openHR's Most Advanced Payroll & HR Yet

8 Oct 2025
The best free payroll software with HR in South Africa just got better.

At openHR, we don’t just ship features - we ship dignity. The new upgrade is a quiet revolution for South African businesses, especially those navigating payroll and HR on tight budgets. Whether you manage two employees or two thousand, openHR now scales with sharper precision, smoother UX, and a touch of WhatsApp magic. 


📅 Monthly Tax & Leave Calculations - Now in Your Control

For monthly-paid employees, you can now override the default daily tax and leave calculations:

  • Tax Calculations: Switch from daily to fixed monthly basis directly in your company profile.
  • Leave Quantities: Override leave types to allocate fixed monthly quantities, simplifying accruals and improving transparency.

These changes aren’t just technical - they’re legacy-aware. They reflect how real businesses operate, and how dignity shows up in the details.

💬 WhatsApp Self-Service: HR in Your Pocket

Employees can now use WhatsApp to:

  • View payslips, leave balances, expense claims, and loan statuses
  • Apply for leave, submit claims, and receive confirmations - all within 24 hours
  • See QR code and messages on payslips that explain WhatsApp self-service, including the number to use

If the quantity of a WhatsApp-viewable item is zero, we won’t tease the option. No fluff, no confusion - just clean, diagnostic UX.

🧾 EMP501 & Compliance: Smarter, Faster, Safer

  • EMP501 submissions now require a valid tax number
  • EMP201 reminders can be activated in profile settings
  • Payslip PDFs now support multiple pages, password protection, and a 100% larger company logo
  • Print footers now read: “Created with www.openHR.co.za” - a nod to our premium users

🛠️ Fixes & Enhancements: From Bulk Imports to Turbo Views

We’ve squashed bugs and streamlined flows across the board:

  • Employee bulk imports now handle missing surnames gracefully
  • All date fields in employee forms now support max values of up to the year 10,000 and no longer up to the year 1,000,000 for faster capturing
  • Payslip deletions now available and also safely reverses leave earnings and loan deductions

🎨 Design & Layout: Small Touches, Big Impact

  • Company logos doubled in size (200x200 max)
  • Inline addresses for companies and employees now render elegantly
  • Subscription cards and landing images refined for clarity and speed
  • Navbar toggle hidden on small screens

🧠 Diagnostic UX & Legacy Moves

  • FAQs now include categories (landing, features, SDL, PAYE, UIF, etc.)
  • Permission restrictions now apply per employee tab
  • Employee photo and company logo uploads now streamlined

☕ Free Tier, Premium Dignity

Free users can “buy us a garage coffee” - because dignity doesn’t depend on your budget. Premium features are locked down with graceful redirects and fast upgrade prompts. No nagging. Just options.

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