Small Business Payroll - Pro

Introduction

Small Business Payroll - Pro is a professional-grade WordPress plugin tailored to meet the payroll management needs of growing businesses. It extends the core Small Business Management – Payroll functionality with advanced features and integrations that simplify complex payroll workflows and improve operational efficiency.

Who the product is for

This plugin is ideal for WordPress website owners and organizations that require a robust payroll solution with enhanced capabilities. It suits small to medium-sized businesses seeking advanced payroll approvals, leave and timesheet management, expense claims processing, and seamless integration with accounting systems.

Product overview

Small Business Payroll - Pro builds on the foundational payroll plugin by adding professional workflows such as payroll approvals, leave management, timesheets, expense claims, and an employee portal. It also includes audit trails, payroll period locking, and integration with Accounting Pro for journal posting, ensuring compliance and financial accuracy.

Key benefits

• Streamlined payroll approvals and management workflows reduce administrative overhead.
• Comprehensive leave, timesheet, and expense claim management improve employee self-service and accuracy.
• Integrated audit trails and period locking enhance compliance and control.
• Accounting Pro integration automates ledger detection and journal posting, reducing errors.
• Employee portal shortcode enables secure front-end access to payslips and payroll data.

Feature list

• Payroll Approvals management area
• Leave Management system with requests, decisions, and balance tracking
• Timesheets feeding draft pay runs
• Expense Claims converting to payroll reimbursements
• Import/Demo Data management
• Licensing and protected update client embedded
• Submit, approve, and request changes on pay runs
• Hide payslips until payroll approval
• Employee Self Service portal shortcode: [nsbm_payroll_employee_portal]
• Payroll Audit Trail for compliance tracking
• Payroll Period Locking to prevent unauthorized changes
• Accounting Pro ledger detection and journal posting with duplicate journal protection
• Link employee records to WordPress users for self-service
• Stripe payment integration support

Detailed feature descriptions

Payroll Approvals

Provides a dedicated area to submit, approve, or request changes on pay runs, ensuring payroll accuracy before processing.

Leave Management

Manages employee leave requests, decisions, and balances, streamlining time-off tracking within payroll workflows.

Timesheets

Enables employees to submit timesheets that feed directly into draft pay runs, improving payroll accuracy and efficiency.

Expense Claims

Allows employees to submit expense claims that convert to payroll reimbursements, simplifying expense management.

Employee Portal

Using the shortcode [nsbm_payroll_employee_portal], employees can securely access payslips, leave, timesheets, and claims on a protected front-end page.

Audit Trail and Period Locking

Maintains a detailed audit trail of payroll activities and locks payroll periods to prevent unauthorized edits after closing.

Accounting Pro Integration

Automatically detects Accounting Pro ledgers and posts payroll journals, with duplicate journal protection and accounting period lock checks to maintain financial integrity.

Integrations

The plugin integrates with Stripe for payment processing and Accounting Pro for ledger detection and journal posting, enabling seamless financial workflows.

Documentation and support

Small Business Payroll - Pro includes standard product support and comprehensive documentation to assist with installation, configuration, and usage. Licensing and update clients are embedded to streamline maintenance.

Works Great With

• Small Business Management – Payroll (core plugin)
• Accounting Pro for financial ledger and journal management
• Stripe payment gateway for payment processing

Call to action

Upgrade your payroll management today with Small Business Payroll - Pro to benefit from advanced workflows, seamless integrations, and enhanced employee self-service. Activate the Pro license and streamline your payroll processes with confidence.

 

Compare Small Business Management – Payroll editions

Small Business Management – Payroll by African Nomad Software (Pty) Ltd offers robust payroll solutions tailored for WordPress website owners and small to growing businesses. Designed to streamline payroll processing with professional workflows, the product family includes a Free edition and a Pro edition, each catering to different business needs and stages of growth.

Which edition is right for you?

