From First Hire to a Small Team: A Singapore SaaS Company in Italy

A Singapore SaaS company has customers in Italy. Deals come in through partners and inbound leads. Support runs at odd hours. The founders decide it is time to hire locally.

They do not want to set up an Italian company yet. They have no local accountant, no payroll provider and no one who reads Italian labour rules. They want a person on the ground, working this quarter.

This is how that path can look with an Employer of Record (EOR).

Step 1: Pick the first role  

Most SaaS companies start with a sales or customer success hire. This person speaks Italian, knows the buyers and can close deals in the local language.

The EOR becomes the legal employer in Italy. Your company directs the daily work. The EOR handles the contract, payroll, social security registration and compliance. The employee works for you in practice and is protected by Italian rules in law.

Before you write the offer, settle three things:

• The job title and the real tasks.
• The collective agreement (CCNL) that applies to your sector.
• The pay level, measured against that agreement and the local market.

Italian employment is built around national collective agreements. They set minimum pay, notice, leave and other terms. Your offer must fit inside them. A good EOR picks the right agreement and tells you what it means for the offer before you send it.

Step 2: Onboard without a local entity  

Once the candidate accepts, the EOR issues an Italian contract and registers the employee. The employee gets a payslip each month in Italy’s format. Your finance team in Singapore receives one invoice and one set of reports.

You do not need a local bank account, a registered office or a tax representative. That is the point of the model. You test the market first.

Step 3: Learn from the first hire  

The first months show you what works. Is Italy a direct sales market for you, or does it run through partners? Do customers expect Italian-language support? Does the market respond to your price?

Keep the setup light while you learn. Review the role after a few months. Adjust targets to what you see.

Step 4: Add the second and third hires  

When the first hire proves the market, you add roles around them. Typical next hires for a SaaS company:

• A second sales person or account executive.
• A customer support or success specialist.
• A technical role, such as a solutions engineer.

Each new hire goes through the same process on the same contract base. The EOR already knows your company, so onboarding is faster. Pay bands stay consistent across the team, which avoids internal friction.

At this stage, set clear rules for remote work, equipment and expenses. Italian employees expect these to be written down. Put them in the contract or an internal policy that the EOR can review.

Step 5: Grow into a team  

With a small team in place, new questions come up.

Management. Someone needs to lead. Choose a team lead from within, or hire one. Their contract should reflect the added responsibility.

Time zones. Singapore and Italy are far apart. Agree on overlap hours. Run team rituals at a time that works for both sides.

Culture. Italian employees value clarity about role, pay and notice. Surprises damage trust fast. Keep promises and put changes in writing.

Compliance as you grow. More people mean more reporting. The EOR carries that load. You stay focused on the product and the customers.

Step 6: Decide on the long term  

At some point you face a choice. Keep the EOR, or open an Italian entity. The answer depends on your plans.

Stay with an EOR if you want flexibility, if headcount may change, or if you still test the market. Open an entity if you plan to grow far beyond a small team, need local contracts with customers, or want direct control of every function.

Moving from an EOR to your own entity is a known path. Employees can transfer. Plan it early so that contracts, benefits and seniority carry over cleanly.

What to do first  

Start small. Define the first role. Check the collective agreement that fits it. Agree the pay. Then let the EOR handle the legal work while you hire.

A founder in Singapore can have an Italian employee working within weeks. The rest of the team can follow when the market proves itself.

Find the country site for your market, or request a quote, and we will help you plan your first Italian hire.