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M e m b e r P R O F I L E

The Daves

If David Gallagher and David Fratkin had a tagline for Dominion Payroll Services (DPS), it might read something like this: “Saying less but doing more.” The Daves (as they are commonly referred to by those that know and work with them) explain the culture behind DPS: “It’s all about showing up, delivering what you say you are going to do and going above and beyond what is expected.” This philosophy has served them well over the last 14 years, growing DPS into the largest payroll company in the Southeast and one well-known for its industry innovation.

The Daves say they are one in the same – talk to one and you might as well be talking to the other. They come from similar backgrounds and hold true to like mindsets and business practices. Both met while running from Fortune 100 companies laden with bureaucracy, paperwork and departmental obstacles.

“Just being able to pick your kids up after school would have had to be approved by two different people weeks in advance,” said Gallagher, a former accountant and tax consultant who left a very lucrative career in sales operations at ADP.

Like so many of us, Gallagher was looking for a better way to deliver on service which led him to start his own payroll company with $7,000 out of his parents’ garage in Richmond, Virginia. Fortunately he met Fratkin three months later and they

Success comes from a‘BALANCE • TEAMWORK • INTEGRITY • KINDNESS • OWNERSHIP • FUN’

mindset

became 50/50 partners in the growing startup.

Fratkin had just moved back to Richmond after leaving the hustle and bustle of New York City and successful business ventures in direct mail and sports marketing. Prior to that he spent twelve impressive years in management, finance and operations with Verizon, eventually administering payroll to the company’s 80,000 employees as Director of Payroll.

“We wanted to create a place where we could enjoy going every day,” said Fratkin. “Payroll can be a very stressful business at times, with long hours. You spend a lot of time with your team members, and when it’s not crunch time, it’s time to have fun together.”

That work/fun balance frequently comes in the form of group outings to baseball games, go cart racing and Happy Hours. In creating a healthy work environment, DPS founders also encourage community involvement, often times with team activities focused on charitable runs and walks. For example, the company sponsors the annual “DPS Walk-Off” a competition where the team accumulating the most steps gets to pick a local beneficiary to receive a major donation. In addition, DPS offers employees one day a year PTO in order to contribute their day’s salary to a cause of their choice.

“Our team members are actively involved in our community on a weekly basis,” continued Gallagher. “It’s another way we deliver what we promise by showing up and doing.”

This community-friendly mentality is a major component in DPS’ success. The Daves got involved in leadership roles in Richmond, including serving on the boards of art, education and business organizations. Gallagher spearheads the “We Are Richmond” campaign, offering discounted payroll services to local not-for-profits, amounting to over $150,000 annually in

financial support.

Early on in their new venture, Gallagher and Fratkin joined industry communities as well.

Long time IPPA members, they showed up to conferences and started appearing on

panels and volunteering for speaking engagements. The Daves interacted

with payroll companies and

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Earl Edeburn

vendors and developed lifelong relationships and partnerships.

“In addition to the phenomenal content offered through IPPA, the organization gives us an environment to socialize,” Fratkin said. “Meetings offer face-to-face contact, but it doesn’t stop there. We feel comfortable reaching out at any time to a great network of 100 plus friends we’ve made via IPPA involvement.”

The Daves encourage meeting in smaller groups in between larger industry get-togethers too. They say they benefit tremendously from more intimate gatherings with like-minded payroll companies. It’s an opportunity to share detailed information in a trusted setting to help each other grow.

While DPS attends every IPPA conference, more team members turn out for the Sales & Marketing Workshop because it is used as an incentive to reward high achievers. Sales Manager Joe LaBella represents DPS on IPPA planning committees and was instrumental in securing the keynote speaker for the Annual Business Excellence Conference in August.

Through cutting-edge innovation, DPS continues to positively impact its local and industry communities.

The company’s “Go Green” campaign motivated over 90% of its clients to move to a paperless payroll reporting and delivery system, saving approximately 3,500 sheets of paper per client and 3,465,000 sheets of paper per year company-wide.

Since inception, the Daves committed to bring a local, service-oriented payroll option to Richmond. To date they have converted thousands of clients to DPS from large, national payroll providers, creating local jobs and boosting the local economy. During the recent economic downturn, DPS chose not to pass on exorbitant fee increases to loyal clients to cover shrinking employee numbers, but to work harder to bring in new business. At the same time it helped several clients save thousands in payroll taxes and constructed a Solutions Package to educate clients on ACA.

DPS promotes Richmond careers through a highly successful summer internship program, exposing college students to the community and the payroll and human resources industry.

Recently DPS embarked on software updates to iSolved, allowing customers more options to combine payroll, HR, and time and attendance into a single, cloud-based interface. DPS is among a select group of firms partnering with Infinisource to produce and implement this robust, single-source Workforce Management solution.

“With so much change going on in our industry, I urge everyone to embrace these opportunities instead of fearing them,” said Gallagher. “It’s an exciting time to enhance our service offerings to clients. Don’t limit yourself or your success.”

From humble beginnings in 2002, Gallagher and Fratkin continue to outgrow office space and add employees at a fast pace, expecting to reach 70 team members by year end. DPS has maintained an annual gross sales increase of over 30% despite the worst economy in the last 80 years. For the last five years running, it has been named to the Inc. 5000 list of the fastest growing companies in the country, a distinction less than .01% of businesses receive.

In addition to its headquarters in Richmond, DPS opened offices in Tampa, FL, Charlotte, NC, and Nashville, TN to provide services to clients in all 50 states.

Last year DPS hosted representatives and owners from various payroll providers across the U.S. looking to emulate its business model. The Daves extend an open invitation to IPPA members to visit Richmond anytime.

“Openly sharing best practices makes us all better service bureau owners and human resource solutions providers,” concluded Fratkin.