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Showing 61 to 80 of 274 reviews
Sibusiso Tshabalala
Practice Owner · Highveld Farming Holdings
16 February 2025
Our books have run on Pastel for 4 years and it has never once lost us data. The forms designer let us match our invoices to our letterhead exactly.
Pros
Consultants and training available everywhere in SA
Thandiwe Khumalo
Credit Controller · Khumalo Supplies Solutions
15 June 2026
The general ledger structure is exactly how accounting should be done. It handles our point of sale till at the front and the ledger at the back.
Pros
Payroll bundle discount is worthwhile
Ebrahim Perumal
Accountant
5 March 2026
After 3 years I know every corner of it, including the frustrating ones. Emailing invoices works but feels clunky next to modern systems. The forms designer let us match our invoices to our letterhead exactly.
Pros
Utterly reliable core ledger
Cons
Backups are entirely your responsibility
Musa Sithole
Sithole Distributors Supplies
6 January 2026
It is dependable to a fault and dated to a fault. Multi user on a network needs proper IT support or you will have odd errors. The Intelligence reporting module turns the ledger into proper management packs.
Pros
Works through load shedding and internet outages
Cons
No real mobile story
Craig Du Plessis
Senior Bookkeeper
22 October 2025
Our 5 person accounts team lives in this system from eight to five. Supplier and customer ageing reports are exactly what a credit controller needs. Inventory with serial numbers has kept our warehouse honest for years. Our audit fees dropped because the records are so clean. Enough said.
Pros
Most bookkeepers already know it
Cons
Needs proper IT support on a network
Aisha Mahlangu
Managing Director · Garden Route Trading Holdings
1 September 2025
The core is bulletproof. The extras feel bolted on. Report layouts beyond the standard ones need the forms designer and patience.
Pros
Works through load shedding and internet outages
Cons
Remote access is clunky without hosting
Wayne Miller
Owner
29 August 2025
New staff always know it already because the colleges all teach it. You can drill from any report straight down to the source document. Load shedding does not touch us, the server sits on an inverter and we keep working.
Pros
Strong stock module with serial tracking
Cons
Upgrades between versions can be fiddly
Luyanda Coetzee
Practice Owner
11 August 2025
I learned Pastel at varsity and walked into my first job already productive. Multi company support means our two entities live side by side cleanly. It does the unglamorous work perfectly and that is the whole job.
Pros
Most bookkeepers already know it
Cons
No real mobile story
Boitumelo Sebola
Director · Sebola Farming Supplies
3 June 2025
The general ledger structure is exactly how accounting should be done. The Intelligence reporting module turns the ledger into proper management packs.
Pros
Forms designer matches documents to letterhead
David Sebola
Accountant · Sebola Packaging
12 March 2025
It has survived three office moves, two server upgrades and one flood with us.
Pros
Decades of proven stability; vAT reporting aligned with SARS
Cons
No real mobile story
Fatima Petersen
Financial Director · Petersen Medical Group
16 February 2025
Fine software if you accept what it is and is not. Load shedding does not touch us, the server sits on an inverter and we keep working.
Pros
VAT reporting aligned with SARS; payroll bundle discount is worthwhile
Cons
Backups are entirely your responsibility
Tumelo Radebe
Senior Bookkeeper
1 July 2026
Pastel does the accounting properly, it just makes you work for it sometimes. Report layouts beyond the standard ones need the forms designer and patience.
Pros
Granular user permissions; forms designer matches documents to letterhead
Cons
Modules are priced separately and add up
Senzo Marais
Practice Owner
28 June 2026
Good software wrapped in a 2010 experience. Processing speed on a local machine beats waiting for a browser every time.
Pros
Works through load shedding and internet outages
Cons
Interface looks and feels dated
Mark Van der Merwe
Accountant · Horizon Steel Group
9 June 2026
Happy with the bookkeeping, less happy with the bill. The interface has not meaningfully changed in a decade.
Pros
Consultants and training available everywhere in SA
Deon Bester
Bookkeeper · Garden Route Properties Works
29 May 2026
Our auditors know the reports by heart, year end goes quickly because of that.
Lindiwe Barnard
Credit Controller · Kalahari Foods
29 November 2025
We process for 15 clients in our practice and every one of them is on Pastel.
Pros
Payroll bundle discount is worthwhile
Cons
Learning curve for staff used to cloud tools
Lwazi Du Toit
Accountant · Vereeniging Agri
22 November 2025
Good software wrapped in a 2010 experience. The forms designer let us match our invoices to our letterhead exactly.
Pros
Strong stock module with serial tracking
Cons
No real mobile story
Imraan Maharaj
Managing Director
8 November 2025
We rate the engine highly and the interface far less. Emailing invoices works but feels clunky next to modern systems.
Pros
Consultants and training available everywhere in SA; data lives on your own server
Cons
Emailing documents feels clunky
Anish Khan
Senior Bookkeeper
16 September 2025
There is a Pastel consultant ten minutes from us and that changes everything. Processing speed on a local machine beats waiting for a browser every time. It will outlast half the cloud startups people keep pitching me.
Cons
No real mobile story
Rajesh Vermeulen
Accountant
3 September 2025
Batch processing suits how a real accounts department actually works. Supplier and customer ageing reports are exactly what a credit controller needs. If you want serious desktop bookkeeping in South Africa, this is still the one.
Pros
Colleges still teach it so hiring is easy; drill down from report to source document
Cons
Report customisation takes patience
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