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Showing 41 to 60 of 274 reviews
Petro Mnguni
Financial Controller · Ballito Catering Works
18 January 2025
Fine software if you accept what it is and is not. Report layouts beyond the standard ones need the forms designer and patience. New staff who trained on cloud tools find the learning curve real.
Pros
Drill down from report to source document
Cons
Backups are entirely your responsibility
Boitumelo Radebe
Director
19 December 2024
It is not glamorous but the trial balance is right every single month.
Pros
Batch processing suits real accounts teams; data lives on your own server
Cons
Modules are priced separately and add up
Feroza Naicker
Accounts Supervisor
1 December 2024
Our auditors know the reports by heart, year end goes quickly because of that. Backups take a minute and I sleep well knowing the data sits on our own server. User permissions are granular enough that the juniors only see what they should. It does the unglamorous work perfectly and that is the whole job.
Pros
Utterly reliable core ledger
Cons
Backups are entirely your responsibility
Zodwa Joubert
Financial Manager · Bloemfontein Freight Works
4 August 2024
It is not glamorous but the trial balance is right every single month. The 20 percent payroll discount when you buy Pastel made the bundle an easy yes. Load shedding does not touch us, the server sits on an inverter and we keep working.
Pros
Point of sale option for the front counter; data lives on your own server
Bradley Botha
Financial Director
4 September 2025
VAT processing at 15 percent is baked in and the reports line up with SARS. Processing speed on a local machine beats waiting for a browser every time. Inventory with serial numbers has kept our warehouse honest for years. If you want serious desktop bookkeeping in South Africa, this is still the one.
Pros
Most bookkeepers already know it
Sifiso Smith
Managing Director · Smith Supplies
25 August 2025
Good software wrapped in a 2010 experience. Year end procedures look scary the first time but the wizard walks you through it.
Pros
Works through load shedding and internet outages
Cons
Modules are priced separately and add up
Tumelo Abrahams
Director
24 April 2025
Still the right tool for us, though the cloud options get more tempting yearly. Emailing invoices works but feels clunky next to modern systems.
Pros
Strong stock module with serial tracking
Cons
Emailing documents feels clunky
Zanele Pretorius
Office Manager · Pietermaritzburg Supplies Works
11 January 2025
It is not glamorous but the trial balance is right every single month. The install base means any problem you hit, someone within driving distance has solved it before. The forms designer let us match our invoices to our letterhead exactly.
Pros
Drill down from report to source document; vAT reporting aligned with SARS
Nkosinathi Van der Merwe
Accountant · Baobab Construction Supplies
1 September 2024
Moving off it was a project, but staying was becoming one too. A data rebuild during VAT week is the kind of stress I do not need again.
Pros
Strong stock module with serial tracking
Cons
Support quality has dropped noticeably
Emma Bester
Accounts Supervisor · Vereeniging Accountants Works
29 June 2025
A strong product carrying some old baggage. New staff who trained on cloud tools find the learning curve real.
Cons
Backups are entirely your responsibility
Danie Nkosi
17 September 2024
New staff always know it already because the colleges all teach it. The bank manager module reconciles Nedbank statements quickly once the rules are set. Load shedding does not touch us, the server sits on an inverter and we keep working. You buy Pastel for the reliability and it delivers exactly that.
Pros
Granular user permissions; consultants and training available everywhere in SA
Chantal Padayachee
Managing Director
2 March 2026
A strong product carrying some old baggage. Remote access means remote desktop gymnastics or paying for hosting. Year end procedures look scary the first time but the wizard walks you through it.
Cons
Backups are entirely your responsibility
Aisha Fortuin
Senior Bookkeeper
24 February 2026
We rate the engine highly and the interface far less. The interface has not meaningfully changed in a decade.
Cons
No real mobile story
Nonhlanhla Kruger
Accountant · Table Bay Trading Supplies
21 February 2026
The thing about Pastel is that every accountant in the country can work in it. Supplier and customer ageing reports are exactly what a credit controller needs. The safe pair of hands our business needed.
Cons
Needs proper IT support on a network
Khanyisile Lombard
Financial Controller · Baobab Drilling
27 January 2026
After 5 years I know every corner of it, including the frustrating ones. Every useful extra is a separate module with a separate price.
Pros
Granular user permissions
Cons
Modules are priced separately and add up
Paul Grobler
Office Manager · Umhlanga Attorneys Solutions
24 January 2026
We process for 18 clients in our practice and every one of them is on Pastel. The GL is strict in the best way, it forces clean processing habits. The install base alone makes it the sensible choice here.
Pros
Works through load shedding and internet outages
Susan Viljoen
Owner · Crossroads Logistics Solutions
4 January 2026
Does everything we need at the office. Away from the office is another story. Rebuild functions fix data issues but the fact you need them says something. Our consultant set up the chart of accounts once and it has served us for a decade.
Pros
Drill down from report to source document
Schalk Daniels
Managing Director · Daniels Construction SA
14 November 2025
Happy with the bookkeeping, less happy with the bill. Every useful extra is a separate module with a separate price. Our consultant set up the chart of accounts once and it has served us for a decade.
Pros
VAT reporting aligned with SARS; payroll bundle discount is worthwhile
Cons
Remote access is clunky without hosting
Simphiwe Swanepoel
Director · Karoo Medical
10 October 2025
It is dependable to a fault and dated to a fault. The annual renewal invoice grows every year without much new to show for it.
Pros
Payroll bundle discount is worthwhile; batch processing suits real accounts teams
Cons
No real mobile story
Wynand Perumal
Highveld Timber Studio
17 May 2025
Pastel does the accounting properly, it just makes you work for it sometimes. Remote access means remote desktop gymnastics or paying for hosting. The annual renewal invoice grows every year without much new to show for it.
Pros
Decades of proven stability
Cons
Remote access is clunky without hosting
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