HR and Payroll Software for Hotels, Resorts and Restaurants

Name: Better HR Southeast Asia
Address: US
Price range: $$

Rosters, shift premiums, service charge distribution and multi-property payroll in one system

For HR, payroll and finance teams at hotels, resorts, restaurant groups and F&B operators operating in Southeast Asia and cross-border operations.

hotel payroll softwarehospitality HR software Southeast Asiarestaurant payroll software Philippinesservice charge distribution law Philippines

Pain points

Rosters change every week, so overtime, night and public holiday premiums are rebuilt by hand from timesheets before every pay run
Service charge has to be pooled, split and paid on a legal schedule that differs by country, and staff ask how their share was worked out
Each property keeps its own spreadsheet, so group payroll totals and labour costs arrive late and never quite reconcile
High turnover means a steady stream of new hires, partial-month pay, proportional service charge shares and final settlements
Casual, seasonal and hourly staff are paid alongside monthly-salaried staff, each with different rates and premium rules

Service charge rules by country

Three of Better HR's markets regulate how a service charge added to the bill must reach employees. Where no specific rule applies, distribution is governed by the employment contract, house policy or a collective agreement, and the safest practice is to write the formula down and apply it the same way every period.

Philippines (Labor Code Article 96 as amended by Republic Act No. 11360; DOLE Department Order No. 242, Series of 2024): all service charges collected by hotels, restaurants and similar establishments must be distributed completely and equally among covered employees, based on actual hours or days worked. The pre-2019 split of 85% to employees and 15% for losses, breakages and managers no longer applies. Every employee except managerial employees is covered, regardless of position or employment status and however their wages are paid. Shares must be paid at least every two weeks or twice a month, at intervals of no more than 16 days. Service charge shares cannot be counted toward compliance with a minimum wage increase.
Indonesia (Minister of Manpower Regulation No. 7 of 2016, covering hotels and restaurants in hotels): of the service charge collected, 3% may be set aside for loss or breakage, 2% for staff development, and 95% must be distributed to workers. Of the distributed amount, 50% is shared equally and the rest is allocated by seniority and performance. Each month's collection must be paid out no later than the following month, after a written announcement of the amount collected. Workers on permanent and fixed-term contracts are both entitled, and leavers receive a proportional share. Service charge is classed as non-wage income, and the employer withholds income tax on each worker's share when it is paid.
Cambodia (Labour Law, Articles 134 to 136): a mandatory percentage added to a hotel, restaurant, cafe or bar bill as a service charge is treated as tips. The employer must collect it and distribute it in full to the personnel in contact with customers, and must be able to justify the amounts received and paid out. The split and the eligible staff categories follow industry custom or, failing that, a Ministry of Labour Prakas. Gratuities are included in the definition of wage under Article 103.

Overtime, night and holiday premiums in key markets

Hotels and restaurants run on nights, weekends and public holidays, so premium pay is a large share of the payroll bill. These are the statutory minimums; a contract or collective agreement can pay more but not less.

Philippines: overtime on an ordinary day is paid at the hourly rate plus 25%, and overtime on a rest day, special day or regular holiday at that day's hourly rate plus 30%. Work on a rest day or special non-working day is paid at 130%, a regular holiday at 200%, and a regular holiday falling on a rest day at 260%. Work between 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. earns a night shift differential of at least 10% on top of the applicable rate.
Thailand: overtime on a working day is at least 1.5 times the hourly rate. Work on a holiday earns at least one extra hourly rate for employees already paid for the holiday (all monthly-paid staff), or at least 2 times for employees who are not. Overtime on a holiday is at least 3 times. For monthly-paid staff the hourly rate is the monthly wage divided by 30 times normal daily hours. Overtime and holiday work combined may not exceed 36 hours a week, and must be paid at least once a month.
Vietnam: overtime is paid at no less than 150% on normal working days, 200% on weekly rest days and 300% on public holidays, Tet and paid days off. Night work, counted from 22:00 to 06:00, carries at least 30% extra, and overtime worked at night earns a further 20% of the daytime rate (Labour Code 2019, Article 98; Decree 145/2020/ND-CP).
Cambodia: overtime is paid at 50% above the normal rate, rising to 100% above when the overtime is worked at night or on the weekly day off (Labour Law, Article 139). Night is a period of at least 11 consecutive hours that includes 22:00 to 05:00.
Singapore: employees covered by Part 4 of the Employment Act must be paid at least 1.5 times the hourly basic rate for overtime. Singapore citizen and PR food services workers at SFA-licensed premises, in firms that hire foreign workers, also fall under the Food Services Progressive Wage Model. From 1 July 2026 the monthly gross wage floors for full-service establishments are S$2,320 for waiters and kitchen assistants, S$2,520 for cooks and S$2,875 for waiter supervisors, with further increases each July up to 2028.

Rostering rules specific to hospitality

Some labour rules apply specifically to hotels and food service, and they affect how shifts can be scheduled, not just how they are paid.

