Paychex has found its business stabilized or improved in some key areas in May. The company said recently despite the deterioration after mid-March, in the second half of April it saw some positive signs.
Still, it is going to be a long way back to normal, according to CFO Efrain Rivera. ”We believe recovery is going to be more gradual than at first we had assumed,” Rivera said during a recent webcast.
The payroll services company provided the analysis as part of a business update in which it addressed the impact of the COVID-19 virus. Paychex also issued a new financial forecast for the fiscal year ending May 30.
Among the signs of improvement are “Clients who had missed payrolls are resuming processing,” according to CEO Martin Mucci.
In May, the company said there was stabilization and modest improvement in employees paid and check volumes in both payroll and HR Outsourcing. Also, Paychex said it saw strong client retention. Despite sales headwinds, there was some “positive momentum, especially in SurePayroll, Virtual Sales and HR Outsourcing,” Paychex said.
Bob Scott has provided information to the tax and accounting community since 1991, first as technology editor of Accounting Today, and from 1997 through 2009 as editor of its sister publication, Accounting Technology. He is known throughout the industry for his depth of knowledge and for his high journalistic standards. Scott has made frequent appearances as a speaker, moderator and panelist and events serving tax and accounting professionals. He has a strong background in computer journalism as an editor with two former trade publications, Computer+Software News and MIS Week and spent several years with weekly and daily newspapers in Morris County New Jersey prior to that. A graduate of Indiana University with a degree in journalism, Bob is a native of Madison, Ind