RailSwitch: Just‑in‑Time Payroll + Dynamic Funding
9/10
Demand Score
Missed or delayed payroll erodes trust; advancing payment windows and auto-runs cut manual work and employee escalations.
7/10
Blue Ocean
Competition Level
$500-5k
Price/Month
Predicted customer spend
16 days
Time to MVP
Difficulty: Hard
The Problem
A payroll-rail layer that plugs into existing payroll systems to enable automatic payroll runs and eliminate pre-funding delays. RailSwitch combines rule-driven auto‑run orchestration with dynamic fun
🔗 Validated by Real User Complaints
This problem has been verified through 1 real user complaints:
Competitor Landscape
- ADP
- Gusto
- Paychex
- OnPay
- Check
- Modern Treasury
- Orum
- Dwolla
- TabaPay
Must-Have Features for MVP
Auto-payroll scheduler with policy-based approvals
PayGuard simulator with variance detection and error heatmaps
Dynamic rail selection (ACH, Same Day ACH, RTP) with cutoff optimization
Embedded payroll float line with real-time risk scoring
Exception workflows and employee cohorting for partial runs
Ledger and reconciliation with audit-grade traceability
APIs/webhooks to trigger runs from HR/time events
Proactive support copilot with run health scoring and alerting
⚠️ Potential Challenges
- Banking partnerships and underwriting for payroll float
- Compliance with NACHA, RTP/FedNow participation rules
- Liability allocation with incumbent payroll providers
- Accurate forecasting for cash needs across multi-entity employers
- Data access to gross-to-net and final approvals
Risk Level: High
🎯 Keys to Success
- Zero missed payrolls during pilot period
- >60% reduction in processing time to run payroll
- Cutoff failures reduced by >80% via dynamic routing
- Finance satisfaction with clear ledgering and recs
- Fast-path integrations with top payroll providers
Ready to Build This?
This hard-difficulty project could be your next micro-SaaS success.