How to Set Up and Use Altomate Payroll

This guide shows you how to activate Altomate Payroll, complete your company details, approve monthly payroll and manage your subscription.

On Expert, Altomate’s internal team manages payroll for you. You review the prepared pay run and approve the sign-off in your dashboard. On DIY Free and DIY Paid, you prepare payroll yourself using altomate HR.

Here is an overview of the process:

1. Choose your Payroll plan and activate it.
2. Complete your company payroll information.
3. Use your Payroll Hub to access the app and review requests.
4. Prepare and approve each month’s pay run, according to your plan.
5. Arrange salary payment according to your service agreement.

Choose Your Payroll Plan

Choose the plan based on whether you want to manage payroll yourself or have Altomate handle it for you.

Plan	Monthly fee	What it includes
DIY Free	RM0, up to 3 employees	Payroll calculations, payslips and bank payment files. Statutory files and Form E/EA are not included.
DIY Paid	RM30 for 3 employees; RM10 for each additional employee	DIY Free features, plus Form E/EA and statutory files. You prepare payroll and handle your own filing.
Expert	RM500 for 5 employees; RM50 for each additional employee	Payroll managed by Altomate’s internal team, included statutory filing and an account manager. You review and approve each pay run.

Important: Adding a fourth employee to DIY Free automatically changes your plan to DIY Paid. Hiring and offboarding services are additional charges on Expert; see Hiring and Offboarding.

Expense Claim and Clock In / Clock Out are optional software features on paid plans. Each costs RM3 per employee per month. They are not available on DIY Free.

Expert customers can also choose a one-time Payroll Setup service for RM1,000 if statutory registrations are needed. Prices in this guide exclude 8% SST. Your existing service agreement applies where relevant.

Activate Payroll

1. Sign in to your Altomate account and open the Payroll section.
2. Select DIY Free, DIY Paid or Expert.
3. Enter the total number of employees.
4. Select any available add-ons you need. On Expert, choose whether to add One-Time Payroll Setup and select your Payroll start date.

Expert start date: Subscribe before the 20th for your first managed payroll to fall in the current month. If you subscribe on or after the 20th, it starts the following month. Choosing a later start date moves it further out. Check the first-payroll month shown before confirming.

5. Review your plan, employee count, add-ons, setup fee, SST and total due.
6. For DIY Free, select Activate free plan. For a paid plan, complete the payment steps shown.

Auto-debit is enabled by default. The payment screen shows the available payment methods. If you pay by bank transfer, upload your receipt and submit it for review. Your account is set up after the Altomate team verifies the transfer.

If you return from payment to the plan-selection screen, recheck your choices: the configuration resets to its defaults when reopened.

Existing Altomate clients: If you are billed under an existing service agreement, choose the existing-client option where shown. Your account manager handles your agreed pricing and billing.

Complete Your Company Payroll Information

After activation, complete the Company Payroll Info form.

1. Enter your company registration and statutory details, including your SSM registration number and the applicable LHDN employer, EPF, SOCSO/EIS and HRD Corp details.
2. Set your payroll cut-off, processing and approval days.
3. Confirm the salary disbursement arrangement and date.
4. If you purchased one-time setup, provide the requested bank and business details, employee information, SSM company profile and director identity documents.
5. Complete all required fields and save the form. You can return to update the information later.

Find Your Way Around the Payroll Hub

The Payroll Hub is the dashboard for approvals, payment files, requests, your subscription and billing. altomate HR is the payroll application where payroll records, employees and reports are managed.

1. Select Open in Payroll App to open altomate HR. The Hub signs you in automatically.
2. Use Pending approvals to find pay runs waiting for sign-off.
3. On Expert, use Add employee or Resign / offboard to raise a service request. Track progress under Recent requests.
4. Review your subscription in Current plan. Billing and plan controls may be hidden if an account manager handles your service agreement.

Why employee counts may differ: “Subscribed employees” shows the number in your subscription, while “Registered in altomate HR” shows the employees in the payroll system. Billing uses the applicable headcount when the next bill is raised.

Prepare Monthly Payroll

Expert: Altomate prepares payroll for you

1. Provide the Altomate team with the month’s employee changes, salary changes, claims and adjustments according to your agreed payroll schedule.
2. Altomate’s internal team prepares your payroll.
3. When the pay run is ready, review it under Pending approvals in your dashboard.

DIY Free and DIY Paid: prepare payroll in altomate HR

1. Select Open in Payroll App.
2. Check that joiners, leavers, salaries and adjustments are up to date.
3. Process the month’s payroll after your cut-off so the required inputs are included.
4. Return to the Hub to review the pay run awaiting owner approval.

Review and Approve Your Pay Run

1. In your Payroll Hub, go to Pending approvals.
2. Select the relevant payroll month.
3. Check the employee breakdown, gross pay, deductions, employer contributions, net pay and total cost.
4. Pay particular attention to new joiners, leavers, salary changes and unusual adjustments.
5. If the figures are correct, select Approve Payroll to sign off. Payroll processing can then proceed.

If something is incorrect: Do not approve the run. Expert customers should contact their account manager for a correction. DIY customers should correct the employee record or adjustment in altomate HR and re-run payroll before approval.

