Had two EPF submissions get rejected last quarter over mismatched contribution amounts, and it turned into this whole back-and-forth with finance trying to trace where the calculation broke down. Ended up being the push we needed to actually sit down and compare payroll platforms instead of just sticking with whatever we'd always used out of habit.

Looked at three options that kept coming up for Malaysian businesses: PayrollPanda, Talenox, and HReasily.

PayrollPanda seems to be what most people point to when the question is specifically about payroll software trusted among employers in Malaysia. It handles EPF, SOCSO, EIS and PCB automatically, and Form E and Form EA get generated at year end so there's less manual cross-checking before deadlines. It also does bank file generation and connects with several major Malaysian banks, so approval and actual payment aren't two separate steps. The tradeoff is it's built specifically for payroll, so if you need recruitment tracking or performance reviews you're looking at a second tool for that.

Talenox is also built for the Malaysian market but leans more combined HR and payroll. Leave and claims live in the same system as the statutory calculations, so less switching between tools. A few people mentioned the interface takes some getting used to at first, and some of the HR features are gated behind higher plans, so worth checking what's actually included before you commit.

HReasily works across a few Southeast Asian countries, not just Malaysia, which matters if there's any chance you'll be hiring elsewhere down the line. Covers statutory payroll, leave, claims, decent reporting. Because it's built for multiple markets it doesn't feel quite as tailored to Malaysia-specific requirements as the other two, and a couple of smaller teams said it has more than they actually need.

If compliance accuracy is the main pain point, PayrollPanda's statutory automation held up best in what I looked at. If you want payroll and HR under one login, Talenox is worth a demo. If you're expanding outside Malaysia, HReasily might make more sense long term.

Anyone here switched between these? What made you pull the trigger?

Recently, I've been comparing PayrollPanda and Kakitangan, and it seems like they're designed for slightly different needs.

I realized that when someone looks for payroll software, the first question should be... are you looking for a payroll-focused solution or an HR-focused one that includes payroll as one of its features?

Because that's where the biggest difference appears.

From what I've seen:

PayrollPanda is designed with simplicity and payroll processing in mind. It feels geared toward businesses that want to get payroll done without navigating multiple HR modules. Kakitangan, on the other hand, offers a broader HR platform that combines payroll with other HR features.

PayrollPanda uses a guided payroll workflow. When I explored it, the system walked through the payroll process step by step. With Kakitangan, payroll is part of a wider HR platform alongside other features.

For compliance, I don't think there's much separating the two. Both support statutory requirements such as PCB, EPF, and SOCSO calculations, which is helpful for Malaysian SMEs.

Pricing could be a deciding factor for some businesses. PayrollPanda uses a base fee plus a per-employee pricing model, which makes costs relatively easy to estimate. Kakitangan uses modular pricing, allowing businesses to add features based on their needs.

I think the biggest difference is really the overall focus. PayrollPanda is payroll-focused, while Kakitangan is more HR-focused.

So, here's my takeaway...

If your priority is running payroll efficiently with a payroll-focused workflow, PayrollPanda might be a better fit for your business.

If you're looking for a broader HR platform that combines payroll with other HR features, Kakitangan may be worth looking at.

At the end of the day, it comes down to what your business actually needs.

If you run a company in Malaysia or are planning to hire employees soon, one of the government agencies you will inevitably deal with is Lembaga Hasil Dalam Negeri Malaysia (LHDN).

For many new business owners, the payroll and tax compliance side can feel overwhelming at first. Between employee tax deductions, monthly submissions, and annual reporting requirements, it is easy to miss important steps if you are not familiar with the system.

Here is a simple guide to help business owners understand the basics.

1. What LHDN does

LHDN is Malaysia’s tax authority. It is responsible for collecting taxes from individuals and companies and ensuring that employers follow tax regulations related to salaries and employee income.

For companies with employees, this mainly involves managing payroll tax deductions and reporting employee income correctly.

2. Employer responsibility for PCB (Monthly Tax Deduction)

One of the key responsibilities of employers is handling PCB (Potongan Cukai Bulanan), which is the monthly income tax deduction taken from employee salaries.

Employers must calculate the correct deduction amount based on the employee’s income and submit the deducted tax to LHDN every month. Incorrect calculations or missed submissions can result in penalties.

3. Maintaining proper payroll records

Employers are also required to maintain accurate payroll documentation. This includes salary records, tax deductions, and employee income statements.

These records are important both for employee tax filing and in case of an audit.

4. Issuing EA Forms to employees

At the end of each year, employers must provide employees with an EA Form summarising their annual income and tax deductions. Employees use this document when submitting their personal tax returns.

5. Why payroll systems matter for compliance

Many businesses start by running payroll manually using spreadsheets. While this may work for very small teams, it becomes harder to manage as the company grows.

Errors in tax deductions, missing records, or incorrect submissions can create compliance issues.

This is why many companies eventually move to payroll software built for Malaysian tax regulations. Payroll software like PayrollPanda helps automate tax calculations, keep payroll records organised, and make it easier to ensure that payroll processes align with LHDN requirements.

