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Quick Look Course Summary:Sage VIP Payroll Training (2 days)
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Length: 2 day(s)
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Price (at your venue): 1 Person R 14,642 EX VAT 3 Person R 9,476 EX VAT 10 Person R 6,474 EX VAT
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Certification Type:Non-Accredited
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Locations & Venues: Off-site or in-house. We train in all major city centres throughout South Africa.
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Sage VIP Payroll Training (2 days)
Payroll and HR staff who can set up, run, check and close a South African payroll on Sage VIP – month-end and year-end included.
Payroll is one of the few processes where every mistake gets noticed – by the employee, by SARS or by the auditors. Many South African companies run their payroll on Sage VIP, but the person running it has often learnt on the job from a colleague, and nobody is quite sure why certain earnings or deductions were set up the way they were. This Sage VIP payroll course gives payroll and HR staff a structured, hands-on grounding in the software, from setting up a company to closing the tax year.
Day one covers setup and the monthly pay run: company and payroll periods, employee master data, earnings, deductions and company contributions, and how PAYE, UIF and SDL are worked out, in general terms. Day two covers leave, staff loans and garnishee orders, payslips and reports, month-end and the monthly EMP201, an outline of year-end and the bi-annual EMP501 reconciliation, and the controls that protect a payroll: user rights, backups and audit trails. It ends with the errors behind most payroll problems and a routine for checking a payroll before it is paid.
Every topic is practised on a laptop. The facilitator supplies BOTI laptops with a training version of the Sage VIP payroll software and a practice company, so no licence or live data is needed. This is independent training on Sage VIP: BOTI is not a Sage authorised training partner, and delegates receive a BOTI certificate of attendance, not a Sage certificate.
Why this course
For your organisation
- A payroll that does not depend on one person who knows the system
- Fewer payroll errors, reversals and payslip queries
- EMP201 and EMP501 submissions backed by figures that reconcile
- User rights, backups and audit trails that stand up to an audit
- Employee payroll data handled in line with POPIA
For your delegates
- Two days of hands-on practice on a training Sage VIP payroll
- A clear picture of how earnings, deductions and statutory amounts reach the payslip
- Month-end and year-end checklists to use straight away
- A routine for checking a payroll before it is paid
- Confidence to answer employee payslip queries
What delegates will be able to do
- Set up a company, pay frequencies and payroll periods in Sage VIP
- Create and maintain employee records with correct personal, tax, banking and leave details
- Set up and use earnings, deductions and company contributions
- Explain in general terms how PAYE, UIF and SDL are worked out in a South African payroll
- Process a complete pay run, including new starters, terminations, overtime and once-off payments
- Process leave, staff loans and garnishee orders and keep track of their balances
- Produce payslips and the reports that managers, auditors and third parties need
- Complete month-end, including the figures for the monthly EMP201, and prepare for the bi-annual EMP501 reconciliation
- Use user rights, backups and audit trails to protect the payroll
- Check a payroll for common errors before it is paid
Who should attend
Payroll administrators, payroll officers, and HR and finance staff who run or support a payroll on Sage VIP; staff who have taken over the payroll from a colleague; companies moving to Sage VIP from another system; and a second person being trained to reduce key-person risk. Basic payroll knowledge helps but is not required – the South African payroll background is explained as the course goes. If your company runs Sage Pastel Payroll rather than Sage VIP, see our Sage Pastel Payroll Administration course instead.
Course outline
Day 1 – Setting up the payroll and running the pay
Payroll basics and finding your way in Sage VIP
- The monthly payroll cycle: inputs, calculation, checking, payment and close
- The law behind the payroll in outline: PAYE, UIF, SDL and the Basic Conditions of Employment Act
- How the software is organised: companies, payroll periods, employees, earnings and deductions
- Users, passwords and working safely in a payroll system
- The practice company used for both days
Setting up a company and payroll periods
- Company details and the statutory reference numbers a payroll needs
- Pay frequencies: weekly, fortnightly and monthly payrolls
- Setting up the tax year and payroll periods
- Departments, cost centres and company banking details
- Settings to check before the first pay run
Employee master data
- Creating an employee: personal, employment, tax and banking details
- ID numbers, tax numbers and the other details SARS expects on tax certificates
- Pay rates, working hours and start dates
- Leave entitlements on the employee record
- Recording increases, promotions and transfers during the year
- Protecting employee personal information under POPIA
Earnings, deductions and company contributions
- Earnings: basic pay, overtime, allowances, commission and bonuses
- Deductions: retirement fund, medical scheme, union fees and staff loans
- Company contributions and how they show on the payslip
- Which items affect PAYE, UIF and SDL, in general terms
- Testing a new earning or deduction on one employee before using it for everyone
PAYE, UIF and SDL in general terms
- How PAYE is worked out from the tax tables held in the software
- Regular income versus annual payments such as bonuses
- Fringe benefits and tax directives: what the payroll needs from you
- UIF: employee and employer contributions and the earnings ceiling
- SDL: which employers pay it and how it is calculated, in outline
