Everything your business needs to manage people well.
From daily admin to quarterly reviews to once a year compliance, Synthro handles it all. Built for South African law.
Platform
Five solutions, one platform
We group every capability into five clear solutions, so you see the whole platform instead of a list of twenty features. Open any one to go deeper.
AI built in
NALA AI
An HR expert trained on South African labour law, ready on every screen.
NALA AI Assistant
Ask any South African labour law question and get a clear answer in seconds. NALA also drafts PIPs, warning letters and SMART goals for you, so you spend less on consultants.
Predictive Burnout
Synthro reads the signals across each team and flags burnout risk up to 30 days early. Managers get a simple risk score and practical steps to step in before someone resigns.
Audit ready
SA Compliance
CCMA ready by default. Built for South African law, not bolted on later.
BCEA Compliance
Every BCEA leave type is worked out for you with the correct number of days. Synthro blocks requests that break the law and keeps a clean record for any CCMA case.
Leave Management
Annual, sick, family and parental leave are calculated automatically. Staff request leave on their phone and managers approve in one tap, with every decision logged.
SETA Compliance
Generate WSP and ATR reports for your SETA in a few clicks. Track training, learnerships and skills spend, then export files that meet SETA requirements.
Security & Compliance
Bank grade encryption, role based access and row level security protect every record. POPIA compliant handling keeps your people data private and local.
Data Export & Audit
Export all your HR data to Excel or JSON whenever you need it. A full audit log records who did what and when, and data is removed on request under POPIA.
Continuous feedback
Performance Management
Swap the once a year review for insight your managers act on every week.
Goals & OKRs
Set goals across the company, team and individual using OKRs. NALA suggests SMART goals for each role and progress updates as work gets done.
360° Performance Reviews
Collect feedback from managers, peers, reports and self across nine competencies. Score, comment and export a clean report for records or disputes.
PIP Management
Build a CCMA ready Performance Improvement Plan in minutes. Track milestones and progress with a full audit trail that protects your business.
Check-ins & 1-on-1s
Run recurring one on ones with shared agendas and tracked actions. Watch mood and feedback trends so small issues never become big ones.
Career Pathways
Synthro maps each person’s skills to realistic next roles at your company. Show the gaps and the training to close them, and keep good people longer.
Culture built in
Employee Engagement
Culture you can measure and improve, week after week.
Recognition & Kudos
Give peer recognition tied to your company values in a tap. Public kudos boards celebrate wins and feed straight into performance reviews.
Gamification
Award points and badges for goals, kudos and check-ins. Friendly leaderboards keep teams motivated and reinforce the right habits.
All in one
HR Operations
One login for everything your HR team touches.
Document Management
Store contracts, policies and HR documents securely with e-signatures. Set expiry alerts for contracts and licences, and let staff find their own files on mobile.
Onboarding & Offboarding
Automated checklists make sure nothing slips through for new hires or exits. Collect signed documents and set up access before day one.
Timesheets & Geolocation
GPS verified clock-ins approve most timesheets with no manual checking. It ends buddy punching and works on any phone without an app.
Business Intelligence
Live dashboards show headcount, turnover, leave and performance at a glance. Filter by team or location and export for the board in seconds.
Mobile Responsive
Run all of HR from any phone, tablet or desktop with no app to install. Add it to the home screen for an app like feel on iOS and Android.
Payroll Integration
A two way sync with SimplePay keeps employee and leave data lined up. Sage, PaySpace and others connect on Enterprise, so HR and payroll always agree.
Competitive Edge
Why Synthro vs Competitors?
Sage HR, SimplePay, Factorial, Workday and HRSimplified were built for global or generic markets. Synthro was built for South African businesses. Here is how we compare on features, price and local compliance.
| Feature | Synthro | Sage HR | SimplePay | Factorial | Workday | HRSimplified |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BCEA-compliant leave accrual | ||||||
| SimplePay payroll sync | ||||||
| AI HR advisor (cited answers) | ||||||
| B-BBEE scorecard tracking | ||||||
| POPIA-compliant data handling | ||||||
| 360° performance reviews | ||||||
| Rand (ZAR) pricing | ||||||
| SETA skills-levy reporting |
Built for South Africa
Only platform with full BCEA compliance, B-BBEE scorecards, and SETA reporting built-in. Competitors require expensive custom development.
AI-First Approach
NALA AI trained on South African labor law saves R180,000/year in consultant fees. No other SA platform offers AI-powered HR guidance.
67% Cheaper
From R49.99 per seat versus Sage's roughly R900. For 20 staff that is R1,399 to R3,999 a month instead of R18,000, so you save over R15,000 every month and still get more features, better compliance and AI support.
All-in-One Platform
Replace four or five separate tools: HR system, performance reviews, leave management, compliance tracking and AI advisor. One subscription instead of many.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Everything you need to know about Synthro's features and how they work for South African businesses.
