PAYROLL and HR software specialist Softline Pastel Payroll, has launched an online payroll solution offering businesses even more efficient, simple and cost-effective payroll administration. The solution also offers leave application and tracking functionality.

“Simplicity and ease of use were key objectives in the software design. There is no jargon and all that is needed to be able to make use of the software is an internet connection,” says Pastel My Payroll Online business manager Karen Schmikl.

Being a cloud-based application, there is no installation of software and implementation of the software is simple and hassle-free as all fields and parameters are pre-defined for loading and immediate use. Lists of earnings, deductions and fringe benefits are linked to the correct tax rules and payslip template selections enable unnecessary definitions to be excluded. “One of the benefits of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) applications are that customers no longer need to visit a website to download and install software updates manually or install CD versions. Customers can rest assured that that they will always process their payroll on the latest software and legislative version.”

Companies’ payroll data is backed up daily and with the roll-over to each new payroll period. Back-ups are stored at alternative locations, ensuring that data can be restored at any given time. Employee history information is available for the current year and the previous five years and all payslips issued during that period are retained.

Leave types are pre-defined, covering annual, sick, family responsibility and maternity leave. Companies can simply capture start and end dates of leave taken. Documentation such as leave application forms and sick notes can be uploaded as part of all transactions. Leave reports enable management to analyse leave patterns such as sick leave abuse and leave allocations for traditional holiday periods and annual shut-down periods.

The online payroll solution enables uploading of employee personal details, photographs, contact numbers and addresses and manages pension or provident fund and medical aid contributions. Tax relief for private medical aid and retirement annuity contributions are also catered for.

The Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCEA) requires that all companies, no matter how small, must provide all employees with a formal payslip. Users can either print employees’ or payslips export them to Microsoft products. The payslip screen provides an on-screen summary of every employee’s financials (month-by-month and year-to-date), making input and reconciliations.

Pre-defined reports include company, employee and financial reports. including the EMP201 monthly SARS declaration. UIF contributions are recorded and retained within the software, eliminating the need for manual completion and submission of the UI 19 form, which can be transmitted electronically from the system.

Sars requires all companies to issue tax certificates to all employees who worked for the company during the tax year. Tax certificates can be printed from the system and a file for import into e@syFile is also created, removing the need to manually capture employee details for submission to SARS.

“The pay-as-you-go model is cost-effective from only R15 per payslip. Business owners can pay their employees anywhere anytime,” says Schmikl.

The Internet is here to stay and its capacity and connectivity have tangibly improved recently, providing an increasingly compelling service at progressively competitive prices although South Africa still has some way to go in terms of truly competitive pricing. Generally accepted standard online applications – those which many people are comfortable using on a daily basis such as online flight reservations systems, news feeds and social media sites are all being complemented by steady streams of new online business applications and services.

The huge adoption rate to tablets and smartphones from feature phones during 2012 as well as the estimated 2013 growth projections indicate that more people will access the internet on a daily basis. Accessing the internet has become part of our daily routines, like brushing our teeth. This means that more SMEs will have the luxury of a mobile office, doing business anywhere, anytime.