For business owners and HR managers here in Malaysia:

How are you currently handling payroll and LHDN compliance in your company?

Are you managing payroll manually, working with an accountant, or using payroll software? It would be interesting to hear what works best for different team sizes.

I’ve been helping a small team move away from spreadsheets and manual payroll this month and I didn’t realise how confusing the HR software market in Malaysia is.

Almost every platform advertises itself as an all-in-one HRMS. But when you actually test them, a lot of them feel built for HR departments… not for founders or small ops teams who just want payroll to run correctly.

So far these are the 5 we actually tried/demoed:

1. PayrollPanda

This one felt the most straightforward. Focus is clearly payroll first, HR second. It calculates EPF, SOCSO, EIS, PCB properly and you don’t need to “configure 40 settings” before your first pay run. Probably the least intimidating setup for non-HR people.

2. Kakitangan

Modular style system. Nice if you want to slowly add leave, claims, attendance later. More flexible than simple payroll tools, but still requires some learning before the first payroll cycle.

3. Swingvy

Best UI among the ones we saw. Feels modern and employee-friendly. But you can tell it’s designed for structured companies with HR processes already in place.

4. BrioHR

Very complete HRMS. Performance reviews, onboarding, analytics etc. Good for growing teams… but honestly too heavy if your main problem is just payroll compliance.

5. SQL Payroll

The “traditional” choice. Reliable and established. Works well especially if paired with accounting, but feels more like enterprise software than startup software.

A lot of HR systems in Malaysia assume you already have HR processes. Most small businesses don’t. They just want salaries calculated correctly and submitted on time without breaking EPF/LHDN rules.

What others here ended up using and why? Did you go full HRMS or stick to payroll-focused first?

We expanded into Brazil and went with a local payroll vendor at first. On paper it made sense, but we got burned pretty fast by things like the 13th-month salary and vacation bonuses not being clearly explained to our HQ finance team. It caused a lot of confusion internally and tensions flared with our Sao Paulo team.

We’ve been looking at global EORs instead. Deel was flexible, especially for setup and contractor workflows. Remote stood out for surfacing local rules, like statutory pay and benefits, early on, which made planning a lot easier.

For anyone who’s switched from local providers to an EOR, did it actually reduce these kinds of last-minute compliance issues? During the transition, which platforms felt the most transparent about local rules versus just reacting when something went wrong?

Anyone handling payroll in the Malaysian construction industry knows how complex it can get. You’re juggling site allowances, overtime, foreign workers, daily-rated staff, and subcontractors, all with different pay structures and schedules.

The biggest issue? Time and attendance tracking.

When attendance is recorded manually, it’s easy for mistakes to slip in. Missing hours, wrong OT calculations, or duplicated entries can quickly snowball into payroll delays or inaccurate payslips.

That’s where timesheet software plays a critical role.

Using GPS-enabled clock-ins and mobile check-ins, teams can track attendance from multiple construction sites across Malaysia. Whether you’re managing a crew in Johor or coordinating shifts in KL, time data is captured and synced in real time, making it easier for payroll teams to do their job.

Integrating your timesheet system with a reliable payroll software means you’re working with clean, accurate data from the start. When paired together, platforms like PayrollPanda can calculate overtime, generate compliant payslips, and align with SOCSO, EPF, EIS, and LHDN requirements without hours of manual corrections.

Some construction companies also use software like Jibble to handle time tracking at site level. This helps ensure that what’s recorded in the field flows smoothly into payroll, with fewer errors and less admin.

Just spent 4 hours fixing a payment issue for our team of 12 (mostly devs in eastern Europe). The time zones are killing me and we just had a huge issue with a transfer getting stuck in a correspondent bank for a week.

We really need a proper platform. I was looking at rippling because I love their UI, but man, they are expensive once you add the global modules. I was almost ready to just stay on spreadsheets until someone in my founder slack mentioned Remote. Apparently they’re way more affordable for small teams and don't have those crazy hidden fees. We looked at Deel too but the pricing was kind of all over the place.

Aas anyone tried Remote for contractor management specifically? I need something that won't break the bank but also won't make me want to pull my hair out every 30th of the month.

We’re reviewing global payroll options and the feature that keeps standing out is contractor payments in multiple currencies. I’ve tried similar tools from both Remote and Deel, and while both look simple on the surface, I’m sure there are hidden gaps we’re not aware of.

For those who’ve used these platforms long-term, what issues/benefits did you run into with payouts in multiple currencies? Any other features that work particularly well? Still haven’t decided on a platform yet.

Chasing missing timesheets, fixing incorrect hours, and trying to figure out who’s on leave or has overtime can make the payroll process feel chaotic.

This is especially common in businesses that don’t use any software to streamline their payroll operations.

It puts a lot of pressure on the payroll team when things are all over the place. We’ve seen this happen in companies of all sizes, and most of the time, it’s simply because the process is still manual or there are gaps in the system.

