Victory Concrete initially chose Arcoro’s ExakTime to streamline timekeeping and payroll processes, transitioning from manual paperwork to an automated solution that significantly reduced inefficiencies and improved overall operations.
The company later met a competitor we’ll call Company B at a trade show. They promised enhanced features like facial recognition, “seamless” integrations and a lower price, Victory Concrete decided to leave ExakTime and try Company B.
The Surprising Challenge
Victory Concrete encountered unforeseen inefficiencies and frustrations with Company B’s product. While offering a lower cost and an appealing feature set, reality fell short.
“From the very beginning, we had trouble connecting and getting everybody on,” said Kristi Zollo of Victory Concrete. “We tried it for months and there was not one day that we had everyone connected.”
The issues were so great, Victory reverted to manual time tracking.
“Our goal was to go away from paper, and we weren’t able to do it because it was necessary to [use paper] while with Company B.”
- Unreliable Connections: Ongoing syncing issues and user profile led to delays in payroll processes. Issues with kiosk mode required Zollo to troubleshoot onsite, leaving the office for hours at a time.
- QuickBooks Non-Integration: Changes in one system weren’t reflected in the other without manual intervention and corrections in every timecard daily, doubling the effort to process payroll.
- Facial Recognition Failures: A main selling point of Company B in practice this feature failed regularly, often misidentifying workers, causing confusion and incorrect time logging.
- Lack of Effective Support: Company B’s support team struggled to resolve issues efficiently and Victory Concrete faced frequent delays getting technical assistance.
- Security Breach: A significant security oversight let unauthorized staff members access salary information, breaching data confidentiality.
The Turning Point
Victory Concrete reached a point where the operational inefficiencies caused by Company B took a serious toll on both the staff and overall project execution. Timekeeping errors and manual workarounds drained productivity, and customer support from Company B wasn’t able to address the ongoing issues.
“A lot of these features that [Company B] sold us on sounded great,” said Zollo. “But in implementation and reality, they were not what they were made out to be.”
After several months frustration, Victory Concrete decided to switch back to ExakTime.
A Learning Experience
While initially attracted by Company B’s lower cost and flashy features, for Victory Concrete the inefficiencies, lack of support and operational roadblocks led to more problems than solutions.
“Coming back to ExakTime was like coming home,” said Zollo. “Because Company B was never fully functional, I never had peace of mind. So we went back to what we know works.”
The company also got to take advantage of new ExakTime features released in the short time they were gone.
For Victory Concrete, ExakTime provides peace of mind, allowing them to focus on their work instead of troubleshooting software issues, making it clear that the right solution is about more than just price—it’s about reliability, ease of use and support.
Download a PDF of the Victory Concrete Case Study.