Choosing Payroll Software in Indonesia (2026): 12 Things to Check

The wrong payroll software rarely fails on day one. It fails in December, when PPh 21 has to be recalculated for the year; when an auditor asks where a figure came from; or when daily workers are paid from a separate spreadsheet that never matches attendance.

This guide lists 12 things to check before you choose payroll software for a company in Indonesia, plus the questions to ask in a vendor demo.

In short

• Statutory obligations are the minimum, not extras: PPh 21 TER, BPJS, THR and Coretax reporting.
• How your business runs decides the rest: shifts, daily workers, service charge, several PTs in one group.
• Ask the vendor to run one of your payroll periods in the demo, not to show slides.

1. PPh 21 with TER, including the December true-up

Since PP 58/2023, monthly PPh 21 is withheld using average effective rates (TER) by PTKP category (A, B or C). In the final tax period, usually December, PPh 21 is recalculated with the progressive Article 17 rates and the difference is settled.

What to check:

• Is the TER category set automatically from the PTKP status?
• Are company-paid BPJS Kesehatan, JKK and JKM premiums added to the taxable gross?
• Are the December true-up and mid-year leavers handled automatically?
• Is PPh 26 for non-resident employees supported?

Try one example in the PPh 21 TER calculator and compare it with the software you are evaluating.

2. Complete BPJS, with wage caps

BPJS Kesehatan (4% company, 1% employee) has a wage cap, and so does the pension programme (JP), whose cap is indexed every March. JHT has no cap. JKK depends on the work risk class.

Make sure these rates and caps are stored with the date they take effect, so past payslips stay correct when the rules change.

3. Prorated THR

THR is at least one month’s wage, prorated for employees with less than twelve months of service. Check whether THR can be paid on its own or with the monthly payroll, and how PPh 21 is calculated in the month it is paid.

4. Coretax and e-Bupot reporting

Once payroll is locked, the withholding slips (BPMP, BP21, BP26, BPA1) must be ready to file. Good software produces them straight from the locked payroll, not from data typed in again.

5. Daily and casual workers

Hotels, restaurants and factories rely on daily workers. Check that they can be:

• put on the same shift schedule as permanent staff;
• paid per shift on daily, weekly or two-weekly periods;
• taxed with the daily TER rates.

6. Shifts, attendance and overtime that flow into pay

If your business runs on shifts, payroll is only as accurate as attendance. Look for reusable shift patterns, clock-in from the phone inside the workplace, and overtime that is approved before it is worked and then flows into pay.

7. Service charge (hotels and restaurants)

Service charge is pooled every month and shared by points or days worked. Ideally this happens inside the payroll run, not outside it and typed in by hand.

8. Several PTs in one group

In a group, each PT has its own NPWP, BPJS registration, bank account and signatory. Check that one system can run them all while tax and BPJS reports stay separate per entity.

9. Every figure can be traced

When finance asks “why did this person’s pay drop this month?”, the answer should be in the system. Choose software that shows the rule, rate and base behind every amount, and compares each run with the previous one before anything is paid.

10. Tapera

Since the Constitutional Court ruling of 29 September 2025, participation in Tapera, the public housing savings programme, is no longer mandatory for private-sector workers, and the law must be rewritten within two years. Ask the vendor how they would adjust payroll, for example as a voluntary deduction, once the new rules are issued.

11. Data security and UU PDP

Salaries, NIK, NPWP and bank accounts are the most sensitive personal data in a company. Ask:

• Is your data kept in a database separate from other clients?
• Is every change to important data recorded (who, what, when)?
• Are a privacy notice, consent and a download of one’s own data available under UU PDP?

12. An app for employees, and implementation

Employees will use the system every day to clock in, request leave and read payslips. Make sure there is an iOS and Android app people actually use, not a shrunken website.

Ask who implements it: the team that builds the product or a third party? How long until the first payroll runs?

Questions to ask in the demo

1. “Can we run one payroll period with our department’s data?”
2. “Show me where this employee’s PPh 21 figure comes from.”
3. “How does the system handle someone who leaves in July?”
4. “Show me daily workers on the schedule and in payroll.”
5. “Which files do I upload to Coretax after payroll is locked?”
6. “What happens to old payslips when BPJS rates change?”

Quick checklist

Area	Must have
PPh 21	Monthly TER, December true-up (Article 17), PPh 26
BPJS	Kesehatan, JHT, JP, JKK, JKM, versioned wage caps
THR	Prorated, paid on its own or with the month
Reporting	Coretax e-Bupot, BPJS recap
Operations	Shifts, phone clock-in, overtime approved in advance
Daily workers	Paid per shift, daily TER
Groups	Several PTs, reports per entity
Data	Separate database, audit log, UU PDP

Want to see how Stavis handles this checklist? Try the interactive demo or book a demo with your own data.