Every HR system demo shows the same things: an employee profile, a leave request, a nice dashboard. The differences that matter in Saudi Arabia only appear later, on payroll day: two GOSI rates for Saudi employees, a Mudad file that must match the Qiwa contract, end-of-service settlements under the Labour Law, Arabic payslips, and a payroll journal that has to land correctly in your ERP.
We built and sell our own HRMS, HR Works, so we are not neutral. But the twelve questions below are the ones we would ask any vendor, including us. Take them to every demo and ask the vendor to show, not tell.
Saudi compliance
1. Does it apply the Saudi Labour Law out of the box?
Leave entitlements, annual vacation, overtime, notice periods and end-of-service benefit should be standard rules you configure, not custom development. Ask the vendor to calculate a final settlement for an employee who resigns after six years. If they need to "check with the team", that is your answer. (See how end-of-service benefit is calculated.)
2. Does it handle both GOSI systems?
Saudi employees registered with GOSI from 3 July 2024 contribute under the new Social Insurance Law, at rates that rise each July until 2028. Those registered earlier stay on the old rates. Non-Saudis carry only the employer's 2% occupational hazards. The system must know each employee's group and apply the right rate automatically. Our payroll compliance guide has the full rate tables.
3. Does it produce the Mudad / WPS salary file?
Ask to see the file generated from a test payroll, and how the system handles leavers, new joiners and deductions, which are the usual reasons a Mudad file fails.
4. Does it work with Qiwa and Muqeem?
Contracts live on Qiwa; expatriate iqamas and exit/re-entry visas on Muqeem. The HRMS should keep its employee records in step with both and warn you before iqamas expire.
People and languages
5. Is it truly bilingual?
Arabic should cover the whole system, not just the menus: payslips, letters, self-service screens and reports, right to left. Ask an Arabic-speaking employee to apply for leave on their phone during the demo.
6. Is there real self-service on mobile?
Leave requests, payslips, letters, attendance corrections and approvals should work on a phone. Every request handled in self-service is one less email to HR.
Time and attendance
7. Does attendance flow straight into payroll?
Lateness, absence and overtime should move from the attendance terminals to timesheets to payroll without anyone retyping them. Ask which biometric terminals the system supports (face, fingerprint, card) and whether the vendor supplies and installs them. We explain the flow in how biometric attendance feeds payroll.
8. Can it handle your shifts and sites?
Rotating shifts, night shifts, Ramadan working hours, several branches and remote or field staff are where generic attendance rules break.
Systems and data
9. Does it connect to your ERP or accounting system?
Payroll ends in your accounts: salaries, GOSI, accruals and end-of-service provisions by cost centre. Ask how the payroll journal reaches your ERP (ERPNext, Odoo, SAP, Oracle or another) and whether the vendor has built that integration before.
10. Cloud or on-premises, your choice?
Some organisations need their HR data on their own servers; others want it hosted. A good HRMS offers both without a different product for each.
Fit and the long term
11. How much works out of the box?
Every customisation is cost and upgrade risk. Ask what share of your requirements the standard system covers, and what has to be built.
12. Who will be there in five years?
HR systems stay for a long time. Ask for references with similar headcount, how long they have been customers, and who provides local support in Arabic.
A scoring sheet for your demos
| # | Question | Vendor A | Vendor B | Vendor C |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Saudi Labour Law rules, incl. end-of-service | |||
| 2 | Both GOSI systems, automatically | |||
| 3 | Mudad / WPS file | |||
| 4 | Qiwa and Muqeem | |||
| 5 | Full Arabic, incl. payslips | |||
| 6 | Mobile self-service | |||
| 7 | Attendance → payroll, terminals | |||
| 8 | Shifts, sites, Ramadan hours | |||
| 9 | ERP integration delivered before | |||
| 10 | Cloud and on-premises | |||
| 11 | Share covered out of the box | |||
| 12 | References at your size, local support |
Score each line 0 (no), 1 (partly, or with customisation) or 2 (yes, shown in the demo).
How HR Works answers the twelve
HR Works is our in-house HRMS and the only one we sell:
- Saudi and GCC labour law for leave, vacation, payroll and final settlement, with Mudad/WPS, GOSI, Qiwa and Muqeem integrations.
- The complete system in English and Arabic, with web and mobile self-service.
- Attendance to payroll in one flow, with face, fingerprint and card terminals we supply and integrate, from Union Biometrics, Matrix and Suprema.
- Connects to any ERP or accounting system. We have delivered HR Works integrations with ERPNext, SAP, SAP SuccessFactors and Oracle (see the system integrations we have delivered). If you are choosing an ERP too, we usually recommend ERPNext.
- Cloud or on-premises.
- More than 85% ready out of the box; less than 15% is tailored to your business.
- Proven at scale: Qatar Airways went live on HR Works in 2002 with 3,000 employees and still uses it today with more than 65,000. Our clients range from 20 to over 50,000 employees across 35 countries.
Request an HR Works demo and bring this checklist. We will answer all twelve on screen.
GOSI rates and labour rules change from time to time. Check GOSI and MHRSD for the current position.
