Expertise of Payroll Outsourcing Providers in Latin America
Payroll calculation and pay stub management
When you outsource to a specialized payroll service provider or Employer of Record (EOR), they typically manage the payroll processing process end-to-end. This includes:
- Gathering employee data, contract details, tax ID, pay policies, hours, benefits, and more to proceed with payroll calculation.
- Applying local taxes, social security contributions (SSC), bonuses, benefits, overtime surcharges, and other items presupposed by the local law to arrive at gross-to-net salary.
- Preparing and remitting taxes and SSC (plus a payroll expense tax or PY of 1-3% in Mexico), and filing reports to local authorities.
- Generating compliant pay stubs and providing salary payments to employees.
It’s worth noting that pay frequency across LATAM. A bi-weekly payroll cycle is common in Mexico, Colombia, and Costa Rica, while it’s done monthly in Argentina, Brazil, and Chile. Your local partner will help you define pay frequency and the exact pay period in each country to avoid cut-off mistakes.
Payroll payments and reconciliation
In most Latin American countries, electronic bank transfers are the standard method for employee payments. They can be handled through the vendor’s local bank accounts or through partner banking integrations, with possible local specifics. For instance, in Mexico, employers must also use employee CLABE (Clave Bancaria Estandarizada), an 18-digit standardized bank identifier for payroll transfers. Usually, payments are made in local currencies. To pay USD salaries or make partial USD payments, local payroll companies consider currency conversion rules and ensure compliance with banking requirements.
When it comes to reconciliation, payroll outsourcing providers usually match payroll totals against bank confirmations, ensure payments are correct for each individual account, investigate any mismatches, and maintain records for compliance and audit trails. In Colombia, reconciliation is not only financial but often statutory, because social security and multiple fund contributions must match reported figures (pension, health, SENA, ICBF). And in Argentina, provides renociliate not only payments but also the statutory contributions due to periodic regulatory changes.
Statutory contributions and reporting
Another vital aspect of payroll calculations is social security contributions. You can expect your local provider to handle the calculation of contributions, make on-time payments, file required reports, and ensure the fiscal validity of filings.
The way contributions are handled across LATAM differ. For instance, in Colombia, contributions to pension funds, health schemes, and parafiscales are processed through systems like PILA, with appropriate reporting to DIAN, UGPP, and social entities. Meanwhile, in Mexico, providers handle SSC through IMSS.
Here’s the average SSC burden in some of the LATAM countries:
- Mexico: the employer’s share ranges from 24% to 38%, and the employee’s share is 2,8% of the salary.
- Colombia: the employer’s share ranges from 21% to about 27%, and the employee’s share varies from 8% to 9% of the wage.
- Argentina: the employer’s share is 26,4%; the employee’s share is 17% of the salary, consisting of contributions to the pension fund, healthcare, and social services.
- Chile: employer’s share is set to increase from 1,5% to 8,5% of the employee’s taxable income by August 2033; employee’s share is around 17% of the wage.
Mandatory benefits management
Apart from salary calculations, many payroll outsourcing providers in LATAM also cover statutory benefits, which include their administration, PTO, vacation, severance accruals, and managing some country-specific benefits, like:
- A vacation bonus is a mandatory premium of at least 25% of an employee’s regular salary for vacation days in Mexico.
- An annual bonus is a biannual payment of 30 days' salary in Colombia, Argentina, and Chile, and 15 days' salary in Mexico.
- Profit sharing (PTU) is a mandatory benefit in Mexico that requires employees to share 10% of the company’s taxable profit.
LATAM is known for its pro-employee policies and union protections, so collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) are mandatory and typically apply automatically. CBA usually affects minimum salary levels, overtime rules, payment, bonuses, payroll calculator basis, and mandatory increases.
Here’s a quick snapshot of the statutory benefits in Mexico and Colombia:
| Benefits | Mexico | Colombia |
| Vacation | 12-30 days 25% days + bonus of regular salary | 15 working days |
| Sick leave | 60% of salary up to 52 weeks | Full pay for the first 2 days; then 66.7% (up to 90 days) and 50% (91–180 days) by the Social Security Institute |
| Maternity leave | 84 calendar days | 126 calendar days |
| Paternity leave | 5 days | 14 days |
| Holidays | 7 paid holidays (as of 2025) | 18 paid holidays (as of 2025) |
| Severence | 90 days + 20 days/year + 12 days/year | 20 days/first year + 15 additional days/each subsequent year |
Payroll reporting
Once all stages of payroll calculations are complete, local providers turn the data into actionable information. This includes two layers of reporting:
- Management reports: from payroll summaries to total labor costs and department-level breakdowns, to further use the data for headcount planning and budgeting.
