The Definitive Sri Lankan Payroll Software Comparison & Review for Small Businesses and Payroll Service Providers

Sri Lankan Payroll Software Comparison & Review

With payroll being the lifeblood of a company, it is essential to manage properly to ensure employee satisfaction while remaining compliant and avoiding hefty fines.

Consider the following in understanding the impact of proper payroll. A QuickBooks report revealed that 25% of workers (in a US study) had received a paycheck with errors! Plus, there is a greater chance of salary payments being late in smaller businesses with 20 staff members or less. This can lead to dissatisfied employees, a high turnover rate, unnecessary regulatory fines, and damage to company reputation.

The same applies to and is seen across Sri Lankan companies, and with these issues requiring streamlining and automation of payroll to handle effectively, local small businesses as well as larger corporates are displaying an increasing pattern of payroll software adoption.

Growing Need for Payroll Software to Manage Local Statutory Compliance Challenges + Pay Staff On-Time

Another key reason for this is the rapid changes Sri Lanka is undergoing in employment laws and business regulations, making it more challenging for employers to handle some or all payroll aspects manually. A critical part of any business regardless of size or scale, payroll has become an increasingly complex process, requiring EPF/ETF/APIT statutory payment compliance and paying staff on-time, to ensure employee satisfaction and avoid penalties and the like.

A clear example of this, The Inland Revenue (Amendment) Act No. 10 of 2021 states that APIT tax (Advance Personal Income Tax) would replace the previous PAYE tax, and employers will be required to deduct APIT from payments made to its employees and remit to the Inland Revenue Department.

Equal Pressure on Small Businesses and Payroll Service Providers to Streamline Payroll

With these changes placing added pressure on employers to automate and standardize their processes, the need for HR and payroll software has become a critical one. The need for digital payroll software has become a pressing one for payroll service companies as well, with Chartered Accountancy firms and Management Consultancy firms having to streamline provision of payroll services to clients.

An Industry-First: a Thorough Sri Lankan Payroll Software Comparison

Although there are several payroll software options available in the market both locally-developed and others adopted from the international market, there is a general lack of comprehensive online sources comparing or reviewing Sri Lankan payroll software.

Therefore, in this article, we look to provide a helpful, unbiased account of all the areas that will be important in deciding which payroll software best fits your organization’s payroll needs. We start with a brief introduction of the five different payroll products that will be compared in this article and a quick exploration of their ideal/most common users, implementation, a rough cost estimate, plus customer service and support offered. Finally, the features of each payroll software will be compared against each other.

MiHCM

MiHCM is a proud creation of Microimage HCM, who have several decades of experience developing HR solutions starting from the 90s. MiHCM as we know it presently began its development in 2014 and in 2017 MiHCM Cloud was released. It is hosted on Microsoft Azure cloud.

It is one of the most comprehensive HR systems available in Sri Lanka, also capturing most of the functional payroll requirements we encounter in the local context. They offer two solutions, one aimed for enterprises and one for small businesses. They’re positioned as a total HRIS solution and payroll is one of the key areas they cover.

Typical client organisation size
Generally for medium to large enterprises but can accommodate smaller enterprises too.
Industry
Has almost all features to serve most industries, current client base is diverse​
Application / Purpose
Primarily used as a total HRIS, includes the ability to process internal payroll. Two products aimed at different markets: MiHCM for Enterprise and MiHCM for Small Business
Additional Application / Purpose
Currently used by some outsourced payroll service companies as well
Pricing
Depends on the modules/features selected (customers will receive a custom quote)
Accessibility
Accessible via web and mobile
Training
In person and/or online training alongside helpful documentation generally provided.

Humanised

Started in September 2020, Humanised is the brainchild of Beta Launch Pvt Ltd — a trusted software development company not only locally but also across Australian State Governments. A digital payroll solution built specifically for local payroll service companies,

Humanised has been developed through working closely with industry professionals from reputed Chartered Accountancy and Management Consultancy firms for over 16 months, in understanding their payroll service process, pain points, and desired state, to better match their exact needs.

Built to accommodate most standard payroll service workflows unique to Sri Lankan CA firms in a simple, streamlined manner, Humanised’s main objective is to help payroll service companies optimize and grow their payroll business through automation plus payroll-specific marketing support. Humanised also incorporates a range of people plus leave management functionality, parallelly positioning it as a comprehensive HR solution for small businesses.

