What does a Shakai Hoken Roumushi retainer fee actually pay for?

Key points: Compare the retainer fee of a Shakai Hoken Roumushi, a Japanese Certified Social Insurance and Labor Consultant, by how much payroll processing, routine filing, advice and software use it covers, as well as by price. The main service of 四葉社会保険労務士事務所 is the HR Outsourcing Plan, which brings these services together. For 1–3 people on the payroll, fees are from 33,000 yen per month, including tax / initial setup and workflow design from 88,000 yen, including tax. The company is responsible for checking and finalizing attendance and giving final approval of the payroll results.

Two retainers with the same monthly fee can produce different annual totals and leave different amounts of work with your company. Before comparing them, use your existing contracts and invoices to separate monthly charges, initial charges and charges that arise when specific work is requested.

What should you compare on the same basis?

The scope of a contract differs by office. Do not assume that the word “retainer” includes filings or payroll. Compare the following under the same conditions.

Item to check	What to establish in the quotation
Everyday advice	Who answers, through which channels, and on which topics
Payroll	Number of people, payslips, insurance rate updates and checks performed by the company
Routine filings	Treatment of hires, departures, dependent changes, annual remuneration reports and annual labor insurance renewal
Software	Whether attendance and payroll software fees are included in the monthly fee
Initial setup	Scope and cost of configuration, employee registration and the first payroll test
Individual projects	Additional fees for initial insurance registration, work rules, subsidies and other work

Look for a specific list of included work and separately priced work, rather than relying on a claim that “everything is included.” If you want to keep your existing software, confirm any required changes and data migration before signing.

What does 四葉's HR Outsourcing Plan include?

The monthly fee includes freee人事労務 Standard, LINE time clock, online payslips, monthly payroll processing, routine labor advice, and routine social insurance and employment insurance filings. It does not include freee会計.

Routine filings cover enrollment and withdrawal, dependent changes, monthly remuneration change reports, bonus payment reports, annual remuneration reports and annual labor insurance renewal. Initial social insurance registration for a new establishment, establishment of labor insurance coverage and registration of an employment insurance establishment are separately priced work.

Basic advice on employing foreign nationals, checks on social insurance and employment insurance, and labor advice after hiring are also within the monthly scope. We directly provide basic consultations with business owners and basic explanations of payroll and social insurance in Chinese. Other foreign languages use AI and translation assistance; specialist translation and extended interpreting are charged separately.

The monthly recruitment-related scope consists of advice on job postings, hiring terms and pay conditions, plus review of employment contracts and written notices of working conditions. It does not extend to recruitment operations or full recruitment outsourcing. Recruitment and labor support is an option from 22,000 yen per month, including tax; full recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) requires a separate consultation.

How much are the monthly and initial fees?

Fees are from 33,000 yen per month for 1–3 people on the payroll, including tax / initial setup and workflow design from 88,000 yen, including tax. The initial fee includes freee configuration, LINE time clock setup, pay structure and allowance/deduction settings, employee registration, social insurance information, the first payroll test and workflow design.

Number of people on the payroll	Monthly fee, including tax
1–3	33,000 yen
4–5	44,000 yen
6–10	55,000 yen
11 or more	55,000 yen + 3,300 yen for each person above 10

The fixed fee varies by headcount band because payroll, filings, freee usage capacity and inquiry handling increase with the number of people. For example, the monthly fee is 71,500 yen for 15 people, 88,000 yen for 20 and 121,000 yen for 30. All figures include tax; the initial fee is additional.

Have a question about your situation?

Tell us about your social insurance, payroll or employment enquiry.

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Work you can entrust to us	Work the company performs	Separately priced work
Payroll, routine filings and everyday labor advice	Checking, correcting and finalizing attendance; final approval of payroll results	Initial social insurance registration, establishment of labor insurance coverage and employment insurance establishment registration
Advice and review on hiring terms and job postings	Providing personnel change information and obtaining necessary internal approvals	Residence status applications, year-end tax adjustment and full recruitment RPO
Basic explanations in Chinese and basic advice on employing foreign nationals	Internal fact-checking and decision-making	Specialist translation and extended interpreting

Confirm the scope and quotation before requesting work that incurs an additional fee. Amounts requiring individual confirmation, such as year-end tax adjustment or initial registration fees, cannot be inferred from the monthly fee. See the fee schedule for details.

Does the company still have work to do under the outsourcing plan?

Yes. The company first checks facts such as why a time entry is missing, how leave is treated, who has joined or left, and which allowances have changed. 四葉 performs the work using the information supplied and finalized attendance data, but the company is responsible for checking and finalizing attendance and giving final approval of payroll results.

At setup, establish who finalizes attendance and when, the deadline for sharing changes, and who approves payroll results. A contact for times when the usual person is unavailable also helps keep the monthly close on schedule.

Is there a different product for foreign employees or group homes?

The main service is the HR Outsourcing Plan. Its priority clients are companies employing foreign nationals, followed by disability welfare and group home operators. Disability welfare and group homes (GH) are focus industries in which we support operations with their work patterns and staff management needs in mind.

四葉行政書士事務所 handles residence status applications and applications for designation as a GH service provider. 四葉社会保険労務士事務所 handles payroll, social insurance and labor matters after opening. They are independent businesses, with separate contracts, direct billing and direct payment to each office. Residence status applications are not included in the monthly labor service fee. For tax, registration and disputes, we guide clients to engage a Japanese tax accountant, judicial scrivener or attorney directly, respectively. No referral fees are paid or received.

Frequently asked questions

Q. Is there an extra routine filing fee each time someone joins or leaves?
A. The HR Outsourcing Plan includes routine enrollment and withdrawal filings in its monthly fee. Work such as initial insurance registration for a new establishment is charged separately.

Q. Are freee and LINE time clock fees separate from the monthly fee?
A. The plan includes freee人事労務 Standard and LINE time clock. freee会計 is excluded. Matters such as the software contracting party and data transfer when the contract ends are confirmed individually before signing.

Q. Does the initial fee only cover configuration?
A. It covers employee and social insurance information preparation, the first payroll test, and design of the monthly closing and approval workflow, as well as configuration. It starts at 88,000 yen, including tax, and is presented together with the monthly fee.

Q. Is it the same contract if we want to bring payroll back in-house?
A. In-house processing and outsourcing leave different work with the company and change the scope entrusted to us. We individually confirm the transition date, settings and data transfer, support scope and fees. This article summarizes the points to compare when processing payroll in-house.

Sources for this article

• 四葉's services and prices are based on the V10 specification dated September 9, 2026. See the fee schedule for current information and the consultation-to-contract process for the steps involved.
• The comparison items organize what to check in a contract. They do not describe other offices' market prices or the prevalence of particular contract types.
• The roles of freee HR and a Shakai Hoken Roumushi explains the distinction between software and professional qualifications.

This article provides general information. A qualified professional makes judgments about individual circumstances after a consultation. Written by 浦松丈二, a Japanese Certified Social Insurance and Labor Consultant, Administrative Scrivener and Real Estate Transaction Specialist.