Payroll for restaurants in South Africa
Restaurants juggle waiters on tips, kitchen staff on hourly rates, casual weekend workers, and shift managers on salary — often across two or three sites. Payroll Africa handles tips, service charges, split shifts, public-holiday premiums and daily-rate workers on one payslip.
Payroll Africa Editorial · SARS Payroll Compliance Team
The Payroll Africa editorial team is composed of registered tax practitioners, payroll administrators and BCEA specialists who maintain the SARS PAYE, UIF, SDL and ETI engines that power the platform. Every article is reviewed against the current SARS BRS and Basic Conditions of Employment Act before publication.
- SARS registered tax practitioners
- SAPA-affiliated payroll administrators
- BCEA and LRA compliance reviewers
Last updated 01 Oct 2026
Payroll challenges facing South African restaurants
Restaurants have payroll pain points that generic payroll software wasn't designed for. The most common:
- Waiters on basic + tips + service charge
- Weekly-paid casual and part-time staff
- Sunday and public holiday double time
- Split shifts and short-notice rota changes
- High turnover — frequent onboarding and IRP5s for leavers
How Payroll Africa fits restaurants
Every feature listed here is included on every Payroll Africa plan — no per-module add-ons.
- Multi-frequency payroll (weekly, fortnightly, monthly on one system)
- Automatic BCEA overtime, Sunday and public holiday rates
- Tip and service-charge tracking with correct PAYE treatment
- WhatsApp payslips — no email needed for FOH and kitchen staff
- Per-site cost centres for owner reporting
SARS compliance for restaurants
Whatever your industry, SARS treats payroll the same — accurate PAYE, UIF and SDL, EMP201 by the 7th, EMP501 bi-annually and IRP5 by 31 May. Payroll Africa produces every SARS artefact automatically from your monthly payroll run.
Pricing for restaurants
Payroll Africa is priced in simple headcount tiers — from R90/month for 2 employees to R401 for 10, R1,712 for 50 and R4,182 for 200. No setup fees, no annual contract.
Frequently asked questions
Related guides
Stop looking this up. Let payroll do it.
Payroll Africa applies Restaurant rules automatically every month — SARS PAYE, UIF and SDL, payslips, EMP201 and IRP5. From R90/month.
- No card required
- 30-day free trial
- Free migration from Sage, SimplePay, PaySpace or Excel
- Cancel anytime
Run Payroll Africa alongside your current system until you're happy to switch.