What Paper Trails does

Paper Trails is a privately held, second-generation family-owned payroll and HR services provider headquartered in Kennebunk, Maine, founded in 2004. The company delivers payroll processing, tax filing, HR consulting, and compliance support to over 1,000 small and mid-sized business clients paying approximately 10,000 employees as of early 2026. Its primary concentration is Maine, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire, with multi-state service extending to approximately 30 states. The client base is deeply SMB-skewed (predominantly 1-100 employees, with some 300-500 employee accounts) and spans restaurants, hospitality, healthcare, municipalities, financial services, landscaping, manufacturing, construction, and cannabis verticals.

The company's service delivery runs entirely on the isolved People Cloud HCM platform, which provides the underlying payroll engine, employee self-service portal (myisolved.com), iOS/Android mobile app, and module suite covering applicant tracking (isolved Attract & Hire), onboarding with E-Verify, time and attendance with geofencing, benefits administration with 120+ retirement carrier feeds, expense management, learning management, and performance management. The platform is integrated with QuickBooks (custom GL reports), TurboTax, Equifax The Work Number, and workers' comp carriers (MEMIC, Eastern Alliance, Acadia, AmTrust) for as-you-go premium administration. A team of approximately 15 dedicated payroll and HR experts provides high-touch personalized service without 800 numbers or automated phone systems — the central differentiator against national HCM vendors.

Paper Trails generates revenue through a recurring per-payroll-run plus per-employee model ($43-$125/run + $4.50-$6.00/employee, bi-weekly or monthly cadence) with $500+ implementation fees, add-on module charges of $0.50-$2.00 per employee per run, professional-services fees for tax filing and amendments, $14/month labor-law poster service, and two new HR consulting subscription tiers (HR Success from $275/month and HR Advisor from $650/month on 12-month commitments). The go-to-market is consultative direct sales complemented by a content-first inbound engine — a frequently updated blog, monthly webinars, the Maine Employer's Almanac compliance guide, and the Small Business Big World podcast — plus a referral channel targeting CPAs, benefit brokers, workers' comp agents, and financial advisors.

Name

Paper Trails

Legal name

Paper Trails, Inc

Website

https://papertrails.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Paper Trails is a Maine-based, family-owned payroll and HR services provider serving over 1,000 small and mid-sized businesses across approximately 30 states, running on the isolved People Cloud HCM platform with a 15-person team of dedicated local payroll and HR experts.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Payroll and HR Services

NAICS

Payroll Services (541214), Accounting, Tax Preparation, Bookkeeping, and Payroll Services (5412), Office Administrative Services (56111)

SIC

Services-Help Supply Services (7363), Services-Management Services (8741)

akta.pro primary industry

Full-Service Payroll Processing (BPACAIAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Payroll Tax Filing, Compliance & Regulatory Reporting (BPAAAHAB), Human Capital Management (HCM) & Payroll Platforms (HDAEAEAJ)

Keywords

• Payroll processing services
• HR consulting services
• Human capital management
• Tax filing compliance
• Benefits administration

Headquarters

HQ city

Kennebunk

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Payroll Processing Services: Base fee per payroll run plus per-employee charge. Weekly/bi-weekly payroll starts at $43 per run plus $4.50/employee; monthly/quarterly starts at $125 per run plus $6.00/employee. One-time implementation fee starting at $500.
2. HR Consulting Subscriptions: HR Success Subscription from $275/month plus $4/employee/month on a 12-month commitment; HR Advisor Subscription from $650/month plus $8/employee/month. Both include dedicated HR expert, handbook creation, and ongoing support.
3. Integrated HR Tools (add-on services): Additional per-employee per-payroll charges for timekeeping, applicant tracking, onboarding/offboarding, benefits administration, expense management, and learning management — ranging from $0.50 to $2.00 per employee per service.
4. Tax Filing and Compliance Services: Quarterly state tax filing at $72 for the first state plus $40 per additional state; year-end processing at $130 plus $5 per W-2; amendments at $175/hour.
5. Labor Law Poster Service: $14 per month per location for updated, laminated labor law poster compliance service.
6. Custom HR Projects: One-time custom HR project engagements including recruiting assistance, leadership coaching, termination support, benefits evaluation, salary surveys, training programs, and on-site HR visits — priced hourly or by project scope.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Paper Trails is a payroll and HR services provider that processes payroll, files taxes, administers benefits, and delivers ongoing HR consulting and compliance support for small and mid-sized businesses. Services run on the isolved People Cloud HCM platform and are delivered with a local Maine-based team that assigns a dedicated payroll and HR expert to each client.

