ISV Talks
ISV Talks
It Takes a Rocket Scientist: From NASA Dreams to HCM Integrations Why Payroll and HR Workforce Integrations Sometimes Need a Rocket Scientist.
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In this ISV Talks episode, Carol Livingston interviews Mary Sarracino, CEO of JAT Consulting, to explore how JAT became one of the most trusted integration partners in the Microsoft Dynamics ecosystem. Mary shares how her early path in astrophysics and plans to head to NASA after college but took a jobs as a computer programmer for a payroll software vendor. This has shaped the technical foundation that later helped her solve some of the most complex HR and Payroll challenges for Dynamics customers.
JAT’s Connect Series supports Dynamics GP, Business Central, and Finance and Operations by keeping employee data synchronized across Payroll, Benefits, and Timekeeping systems. Mary explains how Payroll Connect began as a GP to ADP integration, how Benefits Connect grew to support multi‑carrier reporting, and how JAT’s automation engine reduces manual entry and compliance risk across all Dynamics HR workloads.
Dynamics partners will hear valuable insights on why HR and Payroll require specialized expertise, how partners are adapting to channel changes, and where compliance pressures are increasing for customers. Mary also discusses the growing role of secure internal AI tools such as Copilot for Work and why sensitive employee data should remain inside the organization’s own environment.
If you support Dynamics GP, BC, or F&O customers who rely on accurate workforce data, this episode offers practical guidance on integrations, compliance, automation, and the future of HCM within the Microsoft ecosystem.
Learn more about JAT Consulting at www.jatnet.com.
Welcome And Guest Introduction
SPEAKER_01Well, welcome to this episode of ISV Talks. I'm Carol Livingston of Dynamics Connections and your host of ISV Talks. And on this episode, I'm happy to have Mary from JET Consulting. Welcome, Mary.
SPEAKER_00Thank you, Carol. Thank you for having me today.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, thanks for joining us. So tell us a little bit about yourself, how long you've been in the channel, and a little bit about who you are.
SPEAKER_00Okay. Well, this was certainly uh getting into HR payroll consulting was not what I went to college for. I was actually going to be an astrophysicist. I wanted to be in the space program. Yeah. So if you look at our logo, you'll notice that we use the NASA font. And that that's the main reason why. But during my last year of college, I saw a job posting for a city government for a computer programmer trainee, which was my minor in school. So I thought, hey, this will be great, other than you know, a starving student. So I
From Aspiring Astronomer To Payroll
SPEAKER_00took the job, and my first responsibility was to make program changes for the payroll system they had written in RPG. And this was way back then. So my career ended up with a completely different trajectory than astrophysics, but started working on payroll way back when, and I've not left. So I've been a uh computer programmer for many, many years, and then I got into client support, and I found that I was better working with real people than I was programming payroll routines. So I changed that. So I worked with a vendor, a couple of software vendors, and then ended up getting into consulting directly. And that was with JET.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. So you have a long career in software and software development. I did not know that about your background, though. That's really interesting. And so tell me about how did JAT consulting get started, a little bit of the company history.
JET Consulting Origins And Evolution
SPEAKER_00Great. Well, like most consulting companies, we started with working with some clients that needed some assistance. And again, I'm probably dating myself, but we were working and specializing in a mainframe HR payroll system. And so JAT was founded back in 1985 to help those mainframe payroll customers. So we were supporting their application, and that really expanded from mainframe to all platforms.
SPEAKER_01That's amazing. So you started the company to do consulting on mainframes. So and as that changed to more personal computers and client server, all that, you experienced all of that. Right.
SPEAKER_00So yeah, initially on mainframes, but as the software evolved and companies like PeopleSoft and and others got going, you know, client server, so it was now on servers and personal computers, and we've all seen that evolution, especially from hardware to cloud. So we we started doing ERP implementations with a system called Lawson, now called Infor.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00So that was our original piece. And then we started doing a lot of time management systems with Kronos, time clocks and schedulers and things of that nature. And they're now called UKG. But um back in about 2002, Microsoft invited us to go to a conference to become a potential value-added reseller of our with Microsoft Dynamics, Great Plains, and that was back in 2002. So we were very impressed with the convergence show and signed right up following that attending that show and became a partner. So I guess technically we've been a partner for 25 years, going on 25 years.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, wow. So almost from the so that was the GP days, right? That was the first ERP system Microsoft ever bought was GP. It started with DP. So so you know dexterity as well as uh working with
Dynamics Partnership And ERP Experience
SPEAKER_01dexterity. Oh wow, see you're really smart. Yeah. I don't know about smart, but very experienced. Well, great. Tell us a little bit about your solutions that AT Consulting has today. Because I know you kind of moved into having ISVs.
