SmartSheets vs Accounter
A South African cloud accounting platform (from R300/month) that also offers a free online payslip generator.
This is an honest, side-by-side look at SmartSheets and Accounter for South African businesses. Both products have real strengths, and the right choice depends on your team size, budget and how much of your SARS admin you want the software to handle. Prices and features below were checked against the sources listed above and may change — always confirm current pricing on each vendor’s site.
Pricing at a Glance
SmartSheets
Free plan: R0 (1 payslip/month, no signup needed for the basic generator). Starter: R49/month or R395/year. Premium: R99/month or R799/year. Lifetime: R1,999 once-off.
Accounter
Free online payslip generator (no signup). Paid accounting platform: Small Business R300/month, Bookkeeper R650/month, Accounting Practice R900/month, Enterprise on request — with a 30-day free trial. Separate AI bank-statement/receipt extraction billing: free Starter tier (10 credits/month), then R249–R1,599/month. Verified on accounter.co.za/pricing, July 2026.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | SmartSheets | Accounter |
|---|---|---|
| Free payslip generator (no signup) | ✓ | ✓ |
| Entry paid price | R49/month (Starter) | R300/month (Small Business) |
| PAYE, UIF & SDL auto-calculation | ✓ | ✓ |
| Full double-entry accounting & bank reconciliation | ✗ | ✓ |
| Multi-currency & fixed assets | ✗ | Yes — Bookkeeper plan and up |
| Payroll runs with bulk payslips | Yes — Premium | Payslip tool; full payroll module not advertised — verify |
| Leave management (BCEA) | Yes — from Starter | ✗ |
| Employee self-service portal | Yes — Premium | ✗ |
| Invoicing & quotes | Yes — with PayFast, Ozow, Yoco payments | ✓ |
| Bank statement PDF conversion | ✓ | Yes — AI extraction, credit-based billing |
| Practice/client management for accountants | Accountant portal (basic) | Yes — dedicated R900/month practice plan |
| Once-off lifetime licence | Yes — R1,999 | ✗ |
The Honest Take
When Accounter is the better choice
Accounter is a real accounting system, and if what you need is books — double-entry ledgers, bank reconciliations, purchase invoices, inventory, fixed assets and VAT workflows — it does things SmartSheets simply does not attempt. Its Bookkeeper (R650/month) and Accounting Practice (R900/month) plans add multi-currency, project accounting and a client-management dashboard aimed squarely at bookkeepers and accounting firms with multiple client entities.
Its AI bank-statement and receipt extraction is also a strong standalone offering with a free starter tier. If you are an accounting practice, or an SME whose bottleneck is bookkeeping rather than payroll, Accounter’s R300+/month is buying a different, deeper category of software.
When SmartSheets is the better choice
If payroll is the job to be done, SmartSheets is both cheaper and deeper. Both of us offer a free no-signup payslip generator — but beyond the free tool, Accounter’s platform starts at R300/month for accounting, while SmartSheets Starter is R49/month with unlimited payslips and leave management, and Premium at R99/month adds payroll runs with bulk payslip generation and emailing, an employee self-service portal, e-signatures and EMP201/UI19/COIDA report summaries.
We also cover the everyday basics an SME needs without full accounting: VAT invoices and quotes with online payment collection, expense tracking, a bank statement converter and 30+ free calculators. Many small businesses run SmartSheets for payroll and invoicing and hand their accountant the exports — at a sixth of Accounter’s entry price.
Verdict
Accounter and SmartSheets overlap mainly at the free payslip tool. Behind it, Accounter is accounting software (from R300/month) and stronger for bookkeeping and practices; SmartSheets is payroll-and-invoicing software (free to R99/month) and stronger for payslips, leave, employee portal and low-cost SME admin. Pick based on which job you are hiring software for.
Frequently Asked Questions
Both have free payslip generators — what is the difference?
Both generate SA payslips with PAYE, UIF and SDL calculated, free and without signup. The difference is what sits behind the tool: SmartSheets’ paid plans (R49–R99/month) build out payroll — unlimited payslips, leave, bulk runs, employee portal — while Accounter’s paid plans (from R300/month) build out accounting: ledgers, reconciliations, VAT workflows.
Is Accounter payroll software?
Primarily no — it is cloud accounting software with SARS VAT/PAYE/UIF/SDL workflows and a free payslip tool. A full payroll module with payroll runs and employee self-service is not advertised on its pricing page; verify with Accounter if you need that. SmartSheets is payroll-first with invoicing added.
Which is cheaper for a small business?
SmartSheets, if you need payroll and invoicing: R49/month Starter or R99/month Premium versus Accounter’s R300/month entry plan. Accounter is the better value if you genuinely need double-entry accounting, since SmartSheets does not offer that at any price.
Can I use both together?
Yes, and it is a sensible split: SmartSheets for payslips, leave and compliance summaries; Accounter (or any accounting package) for the books. SmartSheets Premium exports data for Sage, Xero and QuickBooks to keep your accountant’s workflow intact.
Which should an accounting practice choose?
For managing many clients’ books, Accounter’s R900/month Accounting Practice plan with unlimited client accounts is built for that. SmartSheets suits practices that just need fast, compliant payslips and payroll summaries for micro clients without per-client accounting overhead.
Try SmartSheets Free
Generate a SARS-compliant payslip with PAYE and UIF calculated automatically — no signup needed for the basic generator.