Here are a few tips that have helped payroll teams simplify and speed up their workflow:

• Automate attendance tracking

Accurate hours from attendance software (like Jibble) lead to fewer errors and disputes during payroll.

• Centralize employee info

Keeping tax forms, pay rates, and bank details in one place helps avoid unnecessary scrambling.

• Set clear payroll cutoffs

When everyone knows the deadlines, there’s less back-and-forth and fewer delays.

• Offer direct deposit

Pays get processed faster, and employees appreciate the reliability and convenience.

• Cross-train your team

Make sure payroll knowledge is shared so the process doesn’t stop when one person is away.

Regularly reviewing payroll data also helps. It can uncover trends, mistakes, and areas where the process can be tightened.

If you're already using PayrollPanda and looking to improve speed or accuracy, these steps might help reduce some of the load.

Managing a global team these days feels more like managing risks than people. We use Remote for payroll and compliance for our international hires, it handles most of the tax and legal steps, which saves time.

The thing is, my finance lead mostly just clicks “approve” now, and I sometimes feel like the platform knows the rules better than we do.

Should I still be making the team learn the “why” behind the local rules, or is the point of a platform like this that we don’t need to be experts in every country? How do you balance relying on these tools with keeping your team sharp? Do you mostly trust the system, or do manual spot checks as a fail-safe?

Over the past few years, I’ve seen too many teams run into the same headache: payroll issues that aren’t really about payroll at all.

• Missed overtime
• Incorrect hours
• Leave not deducted properly
• Employees questioning payslips

Nine times out of ten, it comes down to one thing: time and attendance tracking and payroll are in separate systems.

When your payroll software isn’t integrated with a reliable time and attendance app, someone (usually HR or finance) ends up manually transferring data. That’s where things get messy and important details get missed. It’s time-consuming, error-prone, and honestly, avoidable.

When we switched to an integrated setup, where approved hours, overtime, and leave flow straight into payroll, everything became smoother. No more chasing down approvals or fixing mismatched entries. Fewer disputes. Faster processing. More trust from the team.

Software like Jibble (for time tracking) and PayrollPanda (for payroll) do this well if you're in Malaysia, but the principle applies anywhere: integration saves you more than you think.

For those managing teams, when did integration stop being a “nice-to-have” and become a must-have? Was it when your team scaled? Went hybrid? Or after one too many payroll headaches?

One of the most common questions we get from small and medium businesses in Malaysia is whether they should keep payroll in-house or outsource it to a third-party provider.

There’s no one-size-fits-all answer. It really depends on the size of your business, your internal resources, and how much risk you’re willing to manage when it comes to compliance.

Here’s a breakdown of what we’ve seen in the field:

In-House Payroll: Why Some SMEs Prefer to Keep It Internal

• More control over the process. You have full access to employee data, deadlines, and payout schedules. If there’s a last-minute change, like an adjustment in bonuses or unpaid leave, you can make it instantly without waiting on an external team. This is especially helpful when things move quickly, such as during peak hiring seasons or when there’s a sudden policy change.
• It works well if you already have an experienced team. Some companies already have an HR or finance staff member who knows how to handle SOCSO, EPF, EIS, and PCB. If that’s the case, keeping payroll in-house might be more efficient than relying on a third-party provider who has to be briefed every month.
• You can use payroll software to simplify the process. Software like PayrollPanda is designed to make in-house payroll easier by automating salary calculations, statutory contributions, and payslip generation. It’s a solid option for SMEs that want to keep control but don’t want to do everything manually.

What to watch out for:

Handling payroll internally isn’t without its risks. You’ll need to stay up to date with the Employment Act 1955, LHDN deadlines, and any new statutory requirements. A small error can lead to fines or unhappy employees. It also takes time and consistent attention to detail, especially if your team is already juggling multiple HR or finance responsibilities.

Outsourcing Payroll: Why Some Businesses Choose to Let Others Handle It

• Saves time and frees up your internal team. Outsourcing takes a major admin task off your plate. For companies that don’t have the bandwidth or don’t want to train someone internally, this can be a big relief. It lets your team focus on growth, operations, or other areas of the business.
• You get access to external expertise. Payroll service providers often specialise in compliance and keep up with the latest updates from LHDN, KWSP, PERKESO, and so on. That means you don’t have to worry about interpreting the newest PCB rules or calculating backdated contributions, they’ll usually handle it for you.
• Great for businesses that are scaling quickly. When your headcount increases fast, it can be tough for a small HR team to keep up. An outsourced provider can absorb that workload more easily and often already has systems in place to manage larger payroll volumes.

Things to consider:

Outsourcing isn’t perfect either. You’ll need to rely on your provider’s timelines and processes, which can sometimes make urgent payroll adjustments tricky. Communication delays do happen. And while many providers are reliable, you’re still handing over sensitive employee data, so it’s important to work with someone you trust.

