Quickbooks Philippines

Posted on September 30, 2015 by Stephen Jagger

quickbooks philippines manila We have added a new tool to PayrollHero that enables companies in the Philippines to export a QuickBooks journal entry for easy use within your Quickbooks account. This is a formatted QuickBooks Journal Entry report for a specified period that can be imported into the QuickBooks accounting software.

The end result looks like this:

quickbooks philippines

Check out the complete details on how PayrollHero and Quickbooks can work together.

If you are interesting in learning more about PayrollHero’s Philippine product, visit us at PayrollHero.ph. One of our team would be pleased to speak one on one to learn more about your needs.

Do you use Xero? Let us know how we can help with your Xero integration.

Changes to Singapore Employment Act – Issue Itemised Payslips and Key Employment Terms to Employees

Posted on September 5, 2015 by Stephen Jagger

As we noted back in April, Singapore will be requiring all employees to issue itemised payslips to all employees by April 2016.

From Singapore Ministry of Manpower:

From 1st April 2016, employers will be required to issue itemised payslips and Key Employment Terms (KETs) to their employees. This will enable employees to better understand their regular salary components, as well as employment terms and benefits. This will also help employers prevent misunderstandings and minimise disputes at the workplace. For more details on the requirements, you may refer to www.mom.gov.sg/ea-amendments.
Employers can find resources and guidance to help them implement the changes here: http://www.mom.gov.sg/ea-assistance.

Singapore Payslips

New Feature on the PayrollHero App!

Posted on July 9, 2015 by Pragya Gupta

We have a new feature on the PayrollHero app!

Our Devs (developers) are constantly working towards improving functionality of the app. To that end, we have a new feature to enhance a human resource manager’s tools. It’s a simple addition to the app that allows the HR manager or payroll administrator to:

check the GPS coordinates of employees who are clocking in.
record which device they are clocking in from

The feature sits in the Employees tab and under the Rollcall Days section. You can see the list of days that the employee has clocked in, their IP address, GPS coordinates linking to Google maps and the device that they used: TeamClock or #MyClock. If there are any issues with clocking in with a particular device, the HR admin can point out what specific device the problem arose from. This information can also be used as Business Intelligence to make decision on staffing and installing the best devices in your outlets.

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The feature is already live for all PayrollHero users!

How do I open a restaurant in the Philippines? Presenting the PayrollHero Knowledge Kit!

Posted on July 3, 2015 by Pragya Gupta

The PayrollHero blog aims to be the knowledge repository for any restaurant owner or retailer in Southeast Asia. We have built our database with things you need to know while doing business in the Philippines.

With that in mind, we have been working on a little project. Presenting the PayrollHero Knowledge Kit for opening a restaurant in the Philippines!

Download it now – free!
This starter kit was put together to give you high level information about the Philippines, share some thoughts from restaurant owners, and present relevant statistics from our market research.

The information here includes research that will help you open a restaurant in the Philippines or expand into the country.

We talk about what BIR, SSS, PhilHealth and Pag-IBIG are all about.The pages are linked to relevant tax forms and websites that offer more detailed information if you want it.
There is an industry overview and analysis on the latest consumption trends in the country. For example, did you know that the Home delivery and takeaway sector grew at a staggering 10.3%. It’s closest competitor was the fast food industry at 8.1%.

But we don’t want to give you simple hard facts that you could just Google anyway. The Knowledge Kit has a wealth of information in the form of personal stories and experiences in these countries. We interviewed the owner of the Advent Manila Hospitality Group, Mr. Andrew Masigan, and asked him about how he runs his business in this part of the world. We see it as a way to help the community because there is no better way to learn than from people who have gone through the same roadblocks as your are facing right now.

We hope this information is useful to you. We would love to hear back from you with what you think about the Knowledge Kit, how we can make things better and how you use this Kit for your own research into the restaurant industry.

Lastly, we are releasing more of these for the retail and BPO industry. Watch out for more information about these industries and countries.

So go ahead and click on the image above to access the Knowledge Kit. Let us know what you think. And good luck with your new business!

