The 2026 Budget Speech: What It Means for South Africa’s SMEs
April 1, 2026Disclaimer:
This blog offers general guidance based on information available at the time of publication. For the most up-to-date details, please contact Netcash or other service providers directly.
Managing manual payments is time-consuming, opens you up to mistakes, and can slow down small businesses. That is why SMEs are turning to automated payments and reliable payment gateway solutions to simplify transactions and improve accuracy.
With a simple payment automation solution, your business can streamline its salary runs, supplier payouts, and customer accounts billing. This way, you can save hours of weekly administrative work and reduce costly errors.
Ready to simplify your payments? Explore how your SME can implement automated payments effectively, boost efficiency, and gain control over cash flow below.
Netcash helps you save time on admin tasks like invoicing with our automated systems,
so you have more time to spend on the things that matter in your business.
How payment automation works
Payment automation is the process of handling payments automatically rather than manually each month. Now, instead of loading EFTs and approving each payment one by one, you can save time and money by letting the software do all of the administrative work.
Types of payment automation
Here are a few ways to do automated settlements and collections for SMEs using Netcash's secure payment tools.
- Recurring billing: Set up automated recurring billing on customer accounts to receive payments on a regular schedule.
- Subscription billing: Similar to recurring billing, subscription billing is linked to memberships or services. This method lets customers opt in once, and the system automatically renews it according to the terms of the agreement.
- Direct debit order: Possibly the most well-known payment automation, debit order collections pull funds from a customer's bank account per mandate.
- Electronic funds transfer (EFT): EFTs allow you to automate bulk outgoing payments, such as salaries or supplier payments.
- Payment requests: While they don’t automatically debit accounts, payment requests allow you to send reminders, automated invoices, and links via email, SMS, or WhatsApp to encourage customers to make payments.
The cost of manual payments
You may not realise how much money you are actually spending on manual payments. The costs may seem insignificant at first, but these can pile up quickly, costing you thousands.
Increased staff
Doing manual payments that depend on the work volume could require an entire accounting team. Automated payment methods significantly reduce labour time, helping you scale down to only one or two accountants who can do the same amount of work with automated assistance.
Human error
Did you know that human error accounts for over 80% of cyber attacks? In South Africa, that means an average cost of about R44.2 million per incident. So, minimising the risk of manual errors is a critical defence.
Even if a team reviews manual billing processes, errors can still slip through the cracks: incorrect amounts, misspelt names, or even wrong bank account information. Taking the time to go through these human errors also steals your time and causes delays due to returned payments.
Time
In a business (especially a small one), time is actual currency. And, it can be costly at times. Manual payments require your accounting team to gather all invoices and receipts, then manually enter banking details. Oftentimes, their work needs to be quality-checked by team members to make sure everything is in order.
This time can be freed up and spent on more valuable tasks, such as business development or delivering excellent client service instead.
Benefits of payment automation for SMEs
Are you unsure if getting an automated online payment system is worth it for your small business? Here are just a few benefits you can reap by making the switch.
1. Bottlenecks reduction
Automations help your team be more efficient, reducing bottlenecks across banks, suppliers, and customers. This reduces the time spent waiting for payment processing, verification, and approvals, which delays each step.
Once payment batches are cleared on your accounting or payroll software, they can be sent to your chosen payment platform. From there, they can be automatically processed and scheduled for delivery, ensuring timely payments.
This allows you to focus on time-sensitive or essential tasks instead of mundane, repetitive admin work.
2. Improved accuracy and less admin time
The less human involvement in a process, the less opportunity for human error. It also reduces the time spent on tasks and on correcting mistakes caused by said error. Each blunder can lead to delays, additional costs, and even strained supplier relationships.
With Netcash, card details are securely tokenised. Each payment can be automatically reconciled through features such as transaction reconciliation against bank statements, statement matching, and auto-allocation, among others. This turns hours of admin into just a few seconds, making payments faster and giving your finance teams peace of mind.
