Icalia Labs

About Icalia Labs

Icalia Labs was founded in 2012 and has grown from a software development company into a technology partner for mid sized businesses that want to turn ideas into real digital products. The company mixes strong engineering, agile ways of working, and a close focus on clients to help businesses build technology that actually works outside the meeting room. At the centre of how they work is the Icalier Way, a method that guides client projects, internal decisions, and daily processes.

That way of working is built around efficiency, improvement, transparency, and doing things well without making a circus out of it. As Icalia Labs kept growing, the team needed its internal processes to match the same standard they give clients. Payroll was one of those areas. It had to become faster, clearer, and more precise. For a company that lives and breathes efficient work, slow payroll processes were starting to feel like showing up to a tech meeting with a fax machine.

What obstacles were they facing when managing payroll calculation and payment?

Before Runa, Icalia Labs used a hybrid payroll model. An external provider handled calculations and tax stamping, while the internal finance team managed the actual payments. At first, that setup worked. But as the company grew, it started creating friction. Every payroll cycle needed coordination with outside parties, which meant waiting, checking, and depending on other people for a process that was too important to feel out of reach.

As Mariana Santiago explains, “Waiting every two weeks for the external calculation took away our control and made the process much slower than it should be.” When changes or incidents came up, the team had little room to react quickly. Delays in calculations or tax stamping created extra admin work and slowed the finance team down. Over time, it became clear that depending on third parties for payroll was no longer the best fit. The team needed more autonomy, faster execution, and full visibility. Basically, fewer waiting rooms and more control.

How did Runa transform their payroll process?

Runa changed the way Icalia Labs manages payroll by giving the company full ownership of the process in one platform. Tasks that used to depend on external providers could now be done internally, with more speed and confidence. Today, the team enters payroll information and Runa handles calculations, tax stamping, payments, and reports. That reduced the time spent on payroll and removed many manual steps that used to slow things down.

The platform also made IMSS related processes easier, including employee registrations, terminations, and salary changes. Severance calculations, which used to need more manual review, can now be handled faster and with more accuracy. That extra autonomy helped the finance team work better while keeping control over one of the company’s most important admin processes. Payroll now fits much better with the way Icalia Labs works: agile, precise, and always looking for a better way to do things.

Why was Runa the best option for Icalia Labs?

Icalia Labs was not just looking for payroll software. The company needed one platform that could bring together automation, visibility, compliance, and strong support. Runa stood out because it allowed the whole payroll cycle to be managed in one place. The team could calculate payroll, process tax stamping, create reports, manage employee movements, and make payments without jumping between systems or waiting on external providers.

Support also mattered a lot. As Mariana Santiago says, “The quality of the support has been an important differentiator for us. We always have someone who responds, explains, and solves.” That mix of useful technology and real human support gave the team confidence from the start and in daily work. Today, Runa works as an operational partner for Icalia Labs, helping manage payroll with more accuracy, clarity, and control. With payroll no longer taking up so much mental space, the team can focus more on innovation, clients, and building technology that keeps moving the business forward.