How do the companies manage/handle payroll in Myanmar?

There are so many ways of handling payroll within an organization in Myanmar. Some of the companies handle payroll manually and internally on their own with Excel, some use their own payroll system or a 3^rd party payroll system and some just outsource their payroll to a payroll outsourcing company.

Handling Internally

Most of the local companies handle payroll calculation in-house manually with Excel. So, they handle on their own payroll calculation, dealing with the government for things such as tax and SSB and anything else that comes up, literally the whole payroll process.

Using a Payroll System

Some of the Payroll Systems can be customized to the requirements of the organization, but some companies use a system only to record attendance and some use them for the payroll calculation or for the whole HR operation like talent management, training etc. However, the responsible person still must manage salary disbursement, deal with the government office, and handle other HR Payroll related administration matters that can be very time consuming.

Outsourced to the Vendor

For companies who outsource their payroll operations to a Payroll Service provider, they only need to provide the necessary payroll details to ensure the vendor can set up their system correctly (wage and hour information, bonus rules, SSB details, salary payment day and period, leaves and other information which will affect the payroll calculation) and the provider can handle the rest of the payroll process to calculate gross wages, subtract all pertinent withholding and deduction and prepare all employment tax filings, deal with the various government offices for tax, SSB and law related issues and lastly, make direct salary transfer and pay slip to the related employees.

So, the biggest advantage of an outsourced payroll service is that taking all payroll responsibility from the business and allowing them to focus more on other aspects of running the business.

There are advantages and disadvantages to all options. We have seen companies benefit greatly by outsourcing their payroll as they are able to benefit a more systematic approach to handling their payroll operations, the increased confidentiality and being able to allocate resources to other functions of HR that will help the company grow. The final choice is up to the business priorities and needs.