Letting South African staff download their own IRP5
How South African employees download their own payslips and IRP5 or IT3(a) from Achekam, what they need first, and what reaches staff without a login.
By Achekam · · 4 min read · For Running a business businesses in South Africa
Every year, as tax filing season approaches, the same messages reach whoever runs payroll: "Can you send me my IRP5 again?" "I need my payslips for March to June for the bank." "My certificate has the wrong tax number." Each request is small. Together they can take days, and they always arrive when payroll is busiest.
Self-service lets employees fetch their own documents. This article explains how it works in Achekam for a South African employer, what has to be in place first, and how to deal with staff who cannot use it.
A login linked to the payroll record
Self-service depends on one link: the staff member's Achekam login must be linked to their payroll record. Once it is, they can download their own payslips, apply for leave, and submit expense claims, changes to their details, or a new bank account for payroll to decide on.
Without that link, a login shows them nothing of their own payroll, however senior they are. So the setup step for each employee is:
- Make sure the employee exists in payroll with their correct ID number and tax number.
- Give them an Achekam login, using an e-mail address they personally control.
- Link the login to their payroll record.
- Ask them to sign in and confirm they can see their latest payslip.
Do the fourth step with each new starter on their first payday. It is far easier to fix a broken link then than in the week certificates are needed.
Payslips and tax certificates in one place
Linked staff find their own payslips, IRP5s and leave together, under HOME, in My Payslips & Leave. Payslips are PDFs carrying the business's logo and details, so the copy an employee downloads is the same document payroll would have e-mailed.
That page answers most routine requests on its own. An employee applying for a loan or a lease can download the payslips the lender asks for; one preparing their tax return can download their certificate. Leave balances sit in the same place, which is covered further in staff leave self-service in healthcare.
When certificates become available after the tax year
A South African tax year runs from 1 March to the last day of February, and it is named for the year in which it ends. The 2026 tax year, for example, ran from 1 March 2025 to 28 February 2026.
Year-end IRP5 and IT3(a) certificates are prepared from issued payslips once the year has closed, and download as PDFs. An IRP5 is issued where tax was deducted and an IT3(a) where it was not. Staff will not see a certificate for the current year while it is still running, which is worth saying in your reminder e-mail before anyone asks.
A certificate cannot be issued while the employee's ID number or tax number is missing. If an employee says their certificate is not there, check their record for a missing number before looking anywhere else. SARS's PAYE page for employers covers employer declarations, the interim and annual EMP501 reconciliations and filing season dates, which is useful when you plan when to tell staff their certificates are ready. How the certificates fit with the reconciliation is explained in IRP5, IT3(a) and the EMP501.
Remember that Achekam prepares the certificates but submits nothing to SARS itself: the employer, or its payroll provider, files the reconciliation and records the reference.
Staff without a login: payslips by e-mail
Not everyone will have a login. Casual workers, staff without a personal e-mail address, or employees who simply prefer not to use one still need their documents.
Payslips can be e-mailed one per person, and an employer setting sends them automatically when a run is approved, with a delivery log showing what went to whom. Automatic sending is off until it is switched on for the employer. E-mailing also needs an e-mail service configured on the server, so test it with one payslip before relying on it.
If your accounting firm runs your payroll for you as its client, your employees have no login to the firm's system, so their payslips reach them by e-mail only. Ask the firm how certificates will reach your staff at year end, and agree it before filing season.
Detail and bank changes go through payroll
Self-service does not let employees change their own records directly. A change of address, a new surname or a new bank account is submitted as a request, and payroll decides.
Bank account changes get an extra check. An approved bank change must still be verified by a second person before payroll pays into the new account. That rule is there because a fraudulent bank change, sent from a stolen login or a spoofed e-mail, is a well-known way of diverting salaries. Do not let urgency talk anyone out of it.
Questions staff ask at filing time
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Where is my IRP5? | HOME, My Payslips & Leave, once the tax year has closed |
| Why is there no certificate? | Usually a missing ID or tax number on your payroll record |
| Why do I have an IT3(a)? | No tax was deducted from your pay that year |
| Can I fix my own tax number? | Submit a detail change; payroll decides |
| I have no login | Your payslips come by e-mail; ask payroll for the certificate |
Pin this table to the staff notice board, or paste it into the e-mail you send when certificates are ready. Before then, run a quick check: pick three employees and confirm each can sign in and see their latest payslip.
General guidance only, not advice on your own circumstances. Tax and payroll rules change: check the current position with the authority or your adviser.
