Dakar

What Dakar does

Dakar Software Systems Ltd. is a Malta-based, privately held software vendor that has built and maintained integrated HR and payroll solutions for over 30 years. The company's flagship offering is a modular suite — Dakar Payroll, Personnel (HR), Absence Management, Time & Attendance, Rostering, Training Management, Recruitment, Performance Appraisals, Employee Portal, and Dashboards & Reporting — engineered around a fully integrated data layer (the proprietary Dakar Grid interface) with deployment options spanning on-premise Windows, the web-based DakiNet intranet portal, and the cloud-native Salaroo platform launched in 2001. The company complements its software with a hardware line (fingerprint readers, multi-biometric and facial-recognition terminals such as iClock 680, SpeedFace-V4L/V5L, ProFace X, TA1200) and native mobile apps (WorkAttend geo-punching, Emplara absence management, Recruitment Notification). In 2023 it became the first Maltese vendor to integrate HR/payroll with blockchain for immutable employment-contract records, and it plans a 2026 EU Pay Transparency Dashboard module to address upcoming directive obligations.

Revenue is generated through a mix of software licensing and recurring subscriptions (with multi-year maintenance contracts covering legislative updates), biometric hardware sales, professional services/implementation, and managed cloud-hosting. Pricing is quote-based, enterprise-tier, with multi-year contract cadence and a stated addressable footprint spanning organizations from 6 to 40,000 employees. Go-to-market is direct enterprise field sales with dedicated account managers and an industry-event presence (TechXpo, HR GIG8, Flow22, Ministry for Health Workforce Strategy launch); no channel partner or reseller network is in evidence.

The customer base spans Maltese government (notably a €2.3M, five-year MITA contract covering 45,000 employees and €40M/month in gross payroll), banking (Bank of Valletta, HSBC Malta, APS Bank, MSV Life), healthcare (Mater Dei, Ministry for Health), hospitality (Corinthia Hotels across 12 countries), professional services (KPMG, PwC), telecom (Melita), and 2,000+ SMBs on Salaroo. Offices are based in St Julians (HQ), London (UK), and Karachi (Pakistan); founder-CEO David Schranz remains in leadership alongside COO David Catania and CTO James Cilia. The firm carries ISO 9001 and ISO 27001:2022 certifications and is SEPA-compliant for payroll disbursement.

Name

Dakar

Legal name

Dakar Software Systems Ltd.

Website

https://dakarsoftware.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1994

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Dakar Software Systems is a privately held Maltese software vendor that builds integrated HR and payroll suites — payroll, personnel, time and attendance, recruitment, performance and employee self-service — for Maltese government, banks, healthcare and SMBs, complemented by biometric hardware and mobile apps under brands including Salaroo, DakiNet and WorkAttend.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

HR and Payroll Software

NAICS

Software Publishers (5132), Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (5182)

SIC

Services-Prepackaged Software (7372), Services-Computer Processing & Data Preparation (7374)

akta.pro primary industry

Payroll Software & Payroll-as-a-Service (SaaS) (BPACAIAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Public Sector & Government ERP (HDAEAEAG), Managed Workplace Services (DaaS/Workplace-as-a-Service) (BPAEAIAA)

Keywords

• Payroll software
• HR management software
• Time attendance systems
• Biometric attendance devices
• Cloud payroll platform

Headquarters

HQ city

Valletta

HQ country

Malta

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Software Licenses and Subscriptions: Dakar Payroll and HR software offered as both on-premise and cloud-based solutions. Cloud hosting allows individuals and companies to work from anywhere. Software maintained through maintenance contracts that provide free updates for legislative changes.
2. Biometric Hardware Sales: Sale of time and attendance devices including fingerprint readers, face recognition scanners, multi-bio identification devices, and related accessories.
3. Professional Services: Implementation consulting, software support, and configuration services. Dedicated account managers provide ongoing support and software training.
4. Managed Services: Cloud hosting services for all products, enabling remote access and operational continuity. Shared services on enterprise-wide basis using software-as-a-service approach.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Dakar Software Systems develops and sells a fully integrated human resources and payroll software suite for enterprises and government organizations. Its modular offerings span Payroll, Personnel, Absence Management, Time and Attendance, Rostering, Training, Recruitment, Performance Appraisals, Employee Portal, and Dashboards, delivered as on-premise DakiNet installations or cloud-based Salaroo subscriptions and complemented by biometric time-clocking hardware and native mobile apps such as WorkAttend and Emplara.

