Employee self-service HR portal for a 600-staff company: custom or SaaS

The verdict in three sentences

For a 600-employee manufacturer in Manchester or Toronto, an HR SaaS suite billed at GBP 4 to 9 (or CAD 7 to 15) per employee per month costs GBP 28,800 to 64,800 a year, or GBP 144,000 to 324,000 over five years. A custom self-service portal wired into existing payroll falls in Kolonell's complex application bracket, 7,000,000 to 15,000,000+ FCFA (10,670 to 22,870+ EUR), and pays back within a year or two if the scope stays focused on self-service. SaaS remains the right call if you also want to overhaul payroll, recruiting and learning in a single tool.

What employees and HR actually need

In a typical mid-sized plant around Trafford Park or Mississauga, a third of the workforce is on the shop floor with no desk computer. The portal must be mobile-first with simple sign-in, and possibly kiosks in production areas. Office staff want single sign-on with their Microsoft account.

Compliance needs early attention. In the UK, payroll records must be kept for at least 3 years for HMRC, and a data protection impact assessment under UK GDPR is wise for any tool that processes absence and health-related data. In Ontario, employers with 25 or more staff must have a written electronic monitoring policy, and federal and provincial privacy rules apply to employee data. Rebuilding a payslip archive from scratch makes little sense: plug the portal into a compliant archive and focus on the employee experience.

The five-year maths

The gap is huge, but read it honestly. A full HR suite also covers time tracking, expenses, recruiting and learning, with a roadmap funded by thousands of customers. If your need is limited to four self-service functions connected to payroll that already works (Sage, IRIS or ADP in the UK, Ceridian or ADP in Canada), paying monthly for a whole suite means funding modules nobody uses.

A middle path exists: some vendors sell single modules at GBP 1.50 to 3 per employee per month. For 600 staff that is GBP 10,800 to 21,600 a year, still above the annual running cost of a custom portal after year one.

A 4 to 5 month timeline

Mini case study

Emma, HR director of a 600-person precision engineering firm outside Manchester, runs a team of 4 HR officers. Each employee generates about 6 requests a year (leave, letters, payslip reprints, balance questions), so 3,600 requests at 15 minutes each: 900 hours a year.

The portal automates 70 % of them, freeing 630 hours. At a loaded hourly cost of GBP 32, that is GBP 20,160 a year. On the cost side, the high custom scenario is 22,870 EUR to build, 10,980 EUR of maintenance over five years (183 EUR × 60 months) and about GBP 7,500 of hosting. An HR suite at GBP 6 per employee would cost GBP 43,200 a year, GBP 216,000 over five years. The time saved alone covers the custom build within roughly two years, and the five-year gap against SaaS runs well into six figures.

FAQ

Can the portal work without changing our payroll software?

Yes, that is the whole point. Leave balances are imported and approved absences are sent back to payroll by API or file, usually daily or at each monthly close.

How do we handle shop-floor staff with no work email?

With a username plus SMS code, or a badge at a kiosk. In industrial firms, 30 to 40 % of accounts are set up this way.

Do we need to consult staff representatives?

In the UK there is no works council obligation for most firms, but consulting unions or staff forums avoids resistance. In Ontario, the electronic monitoring policy must be shared with staff within 30 days of being introduced.

Who handles legal changes?

Maintenance does. Kolonell's three levels cost 35,000, 75,000 and 120,000 FCFA a month (53, 114 and 183 EUR); for 600 users, Premium is recommended.

Can we add modules later?

Yes. Expenses, learning or time tracking are quoted on request, module by module, without touching what is already live.

Let's scope your project. List the four or five HR requests that swamp your team and tell us which payroll system you run, and we will scope a portal ready to roll out in 4 to 5 months. Detailed quote within 48 h. WhatsApp +221 77 596 93 33.