A payroll software solution developed specifically for the needs of micro enterprises with up to five employees has been brought to market by local payroll software developer Softline Pastel Payroll.
The package, known as Pastel MicrOpay, is a simplified version of the highly successful software developed by the company for SME businesses.
"The Pastel MicrOpay solution does not offer the smart features that larger companies need and like to use, but it does take care of all the legal requirements such as tax, OID, UIF, SDL, medical aid and EMP201 returns, that micro enterprises have to deal with," says Pastel Payroll technical director Philip Meyer.
With the increasing complexity and spread of legislation covering business and employment, it is becoming more and more difficult for very small companies to provide the required returns accurately and on time. Meyer says complications such as changes or variances in UIF thresholds make the use of spreadsheets and meeting legal requirements unwieldy and difficult.
"Companies of all sizes face penalties for non-compliance with legislation. Even for companies with up to five employees, a CCMA hearing and legal processes can be a serious financial setback. With Pastel MicrOpay, these risks can be minimised. It is an uncomplicated software solution ideally suited to meet the payroll needs of the very small business, providing professionally structured payslips and ensuring legal compliance with the many employee and company taxes, levies and returns."
Without the 'bells and whistles' that are contained in the SME version of Pastel Payroll, the Pastel MicrOpay software offers very small businesses an effective payroll solution at an affordable cost.
"Not only does Pastel MicrOpay ensure peace of mind with legal and accurate statutory returns, users also receive immediate software updates if legal requirements change," adds Meyer.
The software has many "assistants" (wizards) that guide users through tasks of a non-repetitive nature, making these tasks simple and intuitive. These include: Setup Assistant, General Ledger Integration Assistant, Payroll Run Assistant and Year End Update Assistant. The software also ships with pre-defined sets of transactions to ensure businesses are up and running in no time.
Users can quickly set up new employees by linking them to a pre-defined employee profile that automatically populates the standard transaction information and can make use of a comprehensive context-sensitive help facility (F1 button).
Even though smaller companies do not require complex transactions, the security of payroll information is most important and access is password-protected. The software also integrates with Pastel Accounting. Pastel MicrOpay is now also available from more than 1 000 nationwide resellers and selected retail outlets.
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Softline Pastel Payroll, a member of the Softline group, is the leading developer of payroll applications software and services in South Africa. Skills, experience and innovation in this field accumulated over more than 19 years in business, confirm Pastel Payroll's leading position in payroll and HR software solutions for the SME market. Pastel is listed as one of the top 10 IT brands in South Africa (Sunday Times, 17 September 2006). Pastel Payroll provides easy-to-use, accurate, secure and feature-rich payroll/HR solutions, ensuring businesses keep up-to-date and fully compliant with changing legislative requirements, taking them beyond payroll.
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