If you are a WordPress user or a small business just starting with payroll management, the Free edition provides the essential core payroll functions to get you up and running efficiently. For growing businesses requiring advanced workflows, integrations, and enhanced commercial capabilities, the Pro edition delivers a comprehensive set of professional features to support complex payroll processes.

Free Edition

The Free edition of Small Business Management – Payroll includes all core payroll functionalities necessary for basic payroll management. Users can manage employees, pay items, pay runs, and generate payroll reports with compliance packs to ensure regulatory adherence. The edition supports salaried and hourly employees, weekly to monthly pay frequencies, and offers printable HTML and dependency-free PDF payslips. Additional features include a payroll dashboard, employee records linked to neutral Nomad party identities, and CSV import/export for employees and payments. The Free edition also provides REST API access for modules and party data, Stripe integration, and community-based support. This edition is ideal for businesses starting out or with straightforward payroll needs.

Pro Edition

The Pro edition builds on the Free edition’s core by adding advanced payroll workflows and integrations designed for growing businesses. Key professional features include payroll approvals, leave management with requests and balances, timesheets feeding into draft pay runs, and expense claims that convert into payroll reimbursements. The Pro edition offers an employee self-service portal via the [nsbmpayrollemployeeportal] shortcode, enabling employees to submit payslips, leave, timesheets, and claims with approval workflows. Additional capabilities include payroll period locking, audit trails for compliance, secure public payslip links, and bulk payslip email delivery. Integration with Accounting Pro allows for ledger detection and journal posting with duplicate journal protection and accounting period lock checks. Licensing management and protected update clients are embedded, and standard product support is provided. This edition suits businesses that require sophisticated payroll controls and integration with accounting workflows.

Upgrade Guidance

Businesses starting with the Free edition can upgrade to the Pro edition when advanced features such as approvals, leave management, timesheets, expense claims, employee self-service, and accounting integration become necessary. The Pro edition requires activation of the Pro license and installation of the Payroll Pro plugin, which preserves existing license settings and update client options. Upgrading enables access to enhanced workflows and commercial capabilities essential for scaling payroll operations.

