Vendor audit · Remote
Remote.com Caribbean audit: entity coverage, deposit rules and the real cost of a Trinidad team
Remote lists EOR at $599 per employee per month on annual billing and $699 on monthly billing, and its model emphasizes owned entities rather than partners. In the Caribbean the question is which islands that applies to, and how long local bank onboarding takes. For three engineers in Port of Spain on TTD 30,000 a month, our worked example lands at $192,832 for the first year on the annual plan, with $13,274 held as a deposit.
Reviewed 6 Nov 2026 · 2026 statutory rulesA-02
Independent review. CaribbeanHR is not affiliated with any provider named here.
What Remote is and how to check its Caribbean coverage
Remote (remote.com) is a global EOR, contractor management and payroll platform. Its public positioning is that it employs people through its own legal entities rather than through third-party partners, which, where true for a country, gives the buyer one accountable employer, consistent contracts and a single data chain. Remote also publishes clear country guides and has a reputation for straightforward onboarding and good employee-facing support.
The Caribbean is a set of small, separate legal systems, and no global platform covers all of them equally. Before relying on the owned-entity model, ask Remote to confirm for each target island:
- Whether Remote can hire there today, or whether the country is on a waitlist or handled case by case.
- The name of the employing entity, and whether it is a Remote subsidiary or a partner arrangement.
- Which local bank pays salaries, and the typical time to first payroll after contract signature. Local account opening in Trinidad, Barbados and Guyana can take several weeks.
- Whether the employee is paid in local currency (TTD, BBD, JMD) or in USD, and how USD is sourced for local payroll in Trinidad, where commercial-bank USD liquidity is tight.
The answers differ by country. Do not assume that coverage in Jamaica or the Dominican Republic implies coverage in St. Lucia and the OECS or Guyana.
Remote pricing structure in the Caribbean
Remote publishes its EOR prices, which makes the base fee easy to benchmark. The rest of the invoice is where Caribbean quotes differ.
| Cost line | List / commonly quoted | What to ask in writing |
|---|---|---|
| EOR fee, annual billing | $599 PEPM list | Discount for multi-year or 10+ seats; price hold for added seats |
| EOR fee, monthly billing | $699 PEPM list | Whether you can switch to annual mid-term without penalty |
| Security deposit | Commonly 1 month gross plus employer costs; more for some countries or credit profiles | Deposit formula, refund timing, whether it can be reduced after 6 months |
| FX on local payroll | 1.5%-3.5% reported for less liquid currencies | Reference rate, margin, and who bears the TTD sourcing cost |
| Benefits | Country benefit packages at cost or with admin fee | Carrier, plan summary, renewal cap |
| Onboarding / offboarding | Generally included | Fees for work permits, background checks, or termination support |
The difference between billing plans is simple: on three employees, monthly billing costs $3,600 more per year than annual. If headcount is stable for 12 months, annual billing is usually the cheaper route. Check your own numbers in the EOR fee audit calculator.
If Remote confirms an owned entity, the deposit and FX terms are set by Remote itself rather than passed through from a partner, which tends to make them easier to negotiate.
Worked 12-month cost: 3 software engineers in Port of Spain
Assumptions: three engineers on TTD 30,000 per month (TTD 360,000 per year, about $53,097 at USD 1 = TTD 6.78 benchmark), annual-plan list price, FX margin at 2.5%. Trinidad NIS is the 2026 rate effective 5 January 2026; confirm with NIBTT before payroll is run.
Two points stand out. Employer NIS is small for high earners because of the ceiling: $2,600 a year per engineer, against $7,188 in EOR fees. And the FX line depends heavily on how TTD is sourced; if your company already holds TTD or the contract pays part of salary in USD, ask Remote how that changes the margin. Our Trinidad NIS and FX payroll guide covers the liquidity issue in detail.
Contract clauses to check
- Entity confirmation. The country addendum should name the employing entity. If Remote confirms an owned entity, ask it to notify you before any change to a partner model.
