Buying payroll software in Singapore? Here’s everything you should know

Whether your business employs less than 50 employees or manages a large workforce, getting payroll software in Singapore can be a big help. This technology skips any part of the manual payroll process, allowing you to compensate your employees accurately and with great ease.  

Unlike traditional payroll systems, online payroll solutions manage, organise, and calculate employee wages automatically. There’s no need to manually run the payroll by hand, giving your HR more time in other valuable areas for your business.

More about this HR technology

At its simplest, payroll software is an on-premise or cloud-based solution that automates all the requirements for running payroll. Some of the standard functions found in payroll systems include:

• Employee self-service portal. This software feature puts all of your employees’ payroll data at their fingertips. Through this portal, employees can access their pay stubs, W-2 forms, paid time off balance, and more.
• Deduction for withholdings. Payroll administrators can calculate deductions for withholdings, such as taxes, insurance and retirement contributions directly in the system.
• Tax filing services. Most payroll solutions offer online tax filing services for IRS forms, such as W-2s, 940, and 1099s.
• Direct deposit. Your employees don’t have to worry about losing their checks because their money goes directly into their bank accounts.
• Reporting. Many payroll systems provide a comprehensive view of budget, taxes, workers’ compensation and other payroll data.

How does an online payroll system work?

Payroll software integrates with other business systems to ensure a better payroll management process.

For example:

When a time and attendance system is integrated with a payroll solution, it’s easier to calculate the days and hours employees worked in a specific payroll period.

The software integration eliminates the idea of going through disparate systems, which can prolong the payroll processing, cause data errors, and lead to inefficiencies.

How much do payroll solutions cost?

Like other HR solutions, payroll software also has a base price and additional costs. Payroll system vendors in Singapore charge an extra fee per additional employee per month.

The good news is that most payroll software providers offer a free version of their software. You can request a 14-day demo or use the system for free within the 7-, 15-, 30-, or 60-day trial. Some software solutions are even offered 100% free, however, free versions have many missing features.

Tips for choosing the best payroll software for your business

1. Know your business needs

The first step to selecting a payroll system is understanding what your business needs. You can’t simply check for software features without first knowing the sort of features you will need.  

Here are a few questions you can ask yourself to get a better sense of your needs:

• What is the size of my business?
• How much can I pay for a payroll solution?
• Do I employ salaried workers or hourly wage earners?
• Are my employees getting paid weekly, bi-monthly, or monthly?
• Are my employees paid when they work overtime? Do they receive bonuses?

2. Check the vendor’s background

When buying a payroll system in Singapore, look into the industry experience of the software provider. Check how long they have been in the market and visit their website or social media pages for client testimonials and reviews.

Naturally, you want to find a company that you can afford. However, it’s still best to hire a payroll vendor with a strong track record. You will feel more secure knowing the company’s quality service and untapped reliability.

It also helps to look for a software provider with customer support. Your HR and payroll team may run into technical issues and get stuck in their jobs. Support representatives will be your main point of contact when problems in the system occur; they can answer your questions and solve the issues at hand.

3. Identify the features you need

Once done assessing your business, identify the features that suit your needs. Suppose you currently have 30 employees but plan to hire more people next year. A payroll solution that can accommodate your projected HR growth will be ideal.

It’s also good to have a payroll system that’s easy to use. Payroll itself can bring to mind lots of complicated processes, so a platform with usability is a nice catch. Here are a few features that enable a seamless user experience:

• simple navigation
• third-party integration
• easy employee onboarding
• quick access to payroll information
• import and export data from payroll

4. Consider software integrations 

Look for flexible payroll software in Singapore that allows integration. Not only does payroll integration ensure smooth payroll processing, but it also benefits your business in many ways. Below are a few benefits of using an integrated payroll system:

• save money on labour and administrative costs
• electronic storage for records and documents
• easy access to up-to-date employee data 
• better and accurate reporting

5. Prioritise payroll data security 

The payroll work involves processing and verification of confidential employee records, including names, addresses, contact information, bank account details, and social security numbers. Losing these data may result in security breaches, frauds, and other threats.

With payroll being an attractive target for cybercrime, you must invest in a payroll system with robust security. Payroll software with the following features screams a high level of security:

• data security protocols (i.e., automatic backups, firewalls, automated timeouts, etc.)
• disaster recovery protocols (i.e., systematic data backups, software redundancy, etc.)

• highly encrypted user credentials – secure log-ins and prevent unauthorised activities
• IP based restrictions – control access to the payroll software from remote devices
• data privacy compliance – makes user consent mandatory before collection, storage and use of user data

6. Assess the software payroll capabilities

Finding the best payroll system in Singapore is no easy feat. It’s crucial to assess the software's capabilities and ensure it enables effective payroll processing and management. Examples of such critical payroll features include:

• automatic payroll
• tax filing services
• online salary payments
• compensation administration
• employee self-service
• time-off management
• reporting and analytics

7. Check compliance with current legislation

Payroll non-compliance leaves you at risk for financial loss. If you’re a first-time offender, you must pay a fine of between S$3,000 and $S15,000, and face six months of imprisonment. If it's a subsequent offence, the fine ranges from S$6,000 and S$30,000, and the imprisonment lasts up to 12 months.

For this reason, you must choose a payroll system that stays current in the ever-changing tax laws. Your software should automatically compute provident fund (PF), professional tax (PT), employee state insurance (ESI), and labour welfare fund (LWF), among other things.

Questions to ask your potential software provider

Once you have selected a few potential software companies, request a demo or book a call with them. Prepare a list of questions to ask—ideally, questions that online research can’t answer, including:

• What is your pricing structure?
• How will I be billed for your service?
• Who will be my primary point of contact?
• What add-on payroll services do you offer?
• Is training required before using the software?
• Where is your data centre and how secure is it?
• Do you offer customer service and tech support?
• Do you have a security and disaster recovery policy?
• Is the software synced with legislative compliance updates?
• How often are your tax tables updated for compliance?

Summing It Up

Thanks to payroll software, you ensure spot-on and on-time employee compensation while boosting the morale and overall productivity within your organisation. Add up the benefits of optimising your processes and protecting your business from compliance risks.

Speaking of payroll systems, Unit4 Prosoft HRMS offers the same benefits. Our human resource management system has a payroll module that helps HR teams manage the pre-payroll, actual payroll and post-payroll activities with great speed.

Learn more about our Prosoft HRMS Software here.