Cobraste Earned Wage Access: A Practical Guide for Employers Considering EWA

Frontline operations live and die on staffing stability. When people churn or miss shifts, managers scramble, payroll exceptions pile up, and service levels slip. Earned Wage Access (EWA) gives employees controlled access to wages they’ve already earned without creating debt. Done right, EWA is less a perk and more an operating lever. With Cobraste, advances are funded by Cobraste and reconciled automatically on payday, so employers avoid cash-flow exposure and employees do not take on new liabilities.

What EWA Is and What It Isn’t

EWA lets employees access a portion of already earned wages before payday. It is not a loan, does not create interest, and should not add work for payroll.

Why Liquidity Relates to Your KPIs

Short-term cash tightness is a leading cause of preventable attendance issues. When workers can cover transport, food, and childcare without waiting for payday, they are more likely to show up and complete shifts. In practice, employers adopting Cobraste report three consistent outcomes:

• Up to a 3x reduction in turnover versus baseline as cash-flow-driven job changes decline
• More than 80% improvement in punch compliance because clean punches are required to release advances
• Over $1M in annual value per 1,000 employees from fewer backfills, lower absenteeism, and reduced overtime coverage

How an EWA Program Actually Runs

A well-governed EWA program sits quietly behind your workforce processes:

• Set eligibility and guardrails. Employers configure daily caps, eligibility windows, and cutoffs aligned to the pay cycle. Cobraste starts with tested defaults and tunes to your policies.
• Protect time and punch integrity. Advances depend on clean time records, which raises punch accuracy and reduces payroll exceptions.
• Fund and settle automatically. Cobraste advances the funds and reconciliation happens on payday without extra headaches for payroll.
• See what’s happening. HR and Operations get dashboards tracking adoption, usage patterns, retention, absenteeism, and punch quality.

What to Expect in 30, 60, 90 Days

30 days

• See fast employee adoption and higher show-up rates
• Notice early improvements in punch accuracy

60 days

• Watch site-level churn begins to fall
• Spend less manager time backfilling and interviewing
• Reduce payroll exceptions as punches normalize

90 days

• Cut turnover by up to 3x versus baseline
• Compound savings across recruiting, training, and overtime
• Capture testimonials for employer branding

Operational Considerations (So It Doesn’t Create New Work)

• IT lift: Go live using standard, schedulable time and payroll reports. No integration project.
• Finance impact: No float required from the employer; Cobraste funds advances.
• Cost structure: No fees to the employer and no subscription fees to employees.
• Policy alignment: Your rules, your cutoffs, your risk posture—configurable within Cobraste’s framework.

How to Judge Program Quality

Not all EWA programs deliver the same operational results. Ask any provider (including us) to show:

• Retention, attendance, and punch-compliance deltas at 30, 60, and 90 days
• Reconciliation accuracy and exception rates
• Manager time saved on backfills and scheduling
• Employee satisfaction and complaint rates
• A clear exit path (turn off without operational disruption)

A Simple Way to Pilot

Pick one location or business unit with measurable churn or attendance gaps. Use baseline rules, keep employee messaging simple, and measure five things: adoption, usage frequency, punch quality, attendance, and retention. Cobraste supports setup, communications, and dashboards so you can focus on outcomes.

Where Cobraste Fits In

Cobraste is built for mid-size and large workforces. We fund advances, avoid IT projects, and connect to the reports you already export. Employers choose Cobraste when they want an EWA program that improves operational KPIs without adding complexity. If you’d like to speak with referenceable clients, we can share industry leaders who have proven Cobraste outcomes on request.

Next Steps and Resources

• Book a 15-minute walkthrough: https://meetings.hubspot.com/cobraste-programar/
• Email: sales@cobraste.com‍
• Contact form (English): https://www.cobraste.com/contact

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