At DataOn, we know that software updates aren’t just about ticking feature checkboxes. They’re about reducing daily friction, unlocking smarter ways of working, and giving HR teams room to lead.
In Q4 2025, we focused on fine-tuning the inner workings of SunFish HR to meet the evolving needs of companies operating across Southeast Asia. This release doesn’t introduce major new modules but that’s because we’ve been busy reinforcing what already matters: payroll accuracy, process speed, user trust, and compliance clarity. From batch payroll approvals to faster leave checks and improved localization, these upgrades are about building the kind of HR system you can count on—day after day.
We have deepened the functionality of tools you use every day- making them smarter, more localized, and more intuitive for both HR and employees. Here is a look at the most impactful enhancements from our latest update and how they help your organization stay agile.
1. Global Scalability: Multi-Company & Multi-Country Defaults
For organizations operating across borders or managing multiple entities, consistency is often the biggest hurdle. Our latest framework update introduces Multi-Company & Multi-Country Default Data.
Setting up new entities used to require manual configuration to ensure global standards were met while respecting local nuances. Now, SunFish allows for centralized default data management. When a new company is created for a specific country, the system can automatically duplicate template data into the new entity. It’s a “set once, apply everywhere” approach that significantly reduces the margin for error during expansion.
Why It Matters
2. Localization & Regional Compliance: Stronger Support, Country by Country
SunFish continues to deepen its local compliance coverage. In the Q4 update we’ve fine-tuned statutory compliance and payroll logic across Indonesia, Malaysia, and Vietnam — giving local HR teams the confidence to close payroll without post-processing tweaks.
Malaysia: SOCSO & EIS Enhanced Automation
- Automatically include SOCSO and EIS payments based on employee category.
- New logic to adjust contributions based on resignation date or contract type.
- Tax-borne calculations by percentage.
- Dependent details now included in payroll reports.
- Option to calculate tax-borne amounts as a percentage.
- Consolidated Tax & Insurance Branch Management.
Reimbursement processing for Malaysia is now also more aligned with operational realities:
- Auto-Cap Claims to Remaining Balance: When employees submit claims above their limit, the system now automatically suggests a capped valid amount.
- Flexible Per Diem Modes: Choose between per diem by day or by night — no more misalignments with company policy.
- Future-Dated Claims Control: Admins can restrict claims with receipt dates in the future — adding another layer of data integrity.
Indonesia: Final Pay Rule Improvements
- Enhanced logic for calculating prorated components based on end date.
- More flexibility in setting up BPJS and THR (religious holiday bonus) treatments for specific exit scenarios.
- Improved branch movement tax calculations.
- New BIK (benefit-in-kind) reporting support.
- NITKU spouse data upload during payroll import.
- Monthly eligibility logic for DTP 2025 tax incentives.
Vietnam: SHUI & Union Configurations:
- Enhanced Vietnamese statutory data mapping.
- SHUI (Social/Health/Unemployment Insurance) configuration updated.
- Currency conversion for SHUI.
- Flexible union contribution logic by type/rate/employee settings.
- Streamlined statutory and payroll processing menu.
Why It Matters
3. Smarter Reporting & Dynamic Approvals
SunFish Report continues to evolve as a powerful analytics and approval engine. The Q4 updates focus on giving HR teams greater control and reduce the need for custom reporting workarounds.
- Dynamic Signature Rules: Say goodbye to hardcoded approvers. SFReports now support dynamic signature formulas that select the right signatory based on runtime logic and pre-set rules. This means reports can automatically pull the correct authorized signature based on the data, making your automated reporting truly “hands-off.”
- Simplified Totals: New toggles allow users to show or hide grand totals and subtotals for cleaner report formatting.
- Drag-and-Drop Upgraded: Our drag interface now runs on a modern React kit for better browser support and smoother performance.
- Export Improvements: Charts can now be downloaded as PDFs with base64 conversion — especially helpful for board reports and audit-ready documentation.
Why It Matters
4. Upgraded Document Management: From URLs to Local Extraction
Document management is the silent engine of HR. In this release, our Document Management System (DMS) saw a wave of usability upgrades, designed to reduce manual steps and to make it more versatile. It’s not just where you store things—it’s how you collaborate on them.
- Save URLs as File References: You can now treat external web links—like Google Drive or OneDrive documents—just like uploaded files within the DMS. This keeps all your project resources in one place without duplicating storage.