- Why the tax tables must be current for each new tax year
Processing a pay run
- Capturing the month's inputs: overtime, once-off payments and changes
- Adding new starters
- Processing terminations: final pay, leave pay-out and the UI-19, in general terms
- Calculating the payroll and reviewing exceptions
- Checking payslips before release
- Preparing payments to employees' bank accounts, in general terms
- Hands-on: running a full month on the practice company
Day 2 – Leave, reports, month-end, year-end and controls
Leave, loans and garnishee orders
- Leave types, leave accrual and capturing leave taken
- Leave balances, leave pay-outs and leave reports, with the BCEA in general terms
- Staff loans: setting up a loan, repayments and the outstanding balance
- Garnishee orders and maintenance orders, in general terms
- Tracking balances and stopping a deduction once it is paid up
Payslips and reports
- What a payslip must show and distributing payslips securely
- Payroll summary and variance reports
- Schedules for third parties: retirement funds, medical schemes and garnishee payments
- Payroll journals for the general ledger
- Exporting reports to Excel and keeping the files secure
- Answering employee queries from payroll history
Month-end and the EMP201
- A month-end checklist for a Sage VIP payroll
- Reconciling the payroll before the period is closed
- The monthly EMP201 declaration to SARS: PAYE, UIF and SDL, in general terms
- Where the Employment Tax Incentive fits, in outline
- Monthly UIF declarations to the Department of Employment and Labour
- Closing the period and opening the next one
Year-end and the EMP501 reconciliation
- What the bi-annual EMP501 reconciliation is, in outline
- Matching payroll totals to the EMP201s declared and paid during the period
- IRP5 and IT3(a) employee tax certificates
- Preparing the reconciliation for submission to SARS, in general terms
- Closing the tax year and starting the new one
- Payroll reports that support other annual returns, such as the COIDA return of earnings
Controls, backups and audit trails
- User rights and segregation of duties: who captures, who checks, who approves
- Audit trails: seeing who changed what, and when
- Backing up before and after each pay run, and testing a restore
- Keeping the payroll running through load-shedding and system failures
- Keeping payroll data confidential under POPIA
Common errors and checking a payroll
- The errors behind most payroll problems: incorrect tax details, missed terminations, duplicate payments and deductions that never stop
- A payroll checking routine: headcount, variance and exception reports
- Reconciling net pay to the bank payment
- Correcting a mistake after the payroll has been paid, in general terms
- Final hands-on exercise: find the errors in a practice payroll
- Action plan and close
How it is delivered
Two days, 08:30-16:00. In person at your offices anywhere in South Africa or at a BOTI venue; live online only where each delegate has Sage VIP on their own computer. Hands-on throughout: the facilitator supplies BOTI laptops with a training version of the Sage VIP payroll software and a practice company, so you need no licence of your own. If agreed beforehand, delegates can work on your own company system instead (on a copy or test company, not the live payroll). One delegate or a group of up to 20. Workbook, month-end and year-end checklists and a payroll checking routine included.
What our clients say
“All training programmes were delivered in a highly professional manner, with effective coordination and strict adherence to our scheduling requirements. The facilitators demonstrated a commendable level of expertise, and the quality of delivery consistently met our expectations.”
“The course was efficiently scheduled and planned around our timetable. We were impressed by the quality of training”
“All training sessions were well-coordinated, professionally delivered, and aligned with our scheduling requirements. We were particularly impressed by the high standard of facilitation and the depth of expertise demonstrated throughout the programmes.”
Frequently asked questions
Are you a Sage authorised training partner?
No. BOTI is an independent training provider and is not a Sage authorised training partner, and this course is not endorsed by Sage. It is independent training on the Sage VIP payroll software, run by a facilitator experienced in Sage VIP payroll. Delegates receive a BOTI certificate of attendance, not a Sage certificate, and the course is non-accredited.
Do we need our own Sage VIP licence or laptops?
No. The facilitator supplies BOTI laptops with a training version of the Sage VIP payroll software and a practice company, so delegates never touch your live payroll. If you would rather train on your own company system, we can agree that beforehand – we recommend a copy or test company rather than live data.
Can you run this course at our offices?
Yes. Most groups are trained at the client's premises anywhere in South Africa, on the laptops the facilitator brings; we can also host it at a BOTI venue. Live online delivery is possible where each delegate can work on Sage VIP at their own desk – ask us.
How many people can attend?
From one delegate to groups of about 20. The price per delegate drops as the group grows – see the price table, or ask us for a quote.
Can the practice payroll be set up like ours?
Yes. Tell us your pay frequencies, your usual earnings and deductions and any loans or garnishee orders you manage, and the facilitator builds them into the practice company. We do not need real employee data, and you should not send it.
Is this the same as your Sage Pastel Payroll course?
No. Sage VIP and Sage Pastel Payroll are different Sage payroll products. This two-day course is for companies that run Sage VIP. If your payroll runs on Sage Pastel Payroll, book the five-day Sage Pastel Payroll Administration course, which also goes deeper into payroll tax.
Related courses
Sage and Sage VIP are trademarks of The Sage Group plc or its licensors. BOTI is an independent training provider; this course is not provided, authorised or endorsed by Sage.
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