“We regard Remote as a leading and trusted partner in this field. Their specialist help with local payroll, tax compliance and HR operations has simplified our processes and unlocked further opportunities for growth and success around the world.”
Small business
The global employment and payroll platform for small businesses
You juggle many roles at your company. Leave 'payroll processor' on the shelf. Remote's intuitive platform helps small businesses with 1–200 employees run international payroll, file tax returns, and stay compliant wherever their people live.
Compliantly hire, pay, and manage the world's best talent
Hire the best global talent with speed and security
Banish your HR burden and refocus on your business
Manage all employees and contractors in one intuitive platform
A complete global HR hub for growing businesses
Remote handles the complexity of hiring across borders
What do you get when you use Remote to pay and hire your distributed team? You get a partner you can trust and a platform to rely on. That means confidence and compliance at every stage of your HR processes.
Offer stock options with expert tax advice
Foster ownership and morale with your team by offering stock options or equity incentives to international employees. Our global equity expertise keeps you compliant every step of the way, from equity planning to tax withholding and reporting.
Rapid onboarding for quick team growth
Stop spending time responding to employee and contractor queries thanks to our guided onboarding process, intuitive platform (including time off and reimbursement management), and strong self-serve support resources.
Manage taxes and compliance across the globe
Leverage Remote's 100% owned-entity model, giving you a global footprint without the burden, risk, and cost. Stay compliant during every step of the hiring and employment process with built-in security and proactive monitoring that covers right to hire, payroll, taxes, benefits, and more.
Competitive, localised benefits to boost employee retention
Access country-specific benefits packages at highly-negotiated prices so you can offer equitable, best-in-class benefits to your employees for a fraction of the usual cost. That means you can compete locally for talent on a global scale.
Organisations across the globe maintain compliance with Remote.
Join customers who rely on Remote to transform their businesses.
“Had we been forced to manage and coordinate everything internally, it would have added well over $500,000 USD a year to our costs. Remote removes that financial pressure and lifts the operational load from our team, allowing us to focus on growing our business with confidence and efficiency.”
“Our payroll runs monthly, twice a month and hourly in multiple currencies across the globe, and our finance manager has full oversight from a single platform. Remote makes that possible.”
“We work with 460+ Contractors globally. Keeping on top of compliance, administration and payroll would mean hiring five or six full-time staff. Remote has been a clear saver of both time and money for us.”
“We regard Remote as a leading and trusted partner in this field. Their specialist help with local payroll, tax compliance and HR operations has simplified our processes and unlocked further opportunities for growth and success around the world.”
“Had we been forced to manage and coordinate everything internally, it would have added well over $500,000 USD a year to our costs. Remote removes that financial pressure and lifts the operational load from our team, allowing us to focus on growing our business with confidence and efficiency.”
“Our payroll runs monthly, twice a month and hourly in multiple currencies across the globe, and our finance manager has full oversight from a single platform. Remote makes that possible.”
“We work with 460+ Contractors globally. Keeping on top of compliance, administration and payroll would mean hiring five or six full-time staff. Remote has been a clear saver of both time and money for us.”
“We regard Remote as a leading and trusted partner in this field. Their specialist help with local payroll, tax compliance and HR operations has simplified our processes and unlocked further opportunities for growth and success around the world.”
“Had we been forced to manage and coordinate everything internally, it would have added well over $500,000 USD a year to our costs. Remote removes that financial pressure and lifts the operational load from our team, allowing us to focus on growing our business with confidence and efficiency.”
“Our payroll runs monthly, twice a month and hourly in multiple currencies across the globe, and our finance manager has full oversight from a single platform. Remote makes that possible.”
“We work with 460+ Contractors globally. Keeping on top of compliance, administration and payroll would mean hiring five or six full-time staff. Remote has been a clear saver of both time and money for us.”
Clear pricing, no guesswork
- No hidden fees: just clear, upfront pricing
- Pay for what you use: simple, predictable costs
- Designed for global teams: scales with your business
Questions to ask before outsourcing small business HR services
Payroll software for small businesses helps companies that don't have the resources of large corporations manage payroll for staff across multiple locations. Although many firms still operate locally, remote work has made it possible for businesses of all sizes to work with team members in different regions, including overseas. Whether a small business needs to run payroll for a few team members or for a team distributed across borders, payroll software must adapt to the company's needs.