- ZIP File Extraction: No more downloading a ZIP file just to see what’s inside. You can now extract ZIP files directly within the SunFish DMS, saving time and storage space.
- Collaborative Project Folders: Folders under “Projects” can now be shared across user groups with consistent folder paths.
- Secure Downloads: We’ve enhanced the file download mechanism with a new secure DMS endpoint that supports both single and multiple file downloads, ensuring your data remains protected even when it leaves the platform.
Initials-Based Signing: Need lightweight document sign-off? Users can now “sign” internal documents with initials instead of full digital signatures — keeping accountability without slowing things down.
These updates are about flexibility. Whether your team’s managing contracts, payroll documents, or internal memos, DMS now adapts better to how you work.
Why It Matters
5. Enhanced Security and System Control
Integrating security and system control into daily operations is no longer just a “nice-to-have” feature; it’s essential for protecting sensitive employee data. While many of our Q4 updates focus on the user experience, we’ve also made significant strides “under the hood” to strengthen the security of your data and provide administrators with better monitoring tools.
- Token-Based File Downloads: We’ve retired the legacy URL method in favor of token-secured download links, improving protection against unauthorized access.
- Patch Monitoring Dashboard: Admins can now view applied database and service patches in one place — simplifying compliance, version control, and troubleshooting.
- Golang Authentication Engine: Core authentication functions (login, SSO, 2FA, etc.) are now powered by Go (Golang) for better performance and scalability across high-load environments.
- Operational Visibility: Large data tasks are no longer a “black box.” A new Initialization Progress Window provides clear status bars for system processes, while Unique Validation for Claims prevents duplicate financial entries by checking receipt numbers across the organization.
- Field-Level Access by Position: You can now restrict visibility of sensitive fields (e.g., salary, ID number) by employee level—not just by role.
- Simplified Role Inheritance: Permissions inherited across roles now behave more predictably, making it easier to delegate securely.
- Improved Session Tracking: Enhanced logs make it easier for system admins to monitor suspicious behavior or concurrent logins.
These enhancements support stronger compliance in increasingly complex HR environments—especially for regional and multi-entity employers.
Why It Matters
6. Customer Support Integration: A Unified Helpdesk Experience
SunFish is no longer just where you run HR—it’s now where you request support too. With this release, we retire our legacy external ticketing system and move all client support into the SunFish Helpdesk module, which now supports both internal and client-facing requests through two distinct license tiers.
What’s New
License-Separated Helpdesk Access
Clients now use the same robust Helpdesk module trusted by internal teams—securely separated by license. The dual Helpdesk model includes:
- Helpdesk Ticket License (Free Tier – Code: SF117)
Allows up to 5 client users to submit tickets directly to the SunFish support team, right from within the application. - Helpdesk Internal License(Paid Add-On – Code: SF131)
Expands functionality to support internal ticketing and adds:- Employee-to-employee ticket submission
- Admin control over which users can escalate to SunFish
- SLA tracking, categories, priorities, and full workflow control
Single Entry Point
Submit, track, and resolve issues directly from within your SunFish HRIS. No more switching platforms or lost ticket links.
Retirement of the Legacy Ticketing System
All support interactions are now handled via the embedded SunFish Helpdesk. The standalone external system will be discontinued.
Fully Embedded Navigation
All helpdesk features—ticket lists, SLAs, FAQs—are accessible via the standard menu, providing a consistent experience for clients and internal teams alike.
Why It Matters
7. Time Off & Attendance: Real-Time Clarity for Employees and HR
Time tracking and time off doesn’t happen in a vacuum. They affect teams, timelines, and coverage. With the Q4 update, we’ve made it easier to plan, bringing new logic and improved self-check capabilities to remove guesswork on leave planning, validations, timesheet entries and more:
- Leave Eligibility Checker: Employees now get instant feedback on leave eligibility—including whether their remaining balance covers the dates selected and whether public holidays overlap. Warnings appear before submission, helping users avoid rejected requests.
- See Colleagues’ Approved Leaves during their selected timeframe (if permitted), helping them avoid conflicts.
- Respect Visibility Rules based on team, location, or organizational hierarchy, so sensitive data stays protected.
- Avoid Peak Load Periods with real-time guidance—reducing overlapping leaves that could compromise operations.
