The verdict in three sentences
Above 150 to 200 technicians, calculating on-call duty and overtime in Excel costs more in disputes, payroll errors and HR time than a dedicated app. A custom app costs between 4,000,000 and 8,000,000 FCFA on the Dakar market (6,100 to 12,200 EUR), with a 3 to 4 month timeline, configurable Senegalese premiums, team-lead approval and payroll export. Payback comes from cutting premium calculation errors, which often amount to 2 to 4% of total overtime spend.
Why Excel breaks at 400 technicians
In a maintenance, telecom installation or security company, each technician logs hours in a file or notebook, the team lead copies them, HR consolidates, then payroll re-keys. Four handovers, four chances for error. Premiums vary by hour band, night, Sunday and public holidays, and on-call availability itself is paid differently from actual work performed during on-call.
| Indicator (400 technicians, 2026 order of magnitude) | Excel process | Dedicated app |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly hours closing time | 6 to 8 working days | 1 to 2 working days |
| Disputes raised per month | 25 to 40 | 3 to 8 |
| Error rate on premiums | 3 to 6% of lines | Under 0.5% |
| HR FTEs spent on consolidation | 1.5 to 2 | 0.3 to 0.5 |
| Audit trail for a Labour Inspectorate check | Weak | Timestamped history per approval |
| Visibility of on-call cost per client or contract | None | Real-time dashboard |
| Offline field entry | Impossible | Offline mode on mobile |
The Senegalese rules to configure
The legal working week is 40 hours in non-agricultural businesses. The premium rates commonly applied in Senegal, derived from the 1970 decree on overtime, are listed below. Your collective agreement or a company agreement may be more generous, so the app must keep these rates configurable rather than hard-coded, and they should be validated with your legal adviser.
| Situation | Commonly applied premium | Configuration in the app |
|---|---|---|
| 41st to 46th hour (day) | + 15% | Configurable weekly threshold |
| 47th to 55th hour (day) | + 40% | Configurable second band |
| Night hours (10 pm to 5 am) | + 60% | Configurable time window |
| Sundays and public holidays (day) | + 60% | Moving holiday calendar (Tabaski, Korité, Magal) |
| Sundays and public holidays (night) | + 100% | Night and holiday rules combined |
| On-call allowance (availability) | Flat rate set by agreement, e.g. 5,000 to 15,000 FCFA per week | Flat rate per on-call level |
| Overtime cap | Overrun monitoring | Alert to team lead and HR director |
The calendar of moving religious holidays is often forgotten: a Korité falling on a Tuesday changes the calculation for the whole on-call team. The app must let HR enter these dates each year.
Budget and scope: what a 4 to 8 M FCFA app includes
Kolonell's 2026 grid places this kind of project in the medium app category, between 4,000,000 and 7,000,000 FCFA (6,100 to 10,670 EUR). Prices observed on the Dakar market range from 4,000,000 to 8,000,000 FCFA depending on integrations.
| Module | Share of budget (order of magnitude) | Timeline |
|---|---|---|
| Mobile entry of hours and jobs (offline) | 20 to 25% | 4 weeks |
| On-call schedule per team and rotation | 15 to 20% | 3 weeks |
| Configurable premium calculation engine | 15 to 20% | 3 weeks |
| Approval workflow team lead then HR | 10% | 2 weeks |
| Payroll export (Sage Payroll, CSV file or API) | 10 to 15% | 2 weeks |
| Cost dashboard per client, site and contract | 10 to 15% | 2 weeks |
| Post-delivery maintenance | 75,000 FCFA per month (Standard plan) | Ongoing |
Mini case study
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Illustrative scenario: Moussa, HR director of a 400-technician maintenance company in Dakar, pays about 36,000,000 FCFA in overtime and on-call allowances each month. A three-month audit reveals 3% premium errors, mostly against employees, hence the disputes, but also some overpayments. Choosing an app at 6,000,000 FCFA plus 75,000 FCFA per month of maintenance, he targets two gains: 1.5 HR FTEs redeployed (about 900,000 FCFA per month fully loaded) and an end to overpayments estimated at 1% of spend, i.e. 360,000 FCFA per month. Monthly gain: about 1,260,000 FCFA, minus 75,000 FCFA maintenance. Payback: just over 5 months after go-live.
FAQ
How much does an on-call management app cost in Dakar in 2026?
Budget 4,000,000 to 8,000,000 FCFA depending on the number of modules and integrations. Kolonell's grid for a medium app is 4 M to 7 M FCFA, with maintenance from 35,000 FCFA per month.
Are the premiums compliant with the Senegalese labour code?
The app applies the rates you configure: 15%, 40%, 60% and 100% according to the commonly used bands. They must be validated by your legal adviser and adjusted to your collective agreement.
Can technicians log hours without a connection?
Yes, a progressive web app stores entries on the phone and syncs them when the network returns. This is essential for jobs in rural areas or basements.
Can we export directly to our payroll software?
Yes, via a CSV file in the expected format or via API depending on the software. The export module represents 10 to 15% of the budget and 2 weeks of development.
How long before go-live?
Between 3 and 4 months, including 2 to 3 weeks of acceptance testing with a pilot group of 20 to 30 technicians. Running Excel in parallel for one month secures the first payroll.
Let's scope your project. Tell us your headcount, your on-call types and your payroll software: we will define the scope, an indicative budget between 4 M and 7 M FCFA and a 3 to 4 month plan. 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.