SPEAKER_00Right. So with our many, many ERP implementations, and for a while we kind of specialized in public sector. We had a lot of K through 12 school districts, we had some higher ed, and we worked with some other partners and Microsoft in in creating a public sector version, if you will. And so what we did find, not just in public sector, but we found some gaps and and it had to do with anything with employee information. So we really started with a product called JPI, which is now called Payroll Connect. And this was for clients that was were using GPHR, the the whole ERP, but they wanted to keep and own the HR portion. So all employee information was a single system of record. But then when they wanted to do something more challenging, I would guess their requirements were pretty hefty, and they picked ADP for their payroll solution. So we started doing this in-sync process of taking the employee data out of GP and sending it to ADP
Building Payroll Connect For ADP
SPEAKER_00so they could run payrolls and and what have you. So that was the start of payroll connect, and we started doing this so many times that we thought, hey, this sounds like something we could just package up and set up for customers. So our first real launch was in 2009 with uh with JPI now, payroll connect. So we worked closely with ADP. Uh they were actually selling our integration as part of their kind of onboarding of their new client.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I kind of remember that actually. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00From there, we realized because GP had some challenges of tracking employee changes. There wasn't really a change register. So instead of sending full file dumps to ADP or Ceridian or Paychecks or any third-party payrolls, we created kind of its own change register. And that just made it a little smarter. We were able to automate it. And then we found some other areas that were a little bit of a gap in GP. So we took that integration engine and we were able to do other things. An example is because we were a Kronos partner at one point, we needed to have this employee information update the Kronos timekeeping. So when they hired somebody in GP, it would flow all the way through to Kronos and their time clocks, and they're hired the same day, then go in and punch it into their clock virtually the same time. So that kind of evolved.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. I guess that's true. So they got all these automated systems but not talking to each other. So yeah. Yes. So okay.
SPEAKER_00Now our most popular one is something else. It's the uh benefits connect.
SPEAKER_01Oh okay. Tell us about that.
SPEAKER_00Well, with again, with any HR payroll system, and when you have employee benefits, you have the need to report to each benefit carrier any changes, whether it's through open enrollment or onboarding or offboarding staff, or
Fixing Change Tracking And Automations
SPEAKER_00even staff changes, like someone goes from part-time to full-time. You need to let your benefit carrier know about that enrollment. And so, still to this day, that is not considered a mandated requirement. So most vendors don't include carrier reporting as part of their HR payroll solution. So Benefits Connect was something we created initially for healthcare plans like medical and dental and vision, but most clients have an average of five, at least five benefit plans.
SPEAKER_01Right. Well, different carriers, too. Yeah, exactly. And they all have different formats. I know a lot of people still do things on spreadsheets and whatnot, and hope it's accurate.
SPEAKER_00Yes. And then we found out with a number of clients, there was some landmark cases where employers were held liable if the information they were providing to the carriers was not accurate. So if they had an independent that either aged out or was added to the family and their coverage, if that is not accurately reported to the carrier, they're not covered. And so you can imagine some of the issues that could come up with that.
SPEAKER_01So exactly. So that kind of helped kind of tighten up that system integration, make sure that all the information's accurate
Benefits Connect And Carrier Reporting Risk
SPEAKER_01and sync. You've got all these different, you know, connectors. So what do you call that? The connect series? Yeah, the connect series.
SPEAKER_00There's actually three main modules of the connect series. If you want it payroll, basically payroll centered, that's our payroll connect. So employee data in your GP system, feeds, you know, any payroll system, ADP, Ceridian, paychecks, what have you. And then as a partner of Kronos slash UKG, we made that compatible with the UKG product, which they also have HR payroll and scheduling systems. So we got involved and made sure that whatever APIs were needed to feed that information and make sure that that information was sent in a timely manner. The whole idea was to reduce that manual entry of trying to keep multiple systems that had employee data in sync. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I'm sure you hear that a lot from customers having to maintain all the separate databases of employee records and the data. Are you working with other products besides dynamics? I know you mentioned Dynamics GP, any other dynamics products or other dynamics, yes.
