---
title: Shadow Payroll Platform | Certino
description: Our cloud-based shadow payroll platform simplifies the tax management of globally mobile workforces. Manage shadow payroll processes with ease with Certino
image: https://www.certino.com/hubfs/march-2021/globals/hero.png
---

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# Messy data in, payroll-ready numbers out.

##### Turn complex global pay data into figures payroll can trust.

Certino brings together compensation data from your existing sources, checks it, and turns it into accurate hypo tax, gross-up and shadow payroll figures. Use our platform, or build it into yours.

 

[See how it works](https://www.certino.com/shadow-payroll-partners?hsLang=en)

![certino-hero-visual-v3](https://www.certino.com/hubfs/certino-hero-visual-v3.png)

## Trusted by global employers and the firms that advise them

![certino-logo-strip](https://www.certino.com/hubfs/certino-logo-strip.png) ![certino-logo-strip](https://www.certino.com/hubfs/certino-logo-strip.png)

## Why teams choose Certino

From raw compensation data to payroll-ready figures, with every number explained. Global payroll runs on control, not guesswork.

- **Data checked before it's calculated.** Certino collects pay, benefits and expenses from your existing sources and flags gaps and errors before they reach a calculation or a payslip.
- **Same inputs, same answer, every time.** Every result uses fixed rules and up-to-date logic. That covers regional taxes, social security and local payroll methods, so figures are easy to review, explain and audit.
- **Works with what you already have.** Certino sits upstream of your current payroll, tax and HR providers. You don't need to move systems, and your established processes stay as they are.
- **Use it directly, or power your own service.** Run Certino in-house, or build it into your own offering. Partners get one trusted calculation layer across every client and country.

[About us](https://www.certino.com/about-us?hsLang=en)

Your existing sources

Payroll-ready outputs

HR system Salary & allowances

Payroll export Year-to-date actuals

Expenses report Housing, school fees

Mobility provider Assignment dates, host

Benefits provider Pension, medical

FX rates Monthly rates

Assignment policy Set up once, applied every run

![certino-logo-white-orange](https://www.certino.com/hs-fs/hubfs/certino-logo-white-orange.png?width=170&height=41&name=certino-logo-white-orange.png)

Centralise › Check › Calculate

**UK** 42 assignees Ready

**DE** 18 assignees Ready

**US** 27 assignees **!**Needs review

**MX** 9 assignees Ready

**CH** 6 assignees Ready

102

calculations, payroll-ready, every number explained

## How Certino fits into the payroll process

Certino sits between your data and your delivery. It takes pay, benefits and expenses from the systems you already use and hands payroll-ready figures to everyone downstream, with actuals reconciled at year end.

![Where Certino fits in the assignment lifecycle](https://www.certino.com/hubfs/certino-lifecycle-dark_2.png) ![Diagram showing Certino as the calculation layer between pre-assignment, assignment and pay steps and payroll, comp statements and tax returns, fed by HR, payroll, expenses and mobility data.](https://www.certino.com/hubfs/certino-lifecycle-mobile_1.png)

### Shadow payroll you can check, explain and trust

Shadow payroll is complex by nature: multiple countries, changing tax rules, gross-ups, hypo tax and tight deadlines. Certino brings it under control.

- **One source of truth for global comp.** Scattered HR, payroll and expense data is centralised and checked well before payroll cut-off.
- **Every number shows its workings.** See exactly how each figure was reached, so reviews, employee queries and audits are quick.
- **Gross-ups done properly.** Regional taxes, social security, local payroll methods and your company policy are all built into every calculation.
- **An annual true-up, not an annual scramble.** Actuals are reconciled against what was reported, then recalculated.
- **Works with your existing providers.** Certino sits upstream of your advisers and payroll providers, with no system changes.

<https://www.certino.com/partners?hsLang=en>

[Learn more](https://www.certino.com/shadow-payroll-partners?hsLang=en)

![certino-direct-visual-v2](https://www.certino.com/hubfs/certino-direct-visual-v2.png)

### The calculation layer behind your expat payroll service

Certino gives tax, payroll and mobility providers one platform to centralise client data, run every cross-border calculation, and deliver payroll-ready figures in any country. It's your service and your brand, running on our engine.

- **Every client's data in one place.** Pay, benefits and expenses come together from the systems your clients already use, and are checked before anything is calculated.
- **One set of rules for every client.** The same inputs give the same answer, whoever runs it and wherever. You stop rebuilding country logic in spreadsheets.
- **Year-end true-ups built in.** Reconcile actuals against what was reported and recalculate, without a separate project every year.
- **You keep the client.** Use our platform, or build Certino into yours. We stay in the background.

[Contact us](https://www.certino.com/book-a-consultation?hsLang=en)

![certino-partner-visual-v2](https://www.certino.com/hubfs/certino-partner-visual-v2.png)

## What makes Certino different

![certino-different-engine-wide](https://www.certino.com/hubfs/certino-different-engine-wide.png)

### A specialist engine, not a bolt-on

- **Built for cross-border pay from day one**  
  Hypo tax, gross-ups, shadow payroll and true-ups are the core product. They aren't add-ons to a domestic payroll system or a general tax tool.
- **One right answer, every time**  
  Certino's logic is deterministic. There are no judgement calls hidden, and results don't drift between teams, advisers or countries.
- **Rules updated once, used everywhere**  
  When tax rules change, they're updated centrally in the engine. Every calculation for every client uses the latest logic.

![certino-different-scale-wide](https://www.certino.com/hubfs/certino-different-scale-wide.png)

### Built to run every month, at scale

- **Scale, not heroics**  
  Monthly runs don't depend on one expert, manual fixes or late nights before cut-off. Adding countries or assignees doesn't add chaos.
- **A layer, not a replacement**  
  Certino sits upstream of payroll and tax delivery. Your advisers and payroll providers stay exactly where they are.
- **Built to power firms, not compete with them**  
  Tax, payroll and mobility providers use Certino behind their own service. We never go after their clients.

“

> We work on a country-by-country basis, so delivering a single report in the Certino system and immediately providing shadow payroll results was very advantageous to us. This combination of benefits makes Certino unique as a shadow payroll provider.

![benjamin-mueller-2](https://www.certino.com/hubfs/benjamin-mueller-2.jpg)

**Benjamin Mueller** Senior Tax Specialist 

![Siemens](https://www.certino.com/hubfs/logo-siemens-2.png)

> Certino has been a game changer for Cartus and our clients in the mobility space. What was once a complex, highly manual process is now more efficient, with fewer touchpoints and a better overall experience for our clients and their mobile employees.

![beth-schaedel-1](https://www.certino.com/hubfs/beth-schaedel-1.jpeg)

**Elizabeth Schaedel** Director Global Wage and Compensation Reporting 

![Cartus](https://www.certino.com/hubfs/logo-cartus-1.png)

‹

›

![iso-27001-1](https://www.certino.com/hubfs/iso-27001-1.png) ![aicpa](https://www.certino.com/hubfs/march-2021/globals/aicpa.png) ![gdpr](https://www.certino.com/hubfs/gdpr.png)

![certino-white](https://www.certino.com/hubfs/march-2021/globals/certino-white.svg)

###### Links

- [Platform](https://www.certino.com/shadow-payroll-partners)
- [Managed shadow payroll](https://www.certino.com/managed-service)
- [Research & insights](https://www.certino.com/blog)
- [Book a demo](https://www.certino.com/book-a-consultation)

###### Contact

- [info@certino.com](mailto:enquiries@certino.com)
- [![linkedin](https://www.certino.com/hubfs/linkedin.svg)](https://www.linkedin.com/company/certino/)

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