Compare
Humanised vs Simplebooks
Simplebooks is Sri Lankan accounting software with a separate payroll module; Humanised is Sri Lankan HR software with payroll built in and QuickBooks or Xero integration. Choose Simplebooks for books, invoicing and basic payroll from one vendor. Choose Humanised for attendance devices, leave, rosters, contracts, Sinhala payslips and an employee app with payroll, from a flat LKR 10,000 a month.
Humanised
- Price from
- Flat tier: LKR 10,000/month up to 15 employees, LKR 25,000/month up to 50, custom quote above 50. No setup fee. Published on /pricing/
- Company size
- 5 to 5,000 employees, Sri Lanka only
- Deployment
- Cloud; browser plus iOS and Android app; self-serve setup from an Excel import
- Local support
- Phone and WhatsApp (+94 76 443 7726) and email from Colombo, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on working days, and usually later
- Free trial
- Seven-day trial on an account we set up and load with your own staff data; no card
Simplebooks
- Price from
- Accounting software Basic LKR 1,200 per month or LKR 12,000 per year. Payroll is separate: the payroll management service is listed “LKR 3,000 onwards” and the SimpleBooks Payroll / OODOX software “from LKR 10,000 per month”, scaling with headcount, no setup fee (search-snippet figures; the OODOX pages did not load on 3 September 2026).
- Company size
- Start-ups and SMEs for accounting; OODOX positioned for “Sri Lankan enterprises”; 4,500+ businesses claimed
- Deployment
- Cloud, browser; no mobile app found on the app stores
- Local support
- Millennium Tower, Galle Road, Colombo; channels and hours not published on the pages checked
- Free trial
- Accounting: 2-month trial (longer with their company registration service); payroll software: 1-month free trial, no card
Payroll inside accounting software or a separate HR system?
An accounting product’s payroll module typically covers salaries, EPF, ETF and APIT, a payslip and the journal entry into the books. It typically does not cover attendance devices, shift rosters, Shop and Office Act leave rules, digital contracts and HR letters, an employee app, or an HR record for each person. Two setups are sane. Accounting-first: a small office team with simple monthly salaries keeps books and payroll in one product such as Simplebooks. HR-first: a business with shifts, devices, field staff or more than about 20 employees runs HR and payroll in a product such as Humanised and posts the payroll journal into QuickBooks or Xero (or into Simplebooks as a manual journal). The rest of this page shows where each is strong so you can pick the setup, not just the vendor.
Who builds each product
Humanised is HR software with payroll built in, made in Colombo since 2020 for Sri Lankan companies of 5 to 5,000 employees. The books stay in QuickBooks or Xero, which Humanised posts to; attendance devices, leave, contracts, an employee app and Sinhala payslips are part of the product. Three published flat tiers, no setup fee.
Simplebooks is Sri Lankan accounting software and services, founded in 2016 and based at Millennium Tower on Galle Road, Colombo, with offices in Bangladesh and India. The software covers invoicing with multi-currency, income and expense tracking, double-entry books and profit and loss, with tax filing, bookkeeping, company secretarial and business registration sold as services. Payroll is a separate module and service: the payroll software page promises EPF and ETF automation, APIT, payslips, leave and bonuses, and its OODOX product adds attendance tracking.
Feature comparison
| Feature | Humanised | Simplebooks | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price from | Flat LKR tiers, public | Accounting LKR 1,200/month; payroll from LKR 3,000 (service) or LKR 10,000/month (software) | Different units: per company for accounting; payroll priced separately and scaling with headcount |
| Company-size fit | 5–5,000 | Start-ups and SMEs | |
| Deployment | Cloud + app, self-serve | Cloud, browser | No mobile app found |
| Local support hours | Phone/WhatsApp, Colombo | Not listed | Colombo office; hours not on the pages checked |
| Free trial | ✓ | ✓ | 1-month payroll trial; 2-month accounting trial |
| EPF / ETF / APIT built in | ✓ | ✓ | EPF, ETF and APIT named; gratuity, stamp duty, C-form and R1 not named on the payroll page |
| Sinhala payslips | ✓ | Not listed | |
| Employee app | ✓ | Not listed | |
| Attendance devices | ✓ | ~ | OODOX names attendance tracking; device brands not named |
| Leave and rosters | ✓ | ~ | Leave management named; rosters and Shop and Office Act rules not named |
| Contracts / HR letters | ✓ | Not listed | Document storage named |
| QuickBooks / Xero | ✓ | n/a | Simplebooks is its own ledger; no accounting integrations published |
| Invoicing and receivables | Via QuickBooks or Xero | ✓ | Simplebooks core module |
| General ledger and financial statements | Via QuickBooks or Xero | ✓ | Double-entry, P&L |
| VAT / tax filing support | Via QuickBooks or Xero, or your accountant | ✓ | Tax filing sold as a service from LKR 3,000 |
A tick in the Simplebooks column means the feature is named on simplebooks.com/srilanka on the check date. “Not listed” means we could not find it there; it may still exist. Humanised entries are from our own product and pricing page.