- 2027 NIS change. Trinidad NIS is scheduled to rise from 16.2% to 19.2% total in January 2027. Confirm that statutory changes pass through at cost with no fee added on top.
- Severance. Under the Retrenchment and Severance Benefits Act, Trinidad pays 2 weeks of basic pay per year of service for years 1-4 and 3 weeks from year 5, after one year of service, with 45 days of written notice for retrenchment of five or more workers. Ask how Remote funds this: from the deposit, a separate invoice when due, or a monthly accrual.
- Data processing. Where payroll data is held and which sub-processors, including the local bank, receive it.
- Exit. Notice to end the EOR service, any conversion fee to move staff to your own entity, and treatment of service years and accrued vacation at transfer.
For engineering hires, add an IP assignment clause that runs from the employee to the EOR and from the EOR to you, governed by Trinidad law for the first link. Check that the confidentiality and non-solicitation terms in the local contract are enforceable locally; a US-style non-compete is often not.
When Remote fits, and when it does not
Remote is a strong choice when you want one accountable employer per country, published pricing, and a clean employee experience for a small number of senior hires, such as engineers or finance staff in Trinidad, Jamaica or the Dominican Republic. Teams that care about IP assignment and data handling often value the owned-entity model where it applies. See our fintech and software engineers playbook.
Consider alternatives when the island you need is not covered directly, when time-to-first-payroll matters more than platform polish, or when you will have 10+ seats in one country. At that size a direct regional EOR at $195-$350 PEPM, or your own entity plus a bureau, typically saves $2,988-$4,848 per employee per year against the $599 list price. Compare options in Remote vs Deel in the Caribbean and Trinidad vs Guyana technical workforce.
A practical test: if Remote can confirm an owned entity and first payroll within four weeks for your island, its published pricing and employee experience make it easy to justify for one to five hires. If it cannot, run a regional quote in parallel rather than waiting. The decision does not have to be permanent; a clean conversion clause lets you start on Remote and move later.
Negotiation levers
- Annual billing. The $100 PEPM gap between plans is the easiest saving if headcount is stable.
- Volume pricing. Ask for a tiered fee that drops at 5, 10 and 25 seats, applied across all countries, not per country.
- Deposit reduction. Ask for the deposit to fall to zero or half after two quarters of on-time payment.
- FX terms. Request a named reference rate and a fixed margin, printed on each invoice, or the option to fund in local currency yourself.
- Coverage commitments. If a target island is not yet live, ask for a dated commitment and a right to use another provider there without penalty.
- Conversion fee. Negotiate a zero or capped fee for moving employees to your own entity after 12 months.
Remote list prices are public, so discounts tend to come as credits, deposit relief or a price hold rather than a lower headline. Ask for the outcome you value most, and get it in the order form. A competing written quote from a regional provider for the same island is the strongest lever you can bring.
Straight answers
FAQs
How much does Remote charge per employee in the Caribbean?
Remote lists EOR at $599 per employee per month on annual billing and $699 on monthly billing. Deposits, FX margins on local currency, and benefits are priced separately. Statutory costs such as Trinidad NIS pass through on top.
Does Remote use its own entities in every Caribbean country?
Remote positions itself as an owned-entity provider, but coverage varies by country and changes over time. Ask for written confirmation of the employing entity for each island before you extend a job offer to a candidate.
What is the Trinidad employer NIS cost on a Remote contract?
In 2026 employer NIS is 10.8% of insurable earnings up to TTD 13,600 a month, so the maximum is TTD 1,468.80 a month per employee. Remote passes this through at cost; confirm the rate with NIBTT before payroll is run.
How large is the Remote deposit?
Deposits are commonly around one month of gross salary plus employer costs, and can be higher depending on country and credit review. In our 3-engineer Trinidad example that is about $13,274. Ask for the formula and refund timing in writing.
Is the monthly or annual Remote plan better?
At list prices the annual plan saves $100 per employee per month, $1,200 a year. Monthly billing only makes sense if you expect the hire to end within a few months or headcount is highly uncertain.
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