Häufig gestellte Fragen
Is the HR module in the ERP enough, or do we need dedicated HR software such as Personio or HRworks?
As a rough guideline in the DACH mid-market, up to around 100 employees the integrated ERP HR module combined with a DATEV connection for payroll is often sufficient. Dedicated HR platforms typically address larger ranges: Personio targets companies with roughly 10 to 2,000 employees, focusing on recruiting, digital personnel files and self-service, while HRworks aims more at the range of about 50 to 500 employees and at administrative processes such as travel expense and time tracking. From several hundred employees upwards, or with several country subsidiaries, enterprise HCM suites often come into play. Which solution fits depends specifically on the industry, collective agreement coverage, payroll model and the existing ERP vendor, and cannot be answered in general terms.
How is payroll typically connected to the ERP?
In the DACH standard, the connection frequently runs via DATEV: either the tax advisor runs payroll in DATEV Lohn und Gehalt or LODAS and provides the posting records for financial accounting, or an HR platform such as Personio or HRworks runs payroll itself and exports posting documents in DATEV format. According to the vendor, around 14.5 million employees in Germany are paid monthly via the DATEV payroll programs, which makes this interface a de facto quasi-standard. Alternatively, upstream systems can be coupled directly to the ERP via native REST APIs or iPaaS platforms. In any case, the decisive factor is that personnel costs flow into cost centre accounting and financial accounting without manual re-entry.
Which GDPR and co-determination obligations apply to the HR module?
Personnel data is among the most sensitive information, which is why the GDPR and the BDSG must be observed with purpose limitation, data minimisation, a deletion concept, the ability to answer access requests and a data processing agreement with the provider. Access should be controlled and logged via a tiered role concept, so that only authorised parties can access specific data types. In addition, in companies with a works council, its co-determination right under § 87 (1) no. 6 BetrVG applies, since HR systems are subject to co-determination as soon as they are objectively capable of monitoring behaviour or performance. In practice, the introduction therefore usually requires a works agreement that regulates data types, access and possible analyses.
What distinguishes HRIS, HCM and HXM?
HRIS (Human Resource Information System) refers primarily to the administrative and data-keeping level with master data, time management and payroll. HCM (Human Capital Management) extends this core with strategic topics such as talent management, performance, training and succession planning across the entire employee lifecycle. HXM (Human Experience Management) is a term shaped mainly by SAP that additionally emphasises employee experience, engagement surveys and continuous feedback. In practice, the terms are frequently used synonymously in the mid-market, so the vendor's specific feature description is more meaningful than the label.
Who is responsible for correct wage tax filing and which deadlines apply?
Under § 41a EStG, responsibility for filing and remitting wage tax always remains with the employer, even if a tax advisor or external payroll provider actually runs the payroll. The wage tax return must be submitted electronically and with authentication via ELSTER, no later than the tenth day after the end of the filing period. Whether filing is monthly, quarterly or annual depends on the wage tax payable in the previous year: up to 1,080 euros annually, over 1,080 up to 5,000 euros quarterly, and over 5,000 euros monthly. A practical HR system should support ELSTER submission as well as retrieval of the electronic wage tax deduction attributes (ELStAM).
Which statutory reporting procedures must an HR module cover?
Beyond wage tax, an HR module with payroll functionality must handle the social insurance notifications under the DEÜV, such as registrations and deregistrations, annual reports and remuneration reports to the health insurance funds as collection agencies. These notifications may only be transmitted in encrypted form from system-tested programs certified by the ITSG or via the official assistance tool SV-Meldeportal. As of 1 January 2026, individual procedures were adjusted — for example the now mandatory consolidation of employment periods for irregularly employed workers and changes around the end of sickness benefit payments in the EEL and eAU procedures. A key selection criterion is therefore how reliably and promptly the vendor incorporates legal changes in tax, social insurance and reporting law.