How BSI Steel streamlined payroll and stayed adaptable with Deel

BSI Steel operates at the heart of Southern Africa’s fast-moving steel industry—where shifts in demand, regulation, and raw materials can reshape priorities overnight. To thrive in this environment, the company needed a way to stay nimble without compromising compliance, accuracy, or employee experience.

But its HR team was stuck with rigid systems. For over two decades, they relied on a legacy payroll vendor that couldn’t keep pace with modern demands. The on-premise setup required constant backups, manual updates, and server maintenance—burning time and introducing risk. It lacked vendor support, offered only the bare minimum for HR workflows, and forced a lean five-person team to reconcile payroll manually every month.

Most critically, the system made it impossible to scale up or down efficiently when the market called for fast changes in headcount. What BSI Steel needed wasn’t just a better system. They needed a platform that could move as fast as they do.

“The steel industry is constantly changing, and the cloud‑based nature of Deel Local Payroll means we can tailor it to our needs at any given time.”— Chantal Lombaard, HR Executive, BSI Steel

Deel’s payroll experts delivered a fast, structured, and collaborative rollout. Shared project spreadsheets, 24/7 availability, and pay‑per‑employee pricing kept costs predictable and cash‑flow friendly.

“The payroll implementation was quick, it was easy, it was well planned… we went live without a single glitch, which I think is phenomenal.” — Chantal Lombaard, HR Executive, BSI Steel

Employees and line managers quickly embraced self‑service through web and mobile portals. Warehouse teams—who rarely sit at computers—can access the same tools through a WhatsApp‑based bot nicknamed Pacey, which lets them view payslips, submit claims, and compare earnings without leaving the warehouse floor.

“Deel Local Payroll prevents you from any major errors because it won’t allow you to import anything unless it’s 100 % correct.”— Chantal Lombaard, HR Executive, BSI Steel

BSI Steel processed its first payroll with Deel without a single error and seamlessly migrated more than 300 employees across Johannesburg, Cape Town, and Durban. Hourly clock‑in data now flows directly into payroll with 100 % accuracy, removing manual keying and the risk of over‑ or under‑payment.

Support queries that once took days are now resolved in minutes, dramatically reducing administrative workload and freeing HR to focus on hiring, development, and workforce planning. Engagement is also higher: whether at a desk or on the warehouse floor, every employee can access payslips, leave balances, and claims in real time.

“Deel helps us stay resilient in a fast-changing industry. With scalable operations, we can focus on what we do best—serving customers and growing the business.”— Chantal Lombaard, HR Executive, BSI Steel

With a modern, cloud‑based payroll foundation, BSI Steel’s HR team can spend less time on processes and more time on strategic workforce planning—confident they can flex with the steel market’s next shift.