- Government-level reports: compliant tax, SSC, and benefits payments are submitted to tax authorities, regulators, and auditors.
Payroll reporting is a statutory obligation in LATAM and typically occurs monthly via digital reporting, before or at the same time as payments.
Payroll Companies in LATAM: Value-Added Services
Entering new markets is rarely limited to payroll management alone, especially when companies lack sufficient internal expertise or are unwilling to juggle multiple vendors. Here are some extras that the majority of payroll outsourcing providers from Latin America have in their arsenal:
Employer of Record
Not every company has the means to open a legal entity abroad. This process can take up to 3 months in Latin America and requires an upfront investment of roughly $20,000. Employer of Record solves this issue by becoming a legal employer of your LATAM team and managing admin essentials, such as:
- Employment contracts and compliance with labor laws
- Payroll calculations, payments, and statutory reporting
- Social contributions, taxes, and benefits
- Employee onboarding and offboarding
The EOR vendor keeps you updated on local laws and regulations, serving as a liability shield for your business abroad while you manage day-to-day activities.
Professional Employer Organization
If you already have a legal presence but need help with the administrative layer, you can consider a Professional Employer Organization (PEO). This partnership is based on co-employment, with shared services and liability. Usually, PEOs handle payroll processing, benefits admin, employment compliance, and some HR functions.
Payroll audits
Most LATAM payroll companies offer payroll audits as a part of their solution. This usually includes reviewing payroll calculations, SSC, reporting accuracy, and payment reconciliation.
Taxation guidance across the LATAM region
As a part of the payroll compliance service, tax guidance is a common add-on among payroll outsourcing providers. This is especially common practice in LATAM, where tax systems are highly formalistic and frequently updated.
Integrated HR
It’s not uncommon for payroll outsourcing companies to offer a single unified platform with built-in compliance and HR functions. So, anticipate your local provider taking care of onboarding/offboarding, PTO tracking, and HR policy management.
Now, let's look at some of the payroll outsourcing companies in LATAM.
Alcor
Alcor is a software R&D center provider for US innovation companies, nearshoring to Latin America. It offers payroll services as part of its Employer of Record, which also covers employment contract customization and management, developer onboarding & offboarding, labor law compliance, and statutory and tech-focused benefits management.
In addition to EOR, Alcor also handles full-cycle tech recruitment and operational support, building fully integrated software development centers of 10 to 100 engineers in a year.
To enhance its focus on strategic growth of client R&D teams and foster lasting partnerships, Alcor has changed its website domain to alcor.com. For more details about this change, check out our recent interview with Alcor’s CEO, Dmytro Ovcharenko, in our blog.
Tax compliance expertise
Alcor bears compliance liability directly by acting as a legal employer of clients’ developers in Mexico and Colombia. This includes local employment laws, payroll taxes, statutory filings, and labor compliance. The company has local legal and accounting experts who keep clients up to date on any changes in local laws and regulations.
Payroll processing speed & quality
According to Alcor’s website, the payroll processing cycle is handled by dedicated payroll specialists who follow the local requirements, covering:
- Gross-to-net payment calculations
- Payroll tax planning and calculation
- Preparation and allocation of statements
- Preparation and submission of payroll returns to local authorities
- Statutory payroll reporting & audit
- Employee benefits administration
The company sets and adheres to payroll SLA, with clear calendars and oversight from the in-house experts. Clients can access their payroll history and track expenses through the AlcorOS platform.
G2 review: “EOR service handled all compliance, payroll, and taxes seamlessly.”
Pricing transparency
Payroll service is not charged separately at Alcor. It’s included in the EOR for the tech solution. The pricing for Employer of Record is custom, negotiated with each client, and included in the contract, so as the scope of additional services. As a result, clients are protected from any hidden fees or unexpected markups, as the service fee is contractually-bound.
Any extra services are charged separately and only when actually used. As clients’ software development teams grow, they can access volume discounts to achieve fast, cost-effective scalability.
