A Classic Deli Modernizes Payroll Processing with Rabco
“We have a partner in our payroll system.”
Greg Dovell, General Manager, Canter’s Deli
The Company
Canter’s has been serving up Los Angeles’s favorite deli cuisine since 1931, delivering an amazing experience that has kept a devoted clientele returning for nearly a century. Easily recognizable from the many television shows and movies that have shot scenes in its dining room and a favorite of locals including innumerable celebrities, Canter’s is an iconic culinary landmark. Today, the restaurant is lovingly operated by the third and fourth generations of the Canter family, who take a hands-on approach to ensure the highest quality in every aspect of the restaurant. Under their management, Canter’s continues to provide the authentic deli experience that helped grow the restaurant from a small storefront to the massive operation that it is today.
The Challenge
Canter’s deli is deeply rooted in tradition—a big part of why it is an icon in Los Angeles. Their resistance to change has also been an Achilles heel for the evolving demands of their customers and employees. The restaurant has been slow to implement changes: The restaurant didn’t take credit cards until 1999. Ten years later they replaced paper tickets with a Point-of-Sale System. Until recently, the back office was still processing payroll for 150 employees with a punch clock and a calculator.
General Manager Greg Dovell says, “Whatever the opposite of early adopters is, that was us. We actually had a time clock where employees took their time cards and punched in.” He goes on, “Hopefully the ribbon was good that day so we could actually read the time.”
With all those cards in motion, it was hard to verify data accuracy. Dovell says, “People would grab other people’s time cards and they would have to be corrected.” When payroll day came around, management had to reconcile those cards against a paper schedule. It was an inefficient process that took 12 hours to complete, often requiring management to work nights and weekends to pay employees promptly. That was the time Dovell wanted to allocate toward growth focused tasks.
Canter’s has been banking at City National for nearly four decades, so the team reached out to their relationship managers for recommendations. An introduction was made to Rabco Payroll, the bank’s preferred payroll provider.
How Rabco Payroll Helped
Rabco’s relationship with Canter’s began with a meticulous discovery to identify and understand the pain points contributing to their payroll problem. Despite decades of accomplishment, the restaurant’s processes were inefficient. The need for an immediate and drastic overhaul of weekly payroll processing was clear: A unified digital solution to collect time, tips, and gross receipts would have to be implemented.
The team at Canter’s agreed. Management knew they needed to go digital with their payroll and timekeeping but there was so much that needed to change, and they were overwhelmed. Rabco’s President Sean Brown took a hands-on approach, listening to Canter’s needs and helping them select and order their first computer. That was only the first step. Next, the Rabco team went through each of the restaurant’s processes and rebuilt them in the UKG platform.
Canter’s knew they would need additional improvements to make payroll transparent and eliminate redundancies. Upgrading to a state-of-the-art timeclock was an obvious choice. Rabco started with getting Canter’s UKG’s InTouch 9100 timeclock to ensure accuracy and hold employees accountable for clocking themselves – and only themselves – in and out on schedule. Requiring a thumbprint for authentication, this simple-to-operate, cutting-edge timeclock leverages biometrics to ensure accuracy and honesty. Some older employees were initially resistant to the change but were quickly appeased by customization that allowed them to register more than one finger for convenience. The data from the new timeclock started flowing directly into the new payroll platform.
The technical setup, while immense, is only one part of the solution. Switching from punch cards to digital reports required comprehensive and extensive training. After seeing all the- already calculated- data at their fingertips, the Canter’s staff quickly learned to accomplish their goals with just a few clicks.
Key Takeaways
Precise Payroll Processing
6X improvement in speed and accuracy brings cost savings.
“[Rabco has] taken payroll from being a 12-hour process to a 2-hour process which frees our hands up to do a whole lot of other things.”
Ease of Use and Implementation
Even tech-resistant staff quickly grasp what’s expected of them.
“I've personally seen the simplicity that [Rabco] was able to bring and that's exactly what we need.”
Improved Compliance
Tools to meet federal, state and local guidelines are built in.
“You really need somebody to help you navigate that jungle of information coming at you all the time.”
Employee-Driven Data
Liability is reduced when employees are accountable for recordkeeping.
“You need employee driven data because there are so many different laws, and they tend to overlap with each other.”
Collaborative Partnership
Dedicated account managers and support is always at your fingertips.
“We have a partner in our payroll system... Rabco came in and really kind of holds your hand through the whole process.”
The Result
Dovell says, “I used to have to repair the ribbon every week or look at a time card and wonder, ‘is that an eight?” Now his team uses the Rabco solution to manage payroll for every employee accurately and more quickly than ever before. With Rabco on board, Canter’s has reduced errors and cut the amount of time needed to process payroll by 83%, from 12 hours each week to only 2 hours.
At Canter’s, Dovell says, “There are departments where everyone is different.” The new payroll processing system easily accommodates those variables and the different considerations necessary for each employee. Labor laws are especially complex in California, where Canter’s operates, and enforcing agencies are strict. Even a small mistake can result in a substantial fine. Rabco has helped the restaurant boost compliance and avoid penalties with employee-driven data, which Dovell says is critical. With only a few clicks, the restaurant can now generate the information management needs to verify payroll and ensure compliance with an assortment of local, state, and federal regulations.
When a question comes up, Canter’s reaches out for help and gets a swift response. “We are in constant contact with Rabco,” Dovell says. “I can send a text and I get a text back immediately. I can call on the phone or I can email and the response time has been really great.” When asked what that relationship with Rabco means to him as Canter’s General Manager, Dovell doesn’t hesitate. “We have a good connection.” he says. “We have great communication going back and forth.”