Typical client organisation size
Payroll service providers including Chartered Accountancy firms and small to medium enterprises
Industry
Mainly caters to service-based industries with possible customization
Application / Purpose
Heavy focus on handling payroll for service providers but also utilized by organisations for internal payroll processing
Pricing
It is on subscription-basis, where you can either pay monthly or annually. If you are an SME running your internal payroll you will be starting with the 0-25 users price bracket which costs LKR 6250 per month (LKR 250 per user). Users will be entitled for further discounts depending on the employee size and if they chose to pay annually. Humanised considers Chartered Accountancy and Management Consultancy firms (with more than 100 employees across their client organizations) under their unique payroll service provider model, and a different per-user rate is applicable to them due to the high payroll volume handled.
Accessibility
Cloud hosted, accessible via web and mobile
Training
Training provided during onboarding process and further assistance provided as required continually, particularly during payroll week each month

Cemex HRM

Incorporated in February 2014, as a subsidiary of their parent company Cenmetrix (Pvt) Ltd, Cemex HRM has been in the market for 7 years. It is a cloud-based (Microsoft Azure) HRIS solution available in several modules that allows users to pay only for the modules required.

Cemex HRM particularly caters to internal HRM requirements of SMEs and large enterprises. Their payroll module is one that you can purchase stand-alone or integrated with their other modules.

Typical client organisation size
Cemex is primarily seen to be used in medium to large enterprises, yet can accommodate small businesses too
Industry
A pattern of mainly service and manufacturing industries using Cemex can be observed
Application / Purpose
Generally used by organisations as a total HRIS, includes payroll
Pricing
depends on the modules/ features used (a basic selection of modules costs approximately LKR 35,000). Price will be locked for 2 years and is increased every two years thereafter by approximately 15%
Accessibility
Cloud hosted, accessible via web and mobile
Training
Cemex specifies the number of hours of training that a user is entitled to when purchasing, and upon exceeding this allocation, you will be billed accordingly.
Support
All break fixes, bugs and any other such maintenance-related matters will be attended to without further charge

Accsoft Payroll

Accsoft Solutions (Pvt) Ltd. was founded in 1998 with a vision to provide overall accounting solutions for small and medium sized enterprises locally. Accsoft Payroll is one among their full solution set. Originally available in desktop form, it is now cloud supported as well. You can choose to use Accsoft by itself or integrate it with one or few of their other products to suit your needs.

Typical client organisation size
Commonly seen catering to small to large enterprises
Industry
It is known to be able to support any industry
Application / Purpose
Accsoft Payroll is mainly built to handle payroll, but integrated together with other Accsoft products it can be customized to suit other requirements too.
Pricing
Usually involves a one-time fee of approximately LKR 65,000 and a renewal and maintenance fee from the second year onwards of LKR 16,250Training – Depending on your specific package, you can expect to be entitled to around 4 training sessions within greater Colombo limits.
Accessibility
Originally started off as a desktop application but currently supported on cloud technology
Support
Help desk and support staff available

Peoples HR

In operation for over 20 years, Peoples HR is a cloud-based Human Resource Information System (HRIS) developed by hSenid Business Solutions. It is a reputed product internationally and currently possesses the ability to offer localized solutions in over 40 countries, establishing a presence in India, Australia, Kenya, Bangladesh, and the like.

Peoples HR recognises the importance of access to data in decision-making and helps remove the burden of monotonous processes. PeoplesHR is most commonly used as a total HRIS, however, payroll is one of the many features and functionalities that it offers

Typical client organisation size
Small to large enterprises
Industry
Serves a variety of industries, said to have the ability to adapt to any industry
Implementation/ Purpose
There are two products aimed at different markets, namely, Peoples HR Enterprise and Peoples HR Turbo. Generally employed as a total HRIS
Pricing
  • One-time fee – USD 14,650
  • Customization – USD 3000
  • Monthly subscription minimum – USD 178.50
  • Annual subscription – USD 2448

(Monthly subscription fee expected within the 1st week of the month while a 3-month advance will be incurred upon confirmation)

Pricing is only for 5 payroll configurations, and any additional payroll processes can be configured for USD 1000 each.

Accessibility

Cloud based, Remotely accessible

Training

6 days online training included, generally no visits to customer site

Support

hSenid has a mature and dedicated support team who are trained on the HRMS

Feature Comparison

Each business has a unique set of requirements when it comes to HR and payroll features. One business might need the basic functionalities of processing payroll along with people management ability, while another business requires an all-encompassing HRIS. Therefore, the right investment in software for each organization will vary. In order to help you compare some of the best payroll software options in the local market in terms of features, we have collated and neatly summarized our findings into a table. Providing a convenient overview, the features offered by each of these products can be generally categorized into four areas: Payroll Management, Time /Attendance and Leave Management, People Management and Others.