Employee data security
Alcor acts as a legal shield, ensuring 100% compliance with labor laws across Latin America, particularly in Mexico, Colombia, Argentina, and Chile. The company adheres to GDPR and CCPA requirements and applies strict role-based access controls to limit data exposure.
The company also protects its clients' IP rights by crafting transparent NDAs. Meanwhile, Alcor does not access clients’ source code, product docs, or other sensitive materials.
Expertise in the LATAM region
The company has boots on the ground, including legal advisors, payroll specialists, and country managers who are fluent in Spanish and English. They ensure the compliant, risk-free, and uninterrupted operation of clients’ software development teams in Latin America.
Integrations and automation
AlcorOS is a team management platform available to clients to track payroll history, hiring progress, team size, manage expenses, benefits, and PTO, and monitor equipment procurement. Recurring processes, such as salary payments and tax filings, are prepared and executed in local systems monthly.
Alcor’s platform is further enhanced by ongoing, human customer support. Each client gets a dedicated Customer Operations Manager who helps with any issues via email and phone.
G2 review: “We also appreciated their proactive account management and responsive communication.”
Expansion flexibility
Alcor’s tech R&D center solution spans across Latin America and Eastern Europe (EE). It has legal entities in Mexico, Colombia, Poland, Romania, and Ukraine. Chile, Argentina, Bulgaria, and other locations in LATAM and EE are covered through its Contractor of Record (COR) services.
Alcor’s clients can scale their development teams across target regions to 30 developers in 3 months and 100 developers in 1 year, without disrupting hiring, payroll, or compliance processes.
Biz Latin Hub
Biz Latin Hub (now part of the Vistra group) is a Colombia-based company of integrated legal, accounting, and recruitment solutions across Latin America and the Caribbean. The vendor offers personalized solutions with ongoing support, targeting predominantly SMBs across a variety of industries.
Tax compliance expertise
Biz Latin Hub provides comprehensive compliance and tax support, including local monthly tax declarations, VAT and withholding tax reporting, corporate tax compliance, and international tax structuring. According to its website, the company has a local team of legal and tax professionals, distributed across Colombia, Chile, Peru, Brazil, and Mexico, that ensures payroll and tax filings align with local regulations and rules.
Payroll processing speed & quality
BLH’s payroll services are offered as part of its broader accounting & taxation solution. According to their website materials, payroll processing is managed by its local accountants, who specialize in national labor and tax rules and ensure pay runs, payroll tax withholdings, and statutory deductions are compliant.
Country coverage:
- Brazil: payroll, SPED filings, local tax reporting
- Colombia: DIAN tax submissions, IFRS compliance, local payroll, and statutory accounting
- Chile: SII and IFRS compliance, payroll, and financial reporting
- Mexico: SAT compliance, NIF reporting, payroll, and CFDI invoicing
The company’s payroll includes payslip generation, local statutory reporting, and integration with accounting and tax filings. On request, clients can also get bookkeeping, financial reporting and audit, and treasury services.
Pricing transparency
BLH’s pricing is not publicly available. The company customizes it to each client's service scope and selected countries after the initial consultation.
Employee data security
Biz Latin Hub doesn’t publicly outline any particular data security certifications on its website. Still, its delivery model includes internal oversight and security practices focused on proper handling of client and employee information.
Another layer of security is achieved by keeping all payroll, tax, and compliance operations in-house, thereby preventing sensitive information from being exposed to third parties.
Expertise in the LATAM region
Biz Latin Hub’s offices span 18 jurisdictions across Latin America and the Caribbean. The team consists of in-country legal advisors, accountants, legal and HR specialists with local business experience, regulatory knowledge, and fluency in Spanish, Portuguese, and English.
Integrations and automation
Biz Latin Hub hasn’t publicly disclosed any information about a centralized SaaS platform or integrations. Their services are more of an integrated, consultative nature, focusing on end-to-end delivery rather than automation.
Expansion flexibility
BLH’s strong presence in Latin America enables its clients to expand across the region compliantly, without disrupting processes or engaging third-party vendors. In addition to tax and accounting services, the vendor also offers company formation, bank account opening, and Professional Employer Organization (PEO) services to further sustain the expansion plans of its clients.