SPEAKER_00Any, well, there's really not too many, but dynamics HR. There's the I think it started out as Exapta AX, their HR system. And now it's it was uh kind of geared towards the F and O, but now it they've discovered it's very scalable so that a BC client could actually use D365 HR. So that was our kind of our second lift. So it can talk to any dynamics HR system basically, and with any payroll system, any benefits carrier, any time capture system. We're kind of that glue in between, you know, employee data and applications that use employee data.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, so it sounds like you've been working with Microsoft for a long time and collaborating with them. So that's awesome.
SPEAKER_00You know, any industries that you work with in particular? Well, as I mentioned, we actually started in because my background was in public sector, we really got involved in the public sector area as a as a vertical, but as you know, HR payroll is more of a horizontal application. Everyone that has employees has the challenge of maintaining that information and staffing and paying their employees as accurately as possible. So really it whether you're in healthcare, public sector, retail, manufacturing, the processes are similar. So there might be some different requirements if you're healthcare or if you're public safety, where you
The Connect Series As Integration Glue
SPEAKER_00have fire and police, which have crazy schedules, the processes are similar between them. So we really kind of consider it a horizontal application.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. Yeah, but like you mentioned, fire, and you know, they have unions and all of those add more complexity to manage.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, they can keep us busy with changes.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. So Mary, tell us a story about a customer that you've worked with that you've helped them be successful with their solutions and why.
SPEAKER_00Sure. Um, one of a more recent ones was during the pandemic. We got involved with DynamicsCon and you know, it was all virtual conference. So it was it felt a little odd, but you know, our name got out there, people heard about our solutions. So a shipbuilding organization in Louisiana had the need for carrier reporting. They had had some challenges with getting accurate information to their various carriers. So they contacted us directly. They didn't go through their VAR initially and asked about uh benefits connect. So about, oh, I guess it was about 2021, we implemented it for one of their most used benefit carrier uh benefit plan, which was I think it was Aetna, but one of the healthcare plans, and they had all kinds of options. You know, you have the different coverage options, and then they had different plans for different groups of employees.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00And they were very challenged with having to send spreadsheets, basically, is what they were doing of employee changes. So they saw our benefits connect, and we implemented it about three, four years ago, and it seemed like every year they would get a new benefit plan. You know,
Who Uses It And Why It Matters
SPEAKER_00they'll add Blue Cross, or the most recent one was they added if they wanted to do the 401k benefit reporting to that carrier. I think it was Fidelity. Again, some of this is public knowledge, but the challenge was 401k Fidelity doesn't use the same format as a healthcare like Aetna. There, there's actually some name ADI standards. But one thing that we were able to do with our design of Benefits Connect is we created again this engine that says, okay, what plan are you working with? And we have you know a number of formats, output options. And so this system can be just almost plug-and-play where you identify the plans, and so they they they use their maintenance time, which comes with the renewals, to say, okay, this year we have a new plan. So instead of creating a whole new extract, Benefits Connect says, okay, these are the parameters, and we have externalized them so the client can actually do this, although that's where we are there to help them. So they can say, okay, we now want to do our 401k plan activity to go to Fidelity, and that they're using the same module.
SPEAKER_01There you go.
SPEAKER_00So yeah, so they really like the fact that they didn't have to retain a contractor or bring IT in to create a whole new format for a whole new carrier.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. Right. And then you're probably following kind of standardizations across the industry and for particular carriers. So that really helps. Yeah. So well, that's amazing. Uh so what do kind of looking in the future? What what are some of the new things that you're looking to add value or introduce to add value to your products?
SPEAKER_00Well, funny you asked because it seems now that AI is the big topic to discuss.
SPEAKER_01And it seems important.
unknownYep.
SPEAKER_00So the concern is though, when you're dealing with employee information and very sensitive information, you really shouldn't be going to a chat GPT or some, you know, a very public uh AI tool. So it's more like using something like Copilot, where you can actually kind of create your own parameters
Customer Story Shipbuilder Carrier Reporting
SPEAKER_00and utilize your own internal information. So what we're seeing for open enrollment for benefits processing, that two parts of that. One is kind of an internal AI process where you can actually have dependent eligibility automated so it can look at you what you have out on your employee record and discern that I've got some dependents that are either going to age out or a in. And so this can be automated to some extent. And then when you're doing like ongoing enrollment, so anytime you hire a person or a person now becomes eligible for certain plans, we're looking to have AI kind of help the employee experience where it can really just ask some questions and then present solutions back to the options at least, back to themselves.
