HR & people software guide for Romania 2026

This guide explains, step by step, how to choose, implement and run HR software that complies with Romanian law: time tracking, leave, contracts, REGES-ONLINE, payroll preparation, recruitment, onboarding and reviews. It is written for HR managers, entrepreneurs and Romanian companies moving from Excel files to a digital staff record system. All legal references and figures are valid for 2026.

How it works

1. Audit your current HR processes: how many employees you have, how you track time, where the files are, and which filings you submit (REGES, D112, labor-inspectorate declarations).
2. Choose HR software with native support for Romanian law (Labor Code, REGES-ONLINE, GDPR) — not a translated generic platform.
3. Migrate personnel files and data: contracts, addenda, ID numbers, roles, salaries and existing leave balances.
4. Configure time tracking and the leave policy: work schedule, shifts, public holidays, leave types and day balances.
5. Connect the records to REGES-ONLINE and prepare the data for payroll (joiners/leavers, salary changes, monthly timesheets).
6. Turn on the recruitment, onboarding and review flows: job ads, candidates, hiring checklists and performance objectives.
7. Launch reports and the self-service portal so employees request leave online and view payslips without manual emails.

What HR software is and which modules it covers

HR software centralizes all personnel data and automates records, time tracking, leave and filings in a single place.

Digital employee file: personal data, contracts, addenda, documents and history, all in one place.
Time tracking: work schedule, hours worked, shifts, lateness and overtime.
Leave management: requests, approvals, day balances and a team absence calendar.
Recruitment and onboarding: job ads, candidates, interviews and hiring checklists.
Org chart, performance reviews and reports for management and for inspectorates.

Romanian HR law in brief (Labor Code, REGES, GDPR)

HR software must comply with the Labor Code, the mandatory working-time record, REGES-ONLINE and data protection (GDPR).

The Labor Code (Law 53/2003) requires a daily record of hours worked by each employee (Art. 119) — time tracking is not optional.
Annual leave is a minimum of 20 working days per year (Art. 145) and cannot be replaced by cash unless the contract ends.
In 2026 there are 17 legal days off (public holidays) under Art. 139 of the Labor Code.
The guaranteed gross minimum wage rises to RON 4,325 from 1 July 2026 — the software must be able to update the threshold.
Personnel data (ID number, salaries, reviews) are personal data: their storage and access fall under GDPR and must be role-restricted.

Time tracking, leave and working time

Digital time tracking replaces paper logs and automatically computes hours, leave and balances, with no Excel errors.

The timesheet is generated automatically from the work schedule and employees' daily clock-ins.
Leave requests go through an approval flow, and the day balance is deducted automatically.
Overtime, night shifts and public holidays are flagged separately for pre-payroll.
The team absence calendar shows who is available and prevents overlapping leave.
The exportable monthly timesheet becomes the basis for payroll and for filings to the labor inspectorate.

Contracts and REGES-ONLINE

From 2026, REGES-ONLINE is the sole employee register, and contracts must be submitted before work begins.

REGES-ONLINE (the General Register of Employees) replaces the old ReviSal and is mandatory from 2026.
The individual employment contract is filed in the register no later than the day before the employee starts work.
Changes (salary, role, working time) and terminations must be reported within legal deadlines, or labor-inspectorate penalties apply.
HR software keeps the full history of each contract: addendum by addendum, with dates and versions.
Generating and digitally archiving contracts reduces the risk of late or incorrect filings.

Payroll and pre-payroll

HR software prepares the data that feeds payroll and the D112 declaration — it organizes the information, it does not do the accounting.

Time tracking, leave, joiners/leavers and salary changes form the monthly pre-payroll basis.
Validated HR data is exported to accounting or to the payroll program for the actual calculation.
4softhr prepares accurate personnel data — it is not accounting software and does not file the D112 itself.
Integration with accounting software (e.g. 4conta) removes manual re-keying of data and errors.
Role-based traceability shows who changed a salary or a role, and when, for internal audit.

Recruitment, onboarding and reviews

The recruitment and performance modules cover the whole employee lifecycle, from job ad to annual review, in one system.

Job ads and candidate pipeline: screening, interview scheduling and centralized notes per applicant.
AI-assisted recruitment: CV filtering and candidate matching based on the role's requirements.
Onboarding with checklists: documents to sign, equipment allocated and integration steps for the new hire.
Performance reviews with objectives, feedback and scores, linked to the org chart.
Review and promotion history stays in the digital file, useful for decisions and for fairness.

Common mistakes

Tracking time in Excel or on paper — you risk errors, lost records and penalties at a labor-inspectorate check (Art. 119 Labor Code).
Choosing a generic HR platform with no support for REGES-ONLINE and the Labor Code, then doing the filings by hand.
Not submitting the contract to REGES-ONLINE before work begins, exposing yourself to fines.
Confusing HR software with payroll/accounting software and expecting it to file the D112 itself — these are different roles.
Not restricting data access by role and breaching GDPR by exposing salaries and ID numbers.
Not updating legal thresholds (minimum wage, holidays) and using outdated figures in calculations.

How 4softhr helps

Built natively on Romanian law: the Labor Code, REGES-ONLINE and the 2026 public holidays are already configured.
Automated time tracking, leave and day balances, with exportable timesheets for payroll.
Contract records and submission to REGES/Revisal with a full history per addendum.
AI-assisted recruitment, onboarding with checklists, performance reviews and an org chart.
It fits the 4b2b ecosystem — it exchanges data with 4conta (accounting) and 4mystaff (field time tracking) without re-keying.
Affordable pricing, support in Romanian and fast implementation, with no months-long IT project.