The Reference Call

Vendors supply references who will say good things. The call is still worth having, because the useful information is in the specifics rather than the verdict.

Who to ask for

Comparable size. A reference ten times larger than you is running a different product.

Same sector, where rules differ by sector.

Same module. A customer using the billing engine tells you little about the clock.

Live for at least a year, so they have been through a renewal, an upgrade and a period-end problem.

Ask to speak to the administrator, not the executive sponsor. The sponsor remembers the decision; the administrator remembers the implementation.

A vendor unable to offer this combination is telling you about the deployment base for the module you want.

What to ask

How long did implementation actually take, against the estimate?

What did you have to pay for that you expected to be included?

What can you configure yourself, and what needs them?

What breaks, and how often?

How long does support take to answer something that stops payroll?

What happens on upgrades — do your configurations survive?

What would you do differently?

And: what nearly stopped you going live? This one produces the most useful answer and nobody expects it.

What to listen for

Hesitation on the configuration question. If they cannot change a rule without raising a ticket, neither will you.

Vagueness on support times. Specific numbers mean they have measured; vagueness means they have suffered.

Enthusiasm about one module and silence about another, which maps onto the product's real strengths.

Any mention of a workaround. Ask what it is. Workarounds are where the product's limits live.

Finding your own references

Better than the supplied ones and entirely legitimate.

Ask in a professional group for your sector or role.

Ask the payroll vendor which timesheet systems they see most often and which integrations cause them trouble. They have no incentive to flatter anyone.

Ask an implementation partner who has done several — though remember they have an interest.

Recording it

Write up each call the same day, against the same questions.

Attach it to the evaluation file.

Where a reference contradicts a vendor claim, put both in the file and raise it. How the vendor responds to that is itself information.

Finding your own

Better than the supplied ones and entirely legitimate.

Ask in a professional group for your sector or role.

Ask the payroll vendor which timesheet systems they see most often and which integrations cause them trouble. They have no incentive to flatter anyone and they see the failures.

Ask an implementation partner, remembering they have an interest.

A reference you found yourself answers the questions a supplied one deflects.

Use a comparable customer scenario

Ask references how scheduling and recorded time behave after configuration changes. This scheduling example can help make that question specific.