IRIS Global Payroll Services

Global payroll is the process of compliantly and accurately paying employees and contractors who live and work outside the country where the employer is based.

As part of this responsibility, the employer will need to process an employee or contractor’s payroll in the country in which the worker resides. During this process, the employer will need to consider factors such as country-specific regulations, taxes, insurance, currencies, and reporting requirements.

Once the total pay run figures for every country are calculated, the employer pays each worker in their local currency and distributes relevant paperwork (e.g. a pay stub).

Compared to domestic payroll, global payroll can be a huge undertaking that requires specific expertise.

Running payroll for international contractors can be particularly complex. This is why global employers often seek support from providers like IRIS Global Contractor Services.

There are two distinct ways that employers can run global payroll; either by running global payroll in-house or outsourcing it to a provider specializing in global payroll.

• In-house payroll – Where you train your in-house payroll department on the payroll requirements for all countries you are operating in or expanding into. This may involve acquiring costly in-country payroll software so you can submit data to relevant local authorities and calculate tax accurately.
• Outsourced payroll – Where you outsource your payroll functions to a payroll provider with specialist global expertise. If you already have entities set up in other countries, you can use an international payroll provider like IRIS Global Payroll.

Alternatively, if you want to onboard international workers without having to establish a legal entity in the country where a worker is tax-registered, you can use an Employer of Record.

An Employer of Record (EOR) service facilitates the employment of international staff on behalf of a business or organization and is an essential element of any global payroll process.

When running payroll internationally, you can outsource almost every element of your global payroll functions, including:

• Calculation of pay and any deductions
• Calculation of employer payroll taxes or deductions
• Benefit payments and administration
• Recording and submitting necessary reports to the respective authorities
• Making the necessary payments (tax, social security etc).

Outsourced global payroll services like IRIS Global Payroll can provide you with a customised suite of support, so you’re paying for what you actually need from your payroll provider.

In an ideal world, a global payroll service provider should be able to support you by providing the following:

• A dedicated point of contact for all of your payroll questions
• Payroll processing that’s compliant, accurate and on time
• Distribution of payslips or pay stubs
• Tax and social security deductions
• Assistance in payroll audit
• Country-specific reporting
• Support with data entry into the payroll system
• Annual declarations and support with reporting

Where possible, your global payroll provider should also be able to facilitate payments to your employees in their local currency, as is the case with IRIS Global Payroll Services.

Expanding into new countries can be costly and time-consuming, especially when hiring payroll experts or developing software.

Finding qualified staff with niche expertise and language skills adds to the challenge, and training can cost thousands. If that employee leaves, the process starts all over again.

An international payroll provider like IRIS solves this by handling payroll in multiple countries quickly—often within days—and managing software and training, saving you time, money, and effort.