than a standalone payroll calculation tool.
Talent management software
Paylocity Talent
Paylocity's talent-related capabilities cover areas such as recruiting, onboarding, learning, performance, and employee development. Acquisitions including VidGrid and Cloudsnap expanded the platform's learning and employee-engagement dimensions.
Spend management software · 2024
Paylocity Spend Management
Spend management extends Paylocity beyond workforce administration into corporate spending workflows. The capability was strengthened by the acquisition of Airbase in 2024 and is intended to connect spending processes with the company's broader business platform.
International payroll software · 2021
Blue Marble Payroll
Blue Marble Payroll became part of Paylocity through the 2021 acquisition and added international payroll services to the company's primarily United States-focused HCM portfolio.
Brand decisions
2024
Expansion into spend management through AirbaseM&ABackground
Paylocity had expanded beyond payroll into a broad HCM suite and sought an adjacent category with relevance to employers' administrative and financial workflows.
Action taken
Paylocity acquired Airbase Inc., a spend-management software company.
Aftermath
The transaction broadened Paylocity's product scope into corporate spending management.
2014
Paylocity proceeds with public listingOtherBackground
After private financing and expansion from payroll into broader HCM services, Paylocity pursued access to public equity markets.
Action taken
The company completed an initial public offering in March 2014, raising approximately $120 million and listing on Nasdaq under PCTY.
Aftermath
The listing established Paylocity as a publicly traded software company and provided a public-market structure for subsequent growth.
IPO proceeds. Approximately $120 million raised (March 2014)
Recent events
- 2024
Paylocity acquires Airbase[1]
M&A · Product generation
Paylocity acquired Airbase Inc., a spend-management software company, extending its platform into corporate spending and related financial workflows.
- 2023
Paylocity acquires Trace[1]
M&A
The acquisition added a headcount-planning capability to Paylocity's human capital management portfolio.
- 2022
Paylocity acquires Cloudsnap[1]
M&A
Paylocity acquired Cloudsnap, described as a video platform for employee engagement, to extend its workforce communication and engagement capabilities.
- 2021
Paylocity acquires Blue Marble Payroll[1]
M&A
The acquisition added international payroll services and expanded Paylocity's ability to support employers with workers in multiple countries.
- 2020
Paylocity acquires VidGrid[1]
M&A · Product launch
The acquisition brought a video-based learning platform into Paylocity's workforce software portfolio.
- 2020
Paylocity acquires Samepage[1]
M&A
Paylocity acquired Samepage, a team collaboration solution, to broaden employee communication and collaboration functionality.
- 2018
Paylocity acquires BeneFLEX[1]
M&A
The company acquired BeneFLEX to add or strengthen benefits-administration capabilities within its HCM offering.
- 2014
Paylocity raises approximately $120 million in initial public offering[1]
Other
Paylocity completed an initial public offering in March 2014 and began trading on Nasdaq under the ticker PCTY.
Sources5 sources
- 1Paylocityen.wikipedia.org
- 2Paylocity official websitepaylocity.com
- 3Compeat Partners with Paylocity to Expand Workforce Management Tools for Hospitality Brandsprnewswire.com
- 4EvoShare partners with Paylocity to automate cash-back savings offering for employersprweb.com
- 5Paylocity Announces Acquisition of VidGridprnewswire.com
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