Meet the invisible workforce powering fashion’s biggest night, and the tools that keep them running

Every year, the world watches as fashion's biggest night unfolds on the steps of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. From the gowns and tuxes to the ornate details like hair, makeup, and nails that complete the look, every element is always immaculate. But behind every red carpet moment is a story that rarely makes the headlines: the teams, the schedules, the billing, and the relentless behind-the-scenes work that makes it all possible.

As we announce QuickBooks Workforce, we're pulling back the curtain on those stories with a look at the business owners who power these iconic cultural moments, and the invisible workforce behind them for whom we built QuickBooks Workforce.

Unmasking the invisible workforce

While their artistry is what makes the headlines, the creatives behind these cultural moments are simultaneously managing the complexities of running and growing their business. They not only juggle bookings across multiple clients and locations while ensuring their finances are in order, but are also responsible for managing the invisible workforce who supports them, from ensuring payroll is run so employees are paid on time to providing competitive benefits that make them feel valued and keep them motivated. But managing this work is often spread across multiple apps, creating inefficiencies and manual work that can limit growth.

World-renowned Bachik Brands business owner and celebrity manicurist Tom Bachik, and celebrity hairstylist, salon owner, and global hair expert, Ursula Stephen, are two business owners with strong teams behind them who represent this invisible workforce. Their challenge reflects a reality shared by small- and mid-market businesses across every industry: human capital management (HCM) has become overwhelmingly complex. This is the challenge QuickBooks Workforce is built to solve, bringing the entire employee lifecycle into one, unified hub powered by agentic AI automation, alongside financial management tools that provide a 360-degree view of the business.

We spoke with Bachik and Stephen to learn more about how they balance creating glamorous red carpet looks for fashion’s biggest night, while making sure their businesses are running smoothly behind the scenes with the help of QuickBooks Workforce.

Adding the finishing touch with Tom Bachik

What started as a passing suggestion from his cousin to delve into the beauty industry for financial stability has turned into a successful stream of businesses for Tom Bachik, who developed a passion for the craft of nail artistry. Known as one of the most influential celebrity manicurists, Bachik has revolutionized red carpet nail art for nearly 30 years, blending technical precision with high-fashion aesthetics for everyone from his A-list clients to the top luxury fashion houses.

At the start, Bachik ran his business alongside his wife, Liz, with Tom handling the creative side and Liz handling operations. Since then, they’ve expanded into multiple businesses, growing their team and operations along the way with a dedicated workforce who helps them to get it all done.

“As we grew, and as we got more complex, we needed to bring in the right people to really help us be successful,” Bachik shared. “And then those right people, brought in the tools like QuickBooks and QuickBooks Workforce, that really helps us with our team and our finances.”

Mastering the look with Ursula Stephen

From a young age, Ursula Stephen knew she wanted to be a hair stylist. Attending a vocational high school with a focus on the beauty industry, she turned this dream into a reality, now working as a freelance celebrity stylist while owning and managing her own salon in Brooklyn, New York. From styling A-list talent for events to creating looks for high-fashion editorial magazines and major brands, Stephen has made her mark on the hair industry across the globe.

Managing her salon and freelance work comes with its challenges. But after 13 years as a business owner, Stephen has learned that the secret to success and growth is using reliable tools such as QuickBooks to help her handle the finances and workforce, and building a strong team that helps her manage everything from employee scheduling to administrative work behind the scenes.

"As I think about adding more businesses to my portfolio, I’m not afraid because of paperwork and numbers,” said Stephen. "I have a system. Everyone on my team is very strong and very on top of things. And I think that is very important: having a great system like QuickBooks and QuickBooks Workforce, along with a great team.”

The workforce tool that powers it all

Building on the success of QuickBooks Payroll and leveraging the integration of GoCo’s technology, QuickBooks Workforce replaces disconnected tools with done-for-you experiences that help teams manage the entire employee lifecycle, from hiring and onboarding, payroll and time, to benefits and performance, in one centralized hub. With all of their key HCM tasks unified in one place, alongside a real-time view of their financials, small- and mid-market businesses can access a 360-degree view of their business that allows them to make smarter decisions, save time and money, and operate with greater accuracy and confidence.

Powered by agentic AI automations paired with human experts through Intuit Intelligence, QuickBooks Workforce helps streamline and transform HCM, allowing business owners such as Bachik and Stephen to focus on what matters most: helping to orchestrate the iconic looks that shape the culture, while QuickBooks helps them in the background to run their business and fully manage the workforce that supports them.

Available in three tiers, QuickBooks Workforce serves a range of business needs, whether you’re building a small team or managing hundreds of people, equipping teams with a full suite of workforce management tools including:

• Recruiting, hiring, onboarding, and offboarding: An intuitive workflow that manages and automates the full employee journey, from onboarding to offboarding.
• Payroll and time tracking: Boost efficiency with a solution that combines payroll and time tracking, with accounting data, in one integrated hub that automatically syncs data, and can be turned into clear, actionable business insights.
• Time off: Create and manage time off policies that fit your business, from vacation and sick leave to bereavement and custom policy types, with approved hours automatically syncing with payroll without manual entry.
• Benefits administration: A centralized hub where businesses can offer complete benefits administration and management, through a self-service portal where employees can enroll and update coverage for their medical, dental, vision, and life events.
• QuickBooks 401(k) by Vestwell: Offer modern 401(k) benefits through flexible, scalable retirement plans custom-tailored to your business. Through an integration with Vestwell’s retirement platform, business owners have a seamless way to offer competitive 401(k) benefits that directly sync with employee payroll data to streamline administration, reduce manual work, and support compliance.
• Performance management: Drive employee growth and engagement with structured reviews, goal setting, and continuous feedback cycles, giving employees the visibility they need to grow their careers.
• HR workflows: Automate the repetitive work of managing your team through custom workflows. Assign tasks that can automatically be sent to the right employees, keeping the HR processes organized, trackable, and free from manual follow-up.
• Documents: Create, sign, store and manage digital documents in one central location, from e-signatures to acknowledgements, and access a custom template builder that streamlines document creation.

QuickBooks Workforce will be generally available to US customers, including new and existing eligible QuickBooks Online, QuickBooks Online Advanced, and Intuit Enterprise Suite customers, in the coming weeks.* Learn more about QuickBooks Workforce.

*This information is intended to outline our general product direction, but represents no obligation and should not be relied on when making a purchasing decision. Availability of features and functionality varies by plan, which are subject to change without notice. Certain features will only be available on QuickBooks Workforce Premium or Elite plans. Additional terms, conditions, eligibility criteria, and fees may apply.