Competition between businesses is brutal, so it is necessary to secure every advantage, and payroll applications, also known as payroll software or systems, are one such advantage. Not only can they automatically calculate salaries and create and send invoices, but they can also generate reports for government agencies regarding taxes and deductions. That is part of the reason 2024 has seen an increase in demand for simpler and faster systems.
What really makes payroll applications worthwhile is their ability to promote seamless operation. Since they integrate with accounting, banking, and government systems, deductions can be made automatically. Users no longer need to worry about calculating taxes, as this process, including adjustments for progressive tax rates, is handled automatically.
However, behind the apparent simplicity of these convenient functions lies a complex web of integrations across various architectural systems. Not only does payroll integration inherently carry risks — with developers facing numerous challenges to ensure the secure, rapid, and uninterrupted operation of all financial systems — but the choice of protection methods during integration is determined by banking and government systems, requiring payment app developers to adapt accordingly.
To dive deeper into the topic, I spoke with Andrei Pahozhau, the CEO of Mainsoft LLC. His company, based in Warsaw, Poland, specializes in premium web and mobile product development, with one of its main focuses being advanced payroll applications.
The Challenge of Ensuring Security with Integrations
Integrating payroll apps with banking and government systems is risky. That is why every integration starts with a comprehensive review of the security requirements of the third-party system. During the process, developers closely examine documentation and manually send requests to ensure compliance. And to minimize the risks of hacking or data leakage, robust authentication processes are implemented at the login stage. Some of the protective measures employed are:
Tokenization
The security system generates a one-time, short-term token to confirm the user’s identity, which is specially encrypted with user information. To keep everything secure, the system automatically validates the token’s authenticity, origin, and expiration date. Because of that, even if an intruder intercepts the code within five minutes, it will no longer be valid.
Digital Certificates
Banking and government systems utilize digital certificates to verify authenticity. These certificates serve as additional confirmation that the correct payroll application is requesting access, so even if an attacker manages to obtain a token, they cannot proceed without a valid certificate.
Encryption
Some systems impose additional security requirements, such as encrypting tokens on both the sending and receiving ends. Passwords are stored exclusively in encrypted form, ensuring that only the intended recipient can access them. Notably, with one-way encryption algorithms, even technical specialists cannot access passwords since they are stored solely in hashed form.
Minimizing Risks When Deploying Integrations
Integrations between different financial system architectures typically begin with a testing phase involving professional staff from both parties. A test account is created to verify registration and troubleshoot any errors that arise. Correcting these issues often requires multiple iterations — sometimes up to seven cycles — and can take up to a week.
Risks during this phase largely stem from human error, with developers from banks or government organizations potentially making mistakes during integration. However, the highest risk occurs when the integration transitions from testing to production.
At this stage, it is crucial to verify that all application functions operate correctly to minimize user errors. “At Mainsoft, we conduct a ‘soft launch,’ where the integration is live but not yet accessible to end users. Through technical checks, developers ensure that all features work as intended,” remarks Pahozhau.
Another risk involves potential failures of third-party systems beyond the control of application developers. For instance, if a banking or government system experiences downtime — even for just five minutes — users may submit requests without receiving responses, which could undermine their trust in the application. In such cases, technical support must respond effectively to reassure users and guide them through any necessary actions.
Challenges When Scaling Systems
When an application serves a large company with thousands of employees — such as a major delivery service with numerous couriers — developers must manage increasing workloads efficiently. “To address situations like this, we employ batch processing for salary calculations while hosting everything in the cloud. Taking a cloud-based approach makes it possible to scale system capacities effectively,” says Pahozhau.
Another effective method used at Mainsoft is “horizontal scaling,” remarked Pahozhau. “This is where clones of the application are created from one cloud service to distribute workloads evenly among them.”
A third approach involves modifying the codebase to implement asynchronous task execution. For example, operations that are resource-intensive or slow can be executed in the background. This means that whether an email is sent instantly or after a second makes little difference. However, it becomes critical when executing business processes like sending invoices. By prioritizing urgent tasks while managing secondary ones in the background, the system ensures that applications run efficiently without compromising user trust.
Ensuring instant and secure operation of applications — while maintaining user-friendly interfaces — requires developers to continuously tackle various challenges. As demands grow and threats evolve, new technologies are increasingly integrated into solutions to uphold high standards and meet contemporary requirements.
Spencer Hulse is the Editorial Director at Grit Daily. He is responsible for overseeing other editors and writers, day-to-day operations, and covering breaking news.
