Wiseplan provides this service in Peru
We provide payroll outsourcing services to companies in Lima and other regions. If you'd like to explore this option for your company, please contact us and we'll send you a proposal.
In this guide, we explain what a payroll service includes (and what it doesn’t), how payroll outsourcing pricing models work, how to determine whether it’s a better option for you than maintaining your own in-house team, how it differs from labor brokerage, and how to implement it on a week-to-week basis. If you’re looking for a more general explanation of the service, check out our guide to payroll outsourcing in Peru; if you’re already comparing providers, we have a list of payroll outsourcing companies in Peru.
In business terminology, “outsourcing payroll” means entrusting the administrative management of payroll to a third party: the calculation of compensation, deductions, and contributions; the issuance of pay stubs; filings with SUNAT; and the administration of employee benefits. In other countries, this is called payroll outsourcing, and the service provider is known as a payroll provider. It is, in essence, the outsourcing of an administrative process.
What matters is what doesn't change: the workers are still your employees. Your company hires them, manages them, sets their compensation, and is listed as the employer in the T-Registro and the PLAME. The service provider acts on your behalf and uses the information you provide. This distinguishes it from two labor arrangements that are often confused with payroll services and that are governed by their own regulations: labor intermediation and service outsourcing, which we’ll discuss later.
Simply put: when you outsource payroll, you’re purchasing a processing and compliance service; you’re not transferring the employment relationship or your responsibility as an employer. That distinction determines what you can require of the provider, what must be included in the contract, and who is liable in the event of an inspection.
There is no mandatory standard scope of services. Each provider structures its proposal around a core set of services and a list of additional services. What does exist, however, is a set of tasks that any payroll under the general regime must complete each month and each semester. This is the reasonable baseline you should request.
The rule of thumb: anything not specified in the proposal is not included. Request the scope as a definitive list of deliverables with specific dates.
The price of payroll services depends less on the provider's name and more on how it charges and what it includes. In the Peruvian market, you'll find three pricing models, which are sometimes combined.
This is the most common model. You pay a monthly amount for each employee listed on that month’s payroll, typically in tiers: the more employees, the lower the unit price. It’s easy to understand and scales with your business. The risk lies in the fine print: what counts as a “processed employee” (those terminated that month? interns? those who only receive severance pay?) and whether there’s a monthly minimum you have to pay even if you have few employees.
The provider charges a flat fee for a range of employees (for example, “up to a certain number of employees”) and for a defined scope of services. This provides budget predictability and is suitable for companies with a stable workforce. The key point to consider is what happens when you exceed that range and how months with higher payroll costs—such as July and December due to bonuses, or May and November due to severance pay—are billed.
You start with a base service and add modules: confidential management spreadsheet, biometric access control, self-service portal, labor law consulting, severance pay calculations, and customized reports. It’s the most flexible model—and the hardest to compare—because two packages with the same price can cover very different features.
The most common mistake is comparing the vendor’s rate to the gross salary of a payroll analyst. The actual cost of an in-house payroll department includes payroll taxes, benefits, tools, supervision, and the cost of errors. The correct approach is to calculate two annual figures and compare them based on the same scope of work.
Based on current legal provisions, the annual cost to the employer for an employee under the general regime can be estimated as follows:
Illustrative example (fictitious figures): Let's assume a payroll analyst with a monthly salary of S/ 4,000, enrolled in the ONP and without EPS coverage.
13% of ONP is not included in the employer's cost because it is deducted from the employee's pay. We also do not include family allowances, which vary by case. Replace the compensation in the example with that of your actual team and multiply it by the number of people or by the fraction of time they spend on the payroll.
Add up the annual fee (per employee, either fixed or based on modules), the implementation cost prorated over the duration of the contract, the add-ons you’ll actually use, and the internal time you’ll continue to devote to it: someone at your company has to submit updates, approve the calculations, and answer questions. That time decreases significantly, but it doesn’t drop to zero.