Continue reading →

Your Employees Are Asking 3rd Parties to Check Their Payroll Calculations

Posted on June 24, 2015 by Stephen Jagger

Have you ever heard of Glassdoor.com? It is a US based website that “is the world’s most transparent career community that is changing the way people find jobs, and companies recruit top talent.” Founded by Rich Barton who is no stranger to startups. Rich is the founder of Expedia and Zillow with a history at Microsoft. “Glassdoor holds a growing database of 6 million company reviews, CEO approval ratings, salary reports, interview reviews and questions, benefits reviews, office photos and more.”

Basically Glassdoor lets you check on positions salaries, company feedback and much more. While it is growing rapidly in North America it has not seemed to have taken off in Southeast Asia.

Which brings me to the topic of this post;

Your Employees Are Checking Their Payroll Calculations

Every month we get random inquiries from employees we don’t have a relationship with asking about their personal situation. Questions about their taxes, their payroll dates, deductions, allowances, etc.

Are your employees asking around?

For example, here is an inquiry we received recently asking about income tax for an employee of a Philippine retailer. We have no idea who the employee is or what company they work for but they are asking around.

hi.gud afternoon..im working at [retail] store as asst.supervisor..my rate was 513.62 per day..i have 1 dependent..but my tax was 1789 ..its is correct for my salary

Are your employees double checking their payroll calculations?

Feel free to reach out to us for more information about our Philippine payroll software, Singapore payroll software or our daily time record tools for your business.

Planning on expanding to the Philippines? Here are some helpful resources

Posted on June 21, 2015 by Stephen Jagger

Are you thinking about doing business in the Philippines? With almost 100,000,000 people, mostly English speaking, a fast growing economy and the worlds largest centre for voice based outsourcing – the Philippines is a hot market.

Many business owners are coming to the Philippines looking to setup their restaurant chain, expand their retail business, outsource some of their operations or getting into the outsourcing business themselves.

I have compiled a bunch of resources that will help you along the way with your research of the Philippine market.

BPOs

Simon Meers of Wint and Kidd, tells his story about how he transitioned his Australian business to the Philippines and eventually opened a BPO. Read more about Simon’s story.

Clare Matchett, another Australian shares her story about human resource challenges in the Philippines, how they recruit, hire and manage their team as well as why she learned Tagalog. Read more about Clare’s story.

David Elefant has worked with tons of business owners wanting to setup in the Philippines. He is a fantastic resource to get your setup questions answered. Read more about David and what he is doing in the Philippines.

If your interested in learning more about setting up in the Philippines then check outMike O’Hagan‘s tours. He brings in entrepreneurs looking to see first hand how it all works. Read more about Mike.

Then of course there are questions about taxes, Government organizations, etc. Here are some resources on SSS, PhilHealth, Pagibig and PEZA.

Restaurant / Retail

Adrien of Singapore’s Salad Stop in the the process of expanding his restaurant chain into the Philippines. Read more about his adventure.

Eileen Grey, a business women in the Philippines who has grown The Picture Company into a multi-location success story. Read more about her experience here.

Andrew Masigan talks about his restaurant chain in the Philippines and how he got started. With 14 stores open and 2 more on the way, Andrew has some great experiences to share about operating in the Philippines.

Here is a video we shot a while back with startup founders and other stakeholders as to why they think the Philippines is a great place to do business.

Special Employment Credits in Singapore

Posted on June 18, 2015 by Pragya Gupta

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The Special Employment Credit was introduced in 2011 in order to provide tax credits for employers who employ low-wage Singaporean senior citizens. The time period in which the SEC is implemented is between January 1, 2012 and December 31, 2016. The last SEC payout will be on March 2017.

There are three main criteria in order to apply for the SEC. The employee must be:

a Singaporean citizen
aged over 50
earning less that $4000 a month

In the year 2015, the Government decided to increase credit rates in order for companies to cope with the increase in CPF contributions. Credit offered by the government is 8.5% of the employee’s monthly wages for employees aged between 50 and 65. For employees over 65 years of age, the credit is 11.5% of monthly wages. These rates apply till December 31, 2015. The schedule for credit is given below:

SEC for the month ($) for employers who hire Singaporeans
Income of employee/month ($)	between ages 50 and 65	over age 65
500.00	42.50	57.50
1000.00	85.00	115.00
1500.00	127.50	172.50
2000.00	170.00	230.00
2500.00	212.50	287.50
3000.00	255.00	345.00
3250.00	191.25	258.75
3500.00	127.50	172.50
3750.00	63.75	86.25
>= 4000	0.00	0.00

The rates for 2016 have not been announced. The Singapore government has not specified whether these rates will remain or be reverted back to the old credit rates.

