PHPPayroll

Overview

PHPPayroll is a PHP and MySQL payroll and HR system for organizations handling varied employee types and pay schedules. It is best suited to businesses that want payroll, attendance, and employee services together; its main trade-off is choosing vendor-managed hosting or taking responsibility for a self-hosted installation.

Key features

Payroll supports monthly, hourly, and project-based pay, with payslips that show earnings and deductions. The system also covers daily, weekly, task-based, full-time, and part-time employees, alongside tax filing, contractor payments, and multi-currency payments. That range suits mixed workforces, though teams should weigh these capabilities against the responsibilities of administering the system and its hosting.

Attendance can connect to biometric devices and RFID cards, or use mobile-based tracking, and provides real-time reports. This is useful for organizations bringing time records into payroll, particularly when they already rely on those attendance methods. The value depends on fitting device and tracking workflows into the organization’s processes.

The HR modules cover employee records, attendance, holidays and leave, payslips, users, biometric attendance, performance, assets, documents, expenses, work, grievances, recruitment, and loans. Employees can update personal details, request leave, access payslips, and raise grievances through the self-service portal. This breadth makes PHPPayroll a stronger fit for organizations seeking several routine HR functions in one system than for buyers who need payroll alone.

Integration covers biometric and attendance systems, links between payroll and leave or expenses, and optional connections to third-party tools. The cloud plans include 256-bit SSL encryption, while self-hosted customers control server security, access permissions, and backups. The open-source edition also gives access to source code for customization, but installation calls for basic familiarity with PHP hosting, FTP, and database setup. Cloud removes local installation and server maintenance, and includes technical support and onboarding.

Pricing

The Open-Source Edition is free: it is billed 100% free and open source, with no license fees or monthly charges. It includes self-hosting and full source-code access, and requires PHP, MySQL or MariaDB, and Apache or Nginx. This is the lowest-cost option for organizations able to manage installation, security, permissions, and backups themselves; it is a poor fit for teams that want the vendor to run their servers.

All three cloud plans include unlimited employees and payslips, so their stated distinctions are storage rather than employee caps:

• Starter: $9.99 a month, with 5 GB SSD web space, unlimited employees and payslips and records, and all features. Its smaller storage allowance makes it the entry cloud choice for small businesses, described as up to 50 employees.
• Standard Plan (Most Popular): $19.99 a month, with 15 GB SSD web space, unlimited employees and payslips and reports, and all features. It offers substantially more storage than Starter for medium-sized businesses, described as up to 300 employees.
• Enterprise Payroll: $26.99 a month, with 20 GB SSD web space, unlimited employees and payslips and financial records, and all features. The largest storage allowance is aimed at large organizations, described as 500+ employees.

All cloud plans include hosting managed by the vendor, technical support, onboarding, and 256-bit SSL encryption. Because employees and payslips are unlimited across the tiers, the practical choice is the storage allowance and intended organization size, not a seat threshold.

Platforms

PHPPayroll is available on Linux, macOS, Windows, and the web, with a self-hosted edition. Self-hosting offers source-code access and customization, but shifts server security and backups to the customer; cloud hosting avoids local installation and server maintenance.

Who it's for

PHPPayroll suits businesses that need payroll alongside attendance and a wide HR toolkit, especially those with mixed employee types or pay structures. The cloud plans suit organizations that prefer vendor-managed hosting, with storage tiers aligned to small, medium-sized, and large organizations. The free self-hosted edition is better for organizations equipped to install and maintain PHP and MySQL-based software. Buyers seeking a narrow payroll tool or unwilling to manage self-hosted security and backups should look elsewhere.

Pros and cons

• Pro: Payroll handles multiple pay structures and employee types, which suits teams with varied work arrangements.
• Pro: Attendance, leave, payslips, and numerous HR modules sit alongside payroll, while employee self-service covers common requests and records.
• Pro: Cloud plans have unlimited employees and payslips, with vendor hosting, support, onboarding, and 256-bit SSL encryption.
• Con: The free edition requires customers to install and maintain the hosting environment, including security and backups.
• Con: Cloud tiers differ in storage capacity, so teams with growing record needs may need to pay more even though employee and payslip counts are unlimited.

Alternatives

For broader payroll comparisons, see Global Payroll Software.

• BIPO HRMS Payroll is a paid web and mobile option; pricing is not publicly stated, and a free demo can be requested.
• Payroll Engine is a free alternative with a free plan and support for web, API, desktop, Linux, and self-hosted platforms.
• Ramco Enterprise Asset Management is a paid web and mobile option whose price varies by installation type and industry requirements.
• Rippling is a paid alternative available on web, iOS, and Android.
• ADP Workforce Now is a paid web and mobile suite with Select and Plus plans; the Plus plan includes benefits administration alongside Select.
• Dapplon Global Payroll is a paid alternative with a free trial; its Basic plan is $29 a month for up to 25 employees, with core HR and payroll, PF, ESI and TDS filing, and email support.
• Omni HR Payroll is a paid alternative with a free trial, offering payroll calculations, digital payslips, statutory filing, accounting integration, and multi-country support.
• iiPay Global Payroll Platform offers fully managed payroll across 170+ countries and directs buyers to request a demo or enquiry.

Verdict

Choose PHPPayroll if your organization wants payroll joined to attendance, employee self-service, and a wide set of HR modules, with the choice of managed cloud or free self-hosting. Its strongest reason to choose is that breadth combined with unlimited employees and payslips on every cloud tier. Look elsewhere if you need a simpler payroll-only service or do not want to accept self-hosted maintenance or storage-based cloud tiers.