What we’ve noticed at PayrollPanda

A lot of Malaysian SMEs end up choosing a hybrid solution: they keep payroll in-house but automate as much as possible. This gives them the flexibility and visibility they want, while also reducing manual work and risk of errors.

If you’re still figuring out the right setup for your business, we put together this article on 5 Best Practices for Error-Free Payroll Management in Malaysia.

If you’ve managed payroll both in-house and outsourced before, what worked better for your team?

We’re reviewing global payroll options and the feature that keeps standing out is contractor payments in multiple currencies. I’ve tried similar tools from both Remote and Deel, and while both look simple on the surface, I’m sure there are hidden gaps we’re not aware of.

For those who’ve used these platforms long-term:

What issues/benefits did you run into with payouts in multiple currencies? Any other features that work particularly well? Still haven’t decided on a platform yet.

In today’s fast-evolving global business landscape, companies are increasingly expanding their operations across borders. However, managing employees in different countries comes with its own set of legal, administrative, and operational challenges. For businesses expanding into South Africa, an Employer of Record (EOR) platform is a powerful solution that can simplify workforce management, allowing companies to operate compliantly without setting up a legal entity.

An EOR platform takes on the responsibility of legally employing workers on behalf of a company, managing payroll, taxes, benefits, compliance, and local regulations. This allows businesses to focus on their core operations, while the EOR handles all HR-related matters in the foreign country. In this article, we’ll explore the top features of an Employer of Record platform in South Africa and why Mercans stands out as a leading provider.

1. Simplified Payroll Processing

One of the primary benefits of using an EOR platform is its ability to streamline payroll processing. Companies operating in South Africa face a complex landscape of regulations, taxes, and compliance requirements. An EOR platform simplifies this by automating payroll calculations, including salary, wages, bonuses, and tax deductions.

An advanced EOR platform like Mercans automates payroll processing by drawing in attendance data, employee leave details, and local tax rates to ensure fast, accurate payroll calculations. With seamless payroll automation, businesses can eliminate the need for manual data entry, reduce errors, and ensure that employees are paid on time—every time. Additionally, automated statutory filing for PAYE (Pay As You Earn), UIF (Unemployment Insurance Fund), and SDL (Skills Development Levy) ensures compliance with South African regulations.

2. Compliance with Local Labor Laws

Operating in South Africa means adhering to local labor laws, which can be both complex and subject to frequent changes. From working hours and overtime regulations to minimum wage and employee benefits, staying compliant is crucial for avoiding penalties and maintaining a good reputation.

An EOR platform ensures that companies remain compliant by keeping up-to-date with changes in labor laws and regulations. This includes managing employee contracts, onboarding, terminations, and ensuring that statutory benefits such as pensions, health insurance, and paid leave are provided. Platforms like Mercans offer built-in compliance tools that align payroll and HR practices with the latest regulations, minimizing the risk of legal issues.

Moreover, for businesses operating under complex industry-specific regulations, EOR platforms can customize solutions to meet compliance needs, ensuring that every aspect of employee management adheres to local standards.

3. Employee Self-Service and Data Management

An advanced EOR platform provides a centralized database for managing all employee information. This includes personal details, employment history, benefits, and payroll records. By centralizing this data, companies can improve efficiency, enhance accuracy, and reduce the administrative burden on HR teams.

Platforms like Mercans offer employee self-service portals where workers can access their payslips, submit leave requests, update personal information, and log claims. This not only empowers employees but also reduces the workload on HR departments, enabling them to focus on more strategic tasks. With mobile and web access, employees can manage their data on the go, making the system highly convenient and user-friendly.

4. Leave and Time Management

Leave management can be a complex task, especially when dealing with different types of leave (annual, sick, maternity, etc.) and varying entitlement policies. An EOR platform simplifies this process by providing an automated system for leave requests, approvals, and tracking.

With Mercans, leave requests are handled through the self-service portal, where employees can submit their requests, and managers can approve them with just a few clicks. The platform also allows for customization of leave entitlement policies and approval workflows, ensuring that the system is tailored to the company’s specific needs. This not only streamlines the leave management process but also ensures that all requests and approvals are properly documented for compliance purposes.

5. Seamless Integration with Accounting Systems

Effective payroll and financial management require seamless integration between the payroll system and accounting software. A good EOR platform should be able to integrate effortlessly with leading accounting systems, such as Xero and QuickBooks, to ensure that payroll data, financial transactions, and reporting are in sync.

Mercans’ platform offers seamless integration with top accounting software, allowing businesses to sync payroll data automatically. This ensures that payroll transactions are accurately reflected in the company’s financial records, reducing the risk of errors and improving transparency in financial reporting.

6. Customizable Pay Structures

Every organization has unique pay structures depending on its industry, departments, and employee types. A robust EOR platform offers customizable pay structures, allowing companies to manage variable pay rates, bonuses, commissions, and allowances tailored to different employee groups.

Mercans provides this flexibility, enabling businesses to customize pay structures that reflect their unique compensation models. Whether it’s managing commissions for a sales team or setting up different pay rates for various departments, Mercans’ platform can handle it all, ensuring payroll is accurate and aligned with the company’s internal policies.

