Prepared for Umtfombo Holdings
Payroll, HR & Employee Self-Service System
Implementation Proposal & Quotation
Prepared for: Umtfombo Holdings
Prepared by: IT Development Team
Date: 24 August 2026
Executive Summary
What this proposal covers
The original brief asked for one system to generate payroll and HR reports and reconciliations, keep ENPF and tax information current without manual code changes, manage leave, support at least three payroll runs before a period closes, and give staff mobile access without needing a laptop.
A full interactive prototype has since been designed, built, and reviewed, covering a group-wide payroll and HR dashboard, a full HR and Payroll administration platform, and a mobile Employee Self-Service (ESS) app. Every calculation shown — PAYE, ENPF, leave entitlement, severance — runs on the real Eswatini statutory formulas.
The technology recommendation has been finalised as a custom-built application (PHP/Laravel with MySQL) rather than Microsoft Power Platform, since it comfortably fits affordable regional hosting and avoids per-user licensing that scales awkwardly with headcount. This page summarises the full proposal — download the PDF or Word document above for the complete version to print, sign, or file.
Section 2
What Has Been Built
All three systems below are fully interactive and have been reviewed. They represent the functional scope this proposal is priced against.
Group Payroll & HR Suite
- Consolidated view across subsidiary entities, with headcount and payroll cost rolled up at group level.
- Payroll run and close workflow (Run 1 → Run 2 → Run 3) with automatic reconciliation between runs.
- Built-in Compliance & Settings reference: Eswatini PAYE bands, ENPF rates, Employment Act leave entitlements, the public holiday calendar, and a Data Protection Act 2022 summary.
- Gross-to-net and notice/severance calculators using the real statutory formulas.
HR & Payroll Administration Platform
- A full staff directory — search, filter, and open a complete individual profile (personal, employment, compensation, leave, documents).
- Payroll processing with live PAYE/ENPF recalculation, bulk overtime/allowance actions by department, and the same controlled three-run close workflow.
- Leave request review and approval that automatically updates the employee's balance.
- Settings covering statutory rates, leave policy, departments, company/subsidiary management, user roles, and notifications.
- Bulk staff onboarding via CSV/Excel import, with per-row validation before anything is committed.
- A fully responsive layout, including its own mobile navigation, usable down to small phone screens.
Employee Self-Service (ESS) App
- Mobile-first design — bottom tab navigation, swipeable payslip cards, pull-to-refresh.
- A three-step leave application wizard with a live calendar (Sundays and public holidays automatically excluded) and a running balance preview.
- Ask HR — an AI assistant grounded specifically in the company's Eswatini leave and pay policy.
- Digital payslips with print/download, a running tax certificate, and profile/banking management routed for HR approval.
Section 3
Recommended Production Technology
PHP (Laravel) with MySQL — secure-by-default protections (parameterised queries, CSRF protection, session security, proper authentication and role-based permissions) rather than these being built by hand. Widely supported on affordable Southern African hosting and by regional developers.
Security, layered
- Cloudflare (free tier): DDoS protection, managed Web Application Firewall, free SSL.
- Application-level: hashed passwords, server-enforced role-based access, encrypted banking/ID fields, an audit log of who viewed or changed sensitive records, rate-limiting on public endpoints.
- HTTPS enforced throughout.
Section 4 — the core of this proposal
Two Ways to Take This Live
Choose the option that best fits how Umtfombo Holdings wants to manage the hosting relationship.
Option A
Client-Hosted
Hosted on your own domain
Once-off
R38,500
Excl. VAT · R44,275.00 incl. VAT
Annual subscription
R12,600
Excl. VAT (R14,490.00 incl.) — application support & maintenance. Hosting itself billed separately by your provider, typically R2,500–R3,000/year.
Requirements
- Hosting with PHP 8.2+ and MySQL, 5GB+ storage
- A registered domain name
- SSL capability (most hosts offer this free)
- cPanel or equivalent deployment access
- Someone responsible for confirming backups run
Option B
Fully Managed
We host, secure & manage everything
Once-off
R54,580
Excl. VAT · R62,767.00 incl. VAT
Hosting & infrastructure
R7,400
Application subscription
R12,600
Total annual
R20,000
Excl. VAT · R23,000.00 incl. VAT. Server management, security monitoring, SSL renewal, and automated off-site backups all included — nothing further billed by a third-party host.
Choosing between them: Option A costs less once-off and annually, but Umtfombo Holdings carries the hosting relationship and backup responsibility directly. Option B costs a little more but is a single point of accountability — one call for any problem, hosting included, backups guaranteed.
Section 5
What's Included / What's Not
| Included in the once-off price (both options) |
|---|
| Full build as demonstrated · deployment · initial configuration · staff data import assistance · remote handover training |
| Included in the annual application subscription |
|---|
| Bug fixes and minor updates · annual PAYE/ENPF statutory rate update · reasonable business-hours support |
| Included in Option B's hosting fee, additionally |
|---|
| Server provisioning & management · security monitoring · SSL renewal · automated off-site backups · uptime monitoring |
| Not included in either option |
|---|
| New feature development beyond the prototype · legacy data migration beyond CSV import · on-site training · domain registration (Option A) · unscoped third-party integrations |
Section 6
Implementation Timeline
Wk 1–2Confirm subsidiary structure, statutory registration numbers, and (Option A) hosting access.
Wk 3–7Backend build: data model, authentication, payroll engine, statutory calculation logic.
Wk 8–12Staff directory, leave management, company/department settings, ESS app.
Wk 13–15Security hardening, staff data import, and a full parallel run against the current payroll process.
Wk 16Handover training and go-live.
Approximately 4 months from confirmed start date, assuming timely feedback and access at each milestone.
Section 7
Next Steps
- Confirm which option — A or B — best fits Umtfombo Holdings' preference for managing the hosting relationship.
- Sign and return the downloaded proposal to confirm scope and pricing.
- Confirm subsidiary structure and statutory registration numbers for initial configuration.
- Project kicks off within 5 working days of signed confirmation and (where applicable) the once-off invoice being settled.