Payroll services in the Philippines
You employ your team. We run the payroll. You approve every run.
Payroll outsourcing in the Philippines means a provider works out pay for a company that employs its own staff. With Virtual Staffer, you stay the employer, we run the payroll ourselves with no partner, and you approve every run before anything is paid. Priced by quote, from one employee.
Who it is for
Is payroll outsourcing in the Philippines right for you?
Know in a minute whether this fits, and where to go if it does not.
If you already employ staff in the Philippines through your own company, some of this will sound familiar.
The cost is not only the fee. It is the hours every pay cycle, the risk of a wrong contribution or a late filing, and depending on one person who knows how it works. With this service, we work out each run from your attendance and pay changes, and nothing is paid until you approve it.
- “I employ my team in the Philippines, but payroll eats a day every cutoff.”
- “I'm never sure the SSS, PhilHealth and Pag-IBIG amounts are right.”
- “Withholding tax and the BIR filings are the part I'm most afraid of getting wrong.”
- “13th-month pay and final pay always turn into a scramble.”
- “Our bookkeeper does payroll on the side, and if they leave, nobody knows how it works.”
- “I don't want to hand our payroll to people I can't check.”
When is it a good fit?
- You employ staff in the Philippines through your own company, from one employee to a team.
- You pay semi-monthly or monthly, on your own payroll calendar.
- You want every run worked out for you, and you want to approve it before it is paid.
- You want to stay the employer, with your own contracts and your own team.
When is another option better?
You have no company in the Philippines
No Philippine company?Our partner employs the person you chose.You need someone found, and want our partner to employ them
Need someone found too?We find them, our partner employs them.You need someone found, and will employ them yourself through your own company
Recruitment and placementWe find them, you employ them, and we can then run their payroll.You want accounting, bookkeeping or tax advice.
We do not offer these.
The package
What is included in our payroll outsourcing services?
Payday worked out, with contributions, tax and filings off your desk.
You stay the employer. Virtual Staffer runs the payroll for your employees. The service covers:
Payroll calculation.Each employee's pay is worked out every cycle from your attendance and pay changes.
Payslips.Produced for each employee, each cycle.
SSS, PhilHealth and Pag-IBIG contributions.We compute the amounts. Remittance is handled as set out in How are government filings and remittances handled?.
Withholding tax.We compute it, and the related BIR filings are handled as set out in the same section.
13th-month pay and final pay.We compute both, in the cycle they fall in. You fund them.
Payroll reports.A report for every run.
Whether new-hire registrations and year-end filings, such as the BIR annual returns, are included depends on your agreement. We confirm it in your quote and written terms.
We do not give legal or tax advice, so check your own situation with a qualified adviser.
Responsibilities
Who does what?
Nothing is paid until you approve it, and every task has one owner.
You stay the employer and approve every run. Virtual Staffer does the calculating and preparing.
The agreement you sign governs.
| Task | Handled by |
|---|---|
| Legal employer, contracts and HR | You |
| Attendance records for each pay cycle | You |
| Pay changes (new employees, salary changes, leavers) | You |
| Payroll calculation and payslips | Virtual Staffer |
| SSS, PhilHealth and Pag-IBIG contribution computation | Virtual Staffer |
| Withholding tax computation | Virtual Staffer |
| 13th-month pay and final pay computation | Virtual Staffer |
| Payroll reports | Virtual Staffer |
| Approving each payroll run | You |
| Bank file or payment list for each approved run | Virtual Staffer |
| Paying out salaries | You, from your company's own bank account |
| Employees' questions about their payslips | Employees can ask us how their pay was worked out. Questions about pay changes, attendance or company policy go to you, as their employer. |
| Remittances and the related BIR filings | Virtual Staffer through your accounts, or prepared for you to submit, as set in your written terms |
| Funding salary and costs | You fund payroll, and pay our service fee |
| Invoicing | Virtual Staffer, in US dollars |
How it works
How does a payroll run work?
How our payroll management services run, from your attendance sheet to the payroll report.
You send the facts. We do the calculating. You decide what is paid.
How do you get started?
