Quick answer
HRIS software (human resource information system) keeps employee records, attendance, leave and approvals in one place. In the Philippines it is usually connected to payroll so SSS, PhilHealth, Pag-IBIG and BIR withholding are computed from the same data. Most cloud HRIS products charge per employee per month, often with a monthly minimum, and implementation, add-on modules and attendance hardware are priced separately. Choose by scoring vendors on Philippine payroll fit, attendance options, data privacy controls, support and total cost over three years, not on the headline monthly price.
This guide is for business owners and HR, finance or operations heads replacing spreadsheets, logbooks or an old payroll program. It explains what an HRIS is, which modules matter, the attendance options and their privacy trade-offs, how pricing works, and how to compare vendors with a simple scorecard. It stays vendor-neutral until a short, factual section on NexHRIS near the end.
What an HRIS is, and how it differs from HRMS and payroll-only software
Vendors use these terms loosely, so ask what is actually included rather than relying on the label.
| Term | Typical meaning | Usually includes |
|---|---|---|
| Payroll-only software | Computes pay and statutory deductions | Gross-to-net, contributions, withholding tax, payslips, remittance reports. Attendance is often imported. |
| HRIS | System of record for employee data and HR transactions | Employee records (201 files), attendance, leave, approvals, self-service, reports. Often bundled with payroll. |
| HRMS / HCM | Broader people-management suite | HRIS functions plus recruitment, performance, training, workforce analytics and planning |
When Filipino buyers search for an “HR payroll system” or “HRIS payroll system”, they usually want a single platform where attendance, leave and HR records feed payroll directly. If payroll is your main pain point, start with our complete guide to payroll systems in the Philippines, then come back here to judge the wider HR features.
Core HRIS modules to look for
| Module | What it does | Why it matters for Philippine employers |
|---|---|---|
| Employee records (201 file) | Personal data, government numbers, contracts, movements, documents | Payroll and government reports depend on clean master data |
| Time and attendance | Captures time-in and time-out, schedules, shifts, overtime, undertime | The input for overtime, night differential, holiday and rest day pay |
| Leave management | Leave policies, balances, filing and approval | Tracks statutory and company leave, and conversions at year-end or separation |
| Payroll | Gross-to-net, contributions, withholding tax, payslips, reports | Removes re-keying between HR and payroll |
| Approval workflows | Routes overtime, leave, claims and changes to the right approver | Creates evidence that overtime and deductions were authorized |
| Employee self-service | Staff view payslips and balances and file requests | Cuts routine HR questions and gives employees access to their own data |
| Claims and reimbursements | Expense filing, approval and payout | Keeps reimbursements out of side spreadsheets |
| Recruitment and onboarding | Applicants, hiring steps, new-hire records | Starts the 201 file correctly on day one |
| Reports and analytics | Headcount, attendance, turnover, payroll cost | Shows management where cost and absenteeism sit |
| Security and audit | Role-based access, activity logs | Supports Data Privacy Act accountability and internal audit |
Why payroll integration matters
An HRIS that does not connect to payroll leaves you exporting attendance, fixing it in Excel and importing it again. That is where most errors creep in. When attendance, approved overtime and leave flow straight into the payroll run, each peso on a payslip can be traced to a time record and an approval.
Integrated payroll also matters at year-end. Pro-rated 13th month pay depends on the basic salary history for each employee. If your system keeps that history, the December computation in our 13th month pay guide becomes a report rather than a project.
Ask every vendor to show a full cut-off live: attendance exceptions, approvals, payroll computation, payslip, and the contribution and tax reports that come out of it.
Attendance options: biometric, QR, face and GPS
Attendance is often why companies buy an HRIS in the first place. The options trade cost, convenience, accuracy and privacy impact against each other:
| Method | Best for | Strengths | Watch-outs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fingerprint biometric device | Fixed sites such as offices, plants and stores | Hard to “buddy punch”; familiar to staff | Hardware cost and maintenance; worn or dirty fingerprints; biometric data handling |
| Facial recognition (device or app) | Sites wanting touchless capture | Touchless; can work on shared tablets or phones | Lighting and camera quality; biometric data handling; employee consent and notice |
| QR code | Low-cost setups, visitors, events, multiple entry points | Cheap and quick to deploy | QR codes can be shared or photographed unless paired with another check |
| RFID card | Sites already using access cards | Fast; works with door access | Cards can be lent to others; card replacement cost |
| Mobile app with GPS geofence | Field sales, technicians, multi-site and project crews | No hardware; confirms the employee was within an approved area | Location data is personal information; needs clear rules on when location is captured; depends on phone and signal |
GPS attendance for people is not the same as vehicle tracking. If you also manage delivery trucks, our article on GPS tracking for trucks in the Philippines covers the fleet side.
