How Intercare Group scales payroll seamlessly with Deel

More than a million patients across South Africa rely on Intercare Group for their primary healthcare. That number is growing fast, as the company continues to add new medical providers and facilities to its portfolio of hospitals, clinics, and online health services.

A lot rides on maintaining smooth operations, but Intercare’s locally hosted, paper-based payroll system couldn’t keep up with the pace of growth. System updates were intrusive and inconvenient, and the team often worked late into the night to complete payroll. They also relied on cabinets of printed files, which were costly to maintain and added time and effort to audits.

Each acquisition arrived with fresh pay structures, insurance details, and PAYE numbers— compounding the problem.

“Intercare's rapid growth made it incredibly complex to keep track of all our companies. It just was not possible on our previous payroll system.” — Mariska Dacey, Payroll Officer at Intercare

To break the cycle, Intercare adopted Deel Local Payroll, a cloud solution built for exactly their kind of complexity. Moving every record to the cloud made the operation instantly paperless and cleared the way for faster expansion. When a newly acquired company joins the group, its data slots into Deel in minutes—no matter how many unique pay cycles or compliance numbers come with it. All files are saved to secure electronic profiles, so cabinets and boxes are finally out of the picture.

Just as important, Deel’s culture matched Intercare’s own. The platform’s pace of innovation and its insistence on excellence echoed the values that drive Intercare every day, sealing the partnership.

“We pride ourselves in our core values, and it’s good to have service providers who are like-minded. Deel Local Payroll is innovative and they are excellent at what they do." — Mariska Dacey, Payroll Officer at Intercare

Switching to Deel Local Payroll replaced Intercare’s filing cabinets and email chains with a single, cloud-based workflow. Every payroll run now moves through custom checkpoints designed to catch errors before they happen, while system updates roll in quietly—so unobtrusive the team hardly notices they’ve occurred. Come audit time, required records sit neatly in each employee’s electronic profile, ready for instant download.

“Deel allows us to easily capture another company into our payroll, with all its different payment structures and PAYE numbers, and we can do it in-house.” — Mariska Dacey, Payroll Officer at Intercare

The move to Deel Local Payroll proved decisive when pandemic lockdowns hit. With hospitals under pressure, Intercare’s payroll team shifted to remote work overnight, yet every doctor, nurse, and support staffer was paid on schedule—no scrambling, no downtime. The system is accessible any time, from any device with real-time updates. Today the team operates in a hybrid model, processing payroll from clinic offices, home desks, or anywhere with Wi-Fi.

Intercare keeps growing; Deel Local Payroll scales right alongside it. Whether the next challenge is another acquisition, new regulations, or an unforeseen crisis, the payroll function is future-proofed and flexible.