The RoostPay Waitlist is Open: Why I Decided to Kill the Payroll Spreadsheet

When my family first decided to bring in-home childcare into our lives, the goal was simple: we wanted some of our time back.

We started out by hosting an au pair, and eventually transitioned to hiring a full-time nanny. Finding the right person to care for our kids was an incredible relief, but almost overnight, I realized I had accidentally taken on a new part-time job as a payroll accountant and HR manager.

Because ours is a shift-worker household, our schedule is constantly changing. We don’t have the luxury of a predictable Monday-to-Friday, 9-to-5 routine. Our nanny was working highly irregular hours, which made meticulous schedule and hour tracking an absolute must-have.

Being a bit of a data nerd, I did what most people do: I built a spreadsheet. I figured out the formulas, set up the tax brackets, and tried to manage our changing shifts on a shared family calendar. But keeping that spreadsheet legally compliant with Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) rules and provincial employment standards ended up costing me countless hours every single pay run.

I kept wishing there was a simple app that could just handle it all for me. When I realized a purpose-built Canadian solution didn’t exist, I decided to build it.

That is how RoostPay was born. Today, our waitlist is officially open while we put the finishing touches on the app. Here is a sneak peek at exactly what we are building to end the Friday night payroll scramble.

1. Synchronized Scheduling & Hour Tracking

Juggling a shared digital calendar for shifts and a separate notes app for actual hours worked is a recipe for missed payments and frustration.

We built RoostPay to handle the reality of irregular schedules. You can build out rotating shifts and recurring patterns directly in the app. From there, your nanny simply logs their actual hours from their smartphone. No more disjointed text messages at the end of the week. The schedule and the timesheet live in perfect harmony.

2. Cross-Canada Overtime Math

This was the feature that finally broke my spreadsheet. Unlike a standard corporate salary, domestic workers in Canada are subject to strict provincial Employment Standards Act (ESA) rules.

If a shift runs long, trying to figure out if it triggers daily overtime, weekly overtime, time-and-a-half, or double-time is a massive headache. RoostPay’s 13-Jurisdiction Compliance Engine removes the guesswork entirely. The app automatically separates regular hours from overtime based on your specific province or territory. It just does the math.

3. The TD1 & Contract Wizard

The paperwork required before your nanny even works their first shift can be intimidating. You need a solid employment agreement, and you need to capture their tax information accurately so you don’t under-withhold on their paychecks.

RoostPay includes a built-in wizard that guides your caregiver through completing their Federal and Provincial TD1 forms digitally. It also helps you generate a legally sound, professional employment contract that you can both review, sign, and confirm right from the app.

Built for Employers and Employees

A great payroll experience shouldn’t just benefit the parents. We are building RoostPay to be completely transparent and empowering for the caregivers who keep our households running.

Both employers and employees have access to a PIPEDA-secure document vault. That means your nanny always has instant, mobile access to their pay stubs, their employment contract, and their year-end T4s whenever they need them, whether they are applying for an apartment lease or filing their taxes. No more digging through old email threads.

Join the Waitlist

We are building the tool we desperately wished we had. If you are tired of doing manual spreadsheet math, managing e-transfers, and stressing about CRA compliance, we’d love for you to be among the first to try it.

Join the RoostPay Waitlist today and take “amateur accountant” off your to-do list for good.