Privacy considerations for attendance data
Biometric templates and location trails are personal information under the Data Privacy Act of 2012 (RA 10173). Whether a given dataset is also sensitive personal information under Section 3(l) is a question for your Data Protection Officer or counsel. In practice, protect it at least as strictly as government ID numbers. Before rolling out:
- Proportionality: The law requires processing that is adequate and not excessive for its purpose (Section 11). Ask whether a less intrusive method would do the job. For example, use location only at clock-in rather than continuously.
- Notice: Tell employees what is collected, why, who can see it and how long it is kept (Section 16).
- Security: Restrict access to raw biometric and location data, and confirm how the vendor stores it (Section 20).
- Vendor accountability: You stay responsible when the HRIS vendor processes the data for you (Sections 14 and 21). Put a data processing agreement in place.
- Retention: Delete or anonymise attendance data you no longer need.
Employee self-service
Self-service lets employees view payslips and leave balances, file leave, overtime or claims, and update some personal details, all without going to HR. For HR it cuts routine requests. For employees it means faster answers. It also supports the right of data subjects to access their own information. Check whether it works well on a phone, because many rank-and-file staff will never log in from a laptop.
Compliance support vs legal responsibility
A good HRIS computes contributions and withholding tax from current tables, applies your pay rules consistently and produces the reports you need for remittances and filing. That is compliance support. Under Philippine law the employer stays responsible for paying correctly, deducting only what is allowed, remitting on time and protecting employee data. Software does not take that responsibility away.
So treat any vendor claim of “guaranteed compliance” with caution, and ask instead:
- Who updates statutory tables, how fast after a new circular, and how are you notified?
- Can you see and test the rule that produced each computation?
- What happens to a payroll already processed if a rate changes retroactively?
Scalability: branches, roles and integrations
Choose for where the business will be in two or three years, not only for today. Look for multi-branch and multi-department support, separate pay groups and schedules, and role-based access, so supervisors see only their teams and auditors get read-only access. Check how the system handles more employees, and whether pricing changes at certain headcounts. If you plan to connect accounting, ERP or operations systems, ask whether an API is available and what it costs.
Cloud vs on-premise
| Factor | Cloud (SaaS) | On-premise |
|---|---|---|
| Upfront cost | Low. A subscription replaces a large licence. | Higher. Licence, server and setup. |
| Updates | Pushed by the vendor, including statutory table changes | Applied by your IT team or vendor, sometimes billed |
| Access | Browser and mobile, from any site | Usually office network or VPN |
| IT burden | Vendor handles hosting and backups (verify) | You manage servers, backups, security patches |
| Data control | Depends on vendor hosting and contract terms | Data stays in your premises |
| Connectivity | Needs reliable internet; ask about offline attendance capture | Works on the local network |
For most small and mid-sized Philippine businesses with several sites, cloud is the practical default. On-premise mainly makes sense where policy requires data to stay on your own servers.
Still managing payroll and attendance manually?
Explore how NexHRIS can help organize your workflow.
HRIS pricing models and total cost of ownership
Common pricing structures you will see:
- Per employee per month (PEPM): The most common model for cloud HRIS. Check whether it counts active employees or everyone on file, and whether a monthly minimum fee applies.
- Tiered plans: Lower tiers have fewer modules. Make sure the features you need, such as attendance methods or approvals, are in the tier you are quoted.
- Add-on modules: Recruitment, GPS tracking, API access or analytics may cost extra.
- Implementation and migration: Often a one-time fee for setup, data loading, configuration and training.
- Hardware: Biometric or face devices, tablets and installation.
- Perpetual licence plus maintenance: Typical of on-premise software, with annual support fees.
- VAT: Check whether quoted prices include or exclude 12% VAT.
Total cost of ownership (TCO) over three years = subscription × 36 months + implementation + hardware + add-ons + VAT + your internal time for setup, testing and administration.
Example — 3-year TCO (illustrative figures, not a quote)
A company with 80 active employees looks at a hypothetical plan at ₱100 per employee per month, with a ₱40,000 one-time implementation fee and two attendance devices at ₱15,000 each.
- Subscription: 80 × ₱100 × 36 months = ₱288,000
- Implementation: ₱40,000
- Devices: ₱30,000
- Subtotal before VAT: ₱358,000
- 12% VAT: ₱42,960
- Three-year TCO: ₱400,960, plus internal staff time
Compare that with the hours your team now spends each cut-off on manual payroll, and the cost of correcting errors.
