How a growing Kiwi business manages HR and compliance

Founded in 2019, Marine Detailing Company is a growing Kiwi business specialising in boat detailing and antifouling across Auckland boatyards and marinas. 

The business has grown from a small operation to 13 employees, including skilled workers on accredited employer work visas and local staff working across waterfront sites with strict health and safety requirements. 

Director Harry King found himself increasingly bogged down in payroll and people management tasks. These administrative demands kept him away from focusing on growing the business until Smartly’s all-in-one system came into play.

Running a small business meant Harry was constantly pulled in different directions. Manually tracking staff on accredited employer work visas, conducting annual health and safety inductions at multiple sites, and juggling separate payroll and HR systems created time pressure and increased the risk of errors

"A lot of our staff are on the accredited employer work visa, so there’s a lot of compliance documents and things that we have to keep on top of in order to stay compliant with immigration. So to have like a central hub where everything’s easily accessible, it’s saved me a lot of stress," Harry told us.

Marine Detailing Company moved to Smartly People Management and now benefits from:

• A central hub for all staff documents and records, keeping everything organised and accessible, with visibility restricted to only those you choose.
• Automated reminders for visa expiries, inductions, and other compliance tasks.
• Integrated HR and payroll, eliminating double data entry and reducing errors.

"To have like a central hub where everything's easily accessible and any expiries or reminders that I need to keep on top of are all in one place helps me avoid mistakes and getting into trouble with immigration.” 

See all the additional features Smartly People Management offers and how they can simplify your HR processes.

With Smartly, Marine Detailing Company now enjoys:

• Peace of mind that compliance obligations are met
• Dramatically reduced admin time thanks to automated reminders and centralised records
• Streamlined HR and payroll processes
• Accurate, reliable employee data from a single source
• Hours freed up each week to focus on growing the business

“When you're operating a small business, often you're being pulled in different directions. Smartly has definitely improved and increased my efficiency with regards to payroll and HR.” 

Marine Detailing's story shows that HR isn't just a "nice to have" – it's business-critical. One missed visa renewal, health and safety oversight, or payroll error could lead to hefty fines. Integrated people management transforms compliance from a time-consuming burden into a streamlined system that runs in the background.

See how Smartly’s integrated payroll and people management platform can give you the same peace of mind. Book a demo today and get back to focusing on what you do best.