Many small companies in Syria run their people on a notebook and an Excel file. Search for “free HR software” and you mostly find spreadsheet templates or demos that expire in a few days. This guide sets out plainly what Diwan gives you for free, what it does not, and how the full trial works.
1. Free with no end date, up to 8 active employees
Diwan’s free plan is not a time-limited trial. It is a permanent plan for any company with 8 active employees or fewer. Employees archived in the last 30 days count towards the 8. Adding a ninth employee is the point where you need a paid plan.
2. What the free plan includes
- Employee files: each person’s details and documents in one place.
- Attendance: on-site check-in from the phone. See the attendance guide.
- Leave and advances: employees request them from their phone and the manager approves.
- Announcements: tell everyone about a new circular or a public holiday.
- The employee app: on Android, iPhone and in the browser.
- Payroll preview: Diwan calculates the month’s pay for you to review, without closing the run.
3. What the free plan leaves out
We list these up front so nothing surprises you later. They come with the trial and the paid plans:
- Closing the payroll run and issuing payslips.
- Letters and documents on your company letterhead.
- E-signature and tasks.
- "Hala · Host of Diwan" inside the app, and the salary explanation.
- Export, fingerprint device integration and multi-step approvals.
Storage on the free plan is 200 MB.
4. How to sign up
- Click “Start free”, enter your email, then the code we send to it.
- Choose a password.
- Enter your company name and its Diwan address. Availability is checked as you type.
Your company is created at once and its trial starts, with no payment card. You can also sign up from the Diwan HR mobile app. To bring all your staff in at once, see importing employees from Excel.
5. The full 30-day trial
After sign-up you get 30 days of every feature in the Diwan plan, including closing payroll, payslips, e-signature and tasks. Use it to run your first payroll on real data. We suggest running that month in Excel alongside Diwan and comparing employee by employee before you close.
6. What happens when the trial ends?
- Nothing is deleted. Your company moves to the free plan by itself, with no card and no commitment.
- More than 8 active employees? You have 14 days to either upgrade or choose who stays active. After that, the extra employees are paused with their files kept, and upgrading brings them back.
- Upgrading happens inside Diwan: on the Plan page in Settings, ask for the upgrade and pick how you pay: Sham Cash, cash or transfer. The plan works straight away for 7 days while the payment is confirmed.
- Inactive accounts: if nobody signs in or checks in at a company on the free plan, it gets a warning after 11 months and is archived after 12, with its data kept.
Excel or free software? An honest comparison
Excel is enough if you have a handful of staff and all you need is a monthly payroll sheet prepared by one person who knows the file well. If that is you, start with our free payroll template.
Free software makes more sense once the questions start eating your day: how much leave do I have left? Was my advance deducted? Who was late today? On Diwan’s free plan, employees check in and request leave and advances from their phone and see their own balance, and you review a payroll preview without copying numbers by hand.
What free does not cover: closing the run and payslips. So either keep the final sheet in Excel or upgrade. For what payroll software should do in general, read payroll software in Syria.
Frequently asked questions
Is Diwan really free, or is it a trial that runs out?
It is free with no end date for any company with 8 active employees or fewer. The full 30-day trial comes first, then the company moves to the free plan automatically.
Do I need a payment card to sign up?
No. Sign-up never asks for a card, and there is no online card payment at all. When you upgrade, you pay by Sham Cash, cash or transfer.
What happens to my data when the trial ends?
Nothing is deleted. If you have more than 8 active employees, you have 14 days to upgrade or choose who stays active, and the rest are paused with their files kept.
Can I close payroll and issue payslips on the free plan?
No. The free plan gives you a payroll preview without closing. Closing the run and payslips come with the trial and the paid plans.
This article is general information. Plan details are on the plans page.