Payroll & Employer
Payroll Outsourcing Singapore
Full-service payroll across SEA - statutory contributions handled in-country
Payroll run every month for Singapore, with CPF, SDL, the self-help group levies, work injury compensation and the foreign worker levy handled, and for Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia through the equivalent bodies in each. Payslips, IR8A submission and audit-ready records come with it. Minimum term twelve months against a refundable one-month deposit.
24+ years
of Singapore HR group heritage
Since 2010
Singapore payroll practice - UEN 201009036N
9 entities
across 5 SEA markets
5 currencies
SGD · MYR · THB · VND · IDR
How it works
1
Scope
Headcount, which countries the people sit in, and what categories they fall into, because citizens, permanent residents and pass holders each attract different obligations. We also fix the salary cycles and list every recurring filing that will be due in each market. All of that is mapped before a single payroll is run.
2
Onboard
Employee records, salary structures, leave balances and prior-period reconciliations are migrated across. If you have an HRIS we integrate with it; if what you have is a set of spreadsheets, we work from those instead, and there is no judgement attached to either. One cycle then runs in parallel with your existing process so the numbers can be compared before cutover.
3
Run
Payroll calculated and paid in local currency each month, with CPF, SDL, the self-help group levies, the foreign worker levy and the equivalents in the other four markets remitted at official rates. Payslips issued, GIRO files produced, leave balances brought up to date. Anything that looks out of pattern is flagged to you before the money moves.
4
Close
IR8A and AIS submissions at year end, IR21 tax clearance when a foreign employee leaves Singapore, and the annual returns each of the other markets requires. Records stay archived in audit-ready form and remain available to you whenever an auditor or a regulator asks.
Payroll Outsourcing Singapore - backed by 24+ years of group heritage
Payroll is the most operationally sensitive HR process you outsource - every salary, every statutory contribution, every year-end filing has to land on the day, in the right currency, at the right amount. People Profilers has operated as a Singapore-headquartered HR group for 24+ years, and our payroll practice runs through People Profilers (Services) Pte. Ltd. - incorporated in 2010 specifically to provide manpower contracting and payroll services. We operate nine legal entities across Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, and Indonesia. That depth means accurate CPF, SDL, SHG, FWL, and IR8A handling on the Singapore side; correct country-equivalent statutory administration in MY, TH, VN, and ID; and multi-currency payroll administered by people who understand each market, not a generic platform applying templates.
What's included in our payroll service
Three layers to the work: the monthly processing that has to produce correct payslips on the right day, the statutory contributions that have to reach each regulator at official rates, and the year-end filings that close the tax year without leaving anything open. The fee for all three is fixed in the engagement letter before the first run.
Monthly payroll administration
- ✓Payslip generation, distribution, and archiving
- ✓GIRO / bank file generation for salary disbursement
- ✓Variance reports flagged before payroll runs
- ✓Multi-currency support (SGD, MYR, THB, VND, IDR)
Statutory contributions handled
- ✓CPF, SDL, SHG, FWL for Singapore employees
- ✓Country-equivalent contributions in MY / TH / VN / ID
- ✓Foreign-pass workforce (WP / S Pass / EP) included
- ✓Calculated at official rates - no markup, no margin
Year-end + situational filings
- ✓IR8A and AIS annual returns (Singapore)
- ✓IR21 tax clearance for departing foreign employees
- ✓Country-equivalent annual returns in MY / TH / VN / ID
- ✓Optional add-ons: leave portal, expense management
Engagement letters spell out every fee in writing before onboarding. Engagements have a 12-month minimum term with one month's fees held as a refundable security deposit. You remain the legal employer of your team. We administer payroll, contributions, and filings on your behalf.
When Payroll Outsourcing makes sense
Outsourcing payroll is rarely about cost. It's about taking a high-risk, low-strategic-value process off the in-house plate. Three patterns we see most often across the Singapore and SEA markets.
Lean HR or finance team
Small or mid-sized employers where running payroll in-house consumes a disproportionate amount of senior HR or finance bandwidth - and where one resignation could leave the function exposed.
Multi-country SEA workforce
Organisations with employees in two or more SEA markets that need consolidated reporting, local-currency disbursement, and accurate statutory handling without standing up a separate payroll function in each country.
Mixed local + foreign workforce
Employers running payroll for a mix of citizens, PRs, and foreign-pass employees who need accurate CPF, SDL, SHG, and FWL handling - plus IR21 tax clearance for foreign departures, without manually reconciling each category.
You remain the legal employer of your team. We administer payroll, contributions, and filings on your behalf. For a different model where People Profilers becomes the legal employer (typically for testing a new market without incorporating), see our Employer of Record service.
What is included
Full-service payroll across SEA - statutory contributions handled in-country
Payslip generation, IR8A submission and audit-ready reporting · Singapore payroll practice, UEN 201009036N · You remain the legal employer
Industries & Functions We Cover
Payroll complexity tracks the workforce, not the headcount. Shift premiums and overtime in a marine or manufacturing setting, commission and clawback in sales, rostered allowances in healthcare, and a foreign-pass population that brings levies and tax clearance with it. 24+ years of running payroll for Singapore employers across these sectors is why the cycle does not come as a surprise.