Sri Lanka: a regulation under the Shop and Office Employees Act, gazetted on 30 January 2026, allows women aged 18 and over employed as food and beverage stewardesses in residential hotels to work between 6:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. Where such a shift ends within those hours, the employer is responsible for her health, safety and welfare, including suitable accommodation until 6:00 a.m. or safe transport home.
Thailand: hotels, food shops and beverage shops are among the workplaces where staff may be required to work on traditional public holidays, with that work paid at holiday rates. In hotel businesses, employer and employee may agree in advance to accumulate weekly holidays and take them within four consecutive weeks. On termination, all wages, overtime and holiday pay owed must be paid within three days.
Philippines: service charge eligibility depends on hours or days actually worked, so attendance records for part-time, seasonal and probationary staff directly determine each person's share.
Indonesia: a worker who leaves before a distribution still receives a proportional share for that period, and a rehired worker is entitled from the date they return, so service charge has to be prorated in final pay and first pay.

How Better HR fits hotel and F&B operations

Better HR is a single HR and payroll system for the nine countries it supports. For hospitality teams, the parts that matter most are these.

Roster and shift management with multiple shift types, each with its own rate, plus shift allowances for night or split shifts
OT1, OT2 and OT3 multipliers and separate weekend and public holiday rates, so each country's premium structure can be configured
Attendance through the iOS and Android app with GPS, WiFi or Bluetooth verification, or through biometric devices at staff entrances
Grace periods, custom rounding and late or early deduction rules applied automatically to clock-in data
Service charge payroll run alongside wages, with approval before anything is paid
Multi-property support: each hotel, resort or outlet as its own location, with reporting by branch and payroll for several countries from one account
Leave management, payslips and bank disbursement files for every property
Recruitment through Better Jobs to refill front-of-house and kitchen roles quickly during peak season

How Better HR solves this

Better HR connects rostering, attendance and payroll so hospitality pay is calculated from the shifts people actually worked. You set up each shift type with its own rate, define OT1, OT2 and OT3 multipliers, weekend and public holiday rates, shift allowances, grace periods and late or early deduction rules, and staff clock in through the mobile app (verified by GPS, WiFi or Bluetooth) or a biometric device. Payroll then applies statutory deductions for each of the nine supported countries, runs service charge through payroll alongside wages, routes the run for approval, and produces payslips and bank disbursement files. Each hotel or outlet can be set up as its own location, with payroll for every property and country managed from one account.

Expected outcomes

Overtime, night and holiday premiums calculated from clock-in data instead of reconstructed timesheets
Service charge paid through the same approved payroll run as wages, with a record of each employee's share
Payroll for every hotel, outlet and country managed from one account, with reporting by location
Bank-ready disbursement files and payslips produced at the end of each run
Faster replacement hiring during peak season through Better Jobs recruitment

Frequently asked questions

1. Do hotels and restaurants in the Philippines have to give all service charge to employees?

Yes. Since Republic Act No. 11360, 100% of service charges collected must be distributed completely and equally to covered employees based on actual hours or days worked. The old 85/15 split no longer applies. Managerial employees are excluded. DOLE Department Order No. 242-24 requires payment at least every two weeks or twice a month, at intervals of no more than 16 days.

2. How is service charge split in Indonesian hotels?

Under Minister of Manpower Regulation No. 7 of 2016, 3% can be kept for loss or breakage, 2% for staff development, and 95% must go to workers. Half of the workers' portion is shared equally and the rest by seniority and performance. A month's collection must be paid out by the following month, and the employer withholds income tax on each worker's share.

3. Is service charge part of wages?

It depends on the country. Indonesia classes hotel service charge as non-wage income. Cambodia includes gratuities in the legal definition of wage, and service charge on the bill must be passed in full to customer-facing staff. In the Philippines, service charge shares cannot be counted toward meeting a minimum wage increase. Check your contracts and collective agreements as well, since they often define it further.

4. What do hotel staff in Thailand get for working on a public holiday?

Monthly-paid staff, who are already paid for the holiday, get at least one extra hourly rate for each hour worked. Staff not paid for the holiday get at least 2 times. Overtime on a holiday is at least 3 times the hourly rate. Overtime and holiday work combined are capped at 36 hours a week.

5. How much is night shift pay for hotel staff in Vietnam and the Philippines?

In Vietnam, work between 22:00 and 06:00 carries at least 30% extra, and overtime at night adds a further 20% of the daytime rate on top of the 150%, 200% or 300% overtime rate. In the Philippines, the night shift differential is at least 10% for work between 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m., applied on top of rest day or holiday rates where they apply.

6. Can Better HR pay service charge through payroll?

Yes. Better HR runs service charge payroll alongside regular wages, so payouts go through the same approval step and bank disbursement as wages. Because attendance comes from the same system, hours or days worked are available for rules such as the Philippine requirement to distribute by actual service rendered.

7. Can we run payroll for several hotels or countries from one account?

Yes. Each property or outlet can be managed as its own location with its own reporting, and payroll for all nine supported countries (Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Vietnam, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia and Pakistan) is managed from one account, with each country's statutory rules applied.

8. How much does Better HR cost for a hotel or restaurant group?

Better HR has a single plan priced per active employee per month, with every module included: HR, rostering and attendance, leave, overtime, payroll and recruitment through Better Jobs. There is no separate tier for multi-property groups. Prices are set per country, so check the pricing page for the market your properties are in.