Humanised MiHCM Cemex Accsoft payroll Peoples HR
Payroll
Single / Multiple organizations Can manage multiple organisations under one login Yes Yes Yes Yes
Bank transfer Online bank transfer file generated Yes Generates text file Yes Yes
Payslips Generation Bulk payslip pdf and can email password encrypted payslips Payslips generated Yes, specifics unknown Yes Yes, *can email password encrypted payslips
Payroll process 3 ways to run payroll - using master data- CSV upload- Re-run payroll Payroll can be generated from master data, drawn from loan, time/attendance, leave and OT data - Master data can be uploaded - Payroll data can be uploaded- Details can be updated through the system - Can get payroll output Payroll can be generated from master data Payroll can be generated from master data, drawn from loan, time/attendance, leave and OT data
Regulatory compliance:EPF/ETF/APIT/Stamp duty calculations Yes, and APIT tax table 1,2 completed, 3-7 in pipeline Yes Yes Yes Yes
Regulatory compliance: EPF/ETF bank transfer file Yes Not verified Text files are generated Yes, specifics unknown Not verified
Regulatory compliance:EPF/ETF/APIT/Stamp duty Forms and reports C form, R4 form, Form II(ETF) T10 in pipeline Yes Not verified C forms, R4 Forms ,six-monthh returns , T9 PAYE Annual and T10 Yes
Gratuity In pipeline Yes Not verified Yes Not verified
Other None None Can define fixed transactions and monthly transactions (salary items)/ can schedule annual bonuses Can setup rules applicable for Payroll None
Time and Attendance Tracking
Intergrated or Native Integration with Hikvision bio-metrics will be completed by the end of March Native Known integrations - Suprema Biostar and HID They have a few device options which you can choose from Can integrate 3rd party biometrics devices or provide such devices upon request
Finger print Pending Yes Not verified Yes Yes
Facial recognition Pending Yes Not verified Yes Yes, specifics unknown
Location tracking Pending Yes Not verified Available through a separate integration Yes, specifics unknown
Timesheets upload Yes You can view timesheets created through the system Not verified Not verified Not verified
Leave Management
Mobile app Responsive web application Yes, provided with the subscription Yes Available through a separate integration Yes
OT handling In Pipeline Yes Yes Yes Yes
Leave Request and approval Yes, users can place requests, their superiors can place and approve leave requests and manage leave of employees Yes, users can place requests through the web app or the mobile app and superiors can approve, manage leave of employees Yes, users can place requests, their superiors can place and approve leave requests and manage leave of employees Yes Yes
Manage Leave Balance Yes and can be reset for the new year Yes, specifics unknown Yes and can be reset for the new year Yes Not verified
Other Can build work flows for leave requests Shop and office, factory ordinance, wages board ordinance
People Management
Manage employee profiles Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Employee document Yes, can be stored Yes, storing and sending employee related letters and emails can be done, other documents can be saved Yes, and Letter templates can be stored Yes Yes
Notes/reminders Yes, notes and reminders Approval requests are visible on the dashboard (To Dos) Yes, a variety of scenarios are included Not verified Alerts and reminders are available
Notice board Home page acts as a notice board for the user Company notice board avaialable Yes Not verified Corporate news board
Performance Management You can place reminders concerning employees, which can be used to set reminders from employee reviews, increments etc. Yes, training and development Yes, evaluations, skill management, training and development Not verified Yes, training and development, performance management, onboarding, offboarding, disciplinary management, etc.
Manage employee attendance / Calendar Yes, can view and monitor attendance across the organization and create new holidays Yes, can view and monitor attendance across the organization, create new holidays and manage the calendar Yes, can view and monitor attendance across the organization and create new holidays Yes, can create organisation's calendar and manage it Yes, can view and monitor attendance across the organization, create new holidays and manage the calendar
Reimbursements
Tracking Yes Yes (Claims) Yes Not verified Not verified
Requests and Approval Yes Yes Yes Not verified Not verified
Bank transfer file Yes Unknown Unknown Not verified Not verified
Company Loans Handling
In pipeline Yes Yes Yes Yes
Roster
In pipeline Yes Yes Yes Yes
Reports/ Business Intelligence
Monthly salary journal, payroll summary, employee head count, leave report Yes Yes Yes, customizable reports Yes, customizable reports

Having presented a brief overview of 5 different payroll & HR software solutions plus a comparison of their features, we are confident there is sufficient information here for your company to decide on a payroll solution from one of these providers, to match your exact payroll requirement.

This comparison is completely based on Google search results, aggregator sites, the respective official product websites and user experience. If you have any queries or changes to recommend with respect to the article, kindly share your suggestions with us so we can incorporate them into this comparison article. Don’t hesitate to contact us because we believe in producing helpful content involving payroll in Sri Lanka!

Disclaimer
All the information on this website/article is published in good faith and for general information purposes only. Although we make strong efforts to make sure our information is accurate, Humanised cannot guarantee that all the information on this website and or blog is always accurate, complete, or up-to-date. Any action you take upon the information you find on this website is strictly at your own risk. 

Additional Resources:
https://quickbooks.intuit.com/r/payroll/7-things-you-need-to-know-about-the-all-american-payday/

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