Online payroll turns payday into a fast, accurate, and mostly automated experience that you can manage from anywhere—with Paymaster and HRmaster bringing all the moving parts into one integrated system. For South African businesses, that means less spreadsheet stress, stronger compliance, and more time for real HR and growth work.
What Is Online Payroll?
Online payroll is a cloud-based way to run salaries, deductions, and tax submissions using secure web software instead of manual or desktop systems. You log in, load your changes, review the results, and approve the pay run from any device with an internet connection.
Modern online payroll systems:
Calculate gross‑to‑net automatically, applying complex rules in the background.
Keep your data backed up and accessible in the cloud.
Produce compliant payslips, reports, and exports at the click of a button.
How Paymaster Brings Payroll Online
Paymaster, part of the HRmaster family, is built as a cloud‑based payroll platform and service, not just desktop software. You or your Paymaster administrator log into a secure profile, submit changes, and then review and approve each pay cycle online.
The core online flow is:
Set your details: Agree a process timetable and company setup with your personal payroll partner.
Submit payroll changes: Easily upload or key in changes (new hires, terminations, overtime, bonuses, etc.).
Submission checked: Paymaster’s team processes and validates your payroll for discrepancies.
Approve reports: Log in to review summary and detailed reports, then approve for payment and payslip release.
Everything happens through a browser—no on‑premise servers, no manual syncs.
Benefits Of Online Payroll With HRmaster
HRmaster positions Paymaster as the “favorite HR operating system” for people, payroll, time, and training working together. Running payroll online inside this ecosystem unlocks several advantages.
Save time every month
Automated gross‑to‑net calculations replace manual spreadsheets.
Recurring items (salaries, benefits) are pre‑configured, so only changes need attention.
Improve accuracy
Up‑to‑date tax and labour legislation are built into the engine.
The system and Paymaster’s team both check for errors before you approve.
Anywhere, anytime access
Cloud access to payroll, reports, and history from the office, home, or on the move.
Managers and HR can securely log in to see the data they need, without waiting for emailed spreadsheets.
Stronger security and backups
Encrypted payroll information and online backups replace fragile local files.
Historical data stays available for audits, reconciliations, and year‑end tasks.
Online Payroll Outsourcing vs Online Payroll Software
Paymaster gives you two main options: outsource your payroll to their team, or rent the online software and run it yourself. Both are cloud‑based—what changes is who does the work.
Online payroll outsourcing
Paymaster processes your payroll from start to finish, including tax reports and SARS submissions in specific packages.
You use the online portal mainly to upload changes and approve results.
Online payroll software rental
You rent Paymaster’s cloud software (Lite, Lite Plus, Premium), and your internal team runs payroll using the same powerful engine.
You still get online backups, access to historical data, and online reports and payslips.
This flexibility lets you start with outsourcing and later move in‑house—or keep a hybrid model as you grow.
Key Online Features In Paymaster
The Paymaster online payroll offering includes a feature set designed for South African businesses:
Gross‑to‑net calculations for all employees.
Built‑in, updated tax and labour legislation rules.
Online backup and full historical data access.
All standard and management reports available online.
Payslips via employee self‑service in Lite Plus and Premium tiers.
EMP201 reports and support for SARS submissions.
Online leave applications and automated leave records (from Lite Plus upwards).
Optional modules in Premium: manager views, industrial relations, skills, and employment equity.
In short, everything you need to run compliant payroll sits behind one secure login.
Why Online Payroll Beats Manual Systems
Compared to manual or spreadsheet‑driven payroll, online payroll systems significantly reduce effort and risk.
Manual systems:
Labour‑intensive; can take hours per run.
Prone to formula errors, version chaos, and security issues.
Online payroll systems like Paymaster:
Automate repetitive calculations and data transfers.
Centralise data, apply consistent rules, and minimise typos.
Scale effortlessly from a few employees to hundreds across multiple sites.
For HR teams already stretched with recruitment, employee website relations, and training, this shift can free up serious time.
Online Payroll As Part Of A Complete HR Stack
What makes HRmaster distinctive is that online payroll is not an island. It connects directly to:
Timemaster: online time and attendance feeding hours and shifts into payroll.
Teammaster HR: employee records, positions, and changes kept aligned with payroll.
Skillmaster: eLearning modules supporting payroll, compliance, and broader HR skills.
This integrated “HR operating system” approach means fewer logins, fewer imports/exports, and a single source of truth for your people data.
Is Online Payroll With HRmaster Right For You?
Online payroll through HRmaster’s Paymaster is a strong fit if:
You want to retire manual or desktop payroll systems.
Your HR/finance team is spending too much time on repetitive payroll admin.
You’re worried about keeping up with SARS and labour law changes.
You’d like employees and managers to access payslips and data themselves, securely.
For www.hrmaster.co.za, framing “online payroll” around time savings, compliance confidence, and integration with time, HR, and eLearning will speak directly to busy business owners looking for a smarter way to pay their people.