Blog - openHR

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Introducing Role‑Based Pay Rates

A Smarter, Cleaner Way to Manage Payroll Today we’re excited to release a feature that brings even more clarity, consistency, and dignity to your payroll workflow: Role‑Based Pay Rates. This update allows you to define pay rates directly on a job role, rather than managing them one employee at a time. It’s a small change with a big impact - reducing manual work and eliminating inconsistencies. read more

Introducing Third Parties in openHR

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. read more

January 1, 2026

Why openHR Can Afford to Be Free

And why the payroll industry’s pricing looks a lot like the Eskom mop scandal South Africans still joke about the infamous R238,000 Eskom mop - a symbol of outrageous markups and broken procurement systems. The public was rightly furious. How could something that costs under R150 be sold for hundreds of thousands of rand? But here’s the uncomfortable part: If you think that markup is bad, wait until you see the payroll industry. Let’s talk about direct costs - not marketing, not salaries, not office plants. Just the raw computational cost of generating a payslip. read more

December 31, 2025

Introducing Two‑Factor Authentication (2FA) in openHR

A new layer of dignity, security, and stewardship for your payroll and HR data At openHR, we design every feature with one goal: to protect the dignity of your business and your employees. Today, we’re proud to introduce Two‑Factor Authentication (2FA) - a simple, powerful way to secure your account using something you know (your password) and something you have (a one‑time code generated on your phone). And as always - this feature is included as standard in our Free tier along with many more unlimited features. read more

December 30, 2025

27% of Our Turnover, Given Back

Every year, we ask ourselves a simple question: If openHR exists to dignify work, how do we dignify the world around that work? This year, the answer was clear. We donated 27% of our turnover to evidence‑based, high‑impact charities - organisations that don’t just do good, but prove it. read more

December 27, 2025

My chat with Google Gemini

We've gone full "Undercover Boss" mode to find out what one of the best bot brains think about openHR and the "Secret Shopper" results are in! Here is the full chat. read more

December 26, 2025

Long Weekend Alert: Strategic Leave Days to Watch in 2026

Every year, savvy employees scan the calendar for ways to stretch their annual leave into loooong weekends - and 2026 offers some prime opportunities. At openHR, we treat these moments not as loopholes, but as diagnostic events in workforce planning. read more

December 11, 2025

South Africa’s 2026 Compliance Calendar

In the world of legacy-aware stewardship, statutory compliance isn’t just about ticking boxes - it’s about preserving dignity, clarity, and resilience. At openHR, we treat each deadline as a diagnostic event: a moment to reaffirm transparency, not scramble for survival. read more

December 11, 2025

South Africa’s 2026 Public Holidays

As we step into 2026, openHR continues its legacy-aware stewardship by documenting the national public holidays that shape payroll cycles, compliance rituals, and workforce planning. These dates aren’t just markers on a calendar - they’re diagnostic events of South African labour. read more

December 11, 2025

Introducing Custom UI Themes in openHR

At openHR, we believe dignity starts with choice - and that includes how your workspace looks and feels. That’s why we’re excited to announce the launch of custom UI themes, giving you more control over your experience. read more

December 2, 2025

Where can I download a blank UI19 form?

Right here. The form can also be pre-completed automatically with openHR. read more

December 2, 2025

How openHR Powers Payroll with 100% Renewable Energy

At openHR, we believe dignity starts with transparency - not just in payroll, but in the infrastructure that powers it. That’s why every payslip, leave request, and audit trail runs on servers fuelled by 100% renewable energy. read more

November 9, 2025

From Trillions to Trust: What Bonuses Really Say About Your Business

As South African businesses prepare for year-end payouts, one bonus has dominated global headlines: Elon Musk’s R17-trillion compensation package from Tesla - the largest ever awarded to a corporate leader. It’s easy to dismiss this as billionaire theatre. But beneath the headlines lies a diagnostic opportunity for every SME: what does your bonus say about your business’s legacy? read more

November 7, 2025

What Is a PAYE Number in South Africa?

If you’re hiring staff and paying salaries above the tax threshold, you’ll need to register for PAYE (Pay-As-You-Earn) - and that means getting a PAYE reference number from SARS. read more

November 4, 2025

Where Can I Get a UI19 Form in South Africa?

If you're an employer in South Africa needing to register or update employee details with the Department of Labour, you’ll likely be asked for a UI19 form. It’s one of those bureaucratic rituals that feels obscure until you need it - and then suddenly urgent. read more

November 4, 2025

Free Payroll Software South Africa: How openHR Empowers Small Businesses

Running a small business in South Africa comes with enough challenges - your payroll software shouldn’t be one of them. That’s where openHR steps in: a proudly South African, cloud-based payroll and HR platform offering a robust free plan designed to simplify compliance, reduce admin, and empower small teams to thrive. Let’s explore the free features included in openHR and how each one can make a tangible difference for small businesses. read more

November 2, 2025

Mandeni Blitz Exposes Child Labour

A Wake-Up Call for Compliance and Compassion In a late-night operation dubbed the “Dusk of Night” blitz, the Department of Employment and Labour, alongside SAPS and Home Affairs, raided two textile factories in Mandeni, KwaZulu-Natal. The results were chilling: 47 undocumented workers arrested, two employers detained, and a 14-year-old child found working under illegal conditions. This wasn’t just a labour violation - it was a mirror held up to the cracks in our current social systems. read more

October 29, 2025

True Empowerment Means Accessibility to Compliance Tools

In South Africa, compliance is often framed as a gate - something you pass through if you’re lucky, resourced, or well-connected. But what if compliance was a bridge instead? What if it was a scaffold that dignifies participation, rather than a barrier that filters it? At openHR, we believe that true empowerment begins with access. Not just access to funding or opportunity, but access to the tools that make participation possible. Payroll, contracts, UIF declarations, leave policies - these aren’t just admin tasks. They’re the rituals of legitimacy. And when those rituals are locked behind expensive software or opaque systems,... read more

October 20, 2025

When Is My Tax Return Due? 2025 Deadlines for Non-Provisional Taxpayers

South African taxpayers who aren’t classified as provisional have until 20 October 2025 to file their personal income tax returns. That’s the official SARS deadline - and it’s not just a date, it’s a diagnostic moment. If you haven’t been auto-assessed by SARS this year, this deadline applies to you. Auto-assessed taxpayers received their notices between 7-20 July, but if you didn’t get one, it’s your cue to log into SARS eFiling or the MobiApp and submit your ITR12 manually. read more

October 9, 2025

openHR's Most Advanced Payroll & HR Yet

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. read more

October 8, 2025

🧾 EMP501 Season: Interim Reconciliations open 22 September 2025

As the interim Employer Reconciliation window opens from 22 September to 31 October, openHR is here to help you navigate the SARS maze with clarity, speed, and zero fluff. read more

September 13, 2025