Feature	Free	Pro
Admin & Workflow
Payroll Approvals Provides a dedicated Payroll Approvals management area.	—	✓
Leave Management Provides a dedicated Leave Management management area.	—	✓
Timesheets Provides a dedicated Timesheets management area.	—	✓
Expense Claims Provides a dedicated Expense Claims management area.	—	✓
Nomad Core Identity Provides a dedicated Nomad Core Identity management area.	✓	—
Import / Demo Data Provides a dedicated Import / Demo Data management area.	✓	✓
Payroll Provides a dedicated Payroll management area.	✓	—
Payroll Dashboard Provides a dedicated Payroll Dashboard management area.	✓	—
Employees Provides a dedicated Employees management area.	✓	—
Pay Items Provides a dedicated Pay Items management area.	✓	—
Pay Runs Provides a dedicated Pay Runs management area.	✓	—
Payroll Reports Provides a dedicated Payroll Reports management area.	✓	—
Payroll Settings Provides a dedicated Payroll Settings management area.	✓	—
Compliance Packs Provides a dedicated Compliance Packs management area.	✓	—
API & Automation
REST API: nomad/v1/modules Provides a WordPress REST API route under nomad/v1/modules.	✓	—
REST API: nomad/v1/party/(?P\d+) Provides a WordPress REST API route under nomad/v1/party/(?P\d+).	✓	—
Detected Modules
Licensing A related module or component was detected in the plugin package.	—	✓
Features
Employee Records And Neutral Nomad Party Links. Employee records and neutral Nomad Party links.	✓	—
Salaried And Hourly Employees. Salaried and hourly employees.	✓	—
Submit, Approve And Request Changes On Pay Runs. Submit, approve and request changes on pay runs.	—	✓
Hide Payslips Until Payroll Is Approved. Hide payslips until payroll is approved.	—	✓
Weekly, Fortnightly And Monthly Frequencies. Weekly, fortnightly and monthly frequencies.	✓	—
Leave Requests, Decisions And Leave Balances. Leave requests, decisions and leave balances.	—	✓
Reusable Earnings, Deductions, Reimbursements And Employer Costs. Reusable earnings, deductions, reimbursements and employer costs.	✓	—
Recurring Employee Pay Items. Recurring employee pay items.	✓	—
Timesheets That Feed Matching Draft Pay Runs. Timesheets that feed matching draft pay runs.	—	✓
Draft Calculations And Employee Adjustments. Draft calculations and employee adjustments.	✓	—
Expense Claims That Become Payroll Reimbursements. Expense claims that become payroll reimbursements.	—	✓
Employee Self Service Shortcode: [nsbmpayrollemployeeportal]. Employee self-service shortcode: [nsbm_payroll_employee_portal].	—	✓
Overtime, Bonuses And Other Deductions. Overtime, bonuses and other deductions.	✓	—
Employee Payslip, Leave, Timesheet And Claim Workflows. Employee payslip, leave, timesheet and claim workflows.	—	✓
Finalised Pay Runs. Finalised pay runs.	✓	—
Payroll Audit Trail. Payroll audit trail.	—	✓
Secure Public Payslip Links. Secure public payslip links.	✓	—
Payroll Period Locking. Payroll period locking.	—	✓
Printable HTML Payslips And Dependency Free PDF Payslips. Printable HTML payslips and dependency-free PDF payslips.	✓	—
Accounting Pro Ledger Detection And Journal Posting. Accounting Pro ledger detection and journal posting.	—	✓
Bulk Payslip Email Delivery. Bulk payslip email delivery.	✓	—
Duplicate Journal Protection And Accounting Period Lock Checks. Duplicate-journal protection and Accounting period lock checks.	—	✓
Employee And Payment CSV Export. Employee and payment CSV export.	✓	—
Embedded Nomad Licensing And Protected Update Client. Embedded Nomad licensing and protected update client.	—	✓
Employee CSV Import. Employee CSV import.	✓	—
Install And Activate Small Business Management – Payroll. Install and activate Small Business Management – Payroll.	—	✓
Payroll Summary And Employee Payment Reports. Payroll summary and employee payment reports.	✓	—
Balanced Accounting Journal Previews. Balanced Accounting journal previews.	✓	—
Install And Activate Payroll Pro. Install and activate Payroll Pro.	—	✓
Activate The Pro Licence Under Payroll Pro License. Activate the Pro licence under Payroll > Pro License.	—	✓
Setup Health Indicators And Standalone Mode Support. Setup health indicators and standalone-mode support.	✓	—
Link Employee Records To WordPress Users For Self Service. Link employee records to WordPress users for self-service.	—	✓
Upload And Activate The Plugin. Upload and activate the plugin.	✓	—
Open Payroll Settings And Enter Company Details. Open Payroll > Settings and enter company details.	✓	—
Place [nsbmpayrollemployeeportal] On A Protected Front End Page. Place [nsbm_payroll_employee_portal] on a protected front-end page.	—	✓
Add Employees And Recurring Pay Items. Add employees and recurring pay items.	✓	—
Preserved The Existing Payroll Pro Licence Settings And Update Client Option Keys. Preserved the existing Payroll Pro licence settings and update-client option keys.	—	✓
Create A Pay Run For The Required Frequency. Create a pay run for the required frequency.	✓	—
Initial Payroll Pro Release. Initial Payroll Pro release.	—	✓
Review And Finalise The Run. Review and finalise the run.	✓	—
Email Or Download Payslips. Email or download payslips.	✓	—
Initial Payroll Free Release. Initial Payroll Free release.	✓	—
Front-end Experience
Nsbmpayrollemployeeportal shortcode Provides the [nsbm_payroll_employee_portal] shortcode.	—	✓
Integrations
Stripe integration Contains detected integration support for Stripe.	✓	✓
Product Overview
Core plugin functionality Standalone small-business payroll for WordPress with employees, earnings, deductions, pay runs, payslips, reports, CSV tools and Accounting journal previews.	✓	✓