Expert Interview with Mohammed Ghani, Founder of CheckMark

No payroll process is complete without performing its accounting activities!

You might have heard this multiple times from your colleagues in the Accounts department. Well, whether it is a 4-employee run bakery or a multinational company, the above stands still.

So, with a view to ease the payroll and accounting process of professionals, Mohammed Ghani founded CheckMark in 1984. With MultiLedger and Payroll software, CheckMark now caters across various verticals with its payroll, accounting, HR, and Time & Attendance services.

In an interview with SoftwareSuggest, Mohammed Ghani talks about the offerings of CheckMark and also discusses the industry changes in the long run. Scroll down and determine what he has to say!

In Conversation with Mohammed Ghani, Founder of CheckMark

How did the idea of building CheckMark cross you?

At the time CheckMark was formed in 1984, there were not much business software available for small businesses, thus the idea clicked. CheckMark developed an Accounting Software followed up by a Payroll Software targeted specifically for small business owners.

Over the years the company has developed software for 1099 processing and 1095 Affordable Care Act (ACA) Reporting. Today, the company’s software is used by thousands of satisfied customers throughout the United States and Canada.

CheckMark offers a suite of software solutions for payroll, accounting, and tax reporting. Which is the most sought after product, and why?

As we say, ”Payroll processing is in our genes” our most sought after product is the Payroll Software. The reason for this is the deep functionality of the software, timely updates of tax tables, and the excellent support we provide to our customers.

The next sought-after product is MultiLedger® Accounting. It is a full-featured, versatile, multi-user integrated and cross-platform software for Mac and Windows.

Apart from this, we also provide Payroll and Accounting Services, Time-keeping solutions, HR Access Center, Paper Tax forms, and customizable Business Checks.

How difficult is it to manage your brand value in this evolving market?

We have an annual subscription model that helps to establish brand loyalty among the customers in the evolving market. This reduces our marketing and customer acquisition costs.

We also have a Unique Selling Proposition (USP) with our on-premise software that allows customers to set up unlimited companies, unlimited employees, and unlimited payrolls or tax filings. This gives us a great advantage over our competitors.

Moreover, being one of the first companies to provide payroll and accounting software, our work enhances our credibility with customers, industry, and the marketplace as a whole.

What is it that CheckMark does differently than its competitors?

We have specifically built our software for small businesses and we provide end-to-end solutions to them. The key differentiating factors are the intuitive, simplicity, and ease-of-use of our products at the lowest price possible.

Since the inception of CheckMark to date, what changes in the software industry landscape have you observed?

The biggest change is the advancement in Computer and Network Technologies with time. The systems have gotten faster, memory and storage have gotten larger and less expensive, and networking has become widespread at faster speeds. We at CheckMark make sure to keep up with the industry trends and provide the best solutions.

How do you keep your products updated according to the latest market trends?

Currently, CheckMark is developing and deploying a new suite of cloud applications using the Software As A Service (SAAS) model where users only pay for what they use! These applications will incorporate Business Intelligence (BI) and Mobile Device Support, where possible. We continuously work to incorporate new functionality and new technologies into our existing as well as developing new products and services while making sure that the highest security is used to protect our customer’s sensitive data.

What is success to you? How do you measure it?

I measure our success by the feedback we receive from our customers. Success for me is to make sure that we are helping small business owners in getting complex and time-consuming tasks like payroll, accounting, and business taxes been done easily, so they can focus on their core business. Small businesses need similar functionality as large businesses just without the large expenses and resources that are associated with the larger systems.

What helps you stay updated and motivated?

Seeing all my team members focused on providing solutions and enhancing our products for customers, keeps me in high spirits. The positive feedback from the customers pushes us to do better every single day. I make sure to stay updated by reading business briefs, attending industry meetings, and day to day interactions with my clients.

If you weren’t building CheckMark, what would you be doing differently?

Prior to CheckMark, my career involved Software Development, Implementation, and Technology Management in large public, private and non-profit organizations where I was very successful in leading teams to implement and leverage technology for large enterprise systems. If not for CheckMark, I would probably still be doing that.

Any piece of advice you would give to budding entrepreneurs?

My advice to budding entrepreneurs is to do what they are passionate about and not do it with the dream of getting rich, at least initially. They need to develop a strong Business Plan including detailed Marketing and Financial plans. A realistic approach, backup fund, and an avid mentor will be really helpful But yes, be prepared to work hard!