Product overview

Dakar Software Systems offers a modular, fully integrated HR and payroll suite known as DakarHR, consisting of core software products and complementary hardware devices. The core software portfolio includes Dakar Payroll, Personnel (HR), Absence Management, Time & Attendance, Rostering & Scheduling, Training Management, Recruitment, Performance Appraisals, Employee Portal, and Dashboards & Reporting—all designed to work together as an integrated people management solution. The suite is available through multiple deployment options: the Windows-based DakiNet platform, web-based HR Suite, and the cloud-based Salaroo sub-brand launched in 2001. Mobile apps (WorkAttend, Emplara, Recruitment Notification) extend functionality to employees in the field. Hardware devices including fingerprint readers (iClock 680), face scanners (SpeedFace-V4L, SpeedFace-V5L, ProFace X), and multi-biometric terminals complement the software with physical attendance tracking capabilities. The EU Pay Transparency Dashboard serves as an add-on module for regulatory compliance.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Salaroo: Cloud-based payroll system launched in Malta since 2001. Salaroo is a sub-brand providing payroll solutions.
• DakiNet
• WorkAttend
• Emplara

Products and services

• Dakar Payroll Fully user-definable payroll package with computation across any payroll frequency, mandatory Inland Revenue and Social Security reports, in-depth reporting, handling of complex work patterns, SEPA payments, and integration across all Dakar HR modules. Built for Maltese and enterprise organizations running multi-frequency, multi-company payroll with statutory reporting.
• Personnel (HR) Comprehensive HR module storing and managing employee data, organizational structures and personnel records with full integration across the Dakar suite.
• Absence Management Module for tracking and managing employee absences including annual leave, sick leave and other time-off requests, with approval workflows and entitlement tracking.
• Time and Attendance Time and attendance tracking module integrating with biometric hardware (fingerprint, face recognition, multi-bio readers) and the WorkAttend mobile geo-punching app to capture employee clock-in/clock-out events.
• Rostering and Scheduling Module for creating and managing employee work schedules, shifts and staff assignments.
• Training Management Module for managing employee training programs, tracking training sessions, certifications and skills development.
• Recruitment Full-cycle recruitment management including vacancy management, CV matching, interview scheduling, equal opportunity monitoring, and automated conversion of selected applicants into payroll employees.
• Performance Appraisals Performance management module supporting joint goal-setting, continuous progress review, feedback and coaching, and performance documentation aligned with organizational objectives.
• Employee Portal Employee self-service portal allowing staff to access personal information, request leave, view payslips and manage HR-related activities independently.
• Dashboards and Reporting Reporting and data visualization module featuring the proprietary Dakar Grid interface for viewing, filtering, bulk editing and exporting data to Excel or CSV, with predefined and custom-built reports and mail-merge capability.
• DakiNet Online personnel management suite and global intranet portal providing centralized HR management accessible over the internet via Dakar's secure server hosting; live in production across multiple countries including at International Hotel Investments plc's 12 Corinthia properties since June 2012.
• Salaroo Malta's first cloud-based payroll platform, launched in 2001 and used by more than 2,000 companies worldwide to run payroll in the cloud.
• WorkAttend Geo-Punching App Mobile geo-fencing time and attendance app with device registration, GPS tracking, geofence restrictions, and manual approval for punches outside designated areas.
• Emplara Absence Management App Native mobile app enabling employees to book annual leave, request sick leave, track allowances and submit requests through an in-built calendar and review workflow.
• Recruitment Notification App Native mobile app supporting the Recruitment module with automated notifications, bulk processing, interview scheduling and candidate communication throughout the recruitment lifecycle.
• EU Pay Transparency Dashboard Dashboard add-on module helping employers prepare for EU Pay Transparency requirements, Gender Pay Gap Analysis and EU Reporting obligations under the Pay Transparency Directive.
• iClock 680 Fingerprint Reader Biometric fingerprint reader with capacity for 8,000 fingerprints and 10,000 ID cards, supporting up to 200,000 transaction records. Features TCP/IP and USB connectivity, optional Wi-Fi, and access control interfaces for third-party electric locks and alarms.
• SpeedFace-V4L Face Scanner High-speed biometric access control and time attendance terminal with visible light facial recognition and optional palm recognition, supporting up to 30,000 face templates, 150,000 transactions, with anti-spoofing protection across varied lighting conditions.
• SpeedFace-V5L Face Scanner Advanced biometric terminal with up to 50,000 face templates and 5,000 palm templates, IP68 waterproof rating, 0.3-second facial verification, liveness detection, and operation in extreme temperatures from -30°C to 60°C.
• ProFace X Face Scanner Cutting-edge standalone access control device with visible light facial recognition, 8-inch IK04 touch screen, up to 30,000 facial templates (expandable to 50,000), and advanced palm recognition supporting 5,000 templates.
• Multi Bio Identification (TA1200) Multiple biometric identification device combining face, fingerprint, PIN recognition and optional RFID with 20 verification methods, storing 1,500 face and 4,000 fingerprint templates and Wiegand connectivity for third-party access control panels.

