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Frequently Asked Questions

If I sign up with SimplePay after the start of the tax year, can I still use it for my Bi-Annual Filing?

You can use SimplePay for your filing even if you used another system for the first period(s) of the tax year, or even for the whole tax year. You have two options here: using take-on balances or recreating payslips.

Using take-on balances for filing purposes

We strongly advise you to use take-on balances when capturing information for filing purposes. This removes the possibility of any discrepancies between your previous system's payslips and those on SimplePay. In order to capture take-on balances, your first payroll period must be after the first March pay period and the employee's appointment date must be before this. More information on these aspects can be found on the Payroll Setup help page.

If you have been using another payroll system for the whole tax year but now want to use SimplePay for filing purposes, you'll need at least one finalised payslip for that tax year.

  • For example, if you used another system for the 2017 tax year, you should follow these steps:
    • Set your first payroll period end date to the end of February 2017, as described in the Pay Frequencies section of the help page linked to above.
    • Enter take-on balances for the full tax year – including information from March 2016 to February 2017 – as described in the Take-On Balances section of the help page linked to above.
    • Finalise the February 2017 payslip as a zero payslip.

Using this method will allow SimplePay to generate IRP5s and the e@syFile export file for you. However, the EMP501 on SimplePay requires actual payslips, so you'll need to use your previous records for this information for any months prior to your first payroll period on SimplePay. You can download an Excel version of the EMP501 to use as a template for this.

Recreating historic payslips

However, if you'd like to, you're welcome to recreate all of your historic payslips from March onwards. You'll need to confirm that your first payroll period is set to March as described in the Pay Frequencies section of the help page linked to above.

This method will allow SimplePay to generate the IRP5s, e@syFile export and EMP501 for the entire tax year.

Possible discrepancies

Using this method opens up the possibility for discrepancies in the calculations between your previous payslips and those you create on SimplePay. This may be the case if you previously used the periodic tax basis (i.e. using the tax tables) or if certain things were overridden / configured in a non-standard way on your previous system. For this reason, we would strongly recommend you use the take-on balances option.

Filing documents

SimplePay generates your Bi-Annual filing documents from the data captured on the system. You can access these documents by going to Filing > Bi-Annual Filing (IRP5s etc.). More information is available on the following related help pages:

I have multiple companies on SimplePay with the same PAYE number. Can I combine their submission data?

Yes, using a filing-only company will allow you to combine the EMP501s and tax certificates of the various companies into similar documents of a single company — for submission and reconciliation purposes. Note that this information will not be included in reports such as the transaction history, leave, and liability reports. This is purely for the purpose of generating the documentation required for filing (IRP5s, IT3(a)s, etc.). Please contact the support team to set up a filing-only company.

What can I do if my EMP501 figures generated by SARS do not match my figures on SimplePay?

The differences can be identified by comparing the EMP501 report generated on SimplePay with the one generated on e@syFile / eFiling. Corrections can be made on e@syFile / eFiling; however, if the difference relates to something that was recorded incorrectly on SimplePay, please contact our support team for assistance.

Can I use the tax certificates generated on SimplePay for eFiling?

The file generated on SimplePay is specifically formatted for e@syFile and should not be opened or edited. However, this file can also be used for eFiling by converting it to a CSV file. This can be done by editing the name with a ".csv" at the end. The name should be: "tax_certificate_export.csv".

Refer to the Guide to Bi-Annual Employer Reconciliation help page for more information.

The Calculated ETI amounts show as Unclaimed on the EMP501. How can I fix this?

When entering ETI amounts via Take-On totals, confirm that they are correctly captured by doing the following:

  1. Go to Employees, and select the relevant employee.
  2. Click Edit Info > Take-On Balances.
  3. Click Edit Balances.
  4. Scroll to the bottom of the page to locate the ETI section.
  5. Under ETI, complete the fields for each month ETI was claimed.
  6. Click Save.

Refer to the Tax Take-On Balances help page for more information.

Can I resubmit the filing documents for previous periods after making changes on SimplePay?

If you make changes on the system that have an impact on finalised filing documents, the system will automatically generate a new EMP201, EMP501 or UIF Declaration, which can be submitted. Alternatively, you can resubmit via eFiling/e@syFile. Note that if the specific filing period has closed, you may be liable for late submission penalties, of which SARS will inform you.

Refer to the EMP201 help page for more information.

