1. Labor-law localization
This is the deal-breaker. Egyptian social insurance and tax brackets, Saudi GOSI and WPS/Mudad files, UAE WPS SIF and gratuity — if the system can't be configured for your country's rules, everything else is decoration.
2. Real Arabic support
Not just a translated interface: right-to-left payslips, Arabic contracts and letters, and a support team that can run workshops in Arabic with your HR staff.
3. Connection to accounting
If payroll doesn't post to accounting automatically, someone reconciles by hand every month. An HR ERP like Odoo eliminates that step entirely.
4. Employee self-service
Every leave-balance question and salary-certificate request costs HR time. A portal where employees serve themselves — without needing a full license each — pays for itself in large headcounts.
5. Biometric and attendance integration
If you use fingerprint devices, check that the vendor has actually integrated your device brand before — not just 'it's possible'.
6. Start small, grow later
Choose a system you can adopt in phases: Employees, Attendance, Leave and Payroll first; Recruitment, Appraisals and portals later. Big-bang implementations are where projects fail.
7. The partner matters more than the product
The same software succeeds with one implementer and fails with another. Ask for references in your country and your industry, and make sure discovery, data migration, training and post-go-live support are all in scope.