Product overview

Paper Trails is a payroll and HR services provider operating on the isolved People Cloud HCM platform. The core offering is Payroll & Tax Processing supplemented by HR Consulting and Compliance services. Additional modules include Applicant Tracking (via isolved Attract & Hire), Employee Onboarding, Time & Attendance, Benefits Administration, Expense Management, Learning Management, Performance Management, and Social Responsibility tools. The company also offers two HR consulting subscription tiers (HR Success and HR Advisor) with different service levels. Clients access services through the isolved People Cloud web portal, mobile app, and dedicated payroll/HR experts.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Payroll & Tax Processing

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 1,000 clients and approximately 10,000 employees paid as of early 2026.
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments11 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration7 records

Feature10 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• isolvedcoreTechnology or IntegrationPaper Trails runs all payroll, HR, time & attendance, benefits administration, onboarding, and employee self-service on the isolved People Cloud HCM platform. isolved is the underlying technology infrastructure powering Paper Trails' entire service delivery.
• MEMIC (Workers' Compensation)coreTechnology or IntegrationPaper Trails partners with MEMIC (Maine Employers' Mutual Insurance Company) along with other workers' comp providers to offer workers' comp as-you-go administration, allowing clients to pay premiums each pay period.
• Eastern Alliance (Workers' Compensation)coreTechnology or IntegrationWorkers' comp as-you-go administration partner enabling per-payroll-period premium payments instead of upfront annual projections.
• Acadia (Workers' Compensation)coreTechnology or IntegrationWorkers' comp as-you-go administration partner enabling per-payroll-period premium payments instead of upfront annual projections.
• AmTrust (Workers' Compensation)coreTechnology or IntegrationWorkers' comp as-you-go administration partner enabling per-payroll-period premium payments instead of upfront annual projections.
• 120+ Retirement CarrierscoreTechnology or IntegrationPaper Trails has direct integration with over 120 retirement providers, enabling electronic transmission of employee and employer retirement contributions and customized year-end census and audit reporting.
• Local Economy Payroll (Merger)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal Economy Payroll was merged into Paper Trails, with former Local Economy Payroll clients migrated to Paper Trails' platform and still able to log in at localeconomypayroll.myisolved.com.
• CPAs and Enrolled AgentscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPaper Trails partners with CPAs, enrolled agents, benefit brokers, workers' comp brokers, TPAs, and financial advisors. Their tools encourage sound accounting fundamentals and enable dynamic general ledger reporting for shared clients.
• Benefit BrokerscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPartnership with benefit brokers to provide fully integrated online open enrollment and benefits administration tools for shared clients.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Broad incumbents

• ADP: ADP is the dominant U.S. payroll and HCM incumbent, offering products from small-business payroll (RUN Powered by ADP) up to enterprise RPO/HR outsourcing. Comparable as the same payroll-and-HR category that Paper Trails occupies, but ADP competes across all segments and geographies nationally and globally.
• Paychex: Paychex is one of the largest U.S. payroll and HCM providers serving SMBs and mid-market companies. Comparable because it targets the same small-business and mid-market payroll/HR buyer that Paper Trails serves, but operates at vastly greater scale and offers a much broader product suite.
• TriNet: TriNet is a PEO providing payroll, HR, benefits, and compliance services to small and mid-sized businesses. Comparable because TriNet targets the same SMB and lower-mid-market buyer as Paper Trails, including many of the same verticals, though it operates at much greater scale through co-employment.

Emerging players

• Rippling: Rippling is a fast-growing HCM platform that unifies payroll, HR, IT, and finance for small and mid-sized businesses. Comparable as a modern, cloud-native challenger competing for the same SMB and mid-market payroll-and-HR buyer with a broader, integrated product surface than Paper Trails offers.

Direct peers

• isolved: isolved is the HCM platform vendor that powers Paper Trails' entire service delivery, and it also sells its People Cloud platform through its own direct sales force and other partners. Comparable because isolved's own payroll/HR customers buy exactly the same hire-to-retire functionality Paper Trails wraps with local service.
• OnPay: OnPay is an SMB-focused payroll and HR services provider serving small businesses across all 50 U.S. states. Comparable because it competes for the same 1–100 employee payroll-and-HR buyer with transparent subscription pricing and full-service tax filing.
• Justworks: Justworks is a payroll, benefits, and HR platform primarily targeting SMBs and small mid-market companies. Comparable because it sells integrated payroll, benefits administration, and HR support — overlapping directly with Paper Trails' HR Success and HR Advisor subscriptions.
• Patriot Software: Patriot Software offers affordable, U.S.-focused payroll and accounting software aimed at very small businesses. Comparable as a direct competitor for the 1–100 employee payroll-and-HR segment, particularly for cost-sensitive buyers in industries Paper Trails serves.
• Gusto: Gusto is a cloud-native payroll, HR, and benefits platform built specifically for U.S. small businesses. Comparable because it serves the same 1–100 employee SMB segment with payroll processing, tax filing, benefits administration, and HR tools — competing head-on with Paper Trails' core offering.

Regional players

• Bangor Savings Bank Payroll: Bangor Savings Bank's payroll division is named by Paper Trails itself as one of the 'big 4' Maine-based payroll companies. Comparable because it competes head-on in the same Maine SMB payroll market with similar full-service processing and tax filing capabilities.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A1 record

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Paper Trails