Sage Pastel Payroll reviews

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Showing 161 to 180 of 251 reviews

Tshepo Marais

HR and Payroll Officer

7 July 2026

Accounting · 51–200 employees South Africa Used for 2+ years

No complaints after 7 years

Our practice runs payroll for 12 clients on it and the routine never breaks. You can rerun and check a payslip before committing, which has saved me twice. UIF declarations generate monthly and the Department has never queried one. Ten years from now it will probably still be running our wages.

Pros

Discount when bundled with Pastel accounting

Cons

Tied to one machine without hosting

Cheryl Adams

Financial Manager · Adams Accountants SA

4 July 2026

Accounting · 11–50 employees South Africa Used for 6–12 months

Payroll for 25 staff done by ten in the morning

It calculates everything correctly, it just is not always pleasant getting there.

Pros

EMP501 export works perfectly with e@syFile

Cons

Support waits get long in tax season

Clinton Naicker

Accountant · Centurion Timber Supplies

1 July 2026

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

Good decision for a 8 person company

The ETI calculations picked up claims our previous bookkeeper missed entirely. The tax certificate run at year end is genuinely a few clicks.

Pros

SARS statutory tables always current

Ebrahim Mnguni

Benoni Supplies SA

1 July 2026

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

Good decision for a 5 person company

Our labour consultant audited us and the payroll records came out spotless. Backups are quick and restoring a period to check history actually works. Staff get paid, SARS gets its numbers, I get my evenings. Recommended.

Robyn Mokgadi

Payroll Manager · Rustenburg Catering

11 June 2026

Food & Beverage · 11–50 employees South Africa Used for 1–2 years

Serving our Midrand operation well

Switched from manual wage books 2 years ago and never looked back. Backups are quick and restoring a period to check history actually works. It handled the ETI rules correctly when even our accountant was unsure. My successor will inherit it and thank me.

Pros

Discount when bundled with Pastel accounting; leave, loans and garnishees all handled

Jerome Mnguni

HR Manager

8 June 2026

Agriculture · 51–200 employees South Africa Used for 6–12 months

Solid choice for a Paarl employer

Happy with the payroll, tired of the annual admin around it. New payroll staff need proper training, it does not hold your hand.

Pros

Payslips email directly to staff

Cons

No employee self service

Bheki Cassim

Accountant · Golden City Supplies Studio

5 June 2026

Retail · 51–200 employees South Africa Used for 2+ years

Good but not perfect for our Paarl team

A good product that Sage clearly wants you to outgrow. New payroll staff need proper training, it does not hold your hand.

Pros

Handles weekly, fortnightly and monthly runs; payslips email directly to staff

Nonhlanhla Xaba

HR Administrator

29 May 2026

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

The bank file goes to Nedbank and everyone gets paid

We pay 22 staff across two branches and the run takes under an hour. The mid year and final recons export to e@syFile without a single validation error.

Pros

SARS statutory tables always current; bank files for all the major SA banks

Cons

Year end update process is a ritual

Andre Du Toit

HR Administrator

25 May 2026

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

Not what we hoped for our Umhlanga business

It feels like the product is in maintenance mode while the prices are not.

Cons

Consultant fees to stay operational add up

Kevin Swanepoel

Umhlanga Textiles Solutions

22 May 2026

Manufacturing · 201–500 employees South Africa Used for Less than 6 months

Payroll for 300 staff done by ten in the morning

Our accountant checks the EMP201 figures monthly and they have never been out. The GL integration posts salary journals into Pastel accounting automatically. You can rerun and check a payslip before committing, which has saved me twice.

Pros

UIF declarations generated automatically

Mpho Abrahams

HR Administrator · Table Bay Trading Works

4 May 2026

Retail · 11–50 employees South Africa Used for 6–12 months

IRP5 season without the panic

Solid product carrying the weight of its desktop roots. Support in tax season means long waits, plan your questions early. The reports menu has an answer for everything the auditors have ever asked.