Runa HR
Runa HR is one of the human resources and payroll companies from LATAM, headquartered in Mexico City. It automates payroll, compliance, PTO, and HR through its unified cloud-based platform, allowing SMBs to reduce time on team management and focus on strategic goals.
Tax compliance expertise
Runa’s platform automates payroll tax calculations, statutory filings, employee and employer payroll contributions, and electronic tax reporting across LATAM, reducing manual legal risk. Its system integrates local compliance mechanisms such as IMSS social security in Mexico and aligns payroll outputs with labor law requirements in LATAM countries where it operates.
Payroll processing speed & quality
Runa’s payroll engine enables rapid payroll calculation and processing, allowing clients to speed up the process by up to 90% and minimize errors, as of their website. Its platform automates wage computations, deductions, direct payroll transfers, and pay stubs, as well as covers final paychecks, severance payments, and off-cycle payroll like benefits and tips.
Trustpilot review: “Thanks to Runa, now I can be much more relaxed about the payroll system, because I have everything centralized in only one platform, and I don't need to use excel anymore.”
Pricing transparency
Runa HR offers two pricing plans:
- Automated payroll (MX$2,200 or ~$125 USD per month + MX$1,100 or ~$62 USD per license + VAT), which covers automated payroll calculations, payslip generation, IMSS/IDSE updates, and the employee portal.
- Assisted payroll (MX$5,000 per month or ~$285 USD + MX$1,100 per license or ~$62 USD + VAT) covers additional support provided by the vendor’s payroll specialists for teams of over 20 employees. Volume discounts are available to optimize costs.
Runa’s website also discloses several add-on fees, such as SPEI payments, insurance coverage, benefit cards and vouchers, ranging from MX$15-MX$210 (from $0,85 USD to $12 USD) per employee/month.
Employee data security
Runa positions itself as a centralized, cloud-based platform, where payroll, attendance, time sheets, and employee records are integrated in one place, reducing fragmented data exposures. The company’s website also features SOC 2 compliance for securing customer data.
Expertise in the LATAM region
Runa HR is strongly present in Mexico, with offices in Mexico City and Monterrey. In 2021, the company expanded into the Brazilian market, and later in 2025 into Chile, Peru, and Colombia, showcasing its regional focus and broad expertise.
Payroll formats and compliance mechanisms, such as timbrado and statutory social securities like IMSS, are designed specifically for LATAM requirements. Their platform is available in Spanish and Portuguese, which is further proof of the company’s LATAM nativeness.
Integrations and automation
Runa’s single platform unifies payroll calculations, tax filings, employee records, onboarding, and PTO management into one centralized system. This allows clients to keep all their payroll and HR activities in one place and minimize manual work. In addition, Runa’s customers benefit from automated reports and dashboards that help track workforce costs and trends.
Expansion flexibility
Despite Runa’s emphasis on Mexico, the company offers its HR and payroll services across LATAM, so clients can easily scale their operations across the region with Runa’s local expertise at their fingertips. But if its clients eye global expansion, extra help from third parties may be needed.
Papaya Global
Papaya Global is one of the payroll companies in LATAM that also operates across 160 countries worldwide. Its enterprise-grade solution consolidates payroll, cross-border payments, EOR, and workforce management into a single system.
Tax compliance expertise
Papaya’s platform offers built-in compliance for local labor laws, statutory reporting, and tax filings in every country where it processes payroll. The system also performs payroll audits to minimize payment errors and inconsistencies.
In 2022, Papaya Global acquired Azimo to strengthen its payments solution with licences in Tier-1 jurisdictions, including the UK and the EEA. Tax compliance is further strengthened by its in-country experts, who monitor labor regulations and tax rate changes.
G2 review: “Each payroll project has in-country experts making sure we stay compliant with local regulations.”
Payroll processing speed & quality
Papaya Global provides automation, centralized payroll runs, and global processing coverage, handling payments for employees, contractors, and the contingent workforce on a single platform. By delivering payments through local banking infrastructure, Papaya enables its clients to transfer funds the same day or instantly, with 95% of transfers occurring instantly. Plus, its clients can bypass expensive correspondent banking fees and save up to 80%.
Pricing transparency
Papaya Global doesn’t publicly disclose its pricing. Instead, it offers customer quotes based on clients' needs and scaling plans, claiming they don’t apply any surprise or hidden fees.
