HR and payroll is the software that keeps the record of every employee and pays every salary on time. It also covers shift schedules, staff who work in other countries, and the health and wellbeing benefits that employers add on top of pay. For most companies, it is the most important part of HR technology, because a late or wrong salary is noticed by every employee on the same day.
The centre of this zone is the human resources information system (HRIS) and payroll. Core HR keeps each employee's record: start date, manager, salary, leave balance and tax details. Payroll turns that record into a payslip every month. It calculates each deduction, such as provident fund and income tax, and sends the salaries to the bank. The idea that this one record drives everything else is explained on the page on the HRIS as the root record.
Shops, hospitals, warehouses and factories also need to decide who works when. Workforce management (WFM) forecasts how busy each shift will be, builds the roster within the hours that labour law allows, and records the hours actually worked for payroll.
Two products handle people in other countries. An employer of record (EOR) legally employs a worker in a country where the company has no registered company of its own. A related product, global payroll, pays the company's own staff in many countries from one system. When an employee moves to another country, immigration management software files and tracks the visa and work permit.
The last two products deal with benefits. In the United States, health cover usually comes from the employer, not the state. So American employers buy benefits administration software to run each employee's choice of health plan and their tax-free health accounts. In India, an employer usually buys one group health insurance policy for all its staff instead. In both countries, an employee wellbeing platform adds a confidential counselling line, health check-ups and perks.
Consider a textile company in Surat with 2,000 staff. The HRIS holds all 2,000 records. Workforce management builds the factory's three daily shifts. Payroll pays everyone on the last working day of the month. Its two sales managers in Dubai are paid through an employer of record.
Most of this software is rented as SaaS. Some providers also do the work themselves, such as running the payroll or employing the worker abroad. This is called a managed service.