What to Expect During Conversion from EOR to Remote Payroll

Transitioning from an Employer of Record (EOR) to Remote Payroll is a significant step for growing businesses. This guide aims to provide a comprehensive overview of what to expect during this transition, helping both Customers and your employees navigate the process smoothly.

We'll cover the implementation process, key considerations, and the changes in experience for both customers and employees. By understanding these aspects, you'll be better prepared to manage the conversion effectively and ensure a seamless transition to your new payroll system.

Before We Start: EOR Employees And Company Profile Termination

Before we dive into the details, it's crucial to understand the initial steps involved in transitioning from EOR to Remote Payroll, particularly regarding employee status and company profile changes.

• To transition employees from EOR to Payroll, we'll follow the same termination process used for EOR employees.
  See also:
  How can I terminate an EOR employee?​
  Transitioning Employees from EOR to Payroll
• Please ensure your employees resign from their EOR profiles by the specified date and upload their resignation letters.
• • Employees should submit a formal resignation letter, either via email or in writing, clearly stating their intention to resign, the effective date, and including their signature.
  • Termination must be completed before the country-specific cutoff dates used for EOR.
• As employees will be terminated on the Remote EOR platform and transitioned to new contracts with your entity, please ensure all final payments due to them in their last month as Remote EOR employees are accounted for and processed promptly.
• Please note that when employees are terminated on the Remote EOR platform and transitioned to new contracts with your entity, any unused PTO days will be paid out in their final month as Remote EOR employees.

The payroll implementation process typically takes 6-8 weeks, depending on the agreed-upon go-live date.

For detailed look at the process, we’ve put together a guide: What is the Remote Payroll implementation process for transitioning from EOR?​ 

Here’s a breakdown of the process:

1. Welcome Email: The journey begins with a welcome email from our team, introducing the project and providing initial instructions.
2. Kick-Off Call: Shortly after the welcome email, we schedule a kick-off call. During this call, we discuss the implementation timeline, introduce the project management tool, outline key milestones, and clarify roles and responsibilities.
3. Data Collection: We gather necessary information and documents from you, including employee and company data, payroll policies, and any specific requirements.
   3.1 Employee Information:
   We already have most of the employee information from the Remote EOR employee profile. However, when transitioning an employee to your company entity, there may be additional fields that need to be completed. This is because your company may have different collective bargaining agreements or internal policies compared to those of the Remote EOR
   3.2 Company Information: We will provide you with a company implementation template. This template is designed to collect essential information about your company, ensuring we can set up and manage your payroll effectively.
   3.3 Document Requirements: We will request additional supporting information about both the company and employees to ensure a comprehensive setup. For more details on what is required, we've prepared a guide that outlines everything you need to know: Information Needed for Payroll Implementation.
4. 1. Current Information: We will transfer the existing employee information into the new template, reflecting the details as they are currently on the EOR profile. It will be your responsibility to ensure that this information, such as job titles and salaries, is accurate and up-to-date.
   2. Additional Fields: We will highlight any additional required fields within the template, indicating where further information is needed.
4. Configuration: Our team creates the company profile, transfers the employees, and configures the payroll system according to your specifications. This includes setting up pay items, deductions, and reporting requirements.
5. Testing: We conduct comprehensive testing to ensure the system functions correctly and calculates payroll accurately.
   When transitioning employees from the Remote EOR employee profile to your company's entity, we won't have access to payroll history data. Instead, we'll provide simulation reports and sample employee payslips for your review and approval. These reports will include all fixed monthly amounts—such as salaries and pension contributions—allowing you to verify that all fixed pay items are correctly set up.
   Please note that the simulation reports will not include variable employee amounts. Your company can enter these amounts into the Remote platform once the new employee profiles are activated. They will then be processed according to the usual payroll schedule after the cutoff date.
6. Product Walk-through / Training: We offer comprehensive training to familiarize your team with the new system and its features.
7. Go-Live: On the agreed-upon go-live date, we transition to the new payroll system and start processing payroll.
8. Post-Go-Live Support: Your dedicated Implementation Specialist, who specializes in your country, will oversee the first payroll run. The Remote Payroll Operations team will shadow the process to ensure a seamless transition. After the successful completion of the first payroll run, the Implementation Specialist will handover your company profile to the Payroll Operations team. Following this handover, our support team is available for any queries at gp-help@remote.com.
   See also: Remote Payroll Service Level Agreement (SLA): Where to Contact for Help with Daily Tasks, Roles & Responsibilities

1. HR-Related Tasks: Remote Payroll operates independently from HR services. Tasks such as managing contracts, processing amendments, conducting right-to-work checks, and administering benefits will remain the customer's responsibility.
2. Benefits For Your Employees: EOR employees are receiving benefits through Remote. Upon switching to Remote Payroll, we can introduce you to the benefits vendor Remote uses in your country, allowing you to explore benefits options directly. This may help maintain the existing benefits level. However, pricing and conditions may differ from our current terms based on your employee population.
3. Employment Contract: Currently, employees are under Remote contracts. Your new employee contracts must be finalized and ready before the go-live date.
4. Salary Payout: In EOR, employee net salaries were paid through Remote. This responsibility will now be transferred to your company. The payroll implementation specialist will review the available net salary payment options with you and provide guidance on the next steps.

See also: How to Use Remote Payroll Payments and Onboard with Nium

1. Statutory Payout: In EOR, Remote managed statutory payments. This responsibility will now shift to your company. Our payroll implementation specialist will discuss available options with you and guide you through the necessary steps.
2. Expense Management: Advise employees to submit all expenses before the payroll cutoff date in the final month. Any expenses submitted after this date will need to be added to their new global payroll profile.
3. Employee PTO transactions during the final month of the EOR contract: Advise employees to submit all PTO requests before the payroll cutoff date in the final month. Any PTO transactions submitted after this date will need to be added to their new global payroll profile.
4. Employee Communication: Once employees are transitioned to your company entity, they will no longer receive direct communications from Remote.

The transition enhances visibility on the Remote platform. You'll now manage leave requests and expenses—receiving email notifications and seeing pending tasks on your Remote dashboard. You'll also directly handle employee off-boarding and terminations.

Employees will experience minimal daily changes, as they'll continue using the same platform. On the agreed-upon date, after the conversion is complete, the implementation specialist will activate the legal entity on Remote. Employees will then access their new profiles, which will include any updated information.

Here's a helpful Payroll guide to share with your employees: Payroll Guide for Employees​ 

• Advise employees not to enter any PTO transactions or expenses after the payroll cutoff date in the final EOR month. (Note: The specific cutoff date will be confirmed.) This information should be added to their new employee payroll profile.
• Please add any incentives by the payroll cutoff date in the final month.

• Bank Details in the Profile: Employees will need to add their bank details to their new profile. Once these banking details are approved, they will gain access to their Payroll profile, where they can add expenses and submit paid time off requests.
• Your reserve will be refunded once we confirm there are no other pending payments.

See also: When is a reserve refunded?

• Employee Number: Employees will receive a new employee number.
• Duel-Profile: Employees will be able to switch between their Remote EOR and new employee profiles. This dual-profile access allows employees to view their old payslips and documents.
• • The "Hired through Remote" profile will be the EOR profile where employees can access and view their historical payslips and documents.
  • The new employee payroll profile is the one they'll use going forward to submit PTO requests, upload expenses, and view new payslips.

• Employee Communication Employees should raise questions to their employer (Customer) as they are no longer employed by Remote.

For a deeper understanding of the differences between EOR and Payroll, check out our blog post: EOR, Payroll, or both: What does your business need?