Paymaster

Name: Cheap, simple and it works
Item: Paymaster
Rating: 5
Author: Zanele Baloyi

Online South African payroll for small and growing employers

4,336 verified reviews

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Starting price

R380/mo

Vendor

Paymaster People Solutions

Founded

2003

Available in

South Africa

Languages

English, Afrikaans

Support

EmailPhoneLocal SA support lineKnowledge base

Free trial

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Visit Paymaster People Solutions website

Overview

What is Paymaster?

Paymaster is online payroll from a South African payroll house, aimed squarely at the small and medium employer who wants pay runs done correctly without becoming a payroll expert. It handles the statutory heavy lifting, PAYE, UIF and SDL calculated at current rates, EMP201 figures each month, and the IRP5 and EMP501 output that the twice yearly SARS reconciliation season demands. Payslips go out by email, and employees can be given self service access to their own history.

What sets it apart in the local market is the bureau behind the software: businesses that would rather hand payroll over entirely can use Paymaster as an outsourced service, while those that want to run it themselves get the cloud system with local support on the end of the phone. Leave tracking, loan management and standard reports round out the package. Pricing starts low and monthly, scaling with headcount, which makes it approachable for the smaller employers that dominate the South African economy.

Pricing

Paymaster plans, priced in rand

What South African teams actually pay each month. Every plan is listed below, and the feature table shows exactly where they differ.

Small business

Cloud payroll for smaller employers, scaling with headcount.

R380/mo

per month

Try it free

PAYE, UIF and SDL at current rates
Monthly EMP201 figures
Emailed payslips
Leave tracking

Bureau service

Fully outsourced payroll run by the Paymaster team.

Custom

no card needed

Try it free

Everything in Small business
Outsourced processing
EMP501 reconciliation handled for you
Dedicated payroll administrator

Straight from the vendor

Get current pricing

These are list prices in rand and vendors adjust them from time to time. Check with Paymaster People Solutions for the figure you'll actually pay.

Visit Paymaster People Solutions

Plan features	Small businessR380/mo	Bureau serviceCustom
PAYE, UIF and SDL at current rates
Monthly EMP201 figures
Emailed payslips
Leave tracking
Everything in Small business
Outsourced processing
EMP501 reconciliation handled for you
Dedicated payroll administrator

Features

What Paymaster can actually do

The headline features first, then the full list as the vendor states it.

SARS statutory compliance at current rates

EMP201 and EMP501 reconciliation support

Run it yourself or hand it to the bureau

Local South African support

PAYE, UIF and SDL calculations
Monthly EMP201 figures
IRP5 and IT3(a) certificates
EMP501 reconciliation output
Emailed payslips

Employee self service
Leave and loan management
Standard payroll reports
Optional outsourced bureau service
Local South African support

Works with the tools you already use

Integrations the vendor lists for Paymaster. Check the fine print for plan limits before you rely on one.

Sage Business Cloud Accounting

Xeroe@syFileSARS eFiling

Screenshots

See Paymaster up close

A look at the screens you'll spend your day in.

Ratings

The rating, broken down

Every score below comes from verified reviews. Nothing is weighted or edited.

4,3

36 verified reviews

5 stars

4 stars

3 stars

2 stars

1 star

Positive (30)Neutral (4)Negative (2)

Ratings by dimension

Reviewer company size

1–10 employees (15)
11–50 employees (15)
51–200 employees (5)
201–500 employees (1)

Head to head

Compare with a popular alternative

Paymaster against Sage Payroll Professional, side by side. Same verified review data, no weighting.

Paymaster

4,3(36)

VS.

Sage Payroll Professional

4,1(58)

View profile

Starting price

R380/mo

Starting price

Custom

Pricing options

Free versionFree trial

Pricing options

Free versionFree trial

Ease of use

4,2 (36)

Ease of use

4,2 (58)

Value for money

4,3 (36)

Value for money

4,0 (58)

Customer service

4,3 (36)

Customer service

4,0 (58)

Functionality

4,3 (36)

Functionality

4,1 (58)

Reviews

What users really think

36 verified reviews from people who use Paymaster in their own business.

Verified reviewers
No vendor-paid rankings
Independent editorial

Wayne Daniels

HR Manager

12 September 2025

Wholesale · 1–10 employees South Africa Used for 6–12 months

Local support when I get stuck

Our business works across Mpumalanga from Nelspruit. For a small employer the monthly price is genuinely affordable.

Pros

Run it yourself or use the bureau; affordable monthly pricing.

Cons

Simple reporting.

Palesa Coetzee

Financial Manager · Durban Distribution

24 February 2026

Wholesale · 11–50 employees South Africa Used for 1–2 years

EMP501 season is a non event now

Support is local and actually helpful when a payroll question comes up. If you are on the fence, take the demo.

Wesley Petersen

Payroll Manager · Amandla Healthcare Holdings

22 April 2026

Healthcare · 11–50 employees South Africa Used for Less than 6 months

Payslips out in minutes

Based in Cape Town, serving clients across the Western Cape. For a small employer the monthly price is genuinely affordable. PAYE, UIF and SDL are calculated correctly and the EMP201 figures are ready every month.

Pros

Leave and loan tracking; local South African support; emailed payslips and self service.

Cons

Simple reporting.