How Community Services Group Simplified Nonprofit HR & Payroll With Sage HCM

Community Services Group (CSG) is a not-for-profit organization based in Royston, Georgia that manages several entities. Over the years, CSG has acquired several entities, creating a complex mix of both nonprofit and taxable operations across several states and multiple unique payroll processes for each team.

All this made HR and payroll operations especially difficult to manage with legacy systems.

After dealing with complex and disconnected systems that were costly and painful, CSG adopted Sage HCM. With Sage’s flexible HR and Payroll modules, the team improved access to data across branches and reduced administrative work.

To understand how Sage supported these changes, we spoke with three team members who use the system every day:

• Matt McRee, Chief Financial Officer (CFO)
• Aleah Bailey, HR Director and Executive Assistant
• Trish Harmon, Payroll Administrator

“Certainly the capabilities overall are greater.” — Matt McRee, CFO, CSG

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Challenges

Today, CSG is a lot more complex. The organization now oversees numerous entities, including a counseling center, a church media company, a corporate services group and an additional 501(c)(3) organization that runs separate payroll.  

Most entities follow their own payroll, tax, and compliance rules. Before Sage HCM, CSG used a server-based legacy system, which meant the majority of HR and Payroll tasks were manual or relied on spreadsheets. For a small team supporting several locations, these inefficient, error-prone processes only created more work and more pressure all around.

Without a cloud-based system, it was also challenging to keep everything connected and up to date across entities.

As the organization continued to evolve, CSG needed a flexible system that could:

• Reduce errors and manual work
• Streamline custom payroll processes
• Maintain consistency across entities
• Provide controlled access to data in one unified dashboard
• Adjust to new structures and workflows

Sage HCM was the perfect solution that could grow with them for years to come.

“The connection of it — it all flows together. Without that, I’d be all over the place.” — Trish Harmon, Payroll Administrator, CSG

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Solution

CSG’s move to Sage HCM began when the organization picked Acumatica as its ERP. Since Acumatica did not offer payroll, they recommended Sage HCM to support CSG’s multi-entity structure and complex payroll needs.

Implementation began in 2019. When Aleah Bailey joined as HR Director, the system was already in place, which allowed her to catch up quickly.

Sage HCM provided steady, hands-on support. A dedicated consultant and support specialist guided setup, held regular check-ins, and made sure the system worked as expected before going live. Aleah shared that the Sage Help Center (and regular support calls) were essential in helping her learn the platform and the complex structure of the organization.

Today, CSG uses Sage HCM’s HR and Payroll modules and has begun deploying the Talent Engagement module for select operations.

“I think it's still priced well and it's functioning well and it provides… what we need.” — Matt McRee, Chief Financial Officer, CSG

Results

Since using Sage HCM, CSG has simplified complex workflows and created a smoother, more connected experience for the whole organization.

Improved Accessibility and Flexibility

Sage’s cloud-based platform gives employees and administrators access from anywhere — on-site, off-site, and across different branches. Teams can now view HR and payroll information on a desktop or mobile device, which makes daily work much easier. This access also supports clear, organization-wide communication.

“Being in the cloud has helped because it allows access from our multiple branches in multiple locations.” — Matt McRee, Chief Financial Officer, CSG

Aleah credits the HR “Organization” tab with helping her quickly learn each person’s role and see how the entities fit together, which sped up her onboarding.

Sage HCM also makes it easy to manage all parts of the organization in one place. Single sign-on (SSO) and tailored security profiles help CSG control access to sensitive information so each leader only sees data for their own team. This maintains privacy for all users.

“It is convenient being able to log in under one criteria and … get access to all of our branches.” — Matt McRee, Chief Financial Officer, CSG

Major Administrative Workload Reduction

Sage HCM’s centralized, cloud-based HR and payroll system has reduced errors, saved time, and cut repetitive work. Many processes (like running complex payroll) are faster and require far less human intervention.

Custom reporting played a big role in these improvements. With both nonprofit and taxable entities, CSG relies on specialized reports for retirement plans and tax filings. Sage HCM lets the team build reports from any field in the system, and the Sage support team can create custom reports whenever needed.

“Some of the custom reports have been very helpful… the one that they created for the retirement report we have to submit … for our tax return … was very helpful … it saved me about a week and a half worth of work.” — Matt McRee, Chief Financial Officer, CSG

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Acumatica Integration

Sage HCM’s open API allows you to integrate with third-party platforms, including custom software.

For CSG, Sage’s direct integration with Acumatica has been especially valuable. Now, payroll details flow directly into their accounting system, which keeps their financial data accurate and reduces manual steps.

The GL transmit feature also created major time savings for the finance team in posting payroll. What used to take about 15 minutes per branch now takes less than a minute — a 93% efficiency boost.

“It is a lot faster … especially now because we're running five payrolls. So it does save a good bit of time.” — Matt McRee, Chief Financial Officer, CSG

User-Friendly Experience for All Staff

Sage HCM enables every CSG employee to work more easily.

Employee Self-Service (ESS) allows staff to view their paystubs, time off, benefits, and company announcements from any device. This is especially useful for less tech-savvy team members.

Each user’s main feed also gives quick access to birthdays, anniversaries, and other helpful information to keep the whole organization connected.

Aleah likes that she can complete her work from anywhere, which makes it easier to stay on top of tasks, even when she’s out of the office.

“The things I can do on my computer, I can also do on my phone.” — Aleah Bailey, HR Director & Executive Assistant, CSG

White-Glove Customer Support

Above all, Sage HCM’s support model made a major difference for CSG.

From day one, CSG worked with a dedicated implementation consultant and support specialist. After go-live, they were paired with a success rep (Patrick) who supported them through staffing changes and ongoing changes.

When Aleah was hired, the support team essentially guided CSG through a second implementation to make sure everyone understood the system.

Today, CSG continues to receive tailored services from Sage with regular check-ins and quarterly reviews. Any time they need to make a change or learn something new, the Sage team is there to help. This level of care has built strong trust and is a primary reason for the continued partnership.

“There are other things that we use that don't provide the support that we've gotten with [Sage HCM] — that's my biggest selling point is just the customer support.” — Aleah Bailey, HR Director & Executive Assistant, CSG

See What a Unified HR & Payroll System Can Do for Your Organization

For nonprofits and multi-entity groups with complex requirements, Sage HCM offers a better way to manage HR and payroll. Several users report less manual work, major time savings, and better access to data.

But what sets Sage HCM apart from the pack is our dedicated support and customization. Built on a unified database with a fully configurable backend, Sage HCM can help you adapt to virtually any challenge. When unique changes arise, Sage helps your team find a solution that works the way you do.

Want to simplify HR and payroll while still supporting the unique needs of your organization?

Book a Sage demo to explore what’s possible.