Introducing Third Parties in openHR

1 Jan 2026
A New Era of Compliance Freedom

For years, payroll systems have treated third‑party submissions as an afterthought - a tangle of hard‑coded councils, rigid report formats, and expensive “customisations” that somehow never survive the next update. With openHR’s new Third Party Module, that era is over.

We’ve built a flexible, transparent, and fully auditable way for South African businesses to manage any third‑party organisation they work with - from bargaining councils to unions, medical aid schemes, IT88s, garnishee orders, and more.

This isn’t just a feature. It’s a shift in power.

Why This Matters

Every month, employers must submit contributions and deductions to a growing list of statutory and non‑statutory bodies. Each one has its own rules, formats, and reconciliation cycles. Traditionally, payroll systems force you into whatever they support - and if they don’t support it, you’re on your own.

openHR now flips that model.

With the new Third Party Module, you can:

  • Create your own third parties - bargaining councils, unions, funds, agencies, anything.
  • Link them to pay transaction templates - ensuring every contribution or deduction is correctly mapped.
  • Run date‑driven reports - perfect for monthly submissions, quarterly reconciliations, and year‑end audits.
  • Export clean, consistent data - aligned with your organisation’s exact requirements.
  • Maintain a full audit trail - because compliance without transparency is just paperwork.
This is compliance on your terms.

Built for South African Realities

South Africa’s labour landscape is rich, complex, and constantly evolving. openHR’s Third Party Module is designed to support the organisations that shape it - especially the major bargaining councils that many payroll systems still struggle to handle.

Some of the biggest councils this module empowers you to manage include:

  • MIBCO - Motor Industry Bargaining Council
  • MEIBC - Metal and Engineering Industries Bargaining Council
  • BIBC - Building Industry Bargaining Council
  • NBCRFLI - Road Freight and Logistics Industry
  • PSIRA / Private Security Sector - including the Private Security Sector Provident Fund (PSSPF)
  • SACCAWU‑aligned structures - retail and commercial sectors
  • Various regional construction and trade councils
And because the system is fully configurable, you’re not limited to these. If your organisation works with a niche council, a regional fund, or a specialised union, you can set it up in minutes.

Designed for Accuracy. Built for Dignity.

Every part of this module reflects openHR’s philosophy: give SMEs the tools they need, without locking them into someone else’s assumptions.

  • No hidden fees - Third Parties are included with our Plus and Pro plans.
  • No “custom development” invoices.
  • No waiting for vendor updates.
  • No opaque black boxes.
Just clean, transparent, self‑service compliance.

Third‑party reporting is one of the most painful parts of payroll. Now it becomes one of the most controlled, predictable, and transparent.


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