Payroll, HR & labor compliance
HRIS selection checklist: how to choose HR software for a Philippine company
A step-by-step HRIS and payroll software selection checklist with requirements, demo scenarios, a weighted scoring template and questions to ask vendors.
Choosing an HRIS is easier when everyone agrees on what "good" looks like before the first demo. This checklist helps HR, payroll, finance and IT in a Philippine company define requirements, run comparable demos and score vendors objectively.
Step 1: Form the selection team
Include the people who will live with the decision:
- HR operations (records, movements, compliance)
- Payroll (computation, statutory reports)
- Finance (labor cost, budgets, approvals)
- IT (security, access, integration)
- Two or three line managers from different branches (approvals, self-service)
- An executive sponsor who can resolve trade-offs
Step 2: Write requirements as scenarios
Feature lists invite "yes" answers. Scenarios reveal how the product works. Write 8 to 12 scenarios such as:
- Hire a store supervisor for the Cebu branch, onboard them and include them in the next payroll.
- Transfer an employee from one company to another in the group mid-cutoff with a salary increase.
- Process a resignation, clearance and final pay within 30 days.
- Approve overtime filed after the cutoff and pay it in the next payroll.
- Issue a notice to explain, record the response and the decision.
- Give a branch HR officer access to their branch only.
- Produce headcount, turnover and labor cost by company and branch.
- Let an employee view a payslip and file leave on a phone.
Step 3: Must-have checklist
Records and organization
- Multiple companies, branches, departments and positions
- Effective-dated movements with history
- Document storage linked to the employee record
- Government numbers and statutory data
Time and leave
- Schedules, shifts and rest days per employee
- Biometric, mobile and other logging methods
- Leave types including statutory leaves and balances
- Multi-stage approvals with history
Payroll
- SSS, PhilHealth, Pag-IBIG and withholding tax with updatable tables
- Overtime, holiday, night differential and allowance rules
- 13th month pay, annualization, 2316 and alphalist data
- Payroll approval before release
Access, security and privacy
- Role-based access by company, branch and function
- Activity and change logs
- Data privacy controls and retention
Employee experience
- Self-service for payslips, attendance and requests
- Mobile-friendly access
Step 4: Weighted scoring template
| Criterion | Weight | Vendor A | Vendor B | Vendor C |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Handles our scenarios without workarounds | 30% | |||
| Philippine payroll and compliance | 20% | |||
| Multi-company and access control | 15% | |||
| Ease of use for managers and employees | 10% | |||
| Implementation plan and team | 10% | |||
| Total cost over 5 years | 10% | |||
| Vendor stability and support | 5% |
Score each criterion 1 to 5 based on the scripted demo, multiply by the weight and sum. Discuss large disagreements among evaluators before finalizing.
Step 5: Questions to ask every vendor
- Who updates statutory and tax tables when agencies change them, and how fast?
- What will our team need to configure versus what you configure?
- Which parts of our scenarios required a workaround or custom development?
- How is data migrated, and who validates it?
- What does the implementation plan look like, with named roles on both sides?
- How do support requests work after go-live?
- How is pricing structured as we add employees, companies or modules?
- Can we talk to the team that will implement our project?
Step 6: Validate before signing
- Run a proof of concept with a sample of your real data for the most important scenario.
- Review the implementation proposal in detail: scope, timeline, deliverables, acceptance criteria.
- Confirm the contract covers data ownership, exit and data export.
Common selection mistakes
- Buying on a polished generic demo
- Letting one department choose for everyone
- Underestimating data cleanup
- Ignoring managers and employees, who make approvals and self-service work
- Comparing license prices but not total cost and effort
For context on what an HRIS should do, see HRIS in the Philippines. If payroll is the priority, also read our payroll software buyer's guide. Cirquolus HRIS and Payroll demos follow your own scenarios.
Frequently asked questions
How many HRIS vendors should we evaluate?
Shortlist three to five from initial research, then run scripted demos with two or three finalists.
Should HRIS and payroll be from the same vendor?
Not necessarily, but they must share employee data reliably. One connected system avoids re-entry and reconciliation.
What is a scripted demo?
A demo where the vendor follows your scenarios and data instead of their standard presentation, so you can compare vendors on the same tasks.
How long should HRIS selection take?
It depends on complexity. Defining scenarios and requirements well usually saves more time than it costs.
Bring this workflow to a Cirquolus demo.
Show us your current process, companies and branches. We will map it to the modules you need and propose a realistic rollout.