What payroll does not yet do for NG and KE employers
The parts of Nigerian and Kenyan payroll that Achekam does not yet handle, from next year's tax table to bank files and P9As, and the manual path for each.
By Achekam · · 4 min read · For Running a business businesses in Nigeria, Kenya
Achekam's payroll does the heavy lifting for Nigerian and Kenyan employers. For Nigeria it calculates PAYE on the Nigeria Tax Act 2025 bands, pension, the opt-in National Housing Fund, NSITF, the ITF levy, rent relief and the minimum-wage exemption. For Kenya it calculates PAYE with its reliefs, NSSF Tier I and II, SHIF, the Affordable Housing Levy and the NITA levy. From approved runs it prepares the statutory schedules for each country.
Around that core there are gaps: places where the South African version of payroll is further ahead, or where the authorities themselves offer no connection to build on. None of them stops you paying people correctly, but each one needs a person to step in. Better to know them before payday than on it.
Next year's tax table cannot be set up in the app
Achekam ships its payroll tables pre-loaded but unconfirmed, and no run uses a table until a named person at your business confirms your own copy. For Nigeria and Kenya, only the 2026 tables ship. The app can confirm a table, but it cannot create or edit one. So a 2027 table cannot be set up in the app.
Manual path. Put a reminder in your diary for early December. Check whether a 2027 table is available for your country before the first run with a January 2027 pay date. If it is not, agree with your accountant how January's payroll will be handled, and do not run January on the 2026 table without that conversation.
No Nigerian or Kenyan bank-file layout
No bank-file layout for a Nigerian or Kenyan bank ships. Every payment in a bank file also needs a six-digit branch code.
Manual path. Each approved run has a payment schedule you can download as CSV. Use it as the source for your bank's own bulk payment upload, rearranging the columns into the layout your bank asks for. Marking the schedule paid in Achekam only records the fact: Achekam moves no money. Have a second person compare the bank's batch total with the schedule total before anyone releases the payments.
Schedules in Achekam's layout, not the authority's template
The statutory schedules are prepared for you: in Nigeria, PAYE per State, pension per pension fund administrator, NHF and NSITF; in Kenya, the P10, SHIF, NSSF and NITA schedules. They download only as Achekam's own CSV layout and a PDF, not in each authority's upload template.
Manual path. Transfer the figures from Achekam's CSV into each authority's own template or portal form. Keep the PDF as the record of what payroll produced, and after uploading, compare the authority's totals with the PDF's. A difference usually means a row was dropped or pasted twice during the transfer.
Leave counted against South African holidays
Leave days are counted against South African public holidays, and the built-in entitlements follow South African law, even for a Nigerian or Kenyan employer. A day that is a public holiday at home may be counted as a leave day, and a South African holiday that is a normal working day for you may be skipped.
Manual path. Write your own leave policy for your country and keep it beside payroll. For Kenyan staff, start from the Employment Act, which sets out the minimum terms of employment, including leave. When someone books leave that crosses a local public holiday, check the number of days against your policy and note any difference on the request. At year end, compare each employee's leave balance with your own record before you carry it forward.
P9A only on the payroll side
Achekam prepares each Kenyan employee's P9A for the year. Self-service, though, shows only South African IRP5 and IT3(a) certificates, so a Kenyan employee's P9A is available only on the payroll side.
Manual path. Payroll downloads each employee's P9A and gives it to them, by e-mail or on paper, and notes the date it went. Employees need it for their own returns, so do it early rather than waiting to be asked.
Kenyan NSSF contracting-out
Contracting out of NSSF Tier II is not modelled. If any of your Kenyan employees are contracted out, their NSSF figures in Achekam will not reflect that arrangement. Take advice, and keep the contracted-out arrangement and its figures with your payroll records so your schedules can be adjusted before filing.
Filing and paying stay with a person
Achekam does not file any payroll return with, or pay, a State tax authority, KRA or any other body. It prepares the documents and records what a person filed and paid. Each schedule is finalised by someone other than its preparer, a person records each filing with the reference the authority's portal gave, and a second person confirms each payment.
Summary
| Gap | Country | Manual path |
|---|---|---|
| No 2027 table in the app | Both | Check before January; agree a plan with your accountant |
| No bank-file layout | Both | Build the bank upload from the payment schedule CSV |
| Schedules not in authority templates | Both | Transfer figures; compare totals |
| Leave against South African holidays | Both | Keep your own policy and check leave across local holidays |
| P9A not in self-service | Kenya | Payroll sends each P9A |
| NSSF Tier II contracting-out | Kenya | Adjust with advice before filing |
Other screens outside payroll still assume South Africa too; see screens that still assume South Africa in NG and KE and, for invoices, charging VAT in Nigeria and Kenya while rates await approval. South African employers have a fuller set of statutory documents, as shown in UIF declarations, UI-19s and the COIDA return.
Put the December table check in the diary now. Of all the gaps above, it is the only one with a fixed date attached.
General guidance only, not advice on your own circumstances. Tax and payroll rules change: check the current position with the authority or your adviser.
