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Free payslips for South African employers and small businesses.
Add your worker, pay period and UIF, then download a PDF you can print or send on WhatsApp. No sign-up, and your records stay on this device.
- No signup or cloud account.
- BCEA Section 33 payslip information, built in.
- UIF calculated for you. PAYE entered manually.
- Earnings, deductions, hours and rates.
- Saved on this device, not in the cloud.
- Download a backup file and restore it any time.
- Live A4 preview, PDF download, WhatsApp-ready.
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Disclaimer: This tool helps you create basic South African payslips aligned to BCEA Section 33 payslip information. It is not legal, tax, payroll, UIF, SARS, or labour advice. You remain responsible for sector determinations, statutory submissions, and recordkeeping requirements that apply to your business.
What is the free South African payslip generator?
A free browser tool that generates a South African payslip with the information required by Section 33 of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act, including UIF (1% employee plus 1% employer, capped at the SARS monthly UIFable-income ceiling) when enabled. PAYE is entered manually. Records stay in your browser; nothing about employees is uploaded. You can download a PDF, send it via WhatsApp, and export a JSON backup. Built for micro businesses, spaza shops, small farms, domestic employers, small contractors and other small South African employers. Updated 2026-05-06.
What goes on a South African payslip?
The Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCEA) Section 33 sets the minimum payslip information employers must give to workers each time they are paid.
Required information
- Employer’s name and address.
- Employee’s name and occupation.
- Period for which the payment is made.
- Employee’s remuneration in money (gross pay).
- Amount and purpose of any deduction made.
- Actual amount paid to the employee (net pay).
If relevant to the pay calculation, the payslip must also show ordinary hours worked, overtime hours, Sunday and public holiday hours, the employee’s rate of pay, and the overtime rate.
- Spaza shops, small farms, domestic employers, small contractors, micro businesses and informal-to-formal employers who want a clean payslip without payroll software.
- No. Records are stored in your browser only (IndexedDB + localStorage). Use the Backup tab to export a JSON file you control.
- UIF, yes: enable it on a payslip and the tool calculates 1% employee plus 1% employer using the SARS monthly UIFable-income ceiling, with a UIF Reports tab per period. PAYE, no: you enter PAYE yourself. This is a payslip generator, not a full payroll engine.
- Yes. Use the Backup tab inside the app to download a JSON backup. Import it later or on another device.
Create a South African payslip in 5 steps
Five steps from opening the tool to sending it on WhatsApp. Same flow for monthly staff, weekly staff, casual or piece work.
- Open the free payslip generator.Open the tool in any modern browser. No account, no signup. Your records stay on your device.
- Capture your employer profile.Open the Employer tab and enter your business name, address, registration number and, if registered, UIF reference. Saved once, reused on every payslip.
- Add a worker.Open the Workers tab and add the employee: name, occupation, ID number and pay frequency. Workers are saved for reuse.
- Create a payslip.Open the Payslips tab, choose the worker and pay period, and enter earnings, deductions and hours. Enable UIF if applicable. The tool calculates 1% employee plus 1% employer using the SARS monthly UIFable-income ceiling.
- Download and send.Use the live A4 preview, then download as PDF and send via WhatsApp or email. Use the Backup tab to export a JSON backup you control.
Free payslip generator, payroll software or a custom payroll system?
When the free browser tool is enough, when payroll software is the next step, and when you have outgrown both.
| Capability | This free tool | Payroll software (Sage, SimplePay, PaySpace) | Custom payroll system |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost | Free | Per-employee monthly fee | Project cost |
| Employees | 1 to a handful | Small to large teams | Any, with bespoke roles |
| BCEA Section 33 fields | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| UIF auto-calculation | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| PAYE auto-calculation | No (manual) | Yes | Yes |
| Statutory submissions (UI-19, EMP201, IRP5) | No | Yes | Yes |
| Leave tracking | No | Yes | Yes |
| Multi-user access | No (single browser) | Yes | Yes (custom roles) |
| Audit trail | No | Yes | Yes |
| Where employee data lives | Your browser only | Vendor cloud | You decide (self-hosted or cloud) |
| Who owns what | Your records are yours | Vendor’s terms | Agreed in writing before work starts |
Domestic workers, farm workers and contract cleaners have sector-specific minimum wages and hours rules issued under the BCEA (Sectoral Determinations 7, 13 and 1 respectively). This tool generates the payslip; sector-specific compliance, including minimum wage, working hours, leave and termination conditions, remains the employer’s responsibility. See the Department of Employment and Labour for current sectoral wage and hours rules.
South African payslip terms, in plain wordsPlain-language definitions for the terms used on the payslip and on this page.
- Gross pay
- The full amount earned in the pay period before any deductions: basic pay plus allowances, overtime, bonuses, commission and any other earnings lines.
- Net pay
- The actual amount paid to the employee after all deductions are subtracted from gross pay.
- UIF
- Unemployment Insurance Fund. South African statutory contribution: 1% from the employee plus 1% from the employer, on the employee’s UIFable income, capped at the SARS monthly UIFable-income ceiling.
- UIFable income
- The portion of the employee’s remuneration that the UIF contribution is calculated on, capped at the monthly UIFable-income ceiling.
- PAYE
- Pay As You Earn: the employee income tax the employer withholds and pays to SARS. PAYE depends on tax tables and is not auto-calculated by this tool; you enter PAYE yourself and label the deduction.
- BCEA
- Basic Conditions of Employment Act. Section 33 sets the minimum payslip information South African employers must give to workers each time they are paid.
