hris15 October 202610 min read

Choosing an HRIS in Singapore: a buyer's checklist for SMEs and site-based teams

What to check before you buy an HR system in Singapore: leave rules, work passes, training records, approvals, PDPA, mobile access and pricing.

By Cova

Cover reading HRIS Buyer's Checklist, with a list of eight rows, six of them ticked in green

Most Singapore SMEs move to an HR system when the spreadsheet stops coping: leave in one file, work pass dates in another, certificates in a WhatsApp chat, approvals as "OK, go ahead" in a group thread. For a contractor with crews on several sites, the gaps show up faster, because the people who need HR most are rarely at a desk.

This checklist sets out eight things to judge any HRIS (HR information system) on before you sign, with links to the Ministry of Manpower (MOM), the Personal Data Protection Commission (PDPC) and SkillsFuture Singapore wherever we state a rule. The examples come from construction and other site-based firms, but it works for any SME.

The checklist at a glance

Criterion	What to check	Why it matters
1. Singapore leave rules	Leave types, balances, service-based entitlements, leave records	Employment Act minimums and record-keeping
2. Work pass handling	Pass type, number and expiry on each record, with renewal reminders	Renewal windows are fixed and a lapsed pass is an offence
3. Training and certificates	Course booking, certificates filed per person, expiry tracking	Safety courses are tied to work and to Work Permits
4. Approvals and audit trail	One inbox, named approvers, a history of who decided what	Disputes and inspections need evidence
5. Data import	Bulk import with a preview and clear errors	A bad first import corrupts everything after it
6. PDPA and data access	Role-based access, access requests, retention	PDPA obligations apply to employee data
7. Mobile access	Site staff can apply, approve and upload from a phone	Your workforce isn't at a desk
8. Pricing model	What you pay per user or module, and grant eligibility	Total cost, not the headline price

1. Singapore leave rules

Under the Employment Act, annual leave starts at 7 days after 3 months of service and rises by one day a year to 14 days from the 8th year. (MOM: annual leave eligibility and entitlement) Paid outpatient sick leave goes up to 14 days and hospitalisation leave up to 60 days, which includes the 14. Both are pro-rated between 3 and 6 months of service. (MOM: sick leave eligibility and entitlement)

Employers must also keep the dates and details of leave taken and public holidays as part of each employee's records. (MOM: employment records)

What to ask: which leave types come set up, how are balances checked, and how does the system handle a mid-year joiner or someone in their fifth year? Ask to see it live.

Annual leave in Singapore: a practical guide for SMEsEntitlement by years of service, pro-rating and carry-forward, with every rule linked to MOM.cova.sg/resources/sg-annual-leave-guide

2. Work pass handling

For non-citizen staff, MOM requires employers to keep the work pass number and expiry date in the employee's records. (MOM: employment records) Renewal windows are fixed: an Employment Pass or S Pass can be renewed up to 6 months before expiry, and a Work Permit should be renewed 7 to 12 weeks before it expires. (MOM: renew an Employment Pass, MOM: renew a Work Permit) MOM states that employing a foreigner without a valid work pass is a criminal offence. (MOM: cancel an Employment Pass)

What to ask: can the system store pass type, number and expiry for each person, and does it remind HR before each renewal window opens?

Work pass expiry in Singapore: a practical renewal guide for SMEsRenewal windows for the Employment Pass, S Pass and Work Permit, and what to do when a pass lapses.cova.sg/resources/sg-work-pass-expiry-guide

3. Training and certificate records

In construction, training isn't optional. MOM says migrant construction workers must complete the construction safety course before their Work Permits are issued, and the certificate must be valid for more than 1 month on the day a Work Permit is renewed. (MOM: construction sector Work Permit requirements) An MOM inspector can require you to produce the certificates and records you keep under the Workplace Safety and Health Act. (WSH Act 2006, section 41)

Most courses are run by external providers. SkillsFuture subsidies for SSG-funded courses are deducted automatically when you register, so the company pays the nett fee plus GST. (OurWorkforce by SWDA: training subsidies for employers)

What to ask: can staff find and book courses, who approves them, where are certificates filed, and are expiry dates tracked? Most site-based firms need training management (booking, approvals, reminders and certificates) rather than a system that hosts online lessons.

Construction training records in Singapore: courses, certificates and approvals for SMEsWhich safety courses construction workers need, why records matter in an inspection, and how to run training without spreadsheets.cova.sg/resources/sg-construction-training-records

4. Approvals and audit trail

When a supervisor says "I approved that" and HR can't find the message, you have a dispute with no evidence. A good system routes each request to a named approver and records who decided what and when, which matters in disputes, internal reviews and inspections.

What to ask: is there one inbox for every request type? Can someone approve their own request? Can anyone edit the history?

5. Data import

Your first import sets the quality of everything after it. A system that half-imports a file or quietly skips bad rows leaves records you can't trust.

What to ask: can you preview who will be added and updated before anything is saved? What happens to a file with one bad row? Can you re-import a corrected file without creating duplicates?

6. PDPA and data access

The PDPA applies to the personal data you hold about employees. Organisations must make reasonable security arrangements to protect it, stop keeping it when it's no longer needed for a business or legal purpose, and give individuals access to their data on request. (PDPC: data protection obligations) For employment, you must tell staff the purpose for which you collect, use or disclose their data. (PDPA 2012, section 20)

NRIC, FIN and Work Permit numbers need extra care: organisations generally may collect them only where the law requires, as the Employment Act does for employment records, and PDPC advises against using NRIC numbers to set default passwords. (PDPC: advisory guidelines for NRIC and other national identification numbers)

What to ask: who can see leave reasons and certificates? How do you answer an access request, and what happens to a leaver's data? Where is the data hosted?