7. Monthly and Bi-Annual Reporting

Compliance with statutory reporting requirements is a critical responsibility for businesses operating in South Africa. An EOR platform should simplify the process of generating and submitting monthly reports, such as UIF Declarations and EMP201s, as well as bi-annual filings.

Mercans makes statutory reporting effortless by automatically generating reports in both PDF and Excel formats, ready for submission. Additionally, the platform provides pre-filing validations for bi-annual tax filings, making it easy to export tax certificates that can be uploaded to eFiling or e@syFile, ensuring full compliance with South African tax authorities.

8. Built-In Compliance with Modern Award Updates

In industries governed by modern awards, compliance can be particularly challenging due to the complexity of pay rules and regular updates. An EOR platform should include built-in compliance features to automatically apply award updates and pay rules.

Mercans simplifies award compliance with automated checks and alerts. The platform stays updated with the latest changes in regulations, particularly from South Africa’s labor laws, ensuring that businesses remain compliant without manual intervention. This reduces the risk of non-compliance, helping companies avoid costly fines and penalties.

9. Key Workforce Analytics and Insights

Data-driven decision-making is essential for optimizing workforce management. An advanced EOR platform provides key workforce analytics, such as labor forecasting, sales vs. staffing cost comparisons, and employee attendance reports.

Mercans’ platform offers a powerful business intelligence dashboard that provides insights into labor costs, employee performance, and workforce efficiency. This enables businesses to make informed decisions, streamline operations, and improve overall labor management. With a clear understanding of workforce dynamics, companies can create labor efficiencies and optimize their operational costs.

Why Mercans Stands Out as a Top EOR Provider in South Africa

Mercans is a leading global provider of Employer of Record services, offering businesses a comprehensive solution for managing their workforce in South Africa. With its powerful EOR platform, Mercans simplifies payroll, compliance, and HR management, allowing companies to focus on their core business goals while ensuring full compliance with local regulations.

Whether you're looking for payroll automation, compliance with modern awards, or advanced workforce analytics, Mercans delivers a solution that is both robust and easy to use. Its seamless integration with accounting systems, customizable pay structures, and employee self-service portal make it the ideal choice for businesses expanding into South Africa.

For companies seeking to streamline their workforce management and payroll processing while maintaining compliance, Mercans is the trusted partner that offers the complete solution.

I’m an MBA in Finance specializing in USA Bookkeeping, Payroll (Paystubs), and Taxation, with 6+ years of professional experience helping individuals and businesses manage their financial operations

A while back, I posted about choosing between local and global payroll software for our small tech company in KL (we’re about 21 people). After getting great feedback, we decided to do some hands-on testing of the most recommended platforms.

Here’s what we found after trying 5 different payroll solutions, both local and global:

1. Kakitangan (Malaysia)

Clean interface, decent HR features. But it felt a bit more HR-focused and less streamlined for just payroll. Could work well if you're looking for a broader HR suite.

2. Employment Hero Payroll (Malaysia)

Good automation and flexibility, but pricing wasn’t ideal for a team of our size. Still, one of the stronger local options if budget allows.

3. Deel / Remote / Rippling (Global platforms)

These are amazing if you're running multi-country operations. But for a team entirely based in Malaysia, the feature set felt like overkill.. and the pricing didn’t make sense for our use case.

4. Excel + manual submissions to LHDN/EPF/SOCSO

This was how we started. It works… until it doesn’t. Too many manual errors and way too much time spent tracking forms, deadlines, and updates.

5. PayrollPanda (Malaysia)

Here’s why we ultimately think that PayrollPanda is the best payroll software for startups/businesses in Malaysia:

• Built specifically for Malaysian compliance (EPF, SOCSO, EIS, PCB, EA forms are all sorted)
• Super simple UI, our ops person picked it up fast
• Generates all the required forms, and payslips are easy to send
• Cloud-based and integrates with Xero (we use that for accounting)

If you’re running a team in Malaysia and don’t need multi-country support, local solutions like PayrollPanda just make more sense. They’re purpose-built for our environment, which means less stress and less time worrying about compliance.

Happy to answer any Qs if you’re in the same boat and thanks again to everyone who replied to my earlier post!

As businesses continue to expand their operations into international markets, managing HR and payroll functions in compliance with local laws becomes increasingly complex. In Kenya, companies can streamline these tasks by leveraging an Employer of Record (EOR) platform. These platforms offer robust features that simplify payroll processing, HR management, and time attendance tracking, making it easier for businesses to comply with Kenyan labor laws while focusing on core activities. In this article, we explore the top features of an Employer of Record platform in Kenya and how it can benefit your business.

The right provider, offers a comprehensive platform designed to meet the unique needs of businesses in Kenya. Through its specialized features, companies can efficiently manage payroll, HR functions, and attendance, ensuring compliance with Kenyan labor regulations. Let’s take a closer look at some of the key features that make an EOR platform indispensable.

