Self-serve, managed, or a payroll hire
The filing is identical in all three. What changes is who is accountable for it, and what it costs you per month.
Self-serve vs managed vs in-house hire
| Criteria | You file (RM15) | We file (RM45) | In-house payroll hire |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost at 10 employees | RM 150 / month | RM 450 / month | Salary + EPF + supervision |
| Who presses submit | You | A named licensed accountant | Your employee |
| Who corrects an error | You | Us | You |
| Cover when someone is away | Whoever is free | Continuous | Backlog until they return |
| Deductions and payslips | Generated | Generated | Depends on the software you buy |
| Scales with headcount | Per employee | Per employee | Another hire eventually |
| Commitment | Month to month | Month to month | Employment contract |
What the fee does not cover
- The contributions themselves — EPF, SOCSO, EIS and PCB are your money going to those bodies
- Employer liability, which stays with the employer by law
- Extra entities, off-cycle runs and expatriate payroll, which are quoted separately
Nothing here is held as a deposit, and there is no charge to leave or to migrate mid-year.
Questions
Is self-serve a worse filing?
No. The calculation, payslips and forms are identical. The difference is who is accountable for the submission.
When does an in-house hire make sense?
When payroll is genuinely full-time work — usually alongside HR, not on its own. Below that, the salary and supervision exceed the fee.
Can I start on self-serve and move to managed?
Yes, any month. It is the same account and the same data.