Review Time
EDIT (in response to the owner's reply):
The review was written by me, a human, with assistance from an AI tool — the same way many professionals use writing tools today. Dismissing it as "AI generated" is a deflection, not a rebuttal; and simply does not reflect the facts of this case.
On the support issue: your own email trail tells the story. Your team told me there was "suspicious activity" and that you "couldn't figure out" what went wrong — your words, not mine. I had to diagnose the problem myself (making a suggestion that, could it be my email alias on a custom domain), at which point your team congratulated me with the following sentence: "I am happy to see you realised what the issue is.". Again, this is not my words, these are the words directly from your support team. This not support; that's the customer doing your job for you. The email alias issue is a solved problem in 2026.
The translation from "manual intervention due to violation of our terms and conditions" to "couldn't figure out" is accurate — because at no point during that exchange was I told what the actual violation was. I was left to guess.
I stand by every word of this review.
---
The core payroll features are decent for a free platform — payslip generation and UIF calculations work as expected. However, my experience was overshadowed by two issues.
First, support. My account was blocked during initial signup because I used a business email alias (specifically openhr(at)mydomain.com). Rather than explaining the issue, the support team told me they "couldn't figure out" what went wrong, and that there was suspicious activity. Then went on to congratulated me when I diagnosed the problem by saying is it because I used "your-name" @ my domain? It's 2026 and we don't understand how email aliases work on domains; come on. The tone was very dismissive and passive-aggressive for what turned out to be a simple domain flagging issue.
Second, the UI. The platform appears designed for mobile, and it shows on desktop. Navigation relies on full-screen modals, so if you land on a paid feature prompt, the browser back button doesn't work — the URL changes but the page doesn't. You end up lost with no clear way to return to where you were.
For a small business owner trying to get compliant quickly, these friction points add up. The bones of the product are there, but the experience needs work.
EDIT (in response to the owner's reply):The review was written by me, a human, with assistance from an AI tool — the same way many professionals use writing tools today. Dismissing it as "AI generated" is a deflection, not a rebuttal; and simply does not reflect the facts of this case.On the support issue: your own email trail tells the story. Your team told me there was "suspicious activity" and that you "couldn't figure out" what went wrong — your words, not mine. I had to diagnose the problem myself (making a suggestion that, could it be my email alias on a custom domain), at which point your team congratulated me with the following sentence: "I am happy to see you realised what the issue is.". Again, this is not my words, these are the words directly from your support team. This not support; that's the customer doing your job for you. The email alias issue is a solved problem in 2026.The translation from "manual intervention due to violation of our terms and conditions" to "couldn't figure out" is accurate — because at no point during that exchange was I told what the actual violation was. I was left to guess.I stand by every word of this review.---The core payroll features are decent for a free platform — payslip generation and UIF calculations work as expected. However, my experience was overshadowed by two issues.First, support. My account was blocked during initial signup because I used a business email alias (specifically openhr(at)mydomain.com). Rather than explaining the issue, the support team told me they "couldn't figure out" what went wrong, and that there was suspicious activity. Then went on to congratulated me when I diagnosed the problem by saying is it because I used "your-name" @ my domain? It's 2026 and we don't understand how email aliases work on domains; come on. The tone was very dismissive and passive-aggressive for what turned out to be a simple domain flagging issue.Second, the UI. The platform appears designed for mobile, and it shows on desktop. Navigation relies on full-screen modals, so if you land on a paid feature prompt, the browser back button doesn't work — the URL changes but the page doesn't. You end up lost with no clear way to return to where you were.For a small business owner trying to get compliant quickly, these friction points add up. The bones of the product are there, but the experience needs work.
Claim your business profile now and gain access to all features and respond to customer reviews.
openHR is a purpose-driven compliance and governance platform designed to help South African businesses build ethical, transparent, and resilient workplaces. We empower HR and payroll professionals, compliance officers, and business leaders with intuitive tools that simplify complex regulatory requirements — making governance not just a checkbox, but a culture.
Our platform offers modules for payroll, expense claims, leave management, policy tracking, and more, all built with a deep understanding of South African labour law and workplace dynamics. Whether you're a small business or a large enterprise, openHR scales with you, supporting your journey toward SDG #8: Decent Work and Economic Growth.See more
