REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL CLOUD BASED PAYROLL SOLUTION

Background

SOS Children’s Villages International (SOS CVI**)**, founded in 1949, is a global, non-governmental federation operating in 137 countries, including Somalia and Somaliland. As the umbrella organization, our mission is to work with communities and partners to ensure the rights of all children are fulfilled, particularly those who have lost or are at risk of losing parental care. This vital work is sustained by the generous support of sponsors, donors, and partners globally

Context and objective

This Terms of Reference (ToR) outlines the requirements for the procurement, implementation, and integration of a modern payroll system for SOS Children’s Villages Somalia and Somaliland. Currently organization utilizes Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance and Human Resources to manage its financial and HR operations. However, existing payroll processes remain largely manual and fragmented, resulting in inefficiencies, limited auditability, and challenges in ensuring statutory compliance across multiple country programs. The lack of seamless integration with the core HRIS platform further exacerbates data consistency issues and limits operational visibility.

To address these gaps, SOS CV Somalia and Somaliland seeks to procure and implement a robust, secure, cloud-based Payroll System that seamlessly integrates with Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance and HR. The solution should deliver a dependable, auditable, and user-friendly experience that supports timely salary processing, automated payslip generation, and comprehensive payroll reporting in compliance with internal policies and applicable laws. It should also support future scalability through a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) model, initially implemented at the Mogadishu and Hargeisa offices, with the potential for replication across other locations. The system must adhere to global and local data protection regulations (e.g., GDPR, national labor laws) and ensure encrypted, secure handling of payroll data while enabling real-time data interoperability with the D365 ecosystem.

Scope of work:

The sought-after payroll solution for SOS CV Somalia and Somaliland should deliver a secure, automated, and integrated payroll platform that improves operational efficiency, eliminates manual errors, and ensures compliance with both internal policies and external statutory requirements. The system should build a single source of truth for payroll data and seamlessly integrate with Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance and HR.

• The payroll system should offer the following critical capabilities:
• Build a unified source of payroll data that enables accurate and real-time reporting
• Fully automate the payroll lifecycle: input, processing, post-processing

1. Input

• Integration with Microsoft D365 HRIS to eliminate manual data entry.
• Automated assignment of salaries, allowances, and benefits based on employee roles and policies.

2. Processing

• Automated calculations for all pay types including bonuses, deductions, loans, pro-rata, and final pay.
• Integration with leave management for automated payroll impact of leave types.
• Online payroll validation to ensure only approved payroll is processed.

3. Post-Processing

• Generate bank payment files in required formats, eliminating manual edits.
• Automatic generation of salary journals for upload into proprietary systems.
• Support for all pay types including 13th month, temporary allowances, and back pays.
• Flexible pay categories with budget code tagging, cost centers, and allocation tracking.
• Monthly, quarterly, and annual summaries of payroll earnings, benefits, and tax.
• Full audit trails and reconciliation reports (e.g., salary variances month-to-month).
• Dynamic payroll reports: registers, tax returns, department costing, custom user reports.

4. System Functionalities

• Support for growing staff volumes including permanent, casual, and temporary workers.
• Automatic pro-rating for hires/leavers mid-month.
• ESS portal with payslip access, loan requests, and salary advance applications.
• Flexible processing of extra payments and deductions with appropriate access controls.
• Ability to simulate, re-run, and back-calculate payroll.
• Ability to handle payroll in multiple currencies, with current use case in USD.
• Bulk updates for exchange rates, tax brackets, salary scales, pension formulas.
• Automatic email distribution of payslips.
• Role-based access controls for transaction approvals and processing rights.
• Automated backups and month/year-end closure controls with rollover capabilities.

5. Data Management

• Allow import/export of data via Excel, Word, and PDF.
• Archive and print historic payroll data for any period.
• Allow document uploads (HR templates, contracts) linked to staff records.
• Enable migration of legacy payroll data from Excel-based sources.