Mansfield-based business CCM LivePay celebrated its 35th anniversary with an event attended by local business leaders and Mansfield mayor Kate Allsop.

The business, now based on the Oakham Business park, was started by husband and wife team Keith and Sylvia Johnson.

Originally setting out to offer training and installation services for companies using Burroughs computers, they quickly identified their niche and grew their expertise in the implementation and operation of payroll systems.

In 1982 a new range of mainframe computers was launched that had no software available, opening the door for them to develop their own innovation and write a payroll package to take advantage of this new technology — and Live Pay was born.

Their payroll innovation was quickly adopted by Unisys, resulting in CCM supplying payroll systems for UK Unisys large systems users. This included many household names, from banks and building societies to commercial and manufacturing organisations, as well as public sector bodies. Some of those larger customers, like Weetabix, are still loyal customers today.

Technology was evolving and moving at a fast pace, but thanks to the growing power and popularity of Windows servers CCM diversified into their payroll service.

Driven by the expert knowledge of their specialised staff, LivePay was soon winning industry awards for its new approach they represented. It was this recognition that led CCM to econcentrate on building an exceptional payroll service instead of software.

By diversifying the business and being the early adopts of new technology, LivePay became a leader ahead of cloud computing.
LivePay was one of the first UK payroll systems to offer employees an online portal to access their payslips and P60s. This service is now used by tens of thousands of employees all over the UK and Ireland, accessed via their PC, tablets and mobile devices.

Managing director and founder Keith said: “I’m with Steve Jobs when he said ‘Technology alone is not enough…’

“For us at Live Pay, our high-tech advanced system is matched, almost ironically, by our old-fashioned attitude to service. It brings value to our customers and to us.”

After a successful, fast pace and innovative first 35 years in business ,what is next for CCM LivePay?

Keith said: “I tend to not look too far ahead, as technology can develop so quickly, but we’re a strong, forward-thinking team that has the ability to spot and exploit opportunities and to adapt to whatever payroll, legislation or technical advances lies ahead.”