The Problem

Philippine SMEs with 10-150 employees face a painful gap in HR and payroll technology. On one end, businesses manage payroll through spreadsheets — manually computing SSS, PhilHealth, and Pag-IBIG contributions, cross-referencing BIR withholding tax tables, and tracking DOLE-mandated overtime, holiday, and night differential multipliers. This approach is error-prone, time-consuming, and creates compliance risk.

On the other end, enterprise solutions like Sprout Solutions — the largest homegrown HR SaaS in the Philippines — use custom pricing that typically places them beyond SME budgets, while international platforms like Darwinbox and ADP carry even higher price tags and may not fully address Philippine-specific regulatory nuances. Mid-market HR platforms serve larger cooperatives and enterprises but lack AI-native capabilities and affordable per-employee pricing models that SMEs need.

The gap is especially painful for cooperatives, BPOs, construction firms, staffing agencies, and retail/food service chains — industries with complex payroll rules (shift differentials, project-based employment, seasonal workers) that spreadsheets can't handle but enterprise solutions overserve and overprice.

Our Solution

TalinoHR (from 'talino,' Filipino for intelligence/wisdom) takes a fundamentally different approach. Rather than building a multi-tenant SaaS where all clients share the same rigid configuration, TalinoHR uses dedicated instances per client — enabling deep customization of workflows, approval chains, and compliance rules without the limitations of a one-size-fits-all system.

Phase 1 MVP covers five core modules: HRIS (employee records and organization management), Payroll (Philippine compliance engine for SSS, PhilHealth, Pag-IBIG, BIR, DOLE), Timekeeping (multiple input methods including biometric integration), Performance Management (KPI tracking and review cycles), and Employee Self-Service (leave requests, payslip access, document uploads).

IOL Inc. serves as Client Zero, testing TalinoHR with its own 10-person payroll before any commercial launch. This dogfooding approach ensures every edge case and compliance nuance is discovered internally, not by paying customers.

Tech Stack

Competitive Positioning

Key Features

• Philippine Compliance Engine: Automated computation for SSS, PhilHealth, Pag-IBIG mandatory contributions, BIR withholding tax, DOLE-mandated overtime/holiday/night differential multipliers, and 13th month pay — updated as regulations change.

• AI-Native Core: Claude AI integrated at the platform level for natural language payroll queries, anomaly detection, compliance guidance, and intelligent report generation.

• Dedicated Instance Architecture: Each client gets their own environment, enabling custom fields, unique approval workflows, and industry-specific configurations without affecting other tenants.

• Dogfooding with IOL as Client Zero: The platform is being tested with IOL's own payroll, ensuring real-world validation before commercial launch.

• Target Verticals: Cooperatives, BPOs, construction firms, staffing agencies, and retail/food service chains.

Results & Impact

Phase 1 MVP specification completed with detailed module design across all five core areas. Competitive analysis identified a gap between spreadsheet-based solutions and enterprise platforms. Pricing is customized per organization based on size and requirements — contact IOL for a quote. IOL's CPA-founded background provides depth in compliance that purely tech-led competitors would need to build from scratch.

Key Takeaways

1. Accounting domain expertise combined with AI development capability is a practical advantage in compliance-heavy verticals.

2. Dedicated instances per client solve the customization problem that plagues multi-tenant HR platforms.

3. Dogfooding (using your own product) catches edge cases before customers do, building credibility and trust.

FAQ

Q: What makes TalinoHR different from Sprout Solutions?

A: TalinoHR uses dedicated instances per client (not multi-tenant), has AI-native architecture at its core, and is built by CPAs who understand Philippine compliance. Pricing is customized per organization — contact IOL for details.

Q: Does TalinoHR handle all Philippine mandatory contributions?

A: Yes — SSS, PhilHealth, Pag-IBIG, BIR withholding tax, DOLE overtime/holiday multipliers, and 13th month pay are all automated and updated as regulations change.

Q: When will TalinoHR be available?

A: TalinoHR is currently in MVP development with IOL Inc. as Client Zero. Commercial availability will follow internal validation.

Q: What size of company is TalinoHR designed for?

A: TalinoHR targets Philippine SMEs with 10-150 employees — businesses that have outgrown spreadsheets but find enterprise solutions impractical. Contact IOL for pricing tailored to your organization.