HRIS evaluation scorecard
Score each shortlisted vendor from 1 to 5 on each criterion, multiply by the weight and add up the results. Adjust the weights to your priorities, but keep them fixed while you compare.
| Criterion | Weight | What a “5” looks like |
|---|---|---|
| Philippine payroll fit | 25% | Correct SSS, PhilHealth, Pag-IBIG and BIR computations for your pay frequencies; holiday and premium rules; 13th month and final pay; remittance reports |
| Attendance and scheduling | 15% | Supports the methods your sites need, handles shifts and exceptions, and feeds payroll without re-keying |
| Workflows and self-service | 10% | Configurable approvals; mobile-friendly self-service for payslips, leave and overtime |
| Data privacy and security | 15% | Role-based access, audit logs, clear hosting and backup terms, and a data processing agreement |
| Implementation and support | 15% | Local support, a clear implementation plan, data migration help and training |
| Scalability and integration | 5% | Multi-branch support, API or export options, room for your headcount growth |
| Three-year total cost | 15% | Transparent pricing, no surprise add-ons, and costs that fit your budget |
Questions to ask HRIS vendors
- Can you run one of our real cut-offs, with our shifts and overtime rules, during the demo or a pilot?
- How do you update SSS, PhilHealth, Pag-IBIG and BIR tables, and how quickly after a change?
- Which attendance devices and methods are supported, and what happens when the internet is down?
- What is included in each plan, and what costs extra: modules, API, devices, implementation, training?
- Is pricing based on active employees? Is there a monthly minimum? Is VAT included?
- Where is our data hosted, how is it backed up, and will you sign a data processing agreement?
- Can we export all our data at any time, in what format, and at what cost?
- Who supports us after go-live, during what hours, and how are payroll-day issues escalated?
- How do you migrate our existing employee records and year-to-date payroll figures?
Where NexHRIS fits
NexHRIS, previously called NexHRMS, is Nexvision’s web-based HRIS and payroll platform for Philippine businesses, with an employee self-service portal. Here is how it maps to the framework above:
- Payroll: Computes SSS, PhilHealth and Pag-IBIG contributions and BIR withholding tax on compensation for every payroll run, and produces payslips and payroll reports.
- Attendance: Biometric-ready, with QR-code, facial recognition, mobile and GPS-geofenced attendance depending on plan and deployment. Attendance flows into payroll.
- HR modules: Leave management, overtime, claims, visitor management with QR passes, GPS workforce tracking, recruitment, employee records (201 files), approval workflows, activity logs and audit trail, and workforce analytics.
- Access and structure: Role-based access for admin, HR, finance, payroll, supervisors, employees and auditors. Supports multiple departments and branches. API access is available as a module.
- Pricing: Per active employee per month, excl. 12% VAT, as listed on nexvision.info on 24 Oct 2026. Lite ₱79 (minimum ₱1,490/month), Business ₱99 (minimum ₱3,490/month), Elite ₱129 (minimum ₱6,490/month). Implementation is quoted separately, optional modules cost extra, and companies with more than 300 employees get an enterprise quotation.
- Support: Support and updates from the Nexvision team in Metro Manila, with installation, customization, data migration and training available.
Like any HRIS, NexHRIS helps your team compute and organise. Your business stays responsible for its pay policies and compliance. Use the scorecard above to compare it with any other option you are considering.
Want to see how an HRIS would handle your actual cut-off?
Explore how NexHRIS can help organize your workflow.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between an HRIS and payroll software?
Payroll software computes pay, deductions, taxes and payslips. An HRIS also holds employee records, attendance, leave, approvals and self-service. Many Philippine products combine both, so the HR data feeds payroll directly.
How much does HRIS software cost in the Philippines?
Cloud HRIS is usually priced per employee per month, often with a monthly minimum. Implementation, hardware and add-on modules are typically extra. Compare vendors on three-year total cost including VAT, not on the per-employee rate alone.
Does an HRIS make my company compliant with DOLE and BIR rules?
No software can do that for you. An HRIS can compute contributions and withholding tax from current tables and produce the reports you need, but the employer stays legally responsible for correct pay, remittances and data protection.
Is biometric attendance allowed under the Data Privacy Act?
The Data Privacy Act does not ban biometric attendance. It does require a lawful basis, transparency to employees, processing that is proportionate to the purpose, and adequate security. Ask your Data Protection Officer or counsel to review the setup before rollout.
Should a small business choose cloud or on-premise HRIS?
Most small and mid-sized businesses choose cloud because it costs less upfront, receives vendor updates and works across sites. On-premise suits organisations that must keep data on their own servers and have IT staff to maintain them.
Sources
- Republic Act No. 10173 (Data Privacy Act of 2012) — LawPhil Project, checked 24 Oct 2026
- Revenue Regulations No. 11-2018 (withholding tax on compensation) — Bureau of Internal Revenue, checked 24 Oct 2026
- SSS clarifies 1% contribution rate hike; bares plans for 2025 — Social Security System, checked 24 Oct 2026
- PhilHealth Advisory No. 2025-0002 — PhilHealth, checked 24 Oct 2026
- NexHRIS product and pricing page — Nexvision Innovations Inc., as listed 24 Oct 2026
