Buyer's guide
Payroll in Malaysia is not just "pay the staff" — every month you also have EPF (KWSP), SOCSO (PERKESO), EIS and PCB/MTD to calculate, file and pay, plus Form EA at year end. This guide explains what to look for in a Malaysian payroll app, what the honest costs are, and where Tallium AI does and does not fit. Straight answer up front: Tallium AI is not a payroll processor — it is the all-in-one POS, inventory, e-commerce and accounting app that sits underneath payroll and absorbs the wage cost into your books.
Key takeaways
Dedicated Malaysian payroll tools do one job properly: they keep up with EPF, SOCSO, EIS and PCB rate tables, generate the statutory contribution files, and produce Form EA and E filings. Tallium AI does not compete with that — it runs the trading side of your business and gives your payroll numbers somewhere sensible to land, so this comparison is about which parts of your stack each tool should own.
| Feature | Tallium AI | other payroll software in Malaysia |
|---|---|---|
| EPF, SOCSO, EIS and PCB calculation | Not calculated in-app. Tallium AI does not run statutory payroll deductions — you keep your payroll tool or your accountant for that. | Core strength. Good Malaysian payroll apps maintain the current EPF, SOCSO, EIS and PCB/MTD tables and update them when rates change. |
| Statutory submission files and Form EA | None. Tallium AI produces no KWSP, PERKESO or LHDN submission files. | Generates contribution files for KWSP/PERKESO portals and produces Form EA and Form E at year end — the main reason to buy one. |
| Recording wages in the books | Post the monthly payroll journal — gross wages, employer contributions, net pay and statutory liabilities — so profit and cash are correct without re-keying every payslip. | Varies. Some export a journal to accounting software; standalone payroll tools often leave you to enter the journal manually. |
| What else is in the same app | POS, inventory, purchase orders, invoicing, e-commerce orders, accounting, plus the Tallium AI suite's Marketing and CRM — one account, one login. | Payroll, leave and claims, and sometimes attendance or a time clock. Trading operations are out of scope. |
| User licensing | Unlimited users on every plan. No per-seat fee, so your manager, cashier and bookkeeper all get their own login for free. | Usually priced per employee per month, which is fair for payroll but means costs rise every time you hire. |
| Pricing model | Flat USD price per unit, billed monthly: shop/store $79, online store $159, warehouse $99, factory $269. Paid from signup, cancel anytime. | Typically a monthly base fee plus a per-employee charge, quoted in ringgit. Cheap at 5 staff, noticeably less cheap at 40. |
| SST and the SST-02 return | Handles SST on sales and purchases, tags taxable lines and gives you the figures to prepare your SST-02 return if you are registered. | Out of scope — payroll tools do not touch SST. |
| MyInvois e-invoicing | Sales invoicing is built in and structured for e-invoicing workflows as MyInvois obligations roll out to smaller businesses. | Not applicable. Payslips are not e-invoices. |
| AI automation | Receipt and bill scanning, automatic categorisation, and plain-English insights on margin, stock movement and cash. | Mostly rules-based. A few add leave-pattern or headcount analytics, but AI is not the selling point. |
| Who should own it | Everything from the sale to the ledger: tills, stock, online orders, suppliers, SST, reports. | Everything from the employment contract to the payslip: contributions, leave, claims, EA forms. |
The honest verdict
If you employ staff in Malaysia you need a real payroll tool — buy one, and pick the one whose EPF, SOCSO, EIS and PCB handling you trust, because getting statutory contributions wrong is expensive and slow to unwind. Tallium AI is the wrong choice if payroll processing is what you are shopping for; it is the right choice if your bigger problem is that your tills, stock, online store and books live in four different places and every user costs extra. Most small Malaysian retailers, restaurants and wholesalers end up with a lean payroll app for the people side and one all-in-one app like Tallium AI for the trading side, with a single monthly journal joining them.
Build your plan in a minute — pay only for the parts of your business you run.
Get startedQuestions? Email support@tallium.online — tallium.online
Tell us where you are today and we'll show you how Tallium AI fits. No pressure, no spam.