Accounting firms in Kenya
Payroll software for accounting firms in Kenya
PayrollMaster lets an accounting firm in Kenya run every client's payroll from one account. Each client organisation carries Kenya's statutory rules — PAYE, NSSF, SHIF and Housing Levy — calculated on every payslip and filed with Kenya Revenue Authority. Switch into a client's books in one click and see the whole book on one dashboard.
What every client needs
What must you get right on a Kenyan client’s payroll?
5 statutory items, collected by 4 different bodies — on every client, every month. We maintain the rates; you keep the client.
Kenyan employers pay monthly, usually on or before the last working day. Since December 2024, SHIF and the housing levy are allowable deductions that reduce taxable pay before PAYE is calculated — which changes net pay even when no headline rate moves.
| Deduction | Authority | Paid by | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| PAYE Pay As You Earn | Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) | Employee | Graduated 10%–35% across five monthly bands, with personal relief of KES 2,400 per month Source · in force from 2023-07-01 |
| NSSF National Social Security Fund | National Social Security Fund (NSSF) | Employer + employee | 6% employee + 6% employer, on pensionable pay up to KES 108,000/month (Year 4 rates) Source · in force from 2026-02-01 |
| SHIF Social Health Insurance Fund | Social Health Authority (SHA) | Employee | 2.75% of gross pay, minimum KES 300/month, no upper cap Source · in force from 2024-10-01 |
| Housing Levy Affordable Housing Levy | Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) | Employer + employee | 1.5% employee + 1.5% employer of gross pay, no cap Source · in force from 2024-03-19 Sources disagree. In force under the Affordable Housing Act 2024, which the High Court upheld. A consolidated constitutional challenge was heard by a five-judge Court of Appeal bench on 19 January 2026 and, as at 14 July 2026, no judgment has been published. The levy stands until one is. This is the only genuinely unresolved rate on the site. |
| NITA levy National Industrial Training Levy | National Industrial Training Authority (NITA) | Employer | KES 50 per employee per month, employer-paid Source Sources disagree. Remittance frequency is unclear: the levy is quoted per employee per month but reported by some sources as payable annually. |
Rates last reviewed 2026-07-14 against Kenya Revenue Authority and other official sources. Where authorities genuinely conflict, both readings are shown rather than resolved. Statutory rates change with every finance act — confirm current figures with a local practitioner before relying on them. PayrollMaster applies the current rates centrally, so your payroll run does not depend on this table being fresh.
How it works
One account, every Kenyan client
- 1
Add the client
Create a managed organisation for a client who has nothing yet, or invite one that already runs on PayrollMaster. Their employees, pay components and statutory setup live in their own books.
- 2
Scope who sees what
Grant your team access per client. A junior can work one client’s payroll without seeing the rest of the book; a partner sees everything.
- 3
Work the book
Switch into any client’s books in one click, run their payroll on their country’s statutory rules, and switch back. No second login, no separate tool per client.
- 4
See it all at once
The agency dashboard aggregates clients, employees, payroll runs and gross payroll, with a cross-client activity feed showing who did what, where.
- Agency accounts that manage multiple client organisations
- Create managed clients or invite existing ones, with granular per-client permissions
- One-click tenant switching — operate inside a client’s books and back
- An agency dashboard aggregating clients, employees, runs and gross payroll
- A cross-client activity feed
The rest of your book
Clients outside Kenya?
Each client organisation carries its own country. Hold them all in the same agency account.
Questions
Client payroll in Kenya: common questions
Can an accounting firm in Kenya run payroll for multiple clients?
Yes. An agency account manages multiple client organisations from one login. Each Kenyan client runs on Kenya's statutory rules, and you switch into their books in a click. The agency dashboard aggregates clients, employees, runs and gross payroll across the book.
Which Kenya deductions are handled for each client?
Every statutory item a Kenyan payslip carries — PAYE, NSSF, SHIF and Housing Levy — is calculated on each client's payroll and filed with Kenya Revenue Authority. The rates are maintained centrally, so a change does not become a per-client task for your firm.
Can I manage Kenya clients alongside clients in other countries?
Yes. Each client organisation carries its own country, so one agency account can hold Kenyan clients next to clients in every other market PayrollMaster supports. There is no separate account or tool per country.
Can my team be limited to specific Kenya clients?
Yes. Permissions are granular and per client. A team member assigned to one Kenyan client sees that client's payroll and nothing else, which keeps the rest of the book closed to them.
Run one Kenyan client free
Start free, add a single Kenya client, and run one real month end to end — the deductions, the payslips and the filing with Kenya Revenue Authority. Compare it against your current process before you move the book.