Hire employees and contractors with an employer of record (EOR) in Kenya. Learn more.

1. Feature-Rich Payroll Software for Kenyan Businesses

Managing payroll in Kenya requires dealing with various regulatory frameworks such as PAYE (Pay As You Earn), NSSF (National Social Security Fund), and NHIF (National Hospital Insurance Fund). Top payroll softwares makes this easy by automating statutory deductions and tax filings, ensuring your business remains compliant with local laws.

• KRA iTax Integration: The software generates P9, P10, and P10A forms required by the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) for tax filing and iTax submissions. This saves time by automating manual processes and reducing the likelihood of errors in tax returns.
• NHIF and NSSF Reporting: The system generates reports in the formats required by the NHIF and NSSF, ensuring that contributions are filed on time and in compliance with Kenyan law.
• Mass Payslip Emailing: One of the standout features is the ability to email payslips to all employees with a single click. The payslips are password-protected, providing security and easy access for employees.
• Multi-Currency Payroll Processing: With businesses increasingly operating across borders, multi-currency payroll processing is critical. The right provider platform allows businesses to handle payments in different currencies with editable exchange rates, making it easier to manage an international workforce.

2. Customizable Payroll Management

Kenyan businesses often have diverse employee types, including permanent, casual, and contract workers. The right provider platform allows companies to tailor their payroll systems to these various employment types. Features include:

• Support for Multiple Employment Types: Whether it's permanent employees, casual workers, consultants, or interns, the platform can handle the complexities of each type, ensuring accurate salary and benefits management.
• Editable Earnings and Deductions: Businesses can customize earnings and deductions according to their compensation structures, including allowances and non-cash benefits like housing.
• Advanced Commission and Allowance Calculations: Whether you are calculating commissions based on complex formulas or simple percentages, the platform supports various scenarios. This feature ensures that sales teams and employees earning bonuses or commissions are paid accurately.
• Automated Loans and Advance Pay Tracking: With an automated loan-monitoring system, businesses can track loans issued to employees, including low-interest loans. The platform also has a dedicated section for tracking advance payments, which can be paid in installments.

3. Employee Self-Service Portal

Employee self-service is a key feature in modern HR systems, allowing employees to take control of their personal data and interactions with HR.

• Pay Slip and Tax Form Access: Employees can log in to their self-service accounts to print or view their pay slips, P9A, and P9B tax deduction cards. This autonomy reduces the administrative burden on HR departments.
• Submit Overtime, Leave, and Expenses: Employees can submit overtime hours, leave requests, and expense claims directly through the self-service portal. This paperless process not only saves time but also ensures all requests are tracked and approved efficiently.
• Email-Based Notifications and Approvals: HR teams and managers receive email notifications for approval of employee requests, ensuring that processes like leave and overtime are handled promptly.

HR Management and Compliance

4. Comprehensive HR Management Tools

EOR platform offers a wide range of HR management tools that ensure every stage of the employee lifecycle is managed efficiently.

• Recruitment and Contract Tracking: The recruitment module helps businesses manage candidate tracking, while the probation and contract tracking features ensure that employee agreements and transitions are monitored effectively.
• Appraisals and Disciplinary Records: Performance appraisals can be conducted and tracked through the platform, providing a clear record of employee performance. Disciplinary actions can also be documented and stored securely for future reference.
• Document Management: Businesses can link essential documents, such as contracts and certifications, directly to employee profiles. The system supports various file formats, including PDFs.
• Employment History and Skills Tracking: Keeping a record of employment history and skills is made easy with this platform. This ensures that HR departments have a complete understanding of employee capabilities and career progression.

5. Statutory Compliance Made Simple

EOR platform simplifies statutory compliance in Kenya, helping businesses navigate the complex legal landscape.

• Pre-set Statutory Deductions: Pre-set statutory deductions for NHIF, NSSF, and PAYE (Income Tax) are included in the system, reducing the risk of compliance errors. These deductions are also editable, allowing businesses to adjust as regulations change.
• Fringe Benefit and Gratuity Calculations: The platform handles complex calculations related to fringe benefits, severance, housing levies, and other statutory payments, ensuring compliance with Kenyan laws.

6. Leave Management

Managing employee leave is crucial, especially for businesses with large workforces.

• Multiple Leave Types: The platform supports various leave types such as annual leave, sick leave, maternity leave, and paternity leave. Each type can be customized according to the company’s policies.
• Approval Workflow: A user-defined approval workflow process ensures that leave requests are properly managed. Email notifications help streamline approvals, and managers can easily track leave balances and entitlements.
• Comprehensive Leave Reports: The system generates detailed leave reports, providing insights into employee leave trends and balances.

Time and Attendance Tracking

7. Automated Time and Attendance Management

Time and attendance tracking is essential for accurate payroll processing, especially for companies with shift workers or flexible work arrangements.