SEC Payments

SEC payments are made on a retrospective basis. For the months between January and June, SEC payments will be made in September. For months between July and December, SEC payments are made the following March. A company will qualify for SEC payments only after the necessary CPF contributions have been made. To check the contribution schedule for CPF and for more details on CPF payments, check out our blog post. Payments are made via GIRO. For companies without GIRO, a cheque will be sent. An important point to note that SEC is taxable.

To find out the absolute value of credit that your company will receive, you can click on the SEC calculator here. For more details on SEC, you can find FAQs here.

Get Your New Employee Off To A Good Start

Posted on June 14, 2015 by

In our recent blog posts on millennials, we’ve talked about how to get the right young star talents into your company and how to stop them from leaving once you’ve got them working for you.

PayrollHero Team is expanding, and as we speak a new batch of interns are flying in to come work with us here at our Singapore office. And it just had me thinking- it is so important to have these young rock stars feel welcome into our working culture. Why? I can understand first hand how daunting it can be for a 20 something year old to travel thousands of miles be apart of something you don’t have a first clue about and figuring all of that out in a new country.

What most employers think when onboarding new employees, they typically check tasks off a to-do list which may include- a quick introduction, an office tour, getting to learn the company vision and other tasks. But what is most often left to last, (and usually ignored) is having a plan that is focused on making new employees feel welcome, appreciated and feel part of the company culture as soon as possible.

And these efforts will have it rewards– high employee retention and loyalty to the company will reflect favorably to the bottomline. Paying close attention to the company culture and adding to it is really important. I would like to quote Jonathan Mildenhall, CMO with Airbnb, where he says “the culture becomes an incubator for creativity
and innovation, and ultimately for business performance.”

Here’s a few things companies can do to welcome a new hire:

Have A Welcome Strategy Put In Place
Before the hiring process starts, have a meeting where everybody (from the management down) who will be involved in the new hire to brainstorm and come up with a detailed plan for bringing a new person to the team. It is important for the company to create a good first impression as well. One of the most important things a new hire at Airbnb goes through is a full week of cultural immersion, so the person will come out of that week feeling like he can be a true ambassador for the company and brand.

Have A Mentor/ Buddy System
It’s good to assign somebody or even better, the whole team to spend some time with the new employee to take him out for lunch or happy hour after work, show how stuff works and provide support when needed. Helping the new guy feel part of the team quickly would be good to help him get rolling on the job and assimilate easier.

Express Genuine Interest in the New Employee As A Person.
Getting to know your new hire as an individual is great for building rapport with the person. Knowing more information about him would come in handy, like for instance if you know he’s visual or auditory will tell you how he prefers to be appreciated. For an auditory person, being complimented verbally is better than receiving it in an email and the opposite is true for a visual person.

It is always good to keep in mind these little information which creates a more personalized welcome and heightens his experience with the company.

Stay tuned to find out who are our new interns and how they are doing with PayrollHero.

The PayrollHero Team is fast expanding and we’re on the look out for rock star talents to join us. Drop us an email and tell us more about you.

Certified Profile: Clare Matchett, ServiceSeeking Manila

Posted on June 12, 2015 by Stephen Jagger

As part of a new series on this blog we will be profiling certified PayrollHero users to learn more about them, their business, where they go to learn and best practices.

First up is Clare Matchett, General Manager for ServiceSeeking Manila.

1. How would you describe your business?
ServiceSeeking Manila is the Manila arm of ServiceSeeking.com.au, Australia’s best way to get free quotes from local businesses. Our team handles customer service, sales, data analysis, web development, SEO and a whole lot more.

2. What tools do you use to recruit?

We use traditional recruiting tools like job websites, forums and events. One of the most successful recruitment channels is actually referrals from existing team members. Some of our best staff were encouraged to apply by friends and family who worked with us and loved the company culture and office atmosphere.

3. What is your hiring philosophy?

We look closely at applicants’ personality and general aptitude and tend to place more emphasis on this than skills, education and past experience in our industry. If someone is the right fit, they’ll have the curiosity, bubbliness and problem solving ability that helps them thrive in a company that moves quickly and believes in collaboration, openness and fun.

