Topia partners Certino on expat payroll in 90 countries

KAREN JOY BACUDO

Finance Editor

Topia has partnered with Certino to integrate expatriate payroll calculations into its Topia Horizon platform, covering payroll instruction outputs in more than 90 countries.

The partnership brings Certino’s gross-up and shadow payroll calculations into Topia’s mobility workflow, aiming to replace the spreadsheet-based processes and disconnected systems many employers still use to manage internationally mobile staff.

Many multinational employers handle cross-border compensation through a mix of internal spreadsheets, external providers and manual calculations. As international hiring grows and regulatory scrutiny increases, payroll, tax and mobility teams are left managing fragmented processes.

Under the arrangement, organisations using Topia Horizon will be able to access payroll-ready calculations within the same system they use to manage employee mobility. The integrated workflow is designed to help employers pay mobile employees accurately while managing tax and compliance obligations across jurisdictions.

Manual burden

Expatriate payroll has long been one of the most complex parts of global mobility because employees can trigger tax, social security and payroll requirements in more than one country. Gross-up calculations, which employers use to offset tax burdens for staff on assignment, and shadow payroll processes, which track tax liabilities in host locations, often require multiple handovers between HR, payroll and tax specialists.

Topia said its Horizon platform already automates risk assessments linked to tax, immigration, social security and permanent establishment before employee trips and remote work requests. The Certino integration extends that process into payroll execution by linking mobility decisions with payroll calculations.

The new service is aimed at both large employers managing cross-border workers directly and mobility service providers running international compensation programmes for clients. Payroll instruction outputs are supported across all countries covered by the arrangement.

David Walters, Chief Executive Officer, Topia, said the partnership is intended to address a longstanding operational gap.

“International talent mobility has become a strategic priority but the operational processes underpinning it have not kept pace. Too many organisations are still managing critical payroll and tax calculations through manual processes that create unnecessary risk and cost. Topia Horizon’s intelligence closes that gap, surfaces risk, generates policy-linked cost simulations, and now connects directly to payroll-ready calculations through Certino. Partnering with Certino means organisations can run a more accurate, connected and scalable global compensation operation,” Walters said.

Compliance focus

The announcement reflects wider pressure on employers to tighten oversight of international employment arrangements. As companies hire across borders and allow more staff to work remotely or travel for work, payroll teams increasingly need to track where income is earned, where tax is due and how local payroll reporting should be handled.

Errors in those calculations can create financial and compliance risks for both employers and employees. As a result, expatriate payroll remains a persistent challenge for companies with international workforces, particularly when payroll data is kept separate from mobility and tax systems.

Certino focuses on tax calculation and shadow payroll for global mobility programmes. Its systems are used by multinational employers as well as by accountancy, payroll, and relocation partners that handle assignment-related compensation.

Tom Lockyer, Chief Executive Officer at Certino, said the work has traditionally required significant manual input.

“Gross-up calculations and shadow payroll obligations have always required significant manual effort and multiple handoffs. The consequences of getting them wrong are serious. Certino was built to standardise and automate these calculations, delivering consistent, payroll-ready outcomes at scale. Embedding that capability inside Topia Horizon brings specialist expatriate tax calculation directly into the operational workflow, enabling global mobility teams to execute with greater control, transparency and confidence,” Lockyer said.