@CU22041105-0 microsoft's official position is clear — they have exited native payroll development and recommend third-party or ISV solutions via AppSource for gross-to-net calculation and statutory compliance. D365 Finance and HR remain the system of record for worker data, compensation, org structures, and GL posting.
For your two options:
ISV payroll solutions built on D365 are generally preferred because they preserve a single data model and unified security framework. Worker data, position changes, and benefit elections stay within the D365 architecture — no middleware sync risk, and financial journals post directly back to the GL.
External third-party payroll (ADP, Ceridian Dayforce, Workday Payroll) makes sense for large multinationals that need localized HCM suites or country-specific payroll bureaus with highly complex statutory requirements.
For multi-country operations the standard pattern is hub-and-spoke — D365 Finance and HR as the global master for org management, compensation, and GL consolidation, with regional payroll engines handling local compliance (ZATCA/WPS for GCC, HMRC/RTI for UK). Gross-to-net summaries post back to D365 Finance via structured journal integrations.
The choice between ISV and third-party ultimately depends on your integration complexity tolerance and how many countries you are operating in.