Sage Business Cloud Payroll

This is Sage's answer to SimplePay, and it is a reasonable one. The statutory engine is inherited from a product that has been getting South African payroll right for thirty years, delivered in a browser with per employee pricing and no installation to maintain.

For a business already inside the Sage ecosystem it is the path of least resistance. It posts to Sage Accounting cleanly, the employee record structure matches Sage HR, and the support desk is the one you already phone.

Compliance

EMP201, EMP501, IRP5 and IT3(a), e@syFile, UIF, SDL and ETI are all present and correct. Leave follows BCEA rules. ACB payment files work with the major banks. There is nothing missing that a typical small or medium employer needs.

Where SimplePay still wins

Two things, and they are consistent across our review set. The interface is less clear, particularly for anyone who is not a payroll professional, and the ETI screens in particular take more explaining. And support response times are slower, because it is a large support organisation handling many products rather than a small one handling a single product.

Price is close enough that it is rarely the deciding factor. Compare the two on a trial with your own data and pick the one your administrator finds easier, because over a year that difference is worth more than the rand difference.

Who should buy it

Businesses running Sage Accounting who want payroll in the same account and on the same invoice. Businesses whose accountant is a Sage practice. Anyone who wants cloud payroll from a vendor that will still exist in fifteen years.