Billing & Payroll
Everything you need to know about payroll and billing
By Steve and 1 other2 authors36 articles
Understanding Your Outstaffer Bill
The foundations — Outstaffer's two-track billing model, the monthly cycle, and the pass-through principle that underpins how we bill payroll.
- The Two-Track Model: How Outstaffer Bills YouOutstaffer's billing fits into two tracks, Subscription in advance and Reconciliation in arrears. Once you understand both tracks, your bill becomes easy to read.
- The Monthly Cycle: Key Dates ExplainedA walkthrough of Outstaffer's monthly billing cycle, including country-specific subscription bill dates and the universal 28th payroll cutoff.
- The Pass-Through Principle: How Payroll Is BilledOutstaffer bills payroll at cost on a pass-through basis — we recover exactly what was paid out on your behalf, with no markup on the underlying payroll.
Your Subscription Invoice
What's on your monthly subscription invoice, why it might change month to month, how the exchange rate is set, and which currency you're billed in.
- What's on Your Subscription Invoice?Every line item on your monthly subscription invoice explained: payroll, night differential, EOR plan, health insurance, equipment and add-ons.
- Why Is My Subscription Invoice Different From Last Month?Your subscription invoice should stay stable month to month. If it's changed, here are the typical reasons why.
- How Is the Exchange Rate Determined?Outstaffer locks an exchange rate at the start of each employee's engagement so your subscription stays predictable, then uses the actual rate at payroll execution for reconciliation.
- Why Am I Billed in AUD or USD?Australian customers are billed in AUD; all other customers are billed in USD. Your billing currency is set at the start of your engagement.
Reconciliation, Credits & Debits
How Outstaffer reconciles billed vs. actual payroll each month, what your debit invoices and credit notes mean, and how to read your Payroll Reconciliation Report.
- What Is the Payroll Reconciliation Report?Your monthly Payroll Reconciliation Report shows, line by line and employee by employee, the difference between what we billed and what was actually paid out.
- What Is a Debit Invoice?A debit invoice captures any under-billed amounts from the prior month's reconciliation. Debits are almost always driven by approved overtime, bonuses, commissions, and similar variable items.
- What Is a Credit Note?A credit note refunds any over-billed amount from the prior month's reconciliation, applied per line item to the original prior-month subscription invoice.
- Why Is My Debit Invoice Dated the Last Day of the Previous Month?Debit invoices are raised on the 10th of the following month but issue-dated to the last day of the month they relate to, so the debit lands in your accounts…
- How to Read Your Payroll Reconciliation ReportA column-by-column walkthrough of the Payroll Reconciliation Report, with a worked example using a fictional employee and customer.
- How to Request Your Reconciliation ReportYour monthly Payroll Reconciliation Report is available on request from your dedicated HR Manager — here's how to get it.
- Health Insurance Reconciliation: Why Your Premium May ChangeHealth insurance is age-banded. The standard rate shown during onboarding is an estimate; the actual premium is set when the insurer issues the policy.
Variable & Ad-Hoc Charges
How bonuses, overtime, commissions, and other variable items get approved, paid, and billed in arrears.
- When and How Are Bonuses Billed?Bonuses follow an arrears flow — approved by your team, paid in the next payroll, and billed on the corresponding debit invoice.
- When and How Is Overtime Billed?Overtime is logged via timesheet, approved by your direct manager, paid in the next payroll, and billed on the corresponding debit invoice.
- What Is Public Holiday Loading and Night Differential?Public holiday loading and night differentials are set by local labour law and applied automatically. Night differential for employees on fixed hours is billed in advance on your subscription invoice.
- How Does the Approval Workflow Work?Outstaffer's approval workflow is how you authorise discretionary payments — bonuses, commissions, financial assistance, overtime — before they're paid.
Specific Charges Explained
Detailed explanations of specific line items on your invoice — statutory contributions, the $15 health insurance administration fee, Local Government Tax, Cross-Border Fee, and Insightful.
