Johannesburg, South Africa -- (SBWIRE) -- 09/10/2013 -- With payroll subscription, users pay a low monthly fee and don’t incur the usual initial investment costs they would when normally purchasing an automated desktop payroll solution.

Sage Pastel Payroll & HR general manager, Laurica Kok, says that in a difficult economy this is a lucrative option in the form of a low monthly payment plan.

Regular statutory and legislative changes in the payroll and HR industry make it challenging for businesses to comply with the 6 major Payroll Acts. Companies can simply not afford to process their payroll by making use of a manual system or formulae driven worksheets. Manual and worksheet payroll processing can result in incorrect calculations and deductions, meaning companies can potentially face SARS penalties.

Staying abreast of regular legislative updates can be a daunting task for any business. Subscription payroll enables companies to make use of automated payroll software to confirm that payslip calculations are accurate first time round, every time. One of the benefits of an automated payroll solution is that many vendors offer telephonic and email support services as part of their payroll offering.

With subscription, the payroll desktop solution provides users with the best of both worlds (desktop and online), by making use of frictionless automated update technology. Frictionless updates enable traditional desktop applications to seamlessly update over the internet with minimal intervention from the end-user.

Businesses no longer need to download and install updates from a website or use CD versions to manually update their software. The software now does it all for them, directly from their payroll software - as long as businesses have an active internet connection.

Another component of frictionless updates is RSS Feeds directly to the desktop payroll system. This allows your business to receive information, notifying you of legislative and tax changes as well as new system software releases so that your business can stay on the right side of the law.

Another benefit of opting for an automated software solution is that your business can experience hassle-free SARS submissions. A payroll file can be imported directly into SARS eFiling, for accurate PAYE, UIF and SDL reconciliations. With payroll subscription, businesses can afford to automate their payroll and HR administrative tasks.

About Sage
Softline was founded in 1988 by Ivan Epstein, Alan Osrin and Steven Cohen. The company was established during the formative years of the business software industry in South Africa, and soon became the leader in the provision of business software and services to small and medium sized companies. In 2003, Softline was acquired by UK based company, The Sage Group plc. Softline officially changed to Sage in February 2013, to align with our parent company, Sage Group plc. We continue to provide local expertise backed by the global Sage brand.

About The Sage Group plc
Sage Group plc is a leading global provider of business management software to small and medium sized companies, creating greater freedom for them to succeed. Sage understands how and why each business is unique. We provide products and services that suit varying needs, are a pleasure to use and are secure and efficient. Formed in 1981, Sage was floated on the London Stock Exchange in 1989 and entered the FTSE 100 in 1999. Sage has over 6 million customers and more than 13,380 employees in 24 countries covering the UK & Ireland, mainland Europe, North America, South Africa, Australia, Asia and Brazil. For further information please visit http://www.sage.com/

About Sage Pastel Payroll
Sage Pastel Payroll offer user-friendly Payroll & HR software that caters for those businesses just starting out, as well existing businesses and aims to support the growth of the company and develop partnerships with clients. Sage Pastel Payroll & HR is committed to providing a comprehensive payroll solution, unrivalled support and easy-to-use online payroll tools.