Approval is an owner action. If you cannot see the approval option, check your account permissions with the team.

Download the Salary Payment File

Follow this step if your company arranges salary payment. If Altomate handles disbursement under your service agreement, follow the arrangement agreed with your account manager.

1. After approval, find the relevant month under Salary payment file.
2. Select Download. The file provided is in Public Bank ECP bulk-payroll format.
3. Upload the file to the appropriate corporate banking portal.
4. Complete the bank’s own payment and approval process.

Important: Signing off payroll in the Hub is not confirmation that salaries have reached employees. Payment follows your agreed disbursement arrangement and the bank’s processing schedule.

If a file will not download, check whether your company bank account is set up in altomate HR. Expert customers can ask their account manager for help.

Understand Your Filing Responsibilities

• Expert: Altomate handles the statutory filing included in your service. Provide information requested by your account manager.
• DIY Paid: Download the available statutory files and complete the required submissions yourself. Handle Form E/EA as part of the applicable annual reporting process.
• DIY Free: Payroll calculations and payslips are available, but statutory files are not. You remain responsible for your filing obligations.

Hiring and offboarding requests are separate from recurring payroll. Confirm the applicable employee-movement filing requirements with the service team.

Request Hiring and Offboarding Services

Expert customers can request additional services through the Hub. These charges are separate from the monthly Expert subscription.

Additional service	Fee before SST
Statutory filing	RM100 per staff
Stamp employment contract	RM150 per contract
Prepare offer letter	RM300 per letter

1. Select Add employee or Resign / offboard from your Hub.
2. Enter the number of people involved and select the services required. For offboarding, indicate whether the employee is leaving Malaysia.
3. Review the charges shown. If you select no chargeable service, you receive a self-file pack at no cost.
4. Complete the requested employee details and upload the supporting documents.
5. Submit the request and check your confirmation email.
6. Track the request under Recent requests: Awaiting details, In progress or Completed.

The selected service fees are added to your next monthly bill under Adjustments, with SST applied there. New requests are unavailable while you have an unpaid bill.

Change Your Plan or Add-ons

1. Go to Current plan in your Hub.
2. Select Manage plan.
3. Choose the available plan change or add/remove an add-on.
4. Review the change and its effective date before confirming.

Change	When it takes effect	Billing
DIY to Expert	Immediately; the first managed-payroll month follows the cut-off rule	No immediate charge. Before the 20th, the next bill includes the current month’s Expert fee in addition to DIY. On or after the 20th, Expert billing starts the following month.
DIY Free to DIY Paid	Immediately, including when you add a fourth employee	RM30 per month for 3 employees, plus RM10 for each additional employee, billed through the normal cycle.
Add an add-on	Immediately	The next bill includes the current and next month’s add-on charges.
Downgrade or remove an add-on	Next billing date	The current plan or feature remains available until then. No refund applies for the current cycle.

A scheduled downgrade appears on your Current plan card. You can cancel it before its effective date.

Check Your Bill and Payment Status

Your first payment at activation may include the subscription, selected add-ons, one-time setup and SST. After activation, your Upcoming bill brings the monthly charges and adjustments together.

• Plan and add-ons: Based on the applicable employee count when the bill is raised.
• Adjustments: Additional services, upgrades and other deferred charges.
• SST and total: Displayed separately on the bill.

Adding or removing employees does not produce an immediate mid-month payment. The next bill reflects the headcount at billing. For example, adding a fourth employee to DIY Free changes the plan to DIY Paid: RM30 for the first three employees plus RM10 for the fourth, before SST.

Auto-debit and failed payments

1. Auto-debit is enabled by default and charges your saved card on the due date.
2. If the first attempt fails, Altomate notifies you and retries the following day.
3. After the second failed attempt, your account switches to manual payment and the Altomate team follows up with you.
4. Use the payment link provided or the payment controls in your Hub to settle the bill.

To replace your saved card, select Update card on Upcoming bill. If you have an outstanding balance, updating the card can also settle it. Updating the card on a manual account restores auto-debit.

Bank transfer and payment review

Transfer the amount, upload your receipt and submit it for review. While the transfer is being checked, the Hub shows Payment under review and hides the payment options to prevent duplicate payments. Access is restored after payment is confirmed.

For accounts billed under an existing service agreement, your account manager handles billing. Prices, invoices and plan-management controls may be hidden.

Resolve Common Problems

My payroll app says “Locked — payment due”

Settle the outstanding bill using Pay now, Update card & pay, or bank transfer with receipt upload. An unpaid bill can block the payroll app, employee-movement requests and plan changes. Bank transfers require team confirmation before access returns.

My account setup did not finish after payment

Select Retry setup. If it fails twice, email support@altomate.io and explain that payment has already been made.

I cannot see “Update card” or plan-management controls

These controls appear after the billing cycle is set up. For transfer activation, payment must first be confirmed. If you are billed under an existing service agreement, contact your account manager instead.

My account shows “Your account is on hold”

Contact your Altomate account manager to resolve the hold.

Who should I contact for help?

Expert customers can contact their account manager for managed-payroll support. For technical problems, email support@altomate.io.

Related Help

• Payroll Services Detailed Fee Schedule
• Browse the Altomate Help Center