What each costs for 15, 30 and 50 staff
| Staff | Humanised (per month) | Simplebooks accounting + payroll software | Humanised + QuickBooks or Xero |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15 | LKR 10,000 (Startup) | LKR 1,200 + from LKR 10,000 = from LKR 11,200 | LKR 10,000 + the accounting plan you choose (QuickBooks and Xero price in USD; roughly LKR 6,000–12,000 a month for a small-business plan at September 2026 rates) |
| 30 | LKR 25,000 (Small Business) | LKR 1,200 + payroll scaling with headcount (quote) | LKR 25,000 + accounting plan |
| 50 | LKR 25,000 (Small Business) | LKR 1,200 + payroll scaling with headcount (quote) | LKR 25,000 + accounting plan |
| Setup fee | None | None published | None |
| Annual | LKR 100,000 (Startup) / LKR 270,000 (Small Business) | LKR 12,000 + payroll | LKR 100,000 / 270,000 + accounting plan |
The honest comparison is the third column: a business that needs accounting as well as HR and payroll pays for an accounting product in either setup. Simplebooks’ payroll price scales with headcount and its OODOX pages did not load on the check date, so the 30 and 50 rows need a quote; Humanised’s tiers are fixed. Confirm VAT treatment on every invoice.
Sources: simplebooks.com/srilanka accounting software, payroll management system and FAQ, 3 September 2026; OODOX figures from search snippets of simplebooks.com/oodox. Humanised tiers from gethumanised.com/pricing/: Startup LKR 10,000/month up to 15 employees, Small Business LKR 25,000/month up to 50, Enterprise custom quote, no setup fee.
What Simplebooks payroll does
Simplebooks’ payroll page (3 September 2026) promises to “run your payroll online in less than 5 minutes”, with EPF and ETF calculation and registration help, APIT, payslips, leave management and reports, bonuses and document storage, and a one-month free trial with no card. Its OODOX product adds attendance tracking and statutory reports. Sinhala payslips, gratuity, stamp duty, the C-form and R1 and a mobile app were not named on the pages checked; ask Simplebooks directly about each before you rely on it.
What Humanised adds for HR and payroll
Attendance from ZKTeco and HikVision devices and the GPS app, shift rosters, leave under the Shop and Office Act with first-year proration, digital contracts and HR letters, an employee app with Sinhala payslips, loans and expense claims, gratuity and stamp duty in every run, the C-form, R1/R4, T10 and annual statement generated, bank transfer files, and QuickBooks and Xero posting. Accountants can run several client companies under one login.
Which one should you choose?
Choose Humanised if…
- Your payroll depends on attendance (biometric devices, shifts, overtime, no-pay) or field staff on a GPS app, and you want it flowing into pay without spreadsheets.
- You need leave rules, digital contracts, HR letters and an employee app with Sinhala payslips, and your books are in QuickBooks or Xero, or with an accountant who uses them.
- You have, or will soon have, more than about 20 employees and want one HR record per person, not just a pay line.
Choose Simplebooks if…
- You are a small office-based team with simple monthly salaries and you want invoicing, books and payroll from one vendor with one relationship.
- You already keep your books in Simplebooks and your accountant is happy there; adding its payroll module is the least change.
- Your priority is accounting, tax filing and company secretarial work, and HR is a folder, not a system.
Switching from Simplebooks to Humanised
Path A, HR-first: export employees and year-to-date payroll from Simplebooks, import to Humanised from Excel, run one month in parallel, connect QuickBooks or Xero for the journal (or move the books too), and cut over at month start or 1 April. Path B, keep Simplebooks for accounting: run payroll in Humanised and post the monthly payroll summary into Simplebooks as a manual journal; Humanised does not integrate directly with Simplebooks today. No setup fee either way; check your Simplebooks plan terms.
See Humanised on a 20-minute call
A live walkthrough with the LKR pricing, a real CSV import and your own payroll questions. Or message us on WhatsApp at +94 76 443 7726.
Book a demoFrequently asked questions
Is Simplebooks an HR system or accounting software?
Accounting software and services, with a separate payroll module and an attendance product called OODOX. It is not an HR system: employee app, contracts, rosters and Shop and Office Act leave rules are not listed.
Does Simplebooks payroll handle EPF, ETF and APIT?
Yes. Its payroll page names EPF and ETF calculation, APIT, payslips, leave and bonuses. Gratuity, stamp duty, the C-form and R1 were not named on the pages checked.
Can I use Humanised for payroll and keep Simplebooks for my accounts?
Yes. Run payroll in Humanised and post the monthly payroll summary into Simplebooks as a manual journal.
Does Humanised integrate with Simplebooks?
No, not directly. Humanised posts to QuickBooks and Xero; for Simplebooks the payroll journal is entered from the payroll summary.
Which is cheaper for a company with 30 employees, Humanised or Simplebooks?
Humanised is LKR 25,000 a month for HR and payroll. Simplebooks is LKR 1,200 a month for accounting plus a payroll price that scales with headcount, from LKR 10,000 a month for the software; a business that needs accounting too should add an accounting plan to the Humanised figure.
Which one supports fingerprint attendance machines and shift rosters?
Humanised, with ZKTeco and HikVision terminals, a GPS app and rosters. Simplebooks’ OODOX names attendance tracking; device brands and rosters are not named.
Can I get Sinhala payslips from Simplebooks or Humanised?
Humanised issues payslips in Sinhala or English. Sinhala payslips are not listed on simplebooks.com/srilanka.
How do I move my payroll from Simplebooks to Humanised?
Export employees and year-to-date payroll, import to Humanised from Excel, run one month in parallel, connect QuickBooks or Xero (or keep Simplebooks for the books with a manual journal), and cut over at month end. No setup fee; the free trial covers the parallel run.
Simplebooks is a trademark of its owner. Humanised is not affiliated with Simplebooks. Competitor facts were checked on simplebooks.com/srilanka on 3 September 2026; tell us at inquire@gethumanised.com if something has changed. Third-party figures are named where used.