If the vendor’s cost is similar to or lower than that of an in-house department, the decision is usually straightforward. If it’s higher, consider what isn’t included in the total cost: service continuity, reduced reliance on a single person, confidentiality of management salaries, document traceability in the event of an audit, and time freed up for the human resources team to focus on strategic tasks. We explore this comparison in more depth in “Human Resources Outsourcing vs. an In-House Department.”
| Appearance | Internal Payroll Section | Payroll Outsourcing |
|---|---|---|
| Cost Structure | Fixed Costs: Salaries, Social Security Contributions, Software, and Oversight | Variable or fixed as agreed: per employee, flat rate, or by module |
| Continuity | It depends on one or a few people | Vendor team with backup in case of absences |
| Regulatory Update | Responsibility of the In-House Team | Included in the service if agreed upon |
| Control and Flexibility | Maximum control and immediate changes | Changes subject to agreed-upon deadlines |
| Salary Confidentiality | Management salaries are visible to the internal team | Option for a confidential payroll managed by the provider |
| Responsibility to SUNAFIL and SUNAT | From the employer | It remains the employer's property; the contract specifies how the contractor is liable for its errors |
| Technology | Purchase and Maintenance of In-House Software | Platform, extranet, and supplier partner portal |
| Best for | Very large payrolls, with an experienced team and in-house systems | Small and medium-sized businesses, foreign subsidiaries, growing companies |
The word “outsourcing” causes confusion because in Peru it also refers to a regulated employment arrangement. It is important to distinguish between three concepts:
The provider processes your employees' payroll. There is no transfer of personnel or change in employer. It is a service agreement between two companies, and the provider does not supervise your employees.
A staffing agency assigns its own employees to provide services at the client company. Law 27626 regulates this arrangement and limits the circumstances under which it may be used, with special requirements for the companies that engage in it. In this case, the employer is the staffing agency, not the client company. If what you need is temporary staff rather than a payroll service, that is a different matter, with its own set of rules.
A contractor assumes, using its own resources and personnel and at its own risk, an integral part of the principal company’s production process. Law 29245 and its implementing regulations, Supreme Decree 006-2008-TR, establish the conditions under which outsourcing is valid—such as the contractor’s autonomy—and set forth the principal company’s responsibilities regarding the labor obligations of the transferred workers.
Why does this matter? Because if a provider offers to “outsource” workers (that is, to transfer them to its payroll while they continue working for you under your direction), you are no longer contracting for payroll services: you are entering the realm of labor brokerage or service outsourcing, which involves different requirements and risks. If you’re unsure which category your situation falls under, it’s worth consulting with an HR firm before signing.
Outsourcing the process does not transfer the legal obligation. With regard to SUNAT and SUNAFIL, it is the employer who is responsible for filing reports and answering questions. What changes is who performs the tasks and how liability is divided between your company and the service provider through a contract.
When SUNAFIL conducts an inspection, it requests documents. A good supplier doesn’t just do the math—they keep their documentation organized and readily available so you can respond to a request within days, not weeks. If the inspection escalates into a legal proceeding, you’ll need a different kind of support, such as labor defense.
Switching providers or transitioning from an in-house payroll system to an outsourced one should not be done “from one month to the next.” The following timeline is a guideline for a medium-sized company under the general payroll system; smaller payroll operations may be able to shorten it, while those with multiple payroll systems, locations, or variable pay components may need more time.
Survey of the current payroll: number of employees, payroll plans, pay items, cost centers, payment schedule, system used, and known issues. The final scope is defined, and the internal person responsible for the service is identified.
Your company provides master data on employees, contracts, compensation history for at least the last six months, the most recent calculations of severance pay (CTS) and bonuses, submitted PLAME forms, vacation balances, and accumulated fifth-part withholdings for the year.
The provider sets up items, formulas, accounting accounts, banks, and invoice formats. Monthly cutoff dates and the approval workflow are agreed upon.
Cross-check the migrated data against the most recent payrolls and tax returns. Now is the time to identify legacy discrepancies, such as incorrectly calculated CTS or employees with incomplete data in T-Registro.