4. What blogs / newsletters do you read to stay up to date in your industry?

My favourite newsletter is from Sandler Training, a sales training company with a no nonsense approach to prospecting and winning and keeping clients.

5. How do you build company culture at ServiceSeeking?

We emphasise our company values and make these a core part of recruitment, training and annual reviews. Weekly wrap ups with the entire office also let everyone know what others are working on, celebrate the small “wins” and help team members see the importance of their own role in our big picture success.

6. I saw on Linkedin you were “Streamlining HR policies and the recruitment process” can you explain more about that?

We’ve learned over the years that being different to the average big BPO company is a key factor in our success in Manila. We’ve worked hard to cut out policies and processes that are not in line with our values and can hold our team back from delivering great quality service.

7. Is speaking Tagalog an advantage to you in running the business?

My tagalog has a long way to go, but I do think employees appreciate when a foreigner takes the time to learn! It has certainly helped me understand more about Philippine culture, and it always gets a smile when I drop a word into the conversation, even with the wrong pronunciation.

8. Regarding the PayrollHero Certifications, what did you think of the certification courses?

I was very impressed with the certification courses PayrollHero and its training partners provide. We were helped along every step of the way and the support made the transition from outsourced payroll provider to running this in-house much more smooth.

9. Was the certifications helpful in getting the most out of PayrollHero?

Much of the software is intuitive and just “makes sense”, but payroll in the Philippines is notoriously complicated. We’ve been able to transition to using PayrollHero without adding any new team members and this is mostly because of the great communication with the PayrollHero staff. Discrepancy checks were particularly helpful in letting us know where we’re at with the transition and how to set up loans, advances, bonuses, allowances and government contributions correctly.

PayrollHero has a deliberate onboarding process that is designed to understand every customer’s unique needs so that we can quickly and effectively transition your business onto PayrollHero. Reach out today for a free, 30 min. one on one conversation about how PayrollHero can work within your organization.

Payroll in APAC: Singapore

Posted on June 10, 2015 by Pragya Gupta

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Employer contributions in Singapore are collected by the Central Provident Fund (CPF). The deductions and levies contribute towards savings for Singaporeans and Permanent Residents (PRs) for retirement, insurance and building their homes. There are also certain levies that go towards different ethnic funds. We will go through all these deductions and levies.

CPF

CPF contributions are done by the employee and employer. The contributions ar singapore cpf e restricted to Singaporeans and PRs only. There are 4 major accounts that CPF contributions go into: Ordinary Account (for retirement, housing finance, investment, education), Special Account (for old age and special contingencies), Medisave Account (for hospital bills) and Retirement Account (this account is opened once the employee turns 55). Check out these links to find out contributions rates and deadlines.

Foreign Workers Levy

The levy is imposed on employers who employ foreign workers with Work Permits or S Passes. Levies do not need to be paid for employees with Employment Passes. The levy is calculated based on the ratio of Singaporeans to foreign employees that your business employs. Here is a link on how the foreign levy is calculated. The levy is paid on the first of every month. More details on the FWL here.

Skills Development Levy

The SDL goes to the Skills Development Fund, which provides grants for training programmes and workforce upgrading programmes. The levy must be paid for Singpaorean, PR and foreign workers. The rates are linked here.

Ethnic Fund

There are 4 Self Help Group (SGH) Funds that collect levies based on the ethnicity of your employees. The four funds are:

Chinese Development Assistance Council (CDAC) Fund, administered byCDAC
Eurasian Community Fund (ECF), administered by the Eurasian Association(EA)
Mosque Building and Mendaki Fund (MBMF), administered by Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura (MUIS)
Singapore Indian Development Association (SINDA) Fund, administered by SINDA

The levy is paid out of employees’ salaries. Employees may choose to opt out of the levy by signing the relevant forms. The levy must be paid every month. Here are the rates.

If you are looking for a Singapore cloud based payroll platform – look no further. PayrollHero’s end to end solution includes time, attendance, scheduling, HRIS and Singapore payroll. Plus, amazing business intelligence. Let us know if you want a one on one demo.

For more information on CPF contributions, make sure to read this link. If you want to know more about employer contribution in the Philippine, check out Payroll in APAC: the Philippines.. Hope this helps!

Disclaimer: As always, consult your lawyer or accountant for advice! We are here to help, but your specific situation should be reviewed by a professional with complete knowledge of your situation.