- Statutory Charges: CPF, SDL, SSS, PhilHealth, and MoreStatutory charges are mandatory employer contributions and deductions required by the labour law of the country where your employee is based. We pay these on your behalf and bill them…
- What Is the $15 Health Insurance Administration Fee?The $15 health insurance administration fee is a flat per-policy charge that covers the cost of managing the policy — enrolment, dependents, claims liaison, and renewals.
- What Is Local Government Tax?Local Government Tax is a country-specific tax that Outstaffer incurs on your behalf and recovers at cost. Examples include Thailand's 7% VAT and the Philippines' 1% local government tax on…
- What Is the Cross-Border Fee?The Cross-Border Fee covers the cost of international transfer pricing on cross-border payments, shown as a separate line on your debit invoice.
- What Is Insightful and Why Is It on My Bill?Insightful is a workforce productivity and time-tracking tool. It's a separate add-on subscription, not bundled into the EOR plan.
Lifecycle Events
What happens to your billing when employees join, leave, change dependents, or when you adjust subscriptions mid-month.
- Why Am I Getting Three Invoices for One New Hire?Every new hire generates three invoices before reaching steady state — the New Hire Invoice, the Pro-rata Invoice, and the first Consolidated Invoice. Here's what each one covers.
- My Employee Was Terminated Mid-Month — Am I Getting a Refund?When an employee is terminated mid-month, the payroll subscription is reconciled (credit for unworked time), but non-payroll subscriptions (EOR, Health, Equipment) are paid in full for the month.
- Subscription Cancellations: No Pro-Rata RefundsWhen you cancel a non-payroll subscription mid-month, the cancellation takes effect from the 1st of the next month. The current month is paid in full — non-payroll subscriptions are not…
- Adding or Removing Dependents on Health InsuranceSubmit a support request under Health Benefits in the Outstaffer platform, attaching your dependent's details and supporting documents. Once approved, you'll receive their policy number by email.
- Security Deposits and RefundsYour security deposit equals Employment Costs + Plan Charges × 1.5 months. It's held against final reconciliation when the employment ends and refundable per your Terms of Service.
- Salary Changes Mid-PeriodAll salary changes are scheduled effective the 1st of the next month. For mid-period uplifts, the cleanest path is to approve a one-off bonus through the approval workflow.
Process & Timing
Key dates in the Outstaffer billing cycle — the 28th payroll cutoff, payment terms, when to expect your reconciliation report, and what happens if a deadline is missed.
- Payroll Cutoff: 28th of the MonthThe payroll cutoff is the 28th of each month. Your subscription invoice payment must be received by this date for Outstaffer to process the next payroll cycle on time.
- What Happens If I Miss the Payroll Cutoff?If your payment isn't received by the 28th, we may not be able to process the next payroll cycle on schedule — meaning your employees may not be paid on…
- Reconciliation TimingYour monthly Payroll Reconciliation Report is completed by the 10th of each month and is available on request from your dedicated HR Manager.
- Payment TermsSubscription invoices have 14-day terms (issued 10th, due 24th). New Hire Invoices are due on receipt. Pro-rata Invoices have 14-day terms.
Getting Help
Who to contact for billing questions, how to escalate a disagreement, and a glossary of Outstaffer billing terms.
- Who Is My Dedicated HR Manager?Every Outstaffer customer is assigned a dedicated HR Manager — your single point of contact for all billing, payroll, and HR queries. Reach them via in-platform messaging, email, or by…
- What If I Disagree With a Charge?Raise the charge with your dedicated HR Manager first — they have full data access and can walk you through any line item. If unresolved, escalations go to the Head…
- Glossary of Outstaffer Billing TermsQuick definitions of the key terms used throughout Outstaffer billing, from Subscription Invoice and Debit Invoice to Night Differential, Locked FX Rate and Pass-Through.