A Partena alternative is any of the other 25 recognised social secretariats, or a social bureau that works with one of them. Through Business Centrum in Ghent you move to Acerta and leave the work to us: you send the hours, we do the rest. The switch takes effect at the start of a quarter.
Partena in brief
Partena is recognised as a social secretariat for employers under number 300. According to the website of Partena Professional, consulted on 7 October 2026:
- the social secretariat produces 362,623 payslips a month;
- Partena Professional has 29 offices in Belgium, including Ghent;
- 74 lawyers are available for clients' questions;
- the price consists of a one-off joining fee and a fixed price per pay calculation per employee;
- employees use Employee Self Service software and a mobile app for leave, expenses and HR documents;
- SmartSalary is a free tool to process pay, Dimona, flexi-jobs and students yourself;
- the group also has a social insurance fund and a business one-stop shop.
Mind the name: the health insurance fund Partenamut is a different organisation from the social secretariat of Partena Professional. Changing social secretariat does not affect your health insurance fund. These figures come from Partena itself and no authority has checked them.
Why does an SME look for a Partena alternative?
Partena offers a lot, from legal advice to a free tool for processing pay yourself. An SME usually looks for an alternative for a reason other than the quality of the payroll:
- You do not want to process it yourself. A tool to process pay, Dimona and students yourself is handy if you have the time. If you do not, you want someone else to do it.
- You want one person nearby. One fixed person in Ghent who knows your file and whom you can visit.
- Your bill grows with every payslip. With a fixed price per pay calculation per employee, every hire, student or flexi-jobber counts.
- Your contract is coming to an end. A good moment to compare again.
So the question is not whether Partena does good work, but who does the work: you, with good tools, or someone else, for you.
Partena vs Acerta through Business Centrum: what changes?
| Directly with Partena | Acerta through Business Centrum | |
|---|---|---|
| Social secretariat | Partena (recognition number 300) | Acerta (recognition number 250) |
| Size by own account | 362,623 payslips a month, 29 offices | Acerta: more than 70,000 companies, 26 offices |
| Who processes the hours? | Partena, based on what you pass on, or you yourself with SmartSalary | we do, with what you send by email or form |
| Who is your contact? | your fixed contact person at Partena | one fixed contact at Business Centrum in Ghent |
| Who files the returns? | Partena | Acerta |
| Price structure | one-off joining fee and fixed price per pay calculation | tailored quotation, after a free meeting |
Source of the left column: the Partena website, consulted on 7 October 2026. The right column describes Business Centrum, which publishes this site.
The statutory core stays the same: Dimona, DmfA, collection of contributions and social documents, through a recognised secretariat under NSSO supervision. What a social bureau does alongside a secretariat is explained in our guide social bureau.
Do it yourself or have it done?
With SmartSalary, Partena shows that an employer can do a lot himself: pay, Dimona, flexi-jobs and students. If you like being in control and know your sector's rules, that is a strong option.
For most small employers the question is a different one. How many hours a month do you want to spend on your payroll administration, and who takes over when you are on holiday or a new rule comes in? Processing it yourself may save part of the price, but it costs your time and the responsibility stays with you.
Through Business Centrum the work is with us:
- You send the hours, overtime and absences, we turn them into a correct pay calculation.
- We do the Dimona, also for students and flexi-jobbers, and keep track of their rules for you.
- We apply your joint committee, with the pay scales, bonuses and indexation.
- We answer your questions and those of your employees.
So you are not comparing two prices, but two ways of working. How the price of a social secretariat is built up is explained in our guide on the costs of a social secretariat.
Leaving Partena: step by step
- Read your contract. Look for the notice period, the date by which you can give notice, the form of notice and fees for the transfer or an early exit.
- Choose the start of a quarter. A mandate with the NSSO only passes over on 1 January, 1 April, 1 July or 1 October. The turn of the year keeps the individual account and the tax forms simplest.
- Give notice as the contract requires, usually by registered letter. State exactly which contract you are ending, because a social insurance fund or a business one-stop shop has its own contract.
- Have the new mandate registered in Mahis, the NSSO application. That can still be done for that quarter up to 1 month after it starts.
- Agree on the last DmfA. Usually Partena still files the DmfA for its last quarter, within 1 month after that quarter.
- Have the file transferred, with staff data, contracts, leave balances and the individual account.
Through Business Centrum we handle the contact with Partena and the transfer of the files. You sign a single mandate. All deadlines are in changing social secretariat.
What do you take with you from Partena?
A switch is only as smooth as the data that comes along. Ask for these items, or let your new partner request them:
- Your staff file, with for every employee the contract, the joint committee, the working schedule and the pay.
- The pay history of the current year. It is needed for the individual account and this year's tax form.
- The balances of leave and compensatory rest, so that no employee loses days in the switch.
- Ongoing arrangements, such as benefits in kind, meal vouchers, a company car or a bonus plan.
- Your work regulations and the documents you use at the start or end of a contract.
The more complete that list, the smaller the risk of a wrong first payslip at your new secretariat. At Business Centrum we request that data from Partena ourselves and check it with you before the first month is processed. You do not have to chase documents yourself.
What Business Centrum takes over from you
At Business Centrum you send the hours and we do the rest. One fixed person in Ghent knows your business, your sector and your people. Every month we process your payroll, Dimona, leave and contracts, and we follow everything up with Acerta. Acerta, as the social secretariat, files the returns and collects the contributions. Have a question about a payslip, a contract or a new rule? You call or email the person who follows up your file directly, without explaining your situation again. How that division works task by task is set out in Acerta or Business Centrum.
Other Partena alternatives
The official list of 20 June 2025 counts 25 recognised social secretariats with an active head office. Besides Acerta through a social bureau, there are:
- Acerta directly, if you want to work in Connect HR Office yourself.
- SD Worx, Securex or Liantis, each with its own tools and pricing model. See Acerta, SD Worx, Securex, Liantis or Partena: the differences.
- A smaller secretariat in your region or sector, from the list in the largest social secretariats in Belgium.
Also looking at another name? Read an alternative to SD Worx, Securex or Liantis.
Want to know what leaving Partena means for your business? Business Centrum puts your current contract next to a move to Acerta through us, and tells you honestly when you can start and what you will no longer have to do yourself.