Cloud accounting made for South African businesses. VAT returns, payroll, bank feeds — all compliant, all local. From R199/month.
Purpose-built for South African sole traders, SMEs, and accounting firms. Not retrofitted from abroad.
Xero and QuickBooks were built abroad and retrofitted for local compliance. Laurel was designed here, for our market.
| Feature | 🌿 Laurel | Sage | Xero | QuickBooks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Core cloud accounting | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Built for SA market | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Local support (chat, phone & email) | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Domestic Reverse Charges | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Precious metals VAT compliance | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Full audit trails | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Robust inventory management | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Payroll built-in (not an add-on) | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Multi-company management | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Open API & developer access | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ |
No long-term contracts. No hidden fees. Upgrade, downgrade or cancel at any time.
For sole traders and freelancers getting started with proper accounting.
For growing businesses that need the full power of Laurel.
For accounting firms and multi-entity businesses needing maximum control.
Annual billing saves 20%. Need custom pricing? Talk to our team.
"We switched from Xero and halved our bookkeeping time. The VAT return automation alone pays for the subscription five times over. Finally software built for how SA businesses actually work."
"The Domestic Reverse Charges feature is something we simply couldn't find anywhere else. It was a massive headache before Laurel. Now it's completely automated."
"I run three separate companies on one Laurel account. The multi-company dashboard is incredible — consolidated P&Ls instantly. Nothing else in this price range does this."
All you need is a modern web browser and an internet connection. Laurel is 100% cloud-based — no software to install. Access your account from any device, anywhere. Works on Chrome, Firefox, Edge, and Safari.
Laurel Accounting is a cloud platform built specifically for South African businesses — sole traders, freelancers, SMEs, and accounting firms. Unlike Xero or QuickBooks, Laurel was designed for SA from day one, covering everything from VAT to Domestic Reverse Charges.
You get 30 days of full access — no credit card required. After your trial, choose a plan and pay monthly or annually. Annual billing saves you 20%. You can upgrade, downgrade, or cancel at any time with no penalties.
Starter suits sole traders and micro-businesses needing basic invoicing, bank reconciliation, and VAT returns. Business is our most popular plan for growing businesses needing inventory, payroll, and advanced reporting. Enterprise is for accounting firms and multi-entity businesses.
Local South African support via live chat, phone, and email — 08:00–18:00 SAST, Monday to Friday. Average first response under 2 hours. Enterprise customers get a dedicated account manager.
Yes. Import from Sage, Xero, QuickBooks, or any CSV-based system — customers, suppliers, chart of accounts, opening balances, and historical transactions. Our team assists with migration at no extra charge on Business and Enterprise plans.
Data is encrypted at rest and in transit (AES-256, TLS 1.3) and stored in South African data centres for POPIA compliance. Automated daily backups, 99.9% uptime SLA, and 2FA available on all plans.
All major SA banks: FNB, Standard Bank, Absa, Nedbank, and Capitec via secure bank feeds. Transactions import and match automatically. We also support PayFast, Yoco, and SnapScan for payment processing.
No credit card. No setup fees. Be up and running in minutes. Full access to your chosen plan from day one.