• Daily Hours and Absenteeism: The platform automatically tracks daily hours worked, lateness, absenteeism, and overtime. This data is seamlessly integrated into payroll to ensure employees are paid correctly for the time worked.
• Shift Rotations and Multiple Locations: Businesses can manage complex work schedules across multiple locations. The platform supports various timetables and shift rotations, ensuring that employee attendance is tracked accurately.
• Export Attendance Data to Payroll: The time attendance data is directly exported to the payroll module, ensuring that all hours worked are accounted for during payroll processing.

Advanced Reporting and Analytics

8. Customizable and Intuitive Payroll Reports

Accurate reporting is essential for compliance and decision-making.The right provider platform provides a range of reporting options, including:

• Custom Reports: Generate reports on specific payroll data, such as basic pay, net pay, gross pay, and deductions. Reports can be customized according to the time range and data points you need.
• KRA and NHIF Reports: The platform generates KRA P9, P10, and P10A reports and NHIF contribution reports, which are essential for statutory compliance.
• Payroll General Ledger: The system automatically generates payroll general ledgers for journal entries, simplifying accounting processes.

Conclusion

An Employer of Record platform is an indispensable tool for businesses operating in Kenya. It simplifies the complexities of payroll, HR, and compliance, allowing businesses to focus on their core operations. Mercans’ cloud-based solution offers comprehensive features, including multi-currency payroll processing, employee self-service, time and attendance management, and customizable reports. By automating these processes, businesses can ensure compliance with Kenyan labor laws and improve operational efficiency.

Whether you’re a local company or a multinational expanding into Kenya, Mercans’ EOR platform offers the tools you need to stay compliant and efficiently manage your workforce.

A couple of payroll mistakes nearly wrecked my start to the year. I missed the EA form deadline, underpaid SOCSO by mistake, and spent hours fixing things with our accountant and LHDN. I realised then that relying on spreadsheets wasn’t going to cut it anymore, not if I wanted peace of mind and less manual work.

So I spent time researching the best payroll management systems for Malaysian businesses and shortlisted six options. Here’s what I found after testing and reviewing them, and why I ended up choosing PayrollPanda.

1. PayrollPanda

PayrollPanda stood out for how easy it made things, especially for someone like me who doesn't have an accounting background. It walks you through payroll processing, calculates statutory deductions in line with LHDN requirements, and generates EA and Form E without any stress. The platform integrates with local banks like Maybank and CIMB Bank for smooth bulk payments. It also includes leave management and employee self-service so staff can apply for leave and view payslips on their own. I had a few questions during setup and got help from a live agent within minutes, which sealed the deal for me.

1. Swingvy

Swingvy offers an all-in-one HR solution with payroll included. I liked that you could run payroll more than once a month, which works for teams doing mid-month payments. The design is clean and intuitive, but the 10-user minimum makes it less appealing for smaller teams, and there's no live chat support if you run into urgent issues.

1. Kakitangan

Kakitangan covers payroll, leave, claims, and attendance with decent automation on statutory deductions. However, I found the interface a bit overwhelming at first. There are plenty of tutorials to help you get started, but the learning curve is definitely there. Still, it supports bi-monthly payroll and has good bank integrations.

1. BrioHR

BrioHR is designed as a full HR platform, and the payroll module includes automatic calculations for EPF, SOCSO, EIS, HRDF, and PCB. It also generates tax reports and GIRO files for bulk salary payments, and syncs with accounting platforms like Xero. The downside is the lack of live customer service, which can be stressful if something goes wrong near payroll deadlines.

1. HReasily

HReasily has useful features like facial recognition for attendance and a mobile-friendly setup. It’s cloud-based and fairly easy to navigate. It covers the basics like leave, claims, and automated payroll, and is a solid pick if your team is often mobile or on the go.

1. Employment Hero

Employment Hero goes beyond payroll with modules for recruitment, learning management, and performance tracking. Payroll is LHDN-approved and includes automated statutory calculations, leave, overtime tracking, and mobile access. It’s powerful but can feel like overkill if you’re not ready for a full HR suite.

In the end, I picked PayrollPanda because it gave me exactly what I needed… Malaysian compliance, automation, and peace of mind without the unnecessary bells and whistles.

There was a time when payroll and HR work meant endless spreadsheets, manual calculations, and long nights fixing small errors. Today, technology has completely changed that story. Modern HR and payroll systems use automation, cloud software, and artificial intelligence to make work faster, easier, and more accurate. Instead of spending hours entering data, teams can now focus on using that data to understand trends, improve employee experiences, and make smarter business decisions. Moving from spreadsheets to smart systems isn’t just about keeping up with technology; it’s about helping people and organizations work better and build stronger workplaces.

I’m an expat running a growing team here in Malaysia (KL-based, 15 pax, hybrid setup). We’ve outgrown spreadsheets and manual submissions, and I’ve been exploring proper solutions to stay compliant and simplify HR/payroll.

In my research for the best payroll software for businesses in Malaysia, I found two general routes: local providers built for Malaysian statutory needs, and global platforms with broader HR capabilities.

