Outsourced payroll and remote accounting for South African businesses
PayStream runs your payroll, keeps your books current, files every SARS and CIPC return that falls due, and reports back to you each month, wherever in South Africa your business happens to be. One fixed monthly fee, one senior contact, no in house finance team required.
10+ years with SA SMEs Written quote in 48 hours Director level contact Fully remote, nationwide
What we do
Four things, done properly, every month
Most accounting websites tell you they are trusted and professional and leave you guessing at the actual work. Here is the actual work. If a line below is something you are currently doing yourself or chasing someone else about, it is something we take over.
We process the payroll, send payslips to your staff, give you a payment schedule for the bank, and file the EMP201 with SARS before the 7th.
Week 2
Your books are brought current
Bank statements are processed, invoices and bills captured, and every account reconciled so the numbers reflect the real position of the business.
Week 3
Returns and compliance
VAT201 where applicable, provisional tax when the period falls due, CIPC annual returns in your anniversary month, and any SARS correspondence handled directly.
Week 4
You get the report
A short set of management accounts: profit and loss, balance sheet, cash position and anything we think you should be looking at. In plain English, not accounting jargon.
What lands in your inbox
This is what you actually get
Not a promise of "peace of mind". These are the documents a PayStream client receives, shown with example figures so you can see exactly what the work looks like before you commit to anything.
A PayStream payslipWhat each employee receives every month: earnings, PAYE, UIF and pension itemised, with the EMP201 filing recorded underneath. Shown with example figures.Monthly management accountsRevenue, margin, cash and debtor days against last month, with a plain-language note on what moved and why. Shown with example figures.Property portfolio scheduleRent, yield and arrears per property, across every entity you hold through, on one page. Shown with example figures.Your compliance calendarEvery SARS, CIPC and Labour deadline for your entity, tracked and filed before it falls due. Shown with example figures.
Remote, done properly
Your accountant does not need to be down the road
PayStream is a remote practice. That is a deliberate choice, not a compromise, and it is why the fee is realistic for a business with fifteen staff. Here is how it works in practice.
Documents without the driving
Invoices, statements and payroll changes reach us by email, WhatsApp or a shared folder. Bank transactions arrive on their own through a bank feed. Nothing gets dropped off anywhere.
Your numbers, live, in your name
The accounting file sits on Xero, Sage, QuickBooks or Zoho under your own login. You see the same live figures we work on, and the file stays yours if you ever leave.
A person on the channel you use
One senior contact by phone, email or WhatsApp, answered within one business day. A video call when something needs a proper conversation. Clients in every province, most of whom we have never met in person.
Who we work with
Built for owner run businesses
Small and medium businesses
From two staff to ninety nine. Trades, retail, professional services, logistics, hospitality and agencies who need a finance function without hiring one.
Property investors and landlords
Buy to let owners, commercial portfolio holders, managing agents and body corporates who need property specific books and correct VAT and CGT treatment.
Remote and hybrid businesses
Owners running lean teams from anywhere in South Africa. Everything happens on cloud software, so distance changes nothing about the service.
Why clients move to us
The difference is in how we work, not what we promise
One senior contact, not a rotating junior
You deal with a director for the life of the relationship. Every decision on your file has a name behind it.
Answered within one business day
Deadlines and SARS letters do not wait. Neither do we. Phone, email or WhatsApp, you get a reply the same or next working day.
One fixed monthly fee
Everything in your scope is covered by a single monthly amount. No hourly billing, no surprise invoices at year end, no scope creep.
Plans that scale with headcount
Our Scale Growth Model prices by the size and complexity of your business, so the fee grows as you do rather than jumping in steps.
Reporting you can act on
Management accounts written to be understood by an owner, not an auditor, with the two or three things worth your attention flagged each month.
Compliance is tracked, not remembered
Every SARS, CIPC and Department of Employment and Labour deadline for your entity sits on a calendar we work to, not in someone's head.
10+Years serving SA SMEs
48hWritten quote turnaround
24hQuery response guarantee
1Senior contact, always
Pricing
What outsourced accounting and payroll costs in South Africa
We publish the ranges rather than hiding them behind a form. These are typical South African market rates, and PayStream scopes each plan to sit competitively inside them as one fixed monthly fee.
PayStream is an outsourced finance department for South African businesses. We run your monthly payroll and payslips, keep your books up to date, file every SARS return that falls due (VAT201, EMP201, EMP501, provisional and income tax), handle your CIPC annual returns, and send you management accounts each month so you can see how the business is performing. You do not need to employ a bookkeeper, a payroll clerk or a tax practitioner, because that is what we are.
Do I have to be in Sandton to use PayStream?
No. We are a remote practice. All the work runs on cloud accounting software, so where your business sits makes no difference to the service you get. Documents come to us by email, WhatsApp or a shared folder, and we return payslips, reports and SARS confirmations the same way. We have clients across Gauteng, the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal who have never set foot in our office.
How much does it cost?
Every plan is scoped to your business, but as a guide: bookkeeping typically runs R1,500 to R5,000 a month, full outsourced accounting R3,000 to R12,000 a month, and payroll R150 to R500 per employee per month. PayStream bundles these into one fixed monthly fee that is usually below the sum of the parts. You get a written quote within 48 hours.
Can you take over from my current accountant?
Yes, and it is routine. We request your records and trial balance from the outgoing accountant, take over the SARS representative appointment through eFiling, check that nothing is outstanding, and pick up from the next month. Most handovers are complete inside two weeks.
Do you handle property companies and landlords?
Yes. Property is one of the areas we specialise in: rental income and expense tracking, commercial property VAT treatment, lease and tenant billing, sectional title and homeowners association books, capital gains on disposal, and portfolio level reporting for investors holding through multiple entities.
Who will I actually deal with?
A director. You get one senior contact for the life of the relationship, reachable by phone, email or WhatsApp, rather than a junior who changes every year. Queries are answered within one business day.