What makes Synthro different from Sage HR, SimplePay, or Factorial?
Synthro is the only HR platform built specifically for South African compliance requirements. We have BCEA Section 20, 22, 25, 27 automation built-in (21-day annual leave, 30-day sick leave, family responsibility leave, parental leave), B-BBEE scorecard generation for QSE/EME/Generic companies, and SETA WSP/ATR reporting. Sage HR, SimplePay, and Factorial were built for global markets and require expensive custom development to handle SA-specific compliance. Plus, Synthro includes NALA AI, an AI advisor trained on South African labor law that replaces R180,000/year in consultant fees. No other SA platform offers AI-powered HR guidance. And at R49.99 to R199.99/seat/month (R1,399 to R3,999/mo for 20 staff), we are 67% cheaper than Sage HR (around R18,000/month for 20 staff).
Does Synthro integrate with my existing payroll system (Sage, Xero, QuickBooks)?
Yes. Synthro exports employee data, leave balances, and payroll inputs in Excel (XLSX) or JSON format that can be imported into Sage Pastel, Sage 300, Xero, QuickBooks, or SimplePay. Our batch data export feature generates files with employee ID, hours worked, leave taken, bonuses, deductions, and any custom fields you need. While direct API integration with these systems is on our roadmap for 2026, the export and import process takes less than 5 minutes monthly and ensures your payroll always reflects the latest HR data.
How does NALA AI work? Is it just a chatbot?
NALA is far more than a chatbot. It is a specialized AI advisor trained on 10+ years of BCEA amendments, 5,000+ CCMA case outcomes, and South African labor law precedents. NALA proactively assists with document generation: draft Performance Improvement Plans in 30 seconds, generate SMART goals based on job roles, create 360° review questions, and suggest career development plans with skills gap analysis. The AI learns from your business and uses fine-tuned AI models with 134 domain-specific embeddings achieving 73 to 80% relevance accuracy.
Can Synthro handle 360-degree performance reviews with peer feedback?
Absolutely. Synthro 360° Performance Reviews collect feedback from managers, peers, direct reports, and self-assessments in structured review cycles. Choose from 9 pre-built competency categories with 5-point rating scales and optional written comments. Anonymous feedback options protect honesty. Synthro generates analytics reports with aggregated scores, identifies strengths and weaknesses, and tracks performance trends over time. Export individual reports to PDF for employee records and CCMA documentation.
Is Synthro compliant with BCEA Section 20, 22, 25, and 27?
Yes, 100% compliant. Synthro automatically calculates 21-day annual leave entitlements (BCEA Section 20), tracks 30-day sick leave in 36-month cycles (Section 22), manages 3-day family responsibility leave (Section 27), and handles 10-day parental leave (Section 25A). The system blocks leave requests exceeding available balances, generates CCMA-ready audit trails, and alerts managers when employees approach limits.
How does Synthro predict employee burnout 30 days in advance?
Synthro Predictive Burnout Detection uses machine learning to analyze 15+ data points per employee: overtime hours, goal completion velocity, leave patterns, check-in sentiment, peer feedback scores, login patterns, kudos received, and PIP status. When high-risk patterns are detected, managers receive alerts with a burnout risk score (0 to 100) and intervention strategies. The model achieves 82% accuracy predicting burnout 30+ days ahead.
Can Synthro generate B-BBEE scorecards for QSE, EME, and Generic companies?
Yes. Synthro automatically classifies your business based on annual turnover: EME (under R10M), QSE (R10 to 50M), or Generic (over R50M). Track all 5 B-BBEE elements: Ownership (25 pts), Management Control (19 pts), Skills Development (20 pts), Enterprise & Supplier Development (40 pts), and Socio-Economic Development (5 pts). Export verification-ready reports for auditors. Saves R15,000/year in verification prep costs.
Does Synthro work on mobile phones? Do I need to download an app?
Synthro works perfectly on mobile phones with NO app download required. Our Progressive Web App (PWA) technology delivers an app-like experience. Tap 'Add to Home Screen' for a full-screen icon. Touch-optimized interfaces, offline capability (limited), and responsive layout from 6-inch phones to 27-inch monitors. Works on iOS, Android, Windows PC, Mac, and Chromebook.
What happens to my data if I cancel Synthro?
Your data is ALWAYS yours. Cancel anytime with zero penalties. You have 30 days to export all data: single employee exports in Excel or company-wide batch export in JSON. After 30 days, all data is permanently deleted per POPIA requirements. No surprises, no hidden clauses.
How long does it take to set up Synthro and import employees?
Synthro setup takes 15 minutes or less, with no IT skills required. Create account (2 min), import employees from Excel (5 min), configure BCEA leave policies with pre-filled defaults (3 min), invite employees (5 min). For 20-person companies, entire setup completes in one coffee break. No complex configurations, no consultant fees.
Ready to simplify HR?
Join growing South African businesses on Synthro.