The company lists several plans on its website that clients can choose from:
- Payment OS is their unified payment platform included in all other plans.
- Payroll Plus is an extended plan for managing US and global payroll, with benefits, immigration, and equity support, as well as access to in-country experts.
- EOR, AOR, contractor management, contingent workforce management, and Workforce OS plans.
Employee data security
According to its website, Papaya meets enterprise-grade security standards through ISO 27001, ISO 27701, and SOC Type II certifications. It also adheres to GDPR standards, ensuring lawfulness, transparency, and strong data confidentiality. Plus, storing data in the AWS cloud with encryption measures guarantees an additional layer of protection for its clients and their employees.
Expertise in the LATAM region
Papaya Global is not a LATAM-native payroll company, but it offers broad global coverage, including Latin American jurisdictions and local payroll rules. It supports multi-language payroll and provides assistance via local partners, who help with compliance and payments and prepare multi-language documents.
However, this fragmented approach to managing LATAM payments can impose additional strain on clients’ operational teams, especially when navigating intricate local laws and rules.
Integrations and automation
Papaya’s Payment OS platform is designed to simplify payroll processing and cross-border contractor payments. The system provides connectors and API support for HRIS systems, accounting systems (e.g., SAP, Workday), and other enterprise tools, enabling consolidated multinational payroll operations.
Expansion flexibility
Papaya covers 160+ countries and 130+ currencies, including complex and emerging markets such as LATAM, Africa, and Southeast Asia. By consolidating employee, contractor, and contingent worker management into a single platform, Papaya’s clients can expand into multiple locations worldwide without worrying about payroll or compliance issues. But it is worth noting that the possible absence of local expertise and external partner engagement may impose operational hardships.
G2 review: “Papaya’s global reach has given us confidence to scale into new regions without worrying about payroll delays.”
Deel
Deel is one of the most popular HR and payroll outsourcing service providers in Latin America. Known for combining payroll, compliance, EOR, and contractor management in a single platform, it supports distributed teams across over 150 countries globally.
Tax compliance expertise
Deel automates payroll and tax changes via its Compliance Hub. Integrated into its unified platform, it provides access to the latest regulatory changes and tax laws, which automatically update payroll and send risk warnings and actionable guidance to help teams stay compliant across countries.
To strengthen compliance, Deel assigns local payroll specialists to review payroll processing and verify that payslips are generated in accordance with local requirements. Automated validation checks further shield clients’ payroll from errors and ensure audit readiness.
Payroll processing speed & quality
According to its website, Deel fully automates payroll processing via its single calculator engine. It includes statutory deductions, gross-to-net calculations, payslip generation, and scheduled payments. Features such as built-in error detection and real-time previews help clients keep payroll in check and avoid inconsistencies.
For clients with employees across LATAM, Deel also offers pay on demand (early wage access) in Argentina, Costa Rica, Brazil, and Chile, along with scheduled monthly payroll runs, off-cycle payroll, and self-service tools.
G2 review: “Paying employees and contractors across multiple countries is fast, compliant, and centralized in one dashboard.”
Pricing transparency
Deel’s global payroll starts at $29 per employee/month (PEPM) and includes unified payroll processing, compliance, multi-currency payment, analytics, and exchange rate management. This service is also available under Deel’s EOR ($599 PEPM), PEO ($95 PEPM), and Contractor Management ($49 per contractor/month) services. The US payroll is charged on a quote-based basis.
Despite Deel's claim of full transparency into its pricing, some customers still face markups and surprise fees, which puts its solution on the pricier side.
G2 review: “A significant portion of your paycheck might be lost to transaction fees or unfavorable exchange-rate markups.”
Employee data security
Deel’s data security aligns with enterprise-level standards, including compliance with GDPR rules and SOC 2 and ISO 27001 certifications. Among the additional security measures are AES-256 encryption, multifactor authentication, granular access controls, and infrastructure built on AWS.
Expertise in the LATAM region
Even though Deel is not a LATAM-native firm, it supports payroll, compliance, and EOR in 150+ countries and claims to have internal local payroll teams and legal experts across regions.
Integrations and automation
Deels’ platform has 100+ integrations, including Workday, QuickBooks, BambooHR, and NetSuite, enabling automated syncs between payroll and core business systems. Meanwhile, built-in compliance ensures regulatory updates for its clients.