For a small business, payroll software may cover the basics: paying team members on time and in the correct amounts. For international teams, it also handles payments in the right currencies and, where applicable, via approved banks. More feature-rich payroll platforms like Remote include extra services such as benefits administration and globally compliant employee stock option plans.
In most cases, small businesses cannot operate in-house payroll for global teams. To pay team members in other countries legally, small businesses generally have three choices: open an entity in every country where employees live, work with an employer of record, or engage workers as contractors.
Some businesses hire everyone as contractors, but that can create complex compliance problems. Misclassifying international contractors is a serious risk that could cost a small business thousands of dollars and a lot of time resolving disputes overseas. Hiring international contractors can work well, but only when you're engaging genuine contractors and using an international contractor management platform.
Small businesses sometimes set up one or two entities in countries where they have many employees and a strong presence. However, few small firms create entities in every market they hire in, because doing so is expensive and can take months to complete.
An employer of record is the quickest and simplest way for small businesses to run payroll for global teams. An EOR lets a small business legally hire employees in other countries. A global employment platform like Remote manages payroll and taxes across borders, administers benefits to meet local employment obligations, and handles all issues of compliance.
Small businesses outsource HR because it is usually more cost-effective than trying to run every HR function internally. The resources needed to run payroll, manage benefits, withhold taxes, make payroll deductions, run employee stock option plans, and keep up with changing regulations are typically more than a small business can handle. Even many enterprise organisations outsource HR to specialist providers.
For small businesses hiring internationally, HR challenges multiply. Remote's guide to international payroll processing sets out common challenges small businesses face and offers practical tips for navigating them.
Outsourcing payroll can save small businesses money while helping them provide a better experience for employees. Even large organisations often struggle with payroll and benefits when relying on in-house tools.
In small businesses, every employee plays a vital role in the company's success, so mismanagement of payroll can quickly damage the employee–employer relationship.
Outsourcing payroll saves small businesses time on administrative work and greatly reduces payroll errors. Employees expect payroll that is on time, accurate, and consistent as a basic condition of employment.
For a small business with limited resources, delivering 100% error-free payroll in-house is difficult. With an outsourced payroll solution, even the smallest operations can benefit from world-class payroll reliability.
Startups face different expectations and challenges compared with small businesses. Growth for startups can be sudden and unpredictable, with rapid pivots. Small businesses also grow, but those changes are often steadier for more established firms.
Both startups and small businesses need payroll services that are reliable and flexible. Small businesses often lack the investor backing startups enjoy, so their costs usually have to be covered by sales rather than investor funds. For that reason, small businesses should be especially wary of payroll vendors with hidden fees or unpredictable charges.
It's important for small businesses to ask the right questions about payroll when starting a relationship with a payroll provider.
Costs for small business payroll services vary depending on where employees live, total company payroll, and which benefits a business offers. In general, simple payroll services do not require high fees, especially for local teams.
Small businesses with remote teams across multiple countries do spend more on payroll, but those costs also cover benefits administration, foreign tax withholding, and compliance with local employment rules.
When the choice is between hiring the right person for a role or continuing to search locally, onboarding someone in another country can deliver meaningful cost savings over time. For more information on costs for small business payroll in multiple countries, see Remote's pricing page.
Employers of record, or EORs, were once services mainly for large enterprises with deep pockets, but that has changed. The rise of remote work has driven EOR pricing down, enabling small businesses to access international talent without paying steep fees or salary mark-ups.
Any small business looking to use an EOR to onboard international talent should ask the following questions of any prospective EOR provider:
Is this an owned-entity EOR in every country, or does this EOR outsource its services to third parties in certain countries?
What kind of protections does the EOR provide for intellectual property and invention rights?
How securely does the EOR handle your employees’ sensitive personal information?
If you offer an employee stock purchase plan, can the EOR manage that plan for you, including tax withholding?
Do you need multiple platforms for contractors and employees?
Are there any hidden fees that vary from one country to another?
Does the EOR have special discounts for startups or social purpose organisations?