Can I move from using eFiling to e@syFile for my submissions/declarations?

e@syFile is linked to eFiling; therefore, you can download e@syFile, set up your company details, and start submitting via e@syFile without having to duplicate any information in eFiling. Section 9 of this guide covers eFiling synchronisation with e@syFile.

Refer to the e@syFile Employer Guide and the Guide to Bi-Annual Employer Reconciliation for more information.

I cannot update e@syFile. Is it working?

SARS often releases an e@syFile update before the filing period, and it can be confusing to get it correctly updated. Refer to step 3.1 in the SARS guide.

When I import the EMP501 from SARS, there are penalties / late submission fees that are greyed out and cannot be edited. This is throwing out the reconciliation. What can be done?

SARS values for the EMP501 are based on EMP201 values that were submitted each month. If there are penalties, late submission fees or interest which is causing a difference in the recon between the SARS values and the imported values, you would need to check with SARS where these values come from and how to correct them. There may be a missing EMP201, a late submission or incorrect ETI values for a certain period.

Once this has been confirmed with SARS, we can then assist with the resolution. This is not a normal filing situation and would require investigation. In this case, we suggest contacting support for further assistance.

Often when I create a custom item, the code shown on the tax certificate is slightly different than expected. Is there a way to check what the code will be before going ahead and using the custom item for 6 or 12 months?

Below are the codes used to record custom items on SimplePay:

  • Custom Income – Code 3601
  • Custom Income (marked as Overtime) – Code 3607
  • Custom Allowances – Code 3713
  • Custom Benefits – Code 3801
  • Custom Employer Contributions and Custom Reimbursement items are non-taxable and not reported on tax certificates.

You can then check how these items are reported on the tax certificate under Filing > Bi-Annual Filing (IRP5s etc.).

You can also base the custom item on one of our system items below. These items are set up to confirm that they are reported under the correct codes:

  • Commission
  • Once Off Commission
  • Employer Loan
  • Garnishee
  • Maintenance Order
  • Savings
  • Provident Fund
  • Subsistence Allowance Local
  • Subsistence Allowance International
  • Travel Allowance

Refer to the Custom Items and SARS Codes help pages for more information.

What do I do if I get a Thin Client error?

Should you encounter an error while doing your filing on the new Thin Client (TC) version of e@syFile, please have a look at some possible errors and their suggested solutions below.

Error "Extra text after Employer EOL Marker - code 9999"

  1. Open e@syFile TC.
  2. Go to Employer Admin > Edit Employer.
  3. Locate the SEZ (Special Economic Zone) drop-down.
  4. Select the option "Please Select" – even if it appears blank.
  5. Scroll down, and click Update Employer.
  6. Refresh the declaration, and attempt submission again.

Server not available

You might see the following text in the error message:

"e@syFile Thin Client - System Unavailable

e@syFile Employer server cannot be reached. It is either still starting up or not available."

In this case:

  1. Close the application.
  2. Wait a few minutes.
  3. Reopen the application.

If this does not work, then you can try starting the application manually by using your computer's task manager.

EMP501 Reconciliation does not balance

This could be because not all the tax certificates were imported into e@syFile. In this case:

  1. Check your payroll certificate totals, and compare them to the PAYE, SDL, and UIF certificate totals displayed on the EMP501.
  2. If the certificate totals reflected on the EMP501 are not correct, then not all your tax certificates were imported into e@syFile.
  3. Delete the imported file, and import the file again until the totals are reflected correctly. (This might need to be done more than once.)
Do I need to enter income tax numbers for all my employees?

Yes, you need to enter income tax numbers for all your employees – specifically before you submit your employer reconciliations during Bi-Annual Filing – regardless of tax certificate type.

From the 2026 Employer Filing Season, income tax numbers are mandatory, and employers risk administrative penalties if they fail to comply.

IT3(a) exception

For an employee with an IT3(a), an income tax number is optional if they have an IT3(a) because:

  • They earn less than the tax threshold; or
  • Their earnings are non-taxable (e.g. due to rulings on arbitration awards).

Checking whether an Income Tax Number has been entered on all employees' Basic Info screen is part of the Filing Information Checklist in the Guide to Bi-Annual Employer Reconciliation.

Valid number required

When entering an income tax number for an employee, you must use a valid number. For example, "0000000000" will not be accepted, and you will be unable to save.