7. Mobile access for site staff

A worker on a site in Tuas won't log in at a desk. If a task needs a computer, it ends up back on WhatsApp.

What to ask: can staff apply, approve and upload on a phone? How do they sign in? Many site workers have no company email address, so check this early.

8. Pricing model

Compare the total cost: per-user or per-module pricing, setup fees, and how the price grows with headcount. Check grant support too. The Productivity Solutions Grant stopped taking new applications on 29 September 2026, and new applications now go through the EDGE Grant. (Enterprise Singapore: Productivity Solutions Grant) Its HRMS activity supports up to 50% for SMEs, up to S$10,000, for pre-approved solutions listed on IMDA's SMEs Go Digital. Don't pay a deposit or start the project before you apply, because that makes it ineligible. (Enterprise Singapore: EDGE Grant, HRMS)

What to ask: is the solution on the pre-approved list, and what does the quote cover?

How Cova covers this

Cova is HR software for Singapore SMEs. We're a deployed team. Need something your business relies on? Yes, we build and set this up for your team. Here's what's live today.

Leave. Every new company starts with five leave types: Annual (14 days), Medical (14), Hospitalisation (60), Compassionate (3) and Unpaid. When someone applies, Cova checks their balance and blocks overlapping leave. The request goes to their reporting manager, or to HR if they don't have one. The approver is emailed when it's submitted, and the applicant when it's decided.

Work passes. HR records each person's pass type, number and expiry date on their profile. The number is masked, and only HR can reveal it. HR and the person's direct manager are emailed 90, 60 and 30 days before a pass expires, on the expiry date, and 7 days after if it's still expired, so there's time to plan the renewal instead of scrambling for it. A Work passes page lists what expires within 30, 60 or 90 days, or has already expired. Managers see only their direct reports, without pass numbers.

Training and certificates. Employees browse a course catalogue fed by SkillsFuture data, with course dates that refresh through the day. HR also sees the fees after SkillsFuture funding; employees don't. Courses sort into Safety, Compliance, Certification, Technical and Professional automatically, so Work at Height, scaffold and bizSAFE courses land in Safety. Employees book their own course, and managers can book for their direct reports. HR chooses which courses need a manager's approval. After the class, the employee gets a reminder to upload the certificate 1, 7 and 14 days later until they do, and the file is kept on their record. Need online lessons too? Yes, we build and set this up for your team. When uploading, the employee enters the issue and expiry dates printed on the certificate, or ticks No expiry. HR and the direct manager are emailed 90, 60 and 30 days before a certificate expires, on the expiry date, and 7 days after if it's still expired. Every booking and certificate sits in one Training master list, with a Required but missing tab for mandatory certificates a person's position needs.

Approvals and history. Leave, training and form requests sit in one Approvals inbox, and a request waiting more than 3 days turns red. Nobody can approve their own request. Every step of a training request is recorded with who did it, when and why. Entries in the company Audit log can't be edited or deleted in Cova, by HR or anyone else.

Import. HR imports staff from a CSV file and sees a preview of who will be added and who updated before anything is saved. One error stops the whole import, so nothing half-imports. Courses can be imported by CSV too.

Access and privacy. Cova has six roles, from Employee to Admin. A leave reason is seen only by the person, their approver and HR. A certificate file can only be opened by the employee and HR. Disabling someone's access signs them out everywhere at once. Cova's app and your company data are hosted on servers in Singapore. Ask us about hosting and security.

Mobile. Employees can sign in, apply for leave, browse courses and do their onboarding steps on a phone, and managers can approve from their phone. Each person signs in with an email address and a password. It doesn't have to be a work email: HR can invite anyone on a personal address too.

Pricing. Ask the Cova team for a quote for your headcount and the modules you need.

The steps removed are the ones that eat HR's week: no balances worked out by hand, no approvals buried in chats, no chasing certificates over WhatsApp.

Retirement and re-employment age in Singapore: a 2026 guide for SMEsThe retirement age is 64 and the re-employment age 69 from 1 July 2026. Who qualifies and what HR must do.cova.sg/resources/sg-re-employment-age-guide

Frequently asked questions

What records must a Singapore employer keep?

For employees covered by the Employment Act, MOM requires records such as NRIC number (or work pass number and expiry for non-citizens), date of birth, start and leaving dates, working hours, and leave and public holidays taken. Keep the latest 2 years, and keep ex-employees' records for 1 year after they leave.

Is there a grant for HR software in Singapore?

The Productivity Solutions Grant closed to new applications on 29 September 2026. New applications go through the EDGE Grant, whose HRMS activity supports up to 50% for SMEs, up to S$10,000, for pre-approved solutions. Apply before you pay anything or start the project.

Does Cova track certificate and work pass expiry?

Yes. For work passes, Cova emails HR and the person's direct manager 90, 60 and 30 days before a pass expires, on the expiry date, and 7 days after if it's still expired, and a Work passes page lists what expires within 30, 60 or 90 days. For certificates, the same emails go out 90, 60 and 30 days before a certificate expires, on the expiry date, and 7 days after, and the Training master list shows every certificate with its issue and expiry dates. Cova also reminds workers to upload their certificate after each class and keeps it on their record.

Can Cova run online courses too?

Cova handles finding a course, booking, approval, reminders and certificates for courses run by external training providers. Want in-house online lessons as well? Yes, we build and set this up for your team.

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Rules were checked against the MOM, PDPC, SkillsFuture and Enterprise Singapore websites and Singapore Statutes Online on 15 October 2026. Always check the linked pages for the latest position.