For at least one month, the payroll is calculated using both methods (in-house or previous vendor and new vendor), and the results are compared item by item. Any discrepancies are addressed before moving forward.
The vendor processes the official payroll, issues pay stubs, submits the bank file, and prepares the PLAME. Your team reviews and approves it.
Review of the first full cycle, report adjustments, activation of the employee self-service portal, and definition of service metrics: timeliness, payroll errors, and response times.
Calendar tip: Avoid scheduling the first payroll run to coincide with July, December, May, or November. Bonuses and CTS involve additional calculations and deadlines that are best not to tackle for the first time with a new provider.
A low rate with a limited scope ends up costing more when each settlement, reprocessing, or report is billed separately. Always compare services with the same scope.
If the internal payroll system contained incorrect calculations for CTS, bonuses, or the fifth category, the new provider will replicate those errors if no one reviews them. Data validation and parallel processing are in place to detect them.
Without a deadline for submitting overtime, leave, or income, the vendor will receive the information late, and the payroll will be processed with errors or after the deadline. The deadline must be specified in the contract and in your team's calendar.
Outsourcing doesn't mean neglecting your responsibilities. Someone at your company must approve the calculations, verify that the PLAME was filed, and ensure that CTS deposits were made. A fifteen-minute monthly check prevents surprises down the road.
If the provider uses its own system and the contract does not require it to hand over the historical data, switching providers will be time-consuming and expensive. Keep this in mind from the start.
Transferring employees to the supplier’s payroll to “save money” is not payroll outsourcing and can lead to significant labor-related issues. If that is your goal, consult a specialist first.
Outsourcing isn't the best solution for every company. It may not be right for you if:
On the other hand, it is often a good fit for small and medium-sized businesses, subsidiaries of foreign companies starting operations in Lima, growing companies that do not want to build a department from scratch, and organizations that need to keep their executive salaries confidential.
At Wiseplan, payroll outsourcing is one of our core services, along with talent acquisition, human resources consulting, and labor law representation. We manage your company’s payroll without changing the employer: your employees remain your employees, and we handle the process.
We start by assessing your current payroll system, define the scope in writing, and follow an implementation schedule that includes a parallel payroll system before the first official payroll run. If you also need support with labor-related issues, you can supplement this service with our HR consulting or labor defense services. To receive a proposal with a clear scope and pricing structure, please contact us via the “Contact” page.
There is no single rate. Providers charge per employee processed (in tiers), with a fixed monthly rate based on the number of employees or the scope of services and modules, and sometimes add an implementation fee. To determine if it’s worth it, compare the proposal with the total annual cost of your in-house department (salaries, bonuses, CTS, EsSalud, software, and supervision) for the same scope of services.
This includes the monthly calculation of salaries, ONP or AFP withholdings, and Category 5 withholdings; the EsSalud contribution; pay stubs; PLAME; T-Registro; CTS; bonuses; and severance payments. Confidential payroll processing, biometric monitoring, legal consulting, and the rectification of prior periods are typically billed separately.
No. With payroll outsourcing, the provider processes the payroll for your own employees, and your company remains the employer. Labor intermediation (Law 27626) and the outsourcing of services (Law 29245 and Supreme Decree 006-2008-TR) are arrangements in which the employees belong to another company and are subject to their own requirements.
As a general guideline, allow between four and eight weeks: diagnosis, information delivery, configuration, data validation, at least one month of parallel payroll processing, and the first payroll run in production. It’s best not to start working with a new vendor during months when bonuses or CTS deposits are made.
The employer remains liable to SUNAFIL and SUNAT. That’s why the contract with the service provider must specify who is responsible for fines or recalculations when the error is the provider’s fault, as well as the filing deadlines and support during inspections. At Wiseplan, we put this in writing; learn more about our payroll outsourcing service.
Would you like to know how much it would cost to outsource your payroll?
We'll review your current spreadsheet and send you a written proposal outlining the scope, billing model, and implementation schedule.