- Bring Forward Leave Logic: Admins can choose whether to deduct leave from carryover first or restrict it to within the rollover period.
- Attendance Validation via Wi-Fi: For office-based teams, you can now require employees to be connected to a specific registered Wi-Fi network to validate their attendance. This provides an extra layer of security for on-site requirements.
- Flexible Leave Rounding: New settings allow rounding leave balances to the nearest 1, 0.5, 0.25, etc. This allows companies with unique policies—like half-day increments—to automate their calculations more accurately.
- Project Transparency: The Time & Attendance page now displays a summary of Budgeted vs. Actual Man Days, helping managers track budget utilization in real-time.
- Attendance Reports Until Termination: Employee attendance data can now be filtered up to the termination date for cleaner audits.
- The system now includes stricter checks on attendance claims—like ensuring overtime only applies to eligible days and cross-referencing against real shift rosters.
Why It Matters
8. Performance & Growth: Refined Evaluations & Training
Talent tools don’t just track—they shape how people learn and grow. That is why, we have refined our talent management features to be more inclusive and transparent, focusing on the quality of feedback and ease of use.
- Dual Roles for Raters: We’ve solved a common conflict where a user might be both a rater and an approver in the same cycle. Users can now input their evaluations seamlessly without workflow bottlenecks.
- Anonymous vs. Non-Anonymous Tracking: To balance honesty with accountability, administrators can now toggle between anonymous and non-anonymous rater lists, giving HR better visibility into the progress of the evaluation process.
- Localized Training: Scheduling global training sessions is now easier with multi-timezone support in the Training module, ensuring that participants in Jakarta and Singapore see the correct local time for their sessions.
And while not a new feature set, several AI-supported upgrades were added to these modules as well:
- AI-Powered Quiz Generation: Training courses can now auto-generate quiz questions based on uploaded content or learning modules.
- Pre & Post Test Assessments: Compare participant knowledge before and after training for real outcome tracking.
- Feedback Summary with AI: Participant feedback is now summarized automatically — helping L&D teams improve courses faster.
Why It Matters
9. Everyday Admin Wins: Less Clicking, More Doing
Every HR admin knows the feeling: clicking one more time than you should. Over time, even the best systems accumulate “small frictions”—extra fields, outdated logic, missing auto-fills, or inconsistent dropdowns that slow you down. With this update, we fixed a bunch of them across modules.
- CRM Admin for Non-Sales
You can now assign non-sales employees as CRM Admins. This is perfect for HR or Finance teams who need to manage CRM data or conduct audits without needing a full salesperson seat. - Automated Salary Letters
The system can now automatically send salary increment letters to either an employee’s personal or company email based on your specific parameters. - Clearance Reminders
To streamline offboarding and improve onboarding accuracy, SunFish now facilitates multi-company clearance roles, and better ‘outstanding items’-filter. Moreover, passive users and ESS users will now see outstanding clearance reminders directly on their dashboard. - Dynamic Tabs in Evaluation Setup
Tabs and sections now appear only when relevant in performance and onboarding evaluations—making the setup process faster and less error-prone. - System Document Uploads with Auto-Titles
When uploading internal documents (e.g. contracts, SOPs), the system can now auto-fill document titles and categories based on filename patterns or HRIS tags. - Approval for Employee Photos
HR can now configure workflows to approve or reject profile photo changes. - Bank Account Auto-Apply
One-click propagation of bank details to payroll payment methods — less data duplication, fewer errors. - Auto-Populated Offboarding Dates
When offboarding an employee, the system now pre-fills likely last working dates and pay-through periods based on notice period and contract terms. - Improved Field Mapping in Key Workflows
Whether it’s evaluation forms, approval routing, or document templates, field values now carry over more intelligently—so you don’t need to reselect the same job grade, department, or level again and again.
Why It Matters
Final Thoughts: Growing Up Without Slowing Down
Q4’s updates might not look flashy at first glance—but beneath the surface, they’re powerful. Every improvement — big or small — reflects a deep understanding of the challenges HR faces day to day. They show our continued commitment to the HR teams who use SunFish routinely—not just to get the job done, but to make the work better, smoother, and more human. No hype. No gimmicks. Just good software growing with you.
Thank you to all our customers and partners for your feedback and trust. We can’t wait to show you what’s coming in 2026.
Let’s build better HR together!
