Softline VIP's Payroll solution has been a real asset to local production company Navigator Films during the busy summer season in the local film industry, says accountant Naomi Luyt.
Navigator Films is recognised globally as one of the foremost production service companies of southern Africa. Established in 1998 and based in Cape Town, Navigator is a full service facilitator for commercials, documentaries, stills and corporate video as well as long-form projects.
"Our accounts reconciliation is based on the cost-plus-system with over 2 000 crew members and suppliers to contend with, so a comprehensive and flexible payroll system is vital to what we do," explains Luyt.
Previous to implementing the VIP Premier solution three years ago, Navigator Films had the overwhelming task of operating its payroll system manually through Excel. "We operate in a very small industry and soon discovered that Softline VIP Payroll was the solution of choice with many of our competitors as it is flexible enough to handle more than your standard salary slip," explains Luyt.
"We operate on a job-costing system written specifically for the film and farming industries. I am able to work in Excel and then import and export data in and out of VIP Payroll due to the large volume of data needed in the payroll reconciliations. Each entry includes not just the person's name and job description, but job number, agency supplied by, any food, car or cellphone allowances, and finally the tax deductions. It is much more detailed than a general salary slip," explains Luyt.
During quiet times, the company runs on skeleton staff with no formal HR personnel, but then needs to ramp up to handle between 1 500-2 000 crew and suppliers during the busy summer months in the industry, requiring an effective payroll solution in order to run smoothly.
"Softline VIP Payroll is an amazing system that makes my job so easy despite all the complexities. It makes PAYE submissions and IRP5 submissions simple and easy to develop, and the new EMP201 report with year to date figures is amazing. The reporting function enables you to draw reports on anything anytime, and it saves on processing as I can import and export out of Excel without having to duplicate any of the work," says Luyt.
"In addition, Softline VIP is always up to speed with the latest legislation being released by SARS each year and are constantly upgrading their system to cater for these increased requirements. Accountants would be lost without VIP Payroll in trying to complete the onerous task of complying with all the new legislation each year," stresses Luyt.
Softline VIP also provides customer information sessions to enlighten clients on the new legislation coming into effect and the new system upgrades that enable companies to comply with the legislation.
"Whoever you deal with at Softline VIP, from the trainers to the call centre agents, is helpful, friendly and committed to getting you the answers you need. In addition, their staff stays with the company over a long period of time, which says a lot about the reliability and focus of the company if its own employees are happy there.
"Overall, I think that Softline VIP Payroll is the best payroll system in South Africa that enables me to comply with all the new legislation from SARS, even during an especially busy summer season in the film industry," concludes Luyt.
Sandra Swanepoel, sales director, Softline VIP, says flexibility of payroll software is key when investing in new applications. "Make sure the software can cater for industry specific requirements such as those at Navigator Films. Softline VIP's products are used by thousands of companies across a wide spectrum of businesses. It allows companies to define their specific requirements while still using a generic product. This means companies do not have to invest in custom written software."
Swanepoel says this flexibility allows companies to grow without having to replace software. "The pool of knowledge within Softline VIP is vast; the software is of a high quality and offers an amazing return of investment versus costs."
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