- Sectoral Determination
- Sector-specific minimum wage and conditions issued under the BCEA, for example Sectoral Determination 7 for domestic workers, Sectoral Determination 13 for farm workers, Sectoral Determination 1 for contract cleaning. Sector-specific compliance stays with the employer.
- Pay period
- The interval the payslip covers, most commonly monthly, fortnightly, weekly, daily or hourly.
Last updated: 2026-05-06. Verified against the wording of BCEA Section 33 and current SARS UIF guidance. Sources: Basic Conditions of Employment Act (gov.za) · Department of Employment and Labour · SARS: UIF.
When you need real payroll or business systems.
Use this free tool when payslips are simple. When you need PAYE and UIF automation, leave tracking, multi-user access or sync across devices, you need a payroll provider or a custom platform.
- BX1X business operationsA broader platform for billing, bookings, CRM, inventory, accounting and connected workflows.
- Custom platform applicationsHR, payroll, billing, CRM, audit trails, built around your specific business workflows.
- Built as a single page appBrowser-only. Your tool data stays in your browser. Built for micro businesses and informal-segment employers.
- Single page app developer in South AfricaRemote delivery across South Africa, in rand. POPIA-friendly browser-only tools and API-connected apps.
- Booking and workflow systemsMulti-user access, approval flows, automated reminders, integrations with WooCommerce, Shopify and Xero.
For your technical person
How the payslip generator is built
- A browser-only single page app (React). Employer profile, saved workers and payslips live in IndexedDB and localStorage; nothing about an employee is sent to a server.
- Full JSON backup export and import from the Backup tab, for moving between devices or browsers.
- PDFs come from the browser’s print dialog using an A4 print layout; there is no server-side PDF step.
- UIF is calculated at 1% employee plus 1% employer against the SARS monthly UIFable-income ceiling; PAYE is a manual entry, since it depends on tax tables this tool does not model.
- The standalone full-screen version is at /tools/payslip-app (not indexed).
Questions owners ask.
Is this payslip generator free?
Yes. It is a free, no-signup browser tool. There is no trial, no paywall, and no account.
Is my data uploaded?
No. Your employer details, saved workers and payslips are stored locally in your browser using IndexedDB and localStorage. Nothing is sent to a server. Use the Backup tab to export your data as JSON.
What must appear on a South African payslip?
The Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCEA) Section 33 requires payslip information including the employer name and address, the employee name and occupation, the pay period, gross remuneration, the amount and purpose of each deduction, and the net amount paid. Where relevant to the calculation, ordinary hours, overtime hours, Sunday and public holiday hours, the rate of pay, and the overtime rate must also be shown.
How often must a South African payslip be issued?
Section 33 of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act requires that the employer give the employee the payslip information each time the employee is paid. For most workers that is monthly, fortnightly, weekly or daily depending on the pay arrangement.
Do I have to give my domestic worker a payslip in South Africa?
Yes. Domestic workers are covered by the Basic Conditions of Employment Act and Sectoral Determination 7. The employer must give a payslip with the BCEA Section 33 information each pay period. The free tool generates a payslip suitable for a domestic worker; sectoral minimum-wage and hours rules remain the employer’s responsibility.
Can I use this for micro businesses, spaza shops, small farms or small contractors?
Yes. The tool is designed for simple payslips and is well suited to micro businesses, spaza shops, small farms, domestic employers, small contractors and other small employers. Sectoral determinations stay with the employer.
Does it calculate PAYE or UIF automatically?
UIF, yes. When you enable UIF on a payslip, the tool calculates the 1% employee contribution and the 1% employer contribution using the SARS monthly UIFable-income ceiling. A UIF Reports tab summarises contributions per period for record-keeping. PAYE, no. PAYE is not auto-calculated; you enter PAYE yourself and label the deduction. The tool is a payslip generator, not a full payroll engine.
What is the UIF rate in South Africa?
The Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) contribution rate is 1% from the employee plus 1% from the employer, on the employee’s UIFable income, capped at a monthly UIFable-income ceiling set by SARS and the Department of Employment and Labour. The free tool calculates both contributions when UIF is enabled on a payslip.
Does the tool file UIF, EMP201 or IRP5 returns?
No. The tool calculates UIF amounts on the payslip and shows a UIF Reports view per period for your record-keeping. It does not submit UI-19, EMP201 or IRP5. Statutory filings stay with you, your bookkeeper or your accountant.
Does this comply with sectoral determinations for domestic workers, farm workers or contract cleaning?
The payslip information aligns with BCEA Section 33. Sector-specific minimum wages, hours and conditions (Sectoral Determinations) are not enforced by the tool. They remain the employer’s responsibility. Use the Department of Employment and Labour for the current sectoral wage and hours rules.
Can I create a payslip for casual or piece work?
Yes. The tool supports any pay frequency, ad-hoc pay periods, and earnings or deductions you specify. Many small employers use it for once-off casual payslips and one-day jobs as well as for regular monthly staff.
Can I export and back up my records?
Yes. Open the Backup tab inside the app to download a JSON backup of your employer profile, saved workers and payslips. You can import the same file later or on another device.
How do I send the payslip via WhatsApp?
Click Download PDF inside the editor and choose "Save as PDF" in your browser print dialog. Then attach the PDF in WhatsApp. The editor includes a "Copy WhatsApp message" button for a friendly default message.
Does this replace payroll software?
No. It generates basic payslips. For full payroll, meaning PAYE and UIF calculations, statutory submissions, leave tracking, multi-user access and audit trails, use a payroll system or a custom platform.
Need real payroll? Tell me the problem.
+27 87 150 9305Monday to Friday, 09:00 to 20:00 SAST. Or email info@antondevilliers.com.