SmartSheets vs SimplePay
A widely recommended SA cloud payroll service with full SARS e@syFile integration, priced per active employee.
This is an honest, side-by-side look at SmartSheets and SimplePay 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.
SimplePay
SimplePay uses a single “One Plan” billed per active employee per month, quoted via the calculator on simplepay.co.za/pricing (no public flat price list). Third-party guides report roughly R65/month base plus around R18 per employee, but verify with their calculator. Includes a 30-day free onboarding period with all features.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | SmartSheets | SimplePay |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes — 1 payslip/month, no signup for basics | No — 30-day free trial only |
| Pricing model | Flat: R49 or R99/month regardless of headcount | Per active employee (calculator quote) |
| PAYE, UIF & SDL auto-calculation | ✓ | ✓ |
| SARS e@syFile integration (IRP5 / IT3(a)) | ✗ | ✓ |
| EMP201 figures | Yes — report summary | ✓ |
| Leave management | Yes — from Starter | ✓ |
| Employee self-service | Yes — web portal (Premium) | Yes — portal + iOS/Android apps |
| Accounting integrations | Export files for Sage, Xero, QuickBooks (Premium) | Native Xero & QuickBooks posting |
| Invoicing, quotes & online payments | Yes — PayFast, Ozow, Yoco | ✗ |
| Instant payslip without onboarding | ✓ | ✗ |
| 30+ free payroll calculators | ✓ | ✗ |
| Once-off lifetime licence | Yes — R1,999 | ✗ |
The Honest Take
When SimplePay is the better choice
SimplePay is arguably the best pure cloud payroll product for small SA businesses that file their own SARS returns, and many accountants recommend it for good reason. Its killer feature is genuine SARS integration: it generates e@syFile import files for IRP5/IT3(a) certificates and supports the EMP501 reconciliation cycle, so tax year-end is largely handled inside the product. SmartSheets does not do this.
It also has native Xero and QuickBooks integrations that post payroll journals automatically, polished self-service mobile apps, and mature leave workflows. If you run formal monthly payroll for a stable team and want filing to be near-automatic, SimplePay’s per-employee fee is money well spent.
When SmartSheets is the better choice
SmartSheets is the faster, cheaper option when what you actually need is professional payslips and basic compliance rather than a full filing pipeline. The free plan produces a PAYE/UIF-calculated payslip with no signup, and Starter is a flat R49/month with unlimited payslips — with per-employee pricing like SimplePay’s, costs climb as you hire, while our flat plans do not.
We also cover ground SimplePay does not: invoicing and quotes with PayFast/Ozow/Yoco online payments, expense tracking, a bank statement converter, and 30+ free calculators (PAYE, UIF, SDL, leave pay and more). For freelancers paying an assistant, household employers, or SMEs that want payroll and invoicing in one login for under R100/month, SmartSheets is the better fit.
Verdict
SimplePay is the better pure payroll product if you want SARS e@syFile filing and native accounting integrations, and its per-employee price is fair. SmartSheets wins for small teams that want a flat, low price (free to R99/month), instant payslips with zero onboarding, and invoicing plus free calculators in the same toolkit.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is SimplePay or SmartSheets cheaper?
It depends on headcount. SmartSheets charges a flat R49/month (Starter) or R99/month (Premium) regardless of how many payslips or employees you have on Premium. SimplePay bills per active employee via a quote calculator — third-party guides suggest around R65 base plus roughly R18 per employee, so a 10-person team can cost more than SmartSheets Premium. Verify with SimplePay’s own calculator.
Does SmartSheets integrate with SARS e@syFile like SimplePay?
No. SimplePay generates e@syFile import files for IRP5/IT3(a) and supports EMP501 reconciliation. SmartSheets gives you EMP201, UI19 and COIDA report summaries to use when filing manually on eFiling. If automated year-end filing is a must-have, SimplePay is the stronger choice.
Does SimplePay have a free plan?
No permanent free plan — SimplePay offers a 30-day free onboarding period with full features. SmartSheets has a genuinely free tier (1 payslip/month with PAYE and UIF auto-calculated) and a no-signup payslip generator.
Can SmartSheets handle invoicing as well as payroll?
Yes. SmartSheets includes VAT invoices and quotes with online payment collection via PayFast, Ozow or Yoco, plus expense tracking. SimplePay is payroll-only, so you would pair it with separate accounting software for invoicing.
Which should an accountant or bureau use?
For running client payrolls with SARS filing, SimplePay (which has bureau pricing) is the more complete professional tool. SmartSheets suits accountants who need quick, well-formatted payslips and compliance summaries for micro clients at minimal cost.
Try SmartSheets Free
Generate a SARS-compliant payslip with PAYE and UIF calculated automatically — no signup needed for the basic generator.