A Guide to Global Payroll Management

Master international compliance and scale your team with confidence.

Hiring internationally is a major milestone, but managing payroll across borders can quickly turn into a compliance headache. From navigating 52 weeks of maternity leave in Serbia to managing 13th-month salaries in Greece, the challenges of global expansion are substantial.

This guide provides a professional shortcut to help you build a scalable, compliant approach to global payroll.

Global payroll management overview

Managing global payroll is fundamentally different from running local operations because there is no single set of rules or timelines to follow. While local payroll is consistent, global payroll requires coordinating data across different labor laws, currencies, and tax authorities simultaneously.

This guide outlines the key considerations for running global payroll and explores the most common operating models to help your team maintain visibility and control. You will learn:

• The six key considerations for accurate global payroll, including data security and international money transfers
• How to avoid misclassification risks that carry severe financial and criminal penalties
• The pros and cons of in-house, outsourced, and hybrid payroll models
• Operational tips for managing tax reciprocity and international tax treaties

Who is this global payroll guide for?

We designed this resource for growing organizations that need to move beyond short-term workarounds:

• Finance Leaders in growing organizations who need limited visibility into global spend and want to reduce fragmented data fees
• HR Managers looking to spend less time on country-specific payroll rules and more time on talent retention
• Legal and Compliance Officers struggling with the complexity of varying labor laws and independent contractor definitions
• Founders planning international expansion who want to avoid compliance barriers and payroll errors that damage employee trust

How to use the global payroll guide

This guide is a hands-on tool for building your international payroll strategy. Here is how to put it into action:

1. Identify your hiring model

Before choosing a system, determine if you are hiring employees through your own entities, using an Employer of Record (EOR), or managing independent contractors.

2. Audit your current "decentralization" risk

Use the guide to see if your current siloed teams and platforms are causing data duplication or potential fraud due to a lack of central oversight.

3. Compare operating models

Evaluate the in-house, hybrid, and outsourced models against your current headcount and internal expertise. For example, you could use self-serve payroll for highly regulated markets like Poland, where social security caps can impact employer costs.

Pro Tip: Establish a Data Processing Agreement (DPA) with any third-party payroll service to ensure GDPR compliance and legal protection.