Supercharging payroll apps

Introduction

Loop’s relayer network empowers treasury management applications to build superior product experiences by decoupling transaction execution from transaction approval. This mimics web2 - companies connect their banking information to an application, and the application builds features around managing transfers that meet the needs of their users.  

Loop is the only solution that allows applications to decouple the on-chain action from the intended functionality (e.g. workflow approval) and thus unlocks superior product experiences with minimal friction from on-chain interactions. (Curious how Loop works? Get in contact with us at, DM us on telegram at @LoopCrypto_Official, or fill out our interest form. Integration is as simple as a few lines of code.) 

We believe in a decentralized, interoperable future - one where users are in control of their assets and applications compete on customer experience, not data silos. We built Loop to uphold this vision. For payroll providers, Loop offers the opportunity to compete on features while Loop handles the underlying payment infrastructure.

Payroll features that Loop powers

1. Enable approvals from managers, not multisig owners

Coordinating multisig owners each pay cycle to authorize a payment distribution can be extremely painful and time-consuming. Managers, or DAO guild leaders, end up spending days tracking down each of the multisig owners - sometimes across timezones - to execute an approved transaction. 

Loop allows applications to decouple the transaction signing from the manager's approval and design workflows around organizational structures, not simply key holders. This creates a more efficient process and ensures the correct, approved amount is sent each pay period because it includes those that have knowledge about the transaction in the same way that a web2 payroll provider like Rippling, Gusto, or ADP prompts a business manager to confirm the run of payroll. Key holders still maintain control (they can always revoke access) and can be included in the process where necessary based on the organization’s decision-making structure.

In fact, this is how web2 companies operate. In web2, companies sync their bank accounts with a payroll provider (turning on autopay) and then direct their payroll providers to initiate a debit from their bank account each period. Specific fund amounts are then directed to the appropriate bank accounts of employees. In web3 where companies are using Loop, they permission Loop to debit their account, and Loop processes an on-chain transaction when it receives a request from the payroll application. It’s a similar flow to web2 but with the added benefit of web3’s self-control features.

The key benefit of this approach of leveraging Loop is that managers and guild leaders can be granted (or removed) from handling payroll processing with the click of a button within the payroll application. This is far easier than having to go through the process of sharing or retrieving private keys if managers join or leave an organization.

2. Allow payment in multiple tokens (coming soon)

Employees or contributors may desire payment in a variety of ERC-20 tokens (e.g. ETH, USDC, a project’s native token, etc). In the case of DAOs, treasuries may only have their native token on hand. This means paying out in multiple currencies would require another multisig transaction to first swap tokens, leading to more manual work. 

With Loop, applications can allow contributors to select any ERC-20 token to be paid in as long as it has a trading pair on supported DEXs, and Loop will automatically swap into the desired token before settling in another token. Payroll applications simply need to send Loop a payment request with the details. Thus, applications can build out functionality that allows their users to select the tokens they’d like to be paid in.

3. Provide contributors with more control over when they get paid

Employees and contributors may want to be paid on various schedules (e.g. once a day or once every two weeks) and may want to invoice for work they’ve completed. Instead of having to wait for the guild to approve and the multi-sig signers to all sign, as noted above, the payroll application can simply send payment requests with any frequency or build functionality for contributors to send invoices directly to DAOs for payment. 

If contributors want to be paid based on milestones, applications can build out functionality to track a project’s progress and collect the final approval, which could trigger a payment request to Loop. 

As already described, payroll applications can allow for any permutation of ways of getting paid and simply send Loop the final payment request for an on-chain payment.

4. Increase transparency on payment flows

Payment transparency is important, particularly for decentralized projects. Community members want to be able to track the flow of funds that are being spent. Currently, communities must look on-chain, often requiring them to know who the receiving address is to piece together what the payment is for. 

Since Loop is powered by a smart contract, every payment can be confirmed on-chain. Community members can compare the amount that was approved off-chain to the transaction that was signed by the application and further validated on-chain. The entire process can be completely transparent.

5. Update payment parameters

As noted earlier, employees and contributors may wish to receive various tokens based on market conditions, be paid on changing dates, or change the amount they are paid and when. Payroll applications can store this information off-chain and allow contributors to change these parameters prior to a payment date. Controls would of course need to be in place within the workflow, but this would allow for greater flexibility without the need for multiple on-chain transactions any time a payment parameter changed. Applications would simply send Loop an updated payment request or a new request to reflect these new parameters.  

Conclusion

These are just a few considerations and ways that payroll applications can use Loop. Our relay network enables countless payment features by removing the multisig coordination problem with autopay and decoupling payment approval from treasury management. We look forward to seeing what you build and working with you along the way. Please fill out our interest form to get in touch or simply DM us on telegram at @LoopCrypto_Official to learn more.

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About Loop

Loop Crypto makes it simple to collect and pay in crypto by allowing companies to turn on autopay and schedule payments. Built by web3 veterans, Loop unlocks payment automation to reduce customer churn and eliminate time-consuming payment collection and follow-up. By connecting on-chain and off-chain data, Loop streamlines invoice reconciliation, accounting, and fits seamlessly into your financial stack.

Loop crypto is programmable payments. 

Are you ready to supercharge your payments? Book a call with Jeff, our Head of Business Operations, or head to our docs to learn more. 

Stay in the Loop. 

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