Pros

Bulk increases are quick; one licence covers up to 500 employees

Cons

Needs SMTP setup for emailing payslips

Njabulo Brown

Brown Logistics Supplies

29 April 2026

Logistics · 11–50 employees South Africa Used for 2+ years

Let us down when it counted

We sat without working payroll for three days in May and support could not help.

Cons

Feels like a legacy product at premium pricing. Recovery from data issues is slow and stressful

Hannelie Molefe

HR Manager · Drakensberg Medical Works

17 April 2026

Healthcare · 51–200 employees Namibia Used for 2+ years

Too much manual work for 2026

For the renewal price I expect far more than this. A reinstall mid month meant recapturing a week of changes from paper.

Pros

Handles weekly, fortnightly and monthly runs

Cons

Updates have broken working setups. Recovery from data issues is slow and stressful

Johan Xaba

7 April 2026

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

Doing okay for our 12 person setup

Happy with the payroll, tired of the annual admin around it. The year end update is an annual ritual of downloads, codes and crossed fingers. Everything lives on one machine so remote payroll means remote desktop.

Pros

SARS statutory tables always current; handles weekly, fortnightly and monthly runs

Cons

Needs SMTP setup for emailing payslips

Njabulo Fortuin

Wage Clerk · Golden City Catering and Sons

21 March 2026

Food & Beverage · 51–200 employees South Africa Used for 6–12 months

Solid choice for our Knysna business

The ETI calculations picked up claims our previous bookkeeper missed entirely. The GL integration posts salary journals into Pastel accounting automatically.

Johan Damon

7 March 2026

Agriculture · 11–50 employees Namibia Used for 1–2 years

Dependable but the cloud version tempts me

Solid product carrying the weight of its desktop roots. Support in tax season means long waits, plan your questions early.

Pros

Strong consultant network countrywide

Cons

No employee self service

Warren Chauke

Financial Director

6 March 2026

Construction · 1–10 employees South Africa Used for Less than 6 months

Good decision for a 6 person company

The ETI calculations picked up claims our previous bookkeeper missed entirely. You can rerun and check a payslip before committing, which has saved me twice.

Pros

Leave, loans and garnishees all handled

Cons

No employee self service

Ridwaan Fourie

Financial Manager · Golden City Foods

26 February 2026

Food & Beverage · 1–10 employees South Africa Used for 1–2 years

Decent fit for a 8 person company

A good product that Sage clearly wants you to outgrow. The interface is pure desktop nostalgia and not in a charming way.

Pros

Leave, loans and garnishees all handled; gL journals post into Pastel accounting

Cons

Dated desktop interface

Bheki Ferreira

Financial Manager · Gqeberha Consulting

11 February 2026

Accounting · 11–50 employees South Africa Used for 2+ years

Mixed feelings after 5 years

A good product that Sage clearly wants you to outgrow. The update instructions read like they were written for the IT department we do not have.

Cons

No employee self service

Simphiwe Makhubela

Drakensberg Couriers Services

30 January 2026

Logistics · 51–200 employees South Africa Used for Less than 6 months

Good but not perfect for our Mbombela team

Solid product carrying the weight of its desktop roots. New payroll staff need proper training, it does not hold your hand. It handled the ETI rules correctly when even our accountant was unsure.

Pros

Leave, loans and garnishees all handled; eMP501 export works perfectly with e@syFile

Cons

Licence tier jumps are steep

Search SoftGids

No complaints after 7 years

Payroll for 25 staff done by ten in the morning

Good decision for a 8 person company

Good decision for a 5 person company

Serving our Midrand operation well

Solid choice for a Paarl employer

Good but not perfect for our Paarl team

The bank file goes to Nedbank and everyone gets paid

Not what we hoped for our Umhlanga business

Payroll for 300 staff done by ten in the morning

IRP5 season without the panic

Let us down when it counted

Too much manual work for 2026

Doing okay for our 12 person setup

Solid choice for our Knysna business

Dependable but the cloud version tempts me

Good decision for a 6 person company

Decent fit for a 8 person company

Mixed feelings after 5 years

Good but not perfect for our Mbombela team