How Finch Expanded 401GO’s Payroll Integration Network

In 2018, 401GO set out to build a platform that would make 401(k) plans accessible to all businesses. Their proprietary system lets employers set up a plan in as little as 15 minutes and outsource all of the administrative work, from enrollment to end-of-year reporting.

From the beginning, the 401GO team knew payroll integrations would be pivotal to their success. And while the company has an impressive engineering team, leadership wanted to ensure they were pursuing every avenue of expanding their integration network. So they turned to Finch.

Today, 401GO uses a combination of internal development resources and Finch-powered 401(k) payroll integrations to pull sponsor data and automate payroll processing to provide the ultimate employer experience. 

Empowering 401(k) sponsors through data

Without HR professionals dedicated to the complexities of plan administration, retirement plans have long been out of reach for many small businesses. 401GO launched in 2019 with a mission to change that narrative by taking on all of the administrative burden for their customers. 

“The idea that you can automate a process for a business owner is amazing,” said Jared Porter, co-founder and COO. “Our platform allows them to do all the things that you’d normally have an HR professional do. They’re meeting all the criteria for a 401(k) plan, but they’re not having to hire another employee to do it.”

That automation is why Jared and the rest of the team at 401GO knew they’d need payroll integrations. To take the administrative responsibility off their customers’ plates, they’d need reliable, automatic access to employment data. 

“The data that we're getting is so important to 401(k) administration,” Jared said. “It’s what allows us to send out notifications, enroll employees as they become eligible, and complete end-of-year reporting so the company, without even realizing it, is the best fiduciary. We’re leveraging payroll integrations to do that.”

Custom API payroll integrations > SFTP

From the beginning, API-powered payroll integrations were at the forefront of 401GO’s strategy. The team views other integration methods like SFTP as functional but far from ideal.

“The problem with SFTP is that it’s like you’re using half a car,” Jared explained. “Business owners don't understand that we’re going to have to accommodate for the other side of the car that’s missing.

“But with an API, you’re removing so much of the overhead and complexity, and it’s consistent. The updates are immediate. Everything is happening in a way that no human could do. And SFTP, as a file exchange of data, is really hard to scale.”

"With an API, you’re removing so much of the overhead and complexity, and it’s consistent. The updates are immediate. ... And SFTP, as a file exchange of data, is really hard to scale.”

In some cases, 401GO’s operations team performs the work on the employer’s behalf as part of their True360™ service; but API integrations can automate much of that process, freeing up internal resources to focus on supporting customers and taking on new accounts.

“The most straightforward thing is the data transfer, the idea that what's in the payroll system is now reflected in the 401(k) system. It’s not mind blowing, but the fact that data from payroll is being moved in real time into our platform so the plan is in compliance — that’s really valuable,” Jared said. 

Leveraging Finch to expand 401GO’s provider network

401GO has already built plenty of integrations in-house through its talented development team. But the payroll market is infamous for being fragmented, with nearly 6,000 systems in the US alone — and not all of them will allow retirement providers like 401GO to access their APIs. 

Gusto proved to be one such provider. With such a large volume of integration requests, Gusto couldn’t accommodate a direct partnership with 401GO, but they suggested an alternative: Finch. 

Related: Finch partners with Gusto to unlock the next wave of innovation in HR Tech

Once 401GO built to the Finch API, the company was able to access a pre-built integration with Gusto that allows its customers to authorize access to their payroll data in as little as 30 seconds. And since the Finch integration only needs to be configured once, 401GO can now expand their access to any of Finch’s 200+ supported HRIS and payroll providers without negotiating individual partnerships or building new integrations from scratch.

“A lot of our integrations with payroll companies are customized, so there's not one thing on our side that can connect them all. But having an aggregator like Finch is amazing, because we can connect into any one system that Finch is connected to. Then as Finch expands those relationships and its network of providers, that makes it a lot easier for us and a little more affordable to connect with more payroll providers,” Jared said. 

"Having an aggregator like Finch is amazing, because we can connect into any one system that Finch is connected to. Then as Finch expands those relationships and its network of providers, that makes it a lot easier for us and a little more affordable to connect with more payroll providers.”

Finch integrations can also be launched faster. The 401GO development team can build an integration in about 3 months, but that’s followed by a year-long monitoring and testing period. Finch allows the team to skip this step because their connection to the Finch API has already been proven, and because there’s a support team available to resolve issues that may arise on the payroll provider’s end. 

Since launching its Gusto integration, 401GO has also used Finch to integrate with Intuit Quickbooks — empowering automatic data collection and processing for 3x more customers. 

401GO still builds its own 1:1 integrations with payroll providers, but views Finch as a powerful tool in its arsenal as the company continues to grow and bring on customers with other payroll platforms. 

“It’s like retirement — you don’t put all your eggs in one basket,” Jared said. “Finch gives you options, and it allows you to go in different directions as needed.”