Expansion flexibility
Having a wide range of services, from HR and benefits to immigration and equipment management, Deel’s solution is built for scalability. With 150 countries coverage and support for both full-time workers and contractors, its clients can expand beyond Latin America and keep all processes uninterrupted and centralized.
ADP
ADP is a cloud-based Human Capital Management solutions company that automates payroll processing, tax services, benefits administration, and talent management. Present across 140+ countries, ADP provides its services to mid-sized companies and corporations across a variety of industries, from manufacturing to retail and healthcare.
Tax compliance expertise
For tax and compliance governance, ADP offers SmartCompliance® Payroll Tax, which covers proactive monitoring of regulatory and tax changes, simplified tax processing and filing, deposit functions, and fast reaction to agency notices, helping minimize risk of penalties or late filings
ADP backs its compliance tool with its 2,500 compliance and support specialists who stay updated on local tax laws, employment regulations, and reporting requirements across 140+ countries.
Payroll processing speed & quality
ADP offers two options for payroll processing: through its platform, self-run by clients, or through its payroll teams. With its GlobalView Payroll solution, ADP enables its clients to consolidate multi-country payroll runs and automate the calculation of gross earnings, withholdings, deductions, and payslip distributions. Clients also have access to real-time analytics and reporting tools to monitor payroll outcomes and tax compliance.
G2 review: “Once everything is set up, payroll runs accurately every cycle: taxes, withholdings, and direct deposits happen automatically without surprises.”
Pricing transparency
ADP doesn’t publicly disclose its pricing because it’s customized to each client's specific needs, including the number of employees, countries, and services provided.
Employee data security
ADP has fraud protection and crisis management features that are inalianable part of its service. It is further enhanced by enterprise-grade SOC 1 Type II and SOC 2 Type II audit certifications, as well as ISO 27701 certification for data security and processing integrity.
Expertise in the LATAM region
ADP has offices in Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Colombia, and Mexico, providing on-the-ground payroll and compliance expertise to its global clients.
Integrations and automation
ADP’s Global Payroll solutions (e.g., GlobalView and Celergo) centralize payroll data and integrate it with HR systems for unified workflows and analytics. In addition, its platform connects to popular HRIS and ERP systems, while its AI-powered solution automates policy and compliance updates.
Expansion flexibility
ADP’s payroll, compliance, and HR services are available across 140+ countries. Supported by PEO services, the company is well-positioned for global expansion without the need for external vendors or process interruptions.
Best Payroll Companies in LATAM for Local Market Entry
Alcor – LATAM-based tech R&D center provider, with outsourced payroll for tech companies integrated in its EOR solution. Pairs automation with in-country legal and payroll expertise for ongoing compliance and accurate payments.
Biz Latin Hub – a well-established regional provider of PEO and company formation services, with payroll and accounting integrated. Offers bilingual support simplify compliance and payroll in complex, multi-country expansions.
Runa HR – a cloud-native payroll and HR platform that automates payroll calculations, tax compliance, and payslip distribution. Targets small and medium businesses that want an easy payroll tool tailored to LATAM requirements.
Best Payroll Outsourcing Providers in Colombia & LATAM for Renewable Energy Companies
Alcor – an Employer of Record service provider in Latin America, with deep local compliance and tech-focused orientation. It offers full-cycle recruitment and operational support for quick, integrated team scaling, relevant for renewable energy companies that tend to grow their operations rapidly.
Deel – a global payroll and employment platform that targets companies of all sizes and broad industries, including renewable energy. It handles outsourced payroll, compliance, multi-currency payments, and integrates payroll with HR and reporting workflows, which is especially useful for distributed renewable energy teams that need a single system for global payroll and compliance.
Papaya Global – an enterprise-grade payroll and payment system that offers strong automation and compliance oversight for businesses from multiple industries. Its unified platform makes multi-country payroll easier to manage and streamlines payroll and cross-border payments for employees and contractors in LATAM.
ADP – an enterprise-grade payroll services provider with a deep expertise in tax, statutory compliance, and reporting across 140 countries, including the LATAM region. Its global payroll and HR outsourcing solutions are designed to support larger, compliance-heavy operations, which can be a plus for renewable energy firms that need robust reporting
