What do you like best about Central?
As a former Silicon Valley VC and 2x tech startup founder based in SF, Central has changed my life more than any other service provider in the startup and VC space.
I've used and suffered with nearly every payroll service prior to Central, including Gusto, Rippling, Deel, and more for the past 10+ years across 2 of my own startups and dozens of portfolio companies as a VC. Most recently, we switched to Central from Rippling. Before Central, we were plagued with endless payroll and operational issues due to severely faulty services by Rippling. Central fixed a wide range of issues that Rippling created for us, specifically with payroll taxes for the two states we operate in, CA and NV. Gusto had previously caused huge problems by withholding all company payroll if we did not register in any US state where we hired remote employees, causing immense problems.
Top 3 points:
1. Central is in our Slack. Speaking directly with the Central team within our Company Slack is a complete gamechanger. I cannot fathom ever going back to using self service tools such as Rippling, Deel, Gusto, which I have used for the past 7 years. We can use either the AI-bot, which is fantastic, but even better is the fact that we can get a human being to fix the most nuanced and difficult issues at any time. No logins needed, no passwords to remember, just message in Slack and someone is there. As a CEO & Founder of early stage startups, there is no greater level of support than a human being that is willing to help.
2. Time savings are unparalleled. Prior to Central, I would spend close to 5-10 hours every week unsuccessfully trying to figure out issues related to payroll, business registrations, and other operational issues. With Central, those headaches are gone. I am still getting letters from multiple US states about the issues that Gusto and Rippling caused my previous startup, even 6 years later. My new startup was also ruined by Rippling's sheer neglect, specifically with payroll taxes. Central fixed everything without any additional time or headache. I went from spending hours stressing about operations to literally ZERO time.
3. Supreme competence. There are so many nuanced issues that early stage startups face, and it's near impossible to get most service providers to care about such small businesses. Central's staff and Founder are always there to help us, no matter how specific our issues are, and they resolve it so quickly and professionally that it's unbelievable. Every new service Central offers, we immediately sign up for and replace any prior service provider, including bookkeeping & accounting & tax prep, as they have completely won over my trust and confidence over the past year. Every other service provider is replaceable for us, EXCEPT Central. As an extremely cost conscious lean startup, I do not say this lightly - I would happily pay multiples more for Central, as their prices are also ridiculously low.
As a former VC & ibanker & 2x tech startup founder, I consider Central as an absolute requirement and MUST-HAVE in the software and services stack. I wish Central massive success as I cannot ever afford to go back to the other previous services we used in the past. In full transparency, I have no financial interest in Central at all. I wish I could invest in Central! Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
