ADP acquires workforce management software startup WorkMarket

Payroll provider ADP said it is acquiring WorkMarket, a startup that specializes in workforce management software that operates across a wide range of employees and contractors, for an undisclosed sum.

The software aims to create a kind of unified interface for managing an extended workforce that can include a variety of workers with different employment status, from contractors and freelancers to full-time employees. As many companies work with contractors — and a lot of companies are already tapping a much wider swath of workers that aren’t full-time employees — software for managing extended workforce could be increasingly valuable.

WorkMarket includes payment systems, management for extended employee networks, as well as a marketplace for piecing together a workforce that can fill the gaps for a company that’s looking to operate outside of the traditional range that full-time employees might operate. All these tools, which the startup looks to wrap into a more straightforward and less complex product, are hallmarks of a company looking to woo small businesses before they hit a point that necessitates larger and more robust workforce management products.

For ADP, it would seem to give the company that traditionally specializes in payroll another tool to convince enterprises to use it as part of a larger system of workforce products. While ADP has been a larger incumbent, these kinds of acquisitions are important to show that it can be agile and compete with smaller companies that are gobbling up small businesses by pitching easier-to-use tools that help remove the headache of implementing complicated systems.

WorkMarket, founded in 2010, has raised more than $50 million from firms like Union Square Ventures and Spark Capital. The startup raised $25 million from Accenture and Foundry Group in April last year. The most recent funding round valued the company at $72 million, according to PitchBook.

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