Requirements checklist
What to ask for when choosing software for hR consultancies.
A checklist built from how hR consultancies work, to print or save as a PDF and bring to any supplier meeting.
What the software should cover
Tick each one that matters to your business.
- Client payroll inputs
- The month, ready for payroll
- Statutory calendar and payments
- Employee self-service
- Joining and exit paperwork
- Client billing by headcount
Roles that need their own access
Who logs in, and what each person may see or change.
- For HR executives
- For reporting managers
- For employees
- For owners
Reports to ask for
Ask to see each one with your own sample data.
- Headcount by branch, department and employment type, on a date you pick
- Monthly attendance sheet: days present, leave, unpaid absence and overtime per person
- Overtime hours by shift, supervisor and month
- Leave balance statement for every person, per leave type
- Documents and licences expiring in the next sixty days
- Joiners and leavers for the quarter, with reasons for leaving
- Who has logged in to the portal, and who never has
Systems it may need to connect to
Note which ones you already run.
- Biometric attendance machines
- Payroll software and your consultant’s formats
- SMS
- Excel and CSV
Questions for any vendor
Put these to every supplier you are comparing.
- Is it an employee database or a payroll system?
- Can staff download payslips and tax forms?
- Does it handle night shifts and overtime?
- How does the month reach payroll or our accountant?
- Can our staff database be moved from Excel?
- Does it make us compliant with statutory contribution rules?
- Does the portal work on a low-cost phone?
- Who owns the employee data, and who can see salary?
- What does it cost?
- Is this overkill for twelve staff in one office?
- When would staff begin seeing payslips on their phones?
- What does the HR team need to have ready?
Where the work usually breaks today
Circle the ones you recognise. They set the order of the project.
- Payroll inputs arrive late and untidy
- One due date slips
- Employee queries take the day
- Billing is inconsistent
Prefer to talk it through? See the hR consultancies page.