The verdict in three sentences
For a mid-sized company with 700 employees across 6 sites, a custom employee self-service HR portal (leave, digital payslips, annual reviews, payroll connector) costs 40,000 to 90,000 EUR excl. VAT, in Strasbourg as in Berlin. An HRIS SaaS billed 4 to 12 EUR per employee per month comes to 168,000 to 504,000 EUR over 5 years, and often fails to reach shop-floor staff with no computer. Custom wins when most of the workforce sits in workshops or stores, and when payroll stays with a provider or software you do not want to change, such as DATEV in Germany or Silae and Sage in France.
Modules and their cost
| Module | 2026 range (EUR excl. VAT) | Timeline |
|---|---|---|
| Leave and absence requests, manager approval flow | 8,000 to 16,000 | 3 to 4 weeks |
| Document vault (payslips, certificates, contracts) | 6,000 to 14,000 | 2 to 4 weeks |
| Annual and career reviews, campaigns, reminders | 8,000 to 18,000 | 3 to 5 weeks |
| Payroll connector: DATEV, Silae, Sage (payslips and balances import) | 6,000 to 15,000 | 2 to 4 weeks |
| Access without a desk: shop-floor kiosks, mobile, SMS code | 4,000 to 12,000 | 2 to 3 weeks |
| Multi-site HR dashboard, exports, rights per site | 8,000 to 15,000 | 3 to 4 weeks |
| Total project | 40,000 to 90,000 | 3 to 5 months |
What makes the difference in an industrial company is access for staff without a computer. A mobile-first portal, with SMS-code login or a badge on a shop-floor kiosk, lifts adoption from 30% to over 85% within three months.
Custom or HRIS SaaS: the 5-year cost
| 5-year item (700 employees) | Entry-level HRIS SaaS | Full HRIS SaaS | Custom portal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price per employee per month | 4 EUR | 12 EUR | not applicable |
| Subscription or build | 168,000 | 504,000 | 40,000 to 90,000 |
| Setup and data migration | 8,000 to 15,000 | 15,000 to 40,000 | included |
| Connector to existing payroll | often extra | included if payroll is built in | included |
| Hosting, maintenance, support | included | included | 24,000 to 42,000 (400 to 700 EUR/month) |
| Payslip vault (third-party provider) | 0.20 to 0.50 EUR per payslip | included | included |
| Total 5-year cost (estimate) | 176,000 to 183,000 | 519,000 to 544,000 | 64,000 to 132,000 |
A full HRIS also brings payroll, workforce planning or recruiting. If you need those, compare like for like. If what you need is a self-service portal plugged into your current payroll, custom costs 3 to 4 times less.
GDPR and retention periods
An HR portal handles sensitive data: sick leave, pay, evaluations. Compliance is built in from day one. Retention rules below follow French practice; German law sets its own periods (for instance 6 to 10 years for payroll records under tax and commercial law).
| Data | Reference retention period | Watch point |
|---|---|---|
| Digital payslips (employee access, France) | 50 years or until the employee turns 75 | vault guaranteeing integrity |
| Employer copy of payslips | 5 years in France, 6 to 10 years in Germany | separate archive |
| Sick-leave documents | duration of absence, then deletion or limited archive | HR-only access |
| Annual reviews | length of employment, about 2 years after departure | no off-grid subjective comments |
| Access logs | 6 months to 1 year | access traceability |
| Internal candidate data | 2 years maximum | explicit consent |
Hosting in France or Germany, encryption at rest, strong authentication for HR and an up-to-date processing register: allow 3,000 to 6,000 EUR for GDPR support and the impact assessment. In Germany, the works council (Betriebsrat) has co-determination rights over such tools, so plan for it early.
Mini case study
Nathalie, HR director of a 700-employee company in Strasbourg (6 sites, 4 of them workshops), processes 9,000 paper leave requests a year and mails 8,400 payslips. She chooses a portal at 68,000 EUR excl. VAT with maintenance at 550 EUR per month.
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- Payslip printing and postage: 8,400 x 1.20 EUR = 10,080 EUR per year saved.
- Leave processing: 9,000 requests x 6 minutes saved = 900 h, i.e. 31,500 EUR per year at a loaded cost of 35 EUR/h.
- Annual review campaign: 120 h of reminders and data entry saved, i.e. 4,200 EUR.
Annual gain: about 45,800 EUR. With 74,600 EUR invested in year one, payback comes in about 20 months, and savings against an 8 EUR HRIS exceed 250,000 EUR over 5 years. A Berlin company with a DATEV connector lands in the same range.
FAQ
Can payslips go digital without employee consent?
In France digital is the default since 2017, but each employee can opt out and keep paper. In Germany, digital payslips generally need employee agreement, and 5 to 10% of staff in industrial firms keep paper in year one.
Must the portal replace our payroll software?
No, it plugs into DATEV, Silae, Sage or Cegid via API or file import. The connector costs 6,000 to 15,000 EUR depending on the software and sync frequency.
How do shop-floor workers log in?
By smartphone with an SMS code, or via a shared kiosk with a badge. A rugged kiosk costs 800 to 1,500 EUR per site.
Do we need to consult employee representatives?
Yes, in France the works council (CSE) must be informed and consulted, and in Germany the Betriebsrat has co-determination rights. Plan 4 to 6 weeks for this in the schedule.
How long to roll out across 6 sites?
Allow 3 to 5 months of development, then a 3-week pilot site and a rollout of 1 site per week.
Let's scope your project. Send us your headcount, sites and payroll software: we will scope a portal between 40,000 and 90,000 EUR with a pilot site within 3 months. Detailed quote within 48 h. WhatsApp +221 77 596 93 33.
Mohamed Bah
Fondateur, Kolonell
Passionate about digital and entrepreneurship in Africa, Mohamed has been helping Sénégalese businesses with their digital transformation since 2020. Founder of Kolonell, he believes every SME deserves a professional and accessible online présence.
