Payroll Bureau South Africa | Managed Payroll & SARS Compliance

Your Payroll. Managed. By People Who Know What They Are Doing.

Full-service managed payroll for South African businesses.

Small business or enterprise.
We work with both.

A late EMP201 submission costs 10% of the PAYE liability — every month it remains outstanding. An incorrect IRP5 can trigger a SARS audit. A missed UIF declaration exposes your business to penalties under the UIF Act. One payroll administrator resigning at the wrong moment can cascade into months of compliance problems.

These are not hypothetical risks. They happen to South African businesses every month.

When Treadstone manages your payroll, every statutory deadline is in our diary, not yours. We file. You get confirmation. It is our responsibility — backed by 25 years of practice and a SAIPA-registered accountant reviewing every submission before it leaves.

Everything is included in
the monthly retainer.

The Treadstone payroll bureau retainer covers every aspect of your payroll obligation. There are no add-on charges for SARS submissions, no extra fee for year-end, and no invoice for answering a query.

Payroll Processing

Full payroll processing for your employees
Over time, shift allowances and variable pay calculation
Multiple department and cost centre allocation
New employee onboarding and termination processing
Leave management
Digital payslip distribution via an employee self-service portal
Bank payment file generation
Payroll journal export to your accounting system

SARS Compliance

EMP201 submission by the 7th of each month — without exception
UIF declarations via uFiling
SDL calculation and submission
ETI calculation and claim management
SARS eFiling representation — we deal with SARS on your behalf
We handle queries and correspondence
Tax directive management

Year-End & Reporting

IRP5 / IT3(a) certificate generation and submission at year-end
EMP501 employer reconciliation
COIDA Return of Earnings data preparation
Year-end payroll summary report
Monthly payroll confirmation report after every run
POPIA-compliant data handling under a signed data processing agreement

How we take over
your payroll.

The most common concern we hear: ‘We are in the middle of a tax year — is it too complicated to switch now?’ The answer is no. We have done this before. Here is exactly how it works.

You accept our proposal

You send us your payroll backup file and your PAYE reference number. That is the hardest part, and it takes about 10 minutes. Our team guides you through each step of this process, so you are never on your own.

We verify everything

Bev verifies all employee data, reconciles year-to-date figures, and confirms there are no SARS discrepancies before we touch anything. If we find a problem, we will tell you before we proceed.

We run your first payroll

Your first payroll runs in your existing system, so nothing changes for your employees. Same system, same payslips, but now we are the ones processing it. You review and give written approval before any payment file is released.

We migrate to PaySpace

The following month, we build your complete PaySpace file and run a parallel check to confirm every figure matches. From that point, all future payrolls run on PaySpace — with employee self-service, automated journal export, and full SARS compliance built in.

Simple,
transparent pricing.

We price on a per-payslip basis, so you pay for the employees you have. No setup surprises. No year-end invoice. One monthly fee that covers everything described above.

From R150 per payslip / month
For fixed monthly salaries and a straightforward structure.

From R170 per payslip / month
For payrolls with overtime, shift allowances, or multiple cost centres.

For businesses with more complex payroll requirements or fluctuating staff numbers, our pricing model adjusts to reflect the additional work involved. Once-off setup and onboarding fee applies to new clients, covering data verification, PaySpace setup, and SARS eFiling representative registration. Contact us for a quote based on your specific headcount and payroll complexity. The conversation takes 20 minutes, and we will give you a fixed price before you commit.

The real cost of an
in-house payroll administrator.

An in-house payroll administrator in East London costs between R18,000 and R28,000 per month in CTC, plus PAYE, UIF, SDL, annual and sick leave, and the risk of resignation at the worst possible moment.

As an example, a Treadstone payroll bureau retainer for a 50-employee business costs approximately R7,500 per month. That is three qualified professionals covering your account. Full SARS compliance and no HR liability, no leave coverage gaps, and no single point of failure.

At the lower end of the in-house cost range, the savings are over R10,000 per month. Over a year, that is more than R120,000 returned to the business, while receiving a higher standard of professional oversight than a single in-house resource can provide.

R18,000 – R28,000

Per month in CTC, plus PAYE, UIF, SDL, leave, and resignation risk.

~R7,500

Per month. Three qualified professionals. Full SARS compliance. No HR liability. No single point of failure.

R120,000+

Saved per year at the lower end of in-house cost range

Questions we are
asked regularly.

If your question is not here, call Grant on 082 574 1041 or email grant@treadstone.co.za.

Do I need to change payroll systems to use Treadstone?

No. We work within your existing system for the first month, including Pastel Payroll, Sage, and others, so nothing changes for your employees at the outset. We then migrate you to PaySpace at no additional cost, at a time that does not disrupt your payroll cycle.

What happens if my payroll administrator resigns?

Nothing changes for your payroll. Your file lives with Treadstone, not with an individual. Three qualified people cover your account — if one is unavailable, your payroll still goes out on time. This is the single most common reason businesses come to us.

What do I do if SARS contacts me directly?

Forward the correspondence to Bev or Grant immediately. As your registered SARS eFiling representative, Treadstone handles all SARS communication on your behalf. Do not respond to SARS directly without speaking to us first.

Is my employees' payroll data secure?

Yes. All data is stored in PaySpace’s encrypted, access-controlled cloud environment. During migration, your sensitive payroll information is securely transferred using encrypted methods, ensuring no unauthorised access at any stage. Treadstone operates under a formal POPIA data processing framework and signs a data processing agreement with every client.

What is an EMP201, and when does it need to be filed?

The EMP201 is the monthly employer declaration telling SARS how much PAYE, UIF, and SDL your business owes for the month. It must be submitted by the 7th of the following month. We file it every month without exception — and you receive confirmation when it has been submitted.

What if I have a problem with a payslip or a SARS query?

Contact Bev directly — you have her number and email from day one. Routine queries are answered within 4 business hours. For urgent matters, a same-day response is standard.

Your employees deserve to be paid on time. Every time.

Get a no-obligation payroll bureau quote from Treadstone. We will respond within 4 business hours.