Payroll Africa
One statutory payroll engine for all of Africa
Payroll Africa is a tax-aware statutory payroll engine that extends Frappe HR to automatically compute every employee and employer deduction (PAYE and personal income tax, pension and social security, health insurance, housing levies, and training funds) using a 54-country African rule set. It hooks into the Salary Slip lifecycle, resolves each employee's country, and applies that jurisdiction's current tax bands, ceilings, and reliefs deterministically. Rates live in editable settings, not code, so a statutory change is applied same-day with no redeployment. A suite of 342 automated tests stands behind every calculation.
342 tests behind every deduction
Key capabilities
54-Country Statutory Rule Set
One deterministic calculator per country computes PAYE/PIT, pension and social security, health insurance, housing levies, and training funds across a rule set spanning East, Southern, West, North, and Central Africa plus the Indian Ocean. Continental coverage from a single engine.
HRMS Regional Override
Deductions are injected automatically at Salary Slip validation via the HRMS apply_regional_deductions hook. Zero manual entry, no missed components. Payroll just works on save and submit.
Config-Driven Rates
Rates, ceilings, reliefs, and progressive tax bands live in per-country Settings DocTypes with effective dates. Change the rate, not the code. No developer needed when a budget or statute lands.
Country Enable / Disable
A global toggle plus per-country checkboxes filter the sidebar, components, reports, and settings live, with no restart. Deploy only the jurisdictions you operate in for a clean, uncluttered workspace.
Employer-Only Contribution Split
An is_employer_only flag marks employer costs and routes them to the employer-contribution table, giving true Cost-to-Company visibility and accurate labour-cost budgeting.
Standalone Deduction API
Compute deductions for any country and gross pay without creating a Salary Slip. Ideal for what-if analysis, offer letters, and quotes. Returns employee deductions, employer contributions, net pay, and cost to company.
112 Statutory Reports & Bulk Recalculation
Country PAYE/PIT returns, social-security remittances, and 5 cross-country summaries are filing-ready. After a rate change, one click bulk-recalculates draft slips for one country or every enabled country.
Audit-Traceable, Tested Computation
A Rate Change Audit Trail report tracks statutory rate changes with effective dates, and 342 automated tests cover the calculators, so an auditor can trace exactly why any deduction amount appeared.
Why teams choose this
- Run compliant statutory payroll across a 54-country African rule set from a single Frappe HR install
- Eliminate spreadsheet errors and manual tax lookups with tested, country-specific calculator logic
- Apply statutory rate changes same-day by editing settings: no code, no redeployment
- See true Cost to Company with employer contributions always separated from employee deductions
- Generate filing-ready statutory returns and remittance schedules for African revenue authorities
- Simulate salary changes before committing with the standalone deduction API
- Enable only the jurisdictions you operate in: no clutter, no restart
- Give auditors traceable computation backed by a rate-change audit trail and 342 automated tests
Frequently asked questions
How do I run compliant payroll across Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa?
Payroll Africa extends Frappe HR with a 54-country African rule set spanning East, Southern, West, North, and Central Africa plus the Indian Ocean. Each employee's country is resolved on the Salary Slip, and that jurisdiction's PAYE and personal income tax, pension and social security, health insurance, housing levies, and training funds are applied deterministically from a single install.
Are PAYE and NSSF calculated automatically in Frappe HR?
Yes. Deductions are injected automatically at Salary Slip validation through the HRMS apply_regional_deductions regional override, with no manual entry. The Kenya calculator models NSSF Tier I and II, SHIF, the Housing Levy, NITA, and personal relief as a tax credit, so payroll just works on save and submit.
Can I change tax bands without code changes?
Yes. Rates, ceilings, reliefs, and progressive tax bands live in per-country Settings DocTypes with effective dates. You edit the rate, not the code, so a statutory change is applied same-day with no developer and no redeployment. A Rate Change Audit Trail report tracks every change with its effective date.
How many countries does Payroll Africa support?
54 African countries, each with its own calculator and settings. On install it provisions currencies, custom fields, salary components, income tax slabs, and salary-structure templates for the original 21 Tier-1 countries, while Tier 2 to 4 calculators, DocTypes, and reports ship ready to enable as your footprint grows.
How do I separate employer and employee contributions?
Every component carries an is_employer_only flag that marks employer costs and routes them to the employer-contribution table, giving true Cost-to-Company visibility and accurate labour-cost budgeting. The standalone calculate_deductions API returns full employee deductions, employer contributions, net pay, and cost to company for what-if analysis and offer letters.