SPEAKER_01Right. Yeah, especially during open enrollment. It seems like there's always questions.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. So I know some people are, you know, kind of concerned about having an an AI bot kind of be that that interaction, that helper, but it can certainly take care of a lot of the common pieces that come up, especially during open enrollment, for example. Exactly.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. So if the bot can kind of assist or guide the employee, that's huge, right?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, yeah. So yeah, I think we know there's a bit of fear and lobing concern about AI taking jobs, but we're really looking at it to enhance processes and just make it a little more friendly. I don't want to overuse the word user-friendly, but it it gives the employee, the staff, a better experience in going through things that they have to do at least once a year.
SPEAKER_01So that's the thing. They do it once a year and then they forget everything till the next year, right? Exactly. So until they need to know, right? That's when they need those tools. Any observations since you've been in the industry for 25 years. I I think you got a long time experience working with the partners in the dynamic channel or other ERP systems. Like, what are you seeing in the channel with those longtime partners and what are they struggling with?
SPEAKER_00I think that it's a good question, Carol. I think they're struggling with things like Avar implementing ERP solutions. So they're implementing BC or FNO or some solution. They know accounting, they know about general ledger and setting up debits and credits and paying your vendors and receiving money if there's something you sell or generate revenue from. But when it comes to HRP role, that's a complete different topic. And so we're seeing with other partners, and that's where we can come in and assist them, that we can actually help them ask the magic questions for what they need to do to even set up their HR system. So that's kind of what we're seeing is more of a collaborative effort with other partners where they have their expertise and they're bringing in expertise. So it really makes it a nice environment to work with. And the
AI Plans For Enrollment And Eligibility
SPEAKER_00goal is to make sure that the client has everything they need with their solution.
SPEAKER_01And what I see with your model is that you know the ERP and you know the HR and the payroll systems out there, and you know kind of the HR and payroll processes and things to be aware of. Or, you know, partners aren't focusing on that. You all know have expertise in payroll or HR.
SPEAKER_00So and lately there's been a lot of changes. I I think it's a cycle, but yeah. I think the I don't know what's called now. Big beautiful bill, but there were changes on how tips are taxed or not taxed, right? Over time being taxed or not taxed. A lot of compliance issues are coming up. And you know, HRP roll is not is an application, it doesn't generate revenue, but it sure can generate liability.
SPEAKER_01So saves you money and maybe in the in the end.
SPEAKER_00Yes, if you do it right and you document it well enough, you can eliminate or at least reduce the liability that can come with being an employer. So it's important to have the systems in sync and and automate where you can. Then you can concentrate on the the nice to have, the the the interaction with the staff, you know, and and how even to the recruiting piece, right? So the overall image of the company, you know, how how do you recruit, how do you treat your staff?
SPEAKER_01Mm-hmm. Yeah, employees are onboarded, that also is important. You know, they have an expectation of using the apps and technology on your phone.
SPEAKER_00And so yeah, the days are going away where you filled out an application on paper and you did performance reviews on paper, it's all there. And you're using your phone.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I I know like my daughter and my son, you know, that they're like everything they do is on their phone. So that's what they're used to. And so paper is not a thing anymore for those folks. But perspective, you know, just in terms of what are customers challenged with, and you know, what are the what are they trying to improve in their operations?
SPEAKER_00Well, with regard to HR payroll, and we now use the term HCM, human capital management, that's really any application that handles employee information. And you can't even say employees, it can be just staffing information. I think that's where uh compliance, there are so many federal, state, and local rules, laws, mandates, and this can put an employer in very awkward positions of uh complying with these mandates. And so that that's where we're seeing the challenges, both at the partners supporting their customer as well as the customer themselves, because they're performing right, they're supporting their their staff and their operations. So yeah, that the the whole focus on automation, and automation has to be careful because assumptions can be made that you know one side does not fit all. So, and since I wasn't a rocket science, it's not rocket science, but it can get you in trouble if you're not if you're not performing or doing it accurately.
Partner Challenges With HR Payroll Complexity
SPEAKER_01Yeah, it just takes a rocket scientist like you figure this out. So speaking of in the horizon, uh, you know, in the future, what are you seeing being developed?
SPEAKER_00Well, I think again, AI, the hot topic. We see that an internal AI like Copilot being used so that the employer can have their own rules and logic about their own population, and this can be grouped, and it is grouped. You know, you have part-time and full-time and all types of employee groups. And as I mentioned, the external AI tools and engines, they're not secure. So I think what we're seeing just more in the immediate future is controlling, providing the AI ability, but having it very much internalized. So it's secure, not just secure, but it's really tailored to the needs, whether they're employment hiring policies or performance management, things like that, that you can automate, you can make it an AI agent, you know, an agentic type of application, but you have to you can keep it internal. So I think that's the trend with HI is making it more of an internal engine and not something that is shared with everyone.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, it seems like that's a trend. And I I know you said you you also told me something about you're working on a survey or something with HR professionals about this. What what are you hearing?
