"There are many human-resources outsourcing companies, but we're ready, as our team is expert in human-resources jobs. We have invested around Bt10 million in IT and software systems," said Sauwaros Boonbanchachoke, managing director of the company.

Besides its payroll service, the company offers cost assessment, legal and tax consultancy and other administrative services.

"Each company has a different payroll system. Some may provide overtime or incentive payments. We can handle every type of payment. That is our unique feature. We also have a backup system for everything, so our customers can rest assured that their employees will receive their salaries on time every month," Sauwaros said.

Even though the company only started operating last August, it expects to break even by next month.

General Outsourcing currently provides payroll-management services to 20 firms and expects to sign up seven more by the end of the year.

Its customers vary widely in terms of size and business. The smallest firm has only 10 employees while the biggest has almost 10,000, Sauwaros said, although she declined to name any clients.

Altogether the company manages the payrolls of about 20,000 employees.

"That's only 30 per cent of our capacity. With our current equipment we can handle the payrolls of 100,000 employees," Sauwaros said.

"However, when our clientele increases to 60-70 per cent of capacity we'll definitely think about increasing capacity," she added.

She said that her company's services could help customers cut their human-resources costs by at least 10 per cent, depending on the scope of the job.

The number of companies opting for outsourcing their HR tasks grows 10-20 per cent each year, Sauwaros said.

"Thai companies are more familiar with outsourcing services and are more open to this business," she said.

Thai companies make up about two-thirds of General Outsourcing's client list.

Piyarat Setthasiriphaiboon

The Nation