Quantifiable outcome

• 155,000 employees paid through Dakar systems worldwide
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers16 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

AI capability1 record

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered flagship and notable.

• Ministry for Health MaltaflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 November 2022DakarHR solution deployed at Ministry for Health institutions as part of the National Health Workforce Strategy launch. CEO David Schranz explained benefits of centralized system catering for individual needs of various MFH institutions at the November 2022 conference.
• International Hotel Investments plc (Corinthia Hotels)notableStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2012IHI deployed DakiNet online personnel management suite for their worldwide HR requirements. Installation went live in June 2012 processing HR across twelve Corinthia Hotel properties in Budapest, Khartoum, Lisbon, London, Malta, Prague, St Petersburg, Tripoli and Taormina. This represents international expansion of Dakar's solutions beyond Malta.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Direct peers

• SD Worx: Leading European HR and payroll service provider headquartered in Belgium, with strong presence in SMEs and mid-market across multiple EU countries. Directly comparable to Dakar as a full-suite payroll/HR vendor targeting regulated European markets with localisation depth.
• Zalaris: Nordic-headquartered HR and payroll outsourcing and SaaS provider serving mid-market and enterprise across Northern and Western Europe. Highly comparable in business model — integrated payroll/HR with localisation for local employment law and statutory reporting.

Regional players

• Unit4: European cloud ERP and HCM provider headquartered in the Netherlands, focused on people-centric mid-market and public-sector organisations. Comparable to Dakar in targeting European regulated mid-market and government segments with localised HR/payroll.
• Visma: Nordic-based provider of business software including HR, payroll, and ERP to SMEs and the public sector across Northern Europe. Comparable in business model — modular HR/payroll suite for regulated European markets with strong localisation.

Emerging players

• Ramco Global Payroll & HR: Cloud payroll and HR platform with strong blockchain-based payroll innovations and emerging presence in EMEA. Comparable to Dakar's blockchain-HR positioning and cloud-native payroll focus, though operating at significantly larger scale.

Broad incumbents

• Ceridian / Dayforce: Global cloud HCM platform (formerly Ceridian) offering payroll, benefits, workforce management, and talent. Competes in the same enterprise payroll/HR category as Dakar, with broader functionality but less local market specialisation.
• Workday: Cloud-native enterprise platform spanning HR, payroll, and finance, increasingly localising payroll for European markets. Represents the cloud-architecture benchmark that established payroll vendors like Dakar are measured against.
• ADP (Automatic Data Processing): World's largest payroll and HR services provider, operating across all major European markets through ADP Streamline, ADP Celergo, and similar products. Broad incumbent competing in the same mid-market and multinational payroll segment.
• Sage HR: SMB-focused HR and people-management platform from Sage Group with European footprint. Comparable to Dakar's Salaroo SMB segment targeting Maltese and European small businesses with cloud-based payroll.
• SAP SuccessFactors: Enterprise HCM suite from SAP with global payroll coverage including European jurisdictions. Broad incumbent competing for large-enterprise and government HR/payroll contracts that Dakar also targets.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/DakarSoftware
• Facebookfacebook.com/DakarSoftware
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/dakar-software-systems

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Dakar