Aerospace & Aviation
Licensed aircraft engineers, avionics and component specialists, MRO planners and supply chain roles across Seletar Aerospace Park and Changi.
Automotive
Regional sales and aftersales leadership, parts and distribution specialists, and EV and mobility roles for distributors running Asia from here.
Banking & Financial Services
Relationship managers, compliance and AML officers, risk and quantitative analysts and operations specialists across MAS-regulated banks, asset managers and family offices.
Biotechnology & Pharmaceutical
Regulatory affairs, QA and validation, bioprocess specialists and market access roles across the Tuas Biomedical Park cluster.
Chemical
Process, plant and reliability engineers, HSE officers and technical sales across the Jurong Island petrochemical complex.
Construction & Civil Engineering
Project and site managers, structural and M&E engineers, quantity surveyors and safety officers on BCA-regulated projects.
FMCG & Retail
Regional brand and category managers, trade marketing, e-commerce and retail operations for companies running Asia from Singapore.
Healthcare
Clinical operations, nursing leadership, regulatory and medical affairs across the public clusters, private groups and device companies.
IT & Telecommunication
Software engineers, cloud and DevOps, product managers, cyber security and data specialists across one-north, Changi Business Park and the CBD.
Logistics & Transportation
Freight forwarding, customs and trade compliance, warehouse and supply chain planning roles around PSA, Changi Airfreight and Tuas Port.
Marine & Offshore Engineering
Naval architects, marine and subsea engineers, project managers and yard operations roles across the Tuas and Benoi yards.
Media & Publishing
Regional account management, content and performance marketing, design and communications roles for agencies and platforms based here.
Oil & Gas
Trading and commercial analysts, process and project engineers, HSE and terminal operations roles across the energy majors and traders.
Real Estate & Property
Investment and asset managers, leasing and property managers, facilities leads and development roles for REITs and developers.
Semiconductor
Process, equipment, test and yield engineers, packaging specialists and fab operations roles across Woodlands, Tampines and Pasir Ris.
Frequently asked questions
Who is the legal employer when I outsource payroll to People Profilers?
You remain the employer. Outsourcing the payroll changes who runs the calculation and the filings, not who employs the person.
Your employees keep their contracts with you, their entitlements with you, and their reporting lines with you. What changes is that the CPF submission, the payslip and the year-end return are produced by us.
If what you want is for someone else to be the legal employer, that is Employer of Record and a different arrangement entirely.
Can you process payroll for our foreign-pass employees and handle FWL?
Yes. Employment Pass and S Pass holders, work permit holders, permanent residents and citizens all run through the same monthly cycle, each with the obligations that actually apply to them.
The foreign worker levy is calculated by pass type and sector and remitted with the rest of the cycle. Where levy rates or quota positions change, we apply the new rates rather than waiting to be told.
IR21 tax clearance for a departing foreign employee is handled as part of the exit, and it is worth flagging early: clearance has to be filed before the final salary is released, and last-minute departures are where employers most often get caught.
Which countries can you run payroll in?
Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia. Each runs through our own locally-incorporated entity in that country rather than through a partner network, which is why the answers you get about a Vietnamese filing come from people who file them.
A group operating in several of these markets can consolidate onto one engagement with one point of contact, while each country's payroll still runs to its own local rules and calendar.
How does the engagement and pricing work?
Twelve-month minimum term, with one month of fees held as a refundable deposit for the duration.
The fee is driven by headcount, how many countries are involved, and how complex the payroll actually is. Shift premiums, commission structures and a large foreign-pass population all add work, and the pricing reflects that rather than pretending every employee costs the same to process.
Everything is written into the engagement letter before onboarding, and a change in scope later is a documented variation rather than a renegotiation.
How do you handle data security and employee privacy?
Payroll data is the most sensitive data an employer holds, and it is treated accordingly. Access is restricted to the people processing your cycle rather than granted across the operation.
Handling follows the Personal Data Protection Act in Singapore and the equivalent regime in each other market. Retention periods, access rights and breach procedures are written into the engagement letter.
When an engagement ends your data is returned in an agreed format and our copies are disposed of on a schedule fixed at the start of the engagement rather than argued about at the end.
What does the transition look like if we move from in-house payroll to your service?
The risky part of a payroll move is not the software, it is the accumulated exceptions: the allowance that was agreed verbally, the leave balance carried across from a system that no longer exists, the one employee on a different cycle.
So the first step is mapping what exists, followed by migrating records, salary structures, leave balances and prior-period reconciliations. Then one full cycle runs in parallel with whatever is running today and the two are compared line by line.
Cutover happens only after that comparison reconciles. Where a mid-year move is unavoidable, we take the year-to-date figures across intact so the year-end filing still closes correctly.
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