How Handzy Shop + Studio Built a Back-Office as Polished as Their Brand

Intro

Handzy Shop + Studio began as a dream between college best friends and graphic designers, Brittney Braemer and Suzy Hinnefeld. Now celebrating their 10th anniversary, Handzy has grown from a small design studio into a beloved Covington lifestyle boutique. As the business evolved and the team grew to 10 employees that rotate in and out frequently, the owners realized they needed to move past "post-it notes and random texts" to a more professional operation. By pairing their longtime scheduling tool, When I Work, with Rippling, they achieved the "legit" business structure they needed to support the fluid nature of their team.

The Challenge

Degrading Support and Scare Tactics

Before Rippling, Handzy used Paychex for payroll, an experience that felt increasingly out of step with their community-centric, boutique culture. As a small team, Brittney and Suzy felt pressured by a "corporate" approach that relied on aggressive upselling. "They just use scare tactics to get you to buy more products," Brittney noted, explaining how Paychex would suggest they were at constant risk of fines unless they bought bloated HR packages they didn't need.

Beyond the sales pressure, the support experience was a major breaking point. When issues arose, the owners found the service unresponsive and, at times, degrading. As two people managing 25 different jobs at once, they didn't have time for a provider that talked down to them or left them to troubleshoot complex payroll issues alone.

The Manual Export Chore

Even with When I Work handling the schedule and timesheets, the connection to payroll was broken. The owners had to manually input hours from When I Work into the Paychex portal, which left the door open for typos and required constant double-checking against separate spreadsheets. For owners also acting as lead designers and bookkeepers, this manual entry was a drain on the creative energy they needed to run the shop.

The Overhead of a Rotating Workforce

Many of Handzy’s employees are college students or emerging professionals in their first "real" jobs, often working on a seasonal basis. In their previous setup, the owners had to spend hours acting as "compliance officers," manually explaining how to fill out W-4s and I-9s for every new hire. It was a disconnected experience that made onboarding feel like a paper chase rather than a professional welcome, delaying getting to real, on-the-job training.

The Solution

Handzy needed a solution that felt as intuitive and well-designed as the products on their shelves. When they saw Rippling was a preferred partner of When I Work, the decision was simple:

One-Click Sync for Instant Payroll Accuracy

The integration instantly pushes hours from When I Work directly into Rippling payroll. No manual entry. No CSV exports. Every shift syncs correctly, so staff are paid accurately without anyone cross-referencing multiple systems. During busy seasonal transitions, that accuracy matters. The manual export chore that ate into their creative time is simply gone.

Establishing Employee Accountability

When a new hire joins Handzy, Rippling hands them a checklist and walks them through every step. They upload their own work verification, sign their documents, and get automatic reminders if anything's still outstanding. The system holds employees to the process, so Brittney and Suzy never have to chase anyone down. They stopped being compliance officers and got back to running the shop. 

Employee-Led Scheduling That Runs Itself

For a rotating team of college students and seasonals, scheduling used to mean constant back-and-forth. Employees now handle their own time-off requests and shift swaps directly, with Brittney and Suzy approving in one click. Approved hours sync automatically into Rippling payroll — no exports, no manual entry. Day-to-day scheduling simply handles itself, and the owners get their time back.

4. The Impact 

The results have been immediate. For a 10-person shop where every hour counts, the shift has been felt across the whole business.

From Two Weeks to Two Days

The biggest operational change has been in hiring speed, which is critical for a rotating staff. The onboarding process for new seasonal staff has shrunk from two weeks to two days, an 85% reduction in time spent chasing paperwork. "Before Rippling, I had to tell them to do something, remember to check if they did it, and follow up individually every time I saw an incomplete task," Suzy explained. 

Support as a Partnership, Not a Barrier

One of the most significant changes for Brittney and Suzy has been the quality of support. Unlike their previous experience, they found Rippling’s support team to be fast, kind, and helpful. That impression started from day one. Handzy had a dedicated onboarding specialist, and when that person had a family emergency mid-setup, Rippling immediately stepped in with a replacement without a drop in support. 

Having issues resolved quickly by people who respect their business gives the owners the confidence to manage their back-office without fear.

Intuitively Knowing Where Things Are

With Paychex, the admin experience and the employee experience were completely different — when employees struggled to find pay stubs or update their own W-4s, Brittney and Suzy struggled to advise them. In Rippling, both sides of the interface are clean and consistent, and the owners can toggle between admin and employee views instantly. This clarity allows the owners to manage their business without feeling like the "back-office" is a separate, confusing world.

The "Dream" State