- 1A free first call about your team and your payroll calendar. It commits you to nothing.
- 2We send you a quote, with its basis set to your situation.
- 3You sign the written terms. The deposit is paid before the start.
- 4You send us your employee data. We treat it as confidential personal information; see How do you keep our payroll data secure? below.
- 5The first run is the first full pay cycle after we have the employee data. We confirm the date on the first call.
What happens each pay cycle?
Your cycle follows your own calendar, semi-monthly or monthly. Each time:
- 1You send attendance and pay changes.
- 2We calculate pay, contributions and withholding tax.
- 3We send the run for your approval.
- 4You approve it and fund payroll.
- 5We give you the bank file or payment list your bank needs for the approved run. Salaries are paid from your company's own bank account, so your money never passes through us.
- 6Payslips are produced for each employee.
- 7Remittances and filings follow, either done by us through your accounts or prepared for you to submit (see the next section).
- 8You receive the payroll report for the run.
13th-month pay and final pay are computed in the cycle they fall in.
What if you spot an error after a run is approved?
If you or an employee spots an error after a run is approved, tell us. We correct it in the next pay run, or in a separate correction run if it cannot wait, and reissue the affected payslips and update the related filings.
Filings
How are government filings and remittances handled?
Your accounts, your choice.
There are two ways to handle remittances and the related BIR filings. Which one applies is set in your written terms.
We file through your accounts
- What we do
- We make the remittances and the related BIR filings through your own accounts, so they go out under your own registrations.
- What you do
- You approve the run and fund payroll, as always.
We prepare, you submit
- What we do
- We prepare the files for the remittances and the related BIR filings.
- What you do
- You submit them yourself, and the access stays in your hands.
Either way, you stay the employer, and nothing is paid until you approve the run.
Whether new-hire registrations and year-end filings, such as the BIR annual returns, are included depends on your agreement. We confirm it in your quote and written terms.
Price and terms
How are our managed payroll services priced?
Everything agreed in writing before the first run.
Our fee is by quote. The basis depends on your situation, and the service is available from one employee. Salaries, contributions and taxes are your payroll, funded by you, and are not part of our fee. We give you the quote on the first call, which is free and commits you to nothing.
Written terms before any work starts.Nothing begins until they are agreed.
A deposit before the start.A deposit is required before the start; the amount is in your quote.
One invoice, in US dollars.Virtual Staffer invoices you, in US dollars.
A notice period to end it.The arrangement ends with the notice period set in your written terms.
The agreement you sign governs.This page summarizes the terms.
Side by side
Do you need payroll or an employer of record?
Payroll is for companies that already employ their staff. Without a company in the Philippines, employer of record is the route.
| Payroll (this page) | Employer of record | Offshore staffing | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who finds the person? | You, already employed | You, already chosen | Virtual Staffer |
| Who is the legal employer? | You | Our Philippine partner | Our Philippine partner |
| Do you need your own company in the Philippines? | Yes | No | No |
| Who runs payroll? | Virtual Staffer; you approve each run | Our partner | Our partner |
| Who files and remits? | Virtual Staffer through your accounts, or prepared for you to submit | Our partner | Our partner |
| Delivered with a partner? | No | Yes, the employment | Yes, the employment |
| How is it paid? | By quote | Per employee per month, by quote, plus salary, contributions and agreed benefits | One all-inclusive monthly fee per staff member, by quote |
| Agreement | Signed terms before the start | Signed terms before the start | Signed terms before the start |
| No Philippine company?Our partner employs the person you chose. | Need someone found too?We find them, our partner employs them. |
What if you also need someone found?
Two routes.
With offshore staffing, we find them and our partner employs them.
With recruitment and placement, we find them and you employ them; if you employ them through your own company in the Philippines, we can then run their payroll.
What do people ask before they book a payroll call?
Ready to hand over your payroll?
Book a call, tell us about your team and your payroll calendar, and we will explain what the quote would look like. The first call is free and commits you to nothing.
- No Philippine company?Our partner employs the person you chose.
- Need someone found too?We find them, our partner employs them.