Payroll softwares in Kenya are saving small businesses hours of payroll administration work. Whilst employees look forward to receiving their salaries, payday is often a source of stress for employers. Over a fifth of small business owners say that they spend at least 10 hours a month on payroll related tasks.
That’s three weeks out of the year! Fortunately, automating the process makes paying out salaries a whole lot easier.
Benefits of Payroll Software in Kenya
- Compliance with your specific industry’s salary regulations.
- Accurate calculation of taxes.
- Correct pay calculation.
- Employee portals for employees to access their benefits and pay records.
There are numerous software options available. We evaluated the top options for Kenyan businesses based on price, ease of use, and capabilities.
[lwptoc]Top 5 Best Payroll Software in Kenya – 2022
1. Oraco Premier Payroll Software
Oraco’s Premier payroll software made it to our list because it is customized for Kenyan small to medium businesses. The system comes with an easy-to-use interface and running it will not be heavy on a standard computer.
Key Features
Electronic Payslips & Payments
Produce customized payslips that can be emailed to employees. The system integrates with most local banks to allow for electronic salary payments via RTGS and EFT.
Employee Information and Categories
Capture important employee information including their qualifications, employment date, and dependents. You can also categorize employees as casual, permanent, or contract.
Employee Time and Attendance Tracking
If you pay your employees by the hour, this will allow you to track their hours and particularly overtime accurately.
Unlimited Data Capacity
Premier payroll system has the capacity for an unlimited number of employees. It can also run on all top operating systems such as Microsoft, Linux, and Mac OS.
Statutory Deductions
The system comes with inbuilt NHIF rates, NSSF deductions, and compliance with PAYE Kenya and the iTax system.Best of all, Oracle gives you a 60-day free trial to familiarise yourself with the system.
2. Payspace Payroll
If your business has remote workers from other African countries, then Payspace is an ideal solution. Not only does Payspace have a footprint across Africa, they are also expanding to the Middle East and Europe.
Key Features
Multi-Currency Capability
The system allows for local or expatriate multi-country, multi-currency and multi-language payroll administration in over 40 African countries. This is a huge plus for Kenyan businesses with a regional footprint.
Global Access to Data
Payspace is cloud based meaning that data can be accessed from anywhere. All users need is an internet enabled device.This also reduces data storage needs for businesses. All server and backup requirements are provided by the Payspace cloud systems.
Robus Reporting
Access extensive real-time reports including costing, HR and Payroll reports. Above all, you can use their powerful analytics business intelligence tool for easy data analysis.
Easy to Use
Payspace gives users multiple options for data input. You can manually capture information, perform bulk uploads through Excel or directly connect your human resource planning software.
African Tax Compliance
One of the best features of Payspace is the work that has been put in to ensure tax compliance in 40 African countries.Your HR team will be able to adhere to any monthly or annual tax processes. The system also automatically adds country specific compensation to your dashboard. Furthermore, all your legislative reports for each country are also generated for submission purposes.
3. Wagemaster Payroll Software
Wagemaster promotes its payroll product as being the most efficient payroll software in Kenya. The software can be purchased together with ZKTecoTime Attendance Systems. With 7 package options, Wagemaster caters to the wide spectrum of businesses in Kenya.Whilst the system has great features including customization, compliance, timesheets with project allocation, we found the following the most distinguishable.
Key Features
ZKTeco & Wagemaster Integration
ZKTeco has teamed up with Wagemaster to sell attendance systems to businesses. The device comes in five options ranging from KSh24,000 to KSh95,000.Linking the attendance device to Wagemaster allows:
- Staff clockings using facial recognition, fingerprint, password or RFID card.
- Downloading of clocking data to a PC
- Analysis of data according to your organisation’s parameters
- Posting of summarized work hours directly to the payroll dashboard.
Flexible Pricing
Wagemaster has designed packages for companies with 10 employees right up to those who need unlimited staff entries.
| Starter | Bronze | Bronze+ | Silver | Silver+ | Gold | Premium |
| 10 employees | 20 employees | 35 employees | 50 employees | 100 employees | 150 employees | Unlimited employees |
Every package comes with access to the full range of features with the only difference being the number of employees you can manage.These features are:
- Permanent & Casual employees payroll.
- Bank transfers and pay slip emailing.
- Approved returns for PAYE, NSSF and NHIF.
- Paperless leave and recruitment.
- Multi User with custom user permissions.
- Single company license no annual charge.
4. SunLax Payroll
SunLax payroll stands out because of its employee self service capabilities. The system can also be integrated with biometric devices for improved reporting.
Key Features
Employees Records Induction to Termination
Keep track of an employee’s performance evaluations, attendance records, promotion history and qualifications. Record will span the full employee life cycle.
Upload Statutory Reports
The software is integrated to iTax, NHIF and NSSF portals to allow for easy uploading of all statutory reports.
Cloud Capabilities
SunLax is web based meaning it can be accessed remotely anytime. This allows both employees and employers to access it from any smartphone, tablet or PC.
Employees Self-Service Facility
Reduce time spent by HR on administrative tasks by allowing employees to manage their dashboards.
Biometric/Clocking Integration
Keep an accurate record of hours worked by adding your clocking tools to the payroll system.
5. Sage
Our final pick is Sage Payroll Software. Sage is a tried and tested software that many businesses have relied on over the years.With years of experience, you can be guaranteed of a stable payroll software system.
Key Features
Kenyan Focus
Since launching their payroll software in Kenya, the Sage team has spent time understanding the needs of local entrepreneurs. This Kenyan focused research has resulted in a product that stays up to date with changing regulations and business needs.
Stability & Security
As more and more Kenyan businesses digitise their operations, data security has become a real concern.HR management involves the handling of a lot of sensitive information.Sage has gone to great lengths to ensure that their payroll software comes with world class security.In addition, the system received a recent upgrade that has increased both processing times and stability.
Business Intelligence
Sage allows for in-depth breakdowns of salaries and performance per department.This can be useful for business decisions regarding recruitment and retention. Job costing can also be analysed at a project and individual level.
One Stop Shop
Sage eliminates the need for additional software for employee details and leave management. Each one of your staff will have a master file that contains all the HR details and records.
To wrap it up, the right payroll software can save you both time and money.
Select your solution based on must-have features and industry or business-specific ones.
We are particularly impressed by products that offer in-depth analysis & reporting.
Most payroll software in Kenya comes with a free trial period. Use this to test out a few options until you find the right fit.