SPEAKER_00I have about almost 70 uh different employers that have participated. And so, and it's just really for trends. I'm actually going to be publishing, I'll have that uh again on our website and and in LinkedIn about how AR is affecting the HR, I should say HCM professional, because it's not just HR, it's risk management, uh, employee benefits administrators, obviously payroll managers, where they have some very specific uh requirements and processes there. And so automation.
SPEAKER_01Everyone wants to be automated, but still protect that sensitive data too. So, yeah, having that that that governance and being able to make sure that the data is not out there in the public AI is really important.
SPEAKER_00So I'm sure we're gonna hear of breaches of information because of AI. So, you know, I think that it appears Microsoft is trying to address that too, because copilot really is something that can be managed as an internal application. So I think that's wonderful.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. So I'm hearing a theme here. AI, AI, AI. AI, AI. Yeah, exactly. So what what's the one trend you're seeing that's driving customers or partners to come talk to you?
SPEAKER_00Compliance. Sometimes we are contacted when an issue has already occurred, so that there was a court order or an earlier that we sometimes are brought in as expert witness to testify on what systems can do or if the system they had was able to help them comply with any mandates. So yeah.
SPEAKER_01Oh
Compliance Pressures And Paid Leave Changes
SPEAKER_01wow.
SPEAKER_00There's compliance. So there's there's a lot of activity going on there with, especially this year, there were changes in many at many states where paid employee time off for a family and medical has really expanded. So it's not just, you know, I get so much time off after I've had a baby or I'm adopting or or some major event like that where you need to make sure that they get a minimum, because some states like California, Minnesota, say, okay, you get this much pay when someone's on paid time off. And it's not just I've a I've accrued three weeks, so I'm gonna get paid three weeks. Some of the states are saying, No, you actually the employer actually is required to pay you more than you've accrued. So this has been going on for a while, but just recently in January 1 for a couple of states was a big deal.
SPEAKER_01So yeah, and uh is it ignorance, or I mean, there's so many laws, like you said, uh people are just you know not meaning to, but they didn't know, and they just missed some you know, compliance statute that they needed to comply with.
SPEAKER_00I think it's hard for employers to to keep up with with these mandates. Some are legislated, so you you kind of hear about those, but for the most part, outside of uh bargaining units and unions, they're all kind of public, especially when they come at the state and federal level. And so they're out there, but and there are some sources you can, you know, an employer can go to to see if they're compliant, but that is something that we provide as kind of a separate service, but uh compliance assessment. Yeah, for example, we support the state of Colorado in their tax reporting, really, yes. We've been doing that, JT's been doing that for almost 20 years, and they have an old mainframe payroll system. They're they'll be moving this is public record, so I'm not divulging anything that's sensitive, but you know, they have employees in 35 states, so state employees in Colorado can live almost anywhere in the country, and then the employer, the state, has to actually comply with the tax rules for every state that the staff is employed in. So it's you know, so we monitor these rules out there and then we rehash it so that you know people can understand them in simpler terms and to to make sure they stay in
How To Contact JET And Closing
SPEAKER_00compliance. That's good.
SPEAKER_01That's amazing. Well, I'm really glad you're there to help partners and customers with all of this complex stuff. Well, thank you, Mary, for joining me today on this episode of ISV Talks. I had a fun time learning about how you started out in space uh, you know, engineering and then uh went into software development. So thanks for joining me today.
SPEAKER_00Oh, thank you for having me. This this was actually I'm excited. I'm almost an evangelist on things about anything to do with employees and staffing. So, you know, it's hard to shut me up on this, but I appreciate the opportunity. And I know that this can generate more questions, especially if you have clients or you're a client and you're struggling with compliance and and even something as supposedly simple as carrier reporting. So feel free to contact us at uh we have a general contact email that's support s-u-p-p-o-r-t at jatnetnet.com. And that's our website, j-atnet.com jatnet. And we also have uh toll-free numbers to reach out to us, uh 1-800-367-0072. And you can press any of the options there to reach me or any of our team members, and we'd love to help answer any questions you have about connecting this information up. Thank you.
SPEAKER_01All right, thank you, Mary. All right, well, thank you, friends, for joining this episode of ISV Talks. We'll uh see you on the next episode, friends. Bye-bye. Bye-bye. Thank you.