3. Financial insights
Using solutions that automate payments, such as Netcash, allows your accounting team to gain real-time insights into business cash flow. Having your financial information in a consolidated place also enables you to identify where you’re losing or gaining money, and where you can save on expenses.
4. Automated salary payments
Automated payroll solutions allow you to make bulk payments promptly, especially when managing multiple employees with varying salaries, deductions, and benefits. Once salary payments are finalised, they can now go out on a schedule to ensure they are deposited on time.
This also reduces the possibility of errors, time spent waiting for approvals, and late payments. Employees can receive consistent payouts, boosting their satisfaction and trust.
How to automate payments with Netcash
Many SMEs in South Africa are seeking practical guidance on automating business payments to save time, reduce errors, and improve cash flow. Netcash offers a range of online payment solutions to help you streamline your expense processes.
Here is our easy breakdown:
Payroll and accounting tool integration
By using popular software such as Xero, Sage, Netcash, payroll systems, or eCommerce platforms, you can easily automate payment flows without coding.
- Set up NetConnector: In your Netcash, navigate to Account profile > NetConnector > Salary/Creditor payments, activate the postback URL, and generate your Netcash service key, which can be inserted in your relevant software.
- Link accounts: To get started, simply link Netcash to your chosen integration tool (e.g., SimplePay, Sage) by inserting the Netcash service key.
- Create payment batches and upload: Create the payment batches within your software and export the payment batch seamlessly into your Netcash account.
- Authorise payments and schedule: From there, you can validate these accounts and authorise your payment batches.
Netcash offers the following integration tools to help with automating your payments:
- Sage
- Pastel
- Payspace (Deel Local Payroll)
- GreatSoft
- Palladium Accounting
- Intercode
- Vanilla Payroll
- XERO
- SimplePay
Payment requests
- Log in and create templates: Access your Netcash account and go to Services > PayNow > Card subscriptions > Manage subscription templates, then click "Add Template" to define amount, frequency, etc. (Note that this step is only necessary to link a subscription to a payment request)
- Create request: Navigate to Services > PayNow > Payment request > Create
- Add payment details: This is where you’ll enter the amount, description, and customer details.
- Choose delivery method: Choose how to send the request (SMS, email, WhatsApp) or generate a QR code for customers to pay.
- Send and monitor: Click > Send, then track payments in the ‘Pay Now reports’ section once customers complete the payment.
- Set up automation: For recurring, link your template. For one-offs, the customer pays via a secure link, and you get notified.
With the payment requests, customers will be directed to the Netcash payment portal, where they can choose from several payment options:
Recurring billing
- Log in to your Netcash account dashboard: Navigate to Services > PayNow > Card subscriptions > Manage subscription templates.
- Click "Add Template": Set and manage parameters such as the payment amount, frequency, and the number of collections in the cycle you wish to receive.
- Link your template: Select Services > PayNow > Payment request > Create, and choose your subscription template.
- Fill in the details: The amount, description, and select the delivery method. Once complete, the system will automatically manage recurring charges based on your predefined template. You can also update or cancel subscriptions via the Manage card subscriptions section.
Simplify bulk and recurring billing with our simple billing services.
FAQs about fundraising for NPOs in South Africa
Choose Netcash to streamline your automated payments today
Automated payments make sending funds a breeze. It not only saves time and labour, but also protects you from fraud or costly administrative errors.
Now your SME can focus on growth instead of repetitive admin tasks. Take control of your cash flow, simplify your payroll and supplier payments, and see the difference automation can make.
Get started on automating your online payment systems with Netcash.
Chat to us to get started today.
Author:
Velda Morris
Key Accounts Manager
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Velda Morris is a seasoned business development expert with a proven track record of success in the financial services and payments industry. With over three decades of experience, Velda brings a wealth of knowledge and a customer-centric approach to every engagement. As a Senior Business Development Manager, she is adept at identifying new opportunities, tailoring solutions to client needs, and driving growth. Velda's strong communication and negotiation skills, coupled with her solution-oriented mindset, make her a valuable asset to any organisation.
