- Client: World Vision Ghana
- Country: Ghana, office in Accra
- Sector: humanitarian and non-profit organisation
- Spokesperson: Akua Mensah, P&C Director
- Solution: Popay Payroll, Popay’s own cloud-based payroll software
In brief. World Vision Ghana, a humanitarian non-profit, runs its payroll on Popay Payroll. Popay added real-time notifications to its payroll approval workflow: each reviewer and approver is told as soon as a payroll run waits for their action. Payroll reports now come in Microsoft Excel as well as CSV and PDF, and the Ghana Revenue Authority tax-return report is among the next improvements.
Payroll delays do not always begin with a calculation.
Sometimes, a payroll process is ready to move forward, but the reviewer or approver does not know that action is waiting.
For World Vision Ghana, workflow notifications and payroll-report generation were two areas requiring improvement. Reviewers and approvers needed greater visibility and prompt notifications for pending actions, while the organisation required more flexible and stable reporting formats.
Working with Popay, World Vision Ghana introduced real-time workflow notifications and expanded its payroll-reporting options.
The challenge: keeping payroll workflows moving
A payroll cycle can involve several reviewers, approvers and process owners. Each person must complete their action at the right time for payroll to progress as planned.
Without timely notifications, pending tasks can be overlooked, increasing the risk of unnecessary delays.
World Vision Ghana also needed more flexibility when generating payroll reports. CSV and PDF files remained useful, but Microsoft Excel was required to support easier report handling and future statutory presentation requirements.
The organisation therefore needed to:
- Notify reviewers and approvers when payroll actions required their attention
- Support timely action throughout the payroll workflow
- Expand the available payroll-reporting formats
- Improve the stability and flexibility of the reporting structure
- Prepare reports for future statutory presentation requirements
Popay’s response: notifications at the right moment
Popay introduced real-time notifications within World Vision Ghana’s payroll workflow.
Reviewers and approvers now receive notifications when an action is required from them. This gives each stakeholder greater visibility into their responsibilities and helps the payroll process continue without avoidable waiting time.
The notification is part of the payroll approval workflow itself, not an extra step someone has to remember.
Popay also expanded the system’s report-generation capabilities. In addition to CSV and PDF formats, payroll reports can now be produced in Microsoft Excel.
The Excel option creates a more flexible reporting environment and provides a foundation for future statutory presentation requirements, including the possible addition of elements such as official logos. It also brings greater stability to the payroll-reporting structure.
The outcome: clearer actions and more flexible reporting
The improvements have delivered practical benefits for World Vision Ghana:
- Real-time workflow notifications: Reviewers and approvers are informed when payroll actions require their attention.
- More timely payroll actions: Notifications help stakeholders respond without unnecessary delays.
- Greater workflow visibility: Participants have a clearer understanding of when their contribution is required.
- More reporting options: Payroll reports are available in Microsoft Excel as well as CSV and PDF.
- Greater reporting flexibility: Excel files are easier to adapt to different operational and presentation requirements.
- A more stable reporting structure: The additional format supports greater consistency in the preparation and use of payroll reports.
- A foundation for statutory presentation: Excel reporting creates opportunities to introduce elements such as logos and other required report alignments.
Together, these improvements give World Vision Ghana greater visibility across its payroll workflow and more control over how payroll information is produced and presented.
The way forward
World Vision Ghana is looking forward to continuing its work with Popay and completing several additional improvements:
- Generating the Ghana Revenue Authority tax-return report in multiple formats, i.e. PDF, MS Excel and CSV
- Notifying employees when their payslips are released
- Adding the office name, World Vision Ghana, the report period and the relevant totals to payroll reports.
- Annual reports of various elements that detail month-on-month transactions
These next steps would further strengthen statutory reporting, employee communication and the clarity of payroll documentation.
In World Vision Ghana’s words
“Popay has improved the visibility of our payroll workflow. Reviewers and approvers now receive real-time notifications when action is required, helping the process move forward more efficiently. The addition of Microsoft Excel reporting, alongside CSV and PDF, also gives us greater flexibility and provides a stronger foundation for our reporting requirements.”
Akua Mensah, P&C Director, World Vision Ghana
World Vision in two countries
Another World Vision national office also runs its payroll with Popay. Read how World Vision in South Sudan moved payroll components, terminal benefits and payslips from manual work to the platform, and how Popay supports payroll across Africa.
One workflow. Every approver told. No payroll left waiting.
Running payroll for a non-profit, with reviewers and approvers in several places? Talk to Popay.