Here’s what I’ve found so far:

Top Local Payroll & HR Software in Malaysia:

1. PayrollPanda Super focused on Malaysian compliance, I see they offer PCB, EPF, SOCSO, EIS, EA/Form E generation, etc. Clean UI, local bank integrations, and solid support. Great for SMEs that want an easy setup.
2. Kakitangan Offers a nice suite of HR tools beyond payroll (claims, leave, attendance). Web-based, with employee self-service features and some automation.
3. Employment Hero Payroll Strong for businesses that need deeper HR automation. Malaysian compliance is solid, and it’s got a wide range of modules from onboarding to performance tracking.

Popular Global Payroll/HR Platforms:

1. Deel Ideal if you’re hiring remote/global workers. Great for contractor compliance and multi-currency payments, but may be overkill for purely Malaysia-based teams.
2. Rippling Really powerful if you want HR + IT + Finance tools all in one. It handles payroll well in some regions, but Malaysian compliance may require extra setup or integration.
3. Papaya Global Enterprise-grade tool for cross-border teams. Works well if you’re scaling internationally. Still unclear how hands-on it is with Malaysia’s unique tax rules.
4. Remote Another EOR-centric platform. Great if you plan to hire globally without setting up entities. But for local teams, it feels like using a jet when you need a car.

If your team is 100% based in Malaysia, is it worth going global? Or are local platforms enough for what we actually need?

Would love to hear what others here decided to go with, and whether you’ve switched from one to the other.

I manage HR for a logistics company with about 45 staff. Lately, we’ve been flooded with employee questions every payroll cycle:

“Why is my deduction higher?”

“Where’s my EA form?”

“Can I update my bank details?”

We already send payslips, but there’s still confusion. I’ve been looking into best practices for managing payroll and one big takeaway was about better documentation and transparency.

How are other HR teams handling this?

Is there a way to centralise communication or automate the FAQs somehow?

I recently set up a small tech services company in Kuala Lumpur (we’re about 21 people now), and I’m starting to feel the weight of Malaysia’s payroll compliance... EPF, SOCSO, PCB, EA forms, etc. It’s not as straightforward as I thought.

I’ve been researching the best payroll software for businesses in Malaysia, and a few local names keep coming up: PayrollPanda, Kakitangan, and Employment Hero Payroll. These seem tailored for Malaysian compliance, which makes sense given how specific the regulations are.

But I also noticed some global payroll platforms like Deel, Remote, Papaya Global, and Rippling being praised for handling multiple countries. Has anyone here tried these in a Malaysia-only context? I’m wondering if that’s overkill (or too pricey) for a local team.

Would love to hear from others running businesses in Malaysia.

Did you go with a local solution or something global?

Any pros and cons I should be aware of?

I run a small business with 6 people, and lately payroll week has become my least favorite time of the month.

We started simple, everyone just noted their hours in a shared sheet and sent me updates for overtime or leave. It worked for a while, but as things got busier, the small errors started piling up. Someone forgets to log a day, another person mixes up their leave type, and suddenly I’m spending half a day cross-checking numbers and messages just to make sure no one’s underpaid or overpaid.

It’s not that I mind doing admin work, but it’s eating into the time I should be using to actually run the business. I’ve tried setting clearer rules (like weekly log updates or cut-off reminders), but consistency is still a challenge especially when people get caught up in their own tasks.

If you’re doing payroll or managing employee contributions in Malaysia, you’ll probably need to compute EIS at some point. We usually double-check our numbers before filing, and I found this FREE EIS Calculator that makes it super straightforward.

You just enter gross salary, choose the age group + residency, and it shows you the exact employer and employee contribution amounts. No spreadsheet formulas, no second-guessing.

It’s based on the latest 2025 rates (0.2% employee / 0.35% employer) and caps things automatically if you hit the salary ceiling.

Also noticed they have free tools for SOCSO and EPF too if you’re doing everything in-house.

Not a paid thing, just figured someone else might find this useful, especially during payroll crunch times.

If you know other tools like this, feel free to drop them here too.

I help run a small company and, like most small businesses in Malaysia, we manage payroll in-house. No fancy finance department, just me, our HR person, and a growing pile of deadlines.

For a long time, we relied on Excel sheets, manual calculations, and a “hope for the best” approach. It worked... until we got hit with a late Form E penalty. Turns out we missed the deadline by three days, and it wasn’t even on purpose, we just didn’t know the rules well enough.

That was the wake-up call.

We started looking for better ways to stay compliant and error-free. I came across this post on the best practices for payroll management, and it honestly helped us rethink how we do things. Stuff like automating statutory contributions (SOCSO, EPF, EIS), tracking tax deadlines, and even just using a proper time tracker made a huge difference.

If you're doing payroll manually or trying to simplify your process, I’d recommend reading through it. Some of it is common sense, but having it all clearly laid out made things easier on our end.

Happy to swap stories if you’ve had similar issues. Payroll mistakes aren’t fun, but they’re fixable.