eSocial deployment: how the first phase was

On February 28, the first phase of eSocial deployment was closed for companies with an annual turnover greater than BRL 78 million, in which the employer registration data and item tables were informed. What were the strongest experiences for our specialists and clients?

The eSocial (Digital Bookkeeping System for Tax, Social Security, and Labor Obligations) shall unify the information provision on recording taxes, social security, and labor obligations, aiming to standardize procedures for transmission, validation, storage, and distribution of employees, individual employees or individual taxpayers information.

Anyone who hires a service provider, individual or legal entity, and has any labor, social security or tax liability is required to filing information from this fact through eSocial due to the legal relationship.

The system deployment is being in a phased way, that is, in stages. As of January 1, 2018, the compulsory eSocial Empresas use started for employers and taxpayers with Gross Revenue greater than BRL 78 million in 2016, which should be duly stated at the ECF (Accounting Tax Bookkeeping). As of July 1, 2018, the obligation will be extended to other employers and taxpayers, regardless their income amount for the year. Find the eSocial phases schedule here.

Advantages and disadvantages

eSocial, like any other Sped - Sistema Público de Escrituração Digital (Public Digital Bookkeeping System) module, brings changes that are highly influencing the employers' routines.

a) Advantages

• Greater organization of employees information, with the relationship of labor history to the CPF numbers;
• Greater tasks automation, bringing a decrease in calculation errors;
• More qualified personnel in meeting the obligations;
• Greater legal security to the employees and employer information.

b) Disadvantages

• Greater investment in integrated systems to meet the obligation;
• Greater exposure of employers due the inspection become more agile and electronic;
• Possibility to a daily sending information, such as hiring and terminations;
• Difficulties to meet deadlines and errors in deployment may lead to fines and penalties to the employer.

How the first phase was

The biggest challenge of this phase was the culture changing on by the companies and adaptation to the eSocial requirements and its deadlines. In many cases, some clients were unable to send the entire information, making the process conclusion difficult.

During this process, the DPC provided in-company customized training to enable the clients’ teams, guiding the general aspects and on filling the specific fields at database.

We emphasized that the eSocial do not accept any data inconsistencies at the Government database. Hence, the importance of working with enough time to eliminate in advance any possible inconsistencies, not forgetting that the system checks the register data through the data-crossing information.

As positive points, we may mention the opportunity to review and improve the companies’ internal processes, the system improvement, which behaved in a stable manner, despite some performance problems, especially in the first week of use, where there was an expressive delay.

Expectations were a lot of work in eSocial deployment was confirmed, and much more is still expected at the beginning of obligation with the second group of companies scheduled to come into force in July 2018. That is why partnership with clients is crucial, so that everyone may succeed.