Comparing prices
The cheapest payroll service is the one with the lowest total cost
The cheapest payroll service is the one that costs you least in the end. That is not always the provider with the lowest price per payslip: the real cost lies in errors, fines and your own hours. Business Centrum, a payroll and HR office and partner of Acerta, takes that work off your hands, with a fixed contact who knows your file.
Why the lowest price per payslip is not the lowest cost
A quote shows what you pay per month, not what an error costs. This is what the law charges:
A forgotten Dimona
€ 3,000 to € 35,000 in administrative fines per employee, plus at least € 3,674.09 in solidarity contribution.
Late NSSO contributions
A 10% surcharge and 7% late-payment interest a year. A late DmfA costs a fixed charge from € 495.79.
Wrong pay
The NSSO can reclaim contributions up to 3 years back. An employee can claim back pay up to 5 years after the facts, at the latest 1 year after the contract ends.
Your own time
A package where you enter hours, check payslips and look up rules yourself is cheaper on paper. You pay for those hours yourself.
Why having it done for you costs less
You do not pay for software in which you do the work yourself, but for someone who does it and helps avoid costly errors:
- Collecting hours and having the payroll calculated every month
- Every Dimona on time, including students and flexi-jobs
- The right joint committee, pay scale and indexation
- Contracts, leave and absences
- The quarterly return and NSSO contributions, via Acerta
- The switch from your current social secretariat
What is left for you
You tell us what changes. We call you if something is not right.
Business Centrum is a payroll and HR office and your fixed contact in Ghent. Returns to the NSSO go through Acerta, a recognised social secretariat.
What to check in a quote
Check these five points, in writing:
Hiring your first employee? The NSSO then pays € 36.45 per quarter towards the affiliation costs of a recognised social secretariat, in the quarters in which you claim the reduction for that employee. More in what a social secretariat costs.
What is in the base price?
Pay, Dimona, quarterly return and tax forms, or only the pay calculation?
What is billed separately?
Set-up, work rules, legal advice, leaver documents or a switch of provider.
Who is your contact?
One person who knows your file, or a general number?
Who catches the errors?
Does someone check your payroll before it goes out, or do you find an error only at an inspection?
How long are you tied in?
Ask about the notice period and when you can switch.
How to compare with Business Centrum
Bring your invoice
In a free consultation we set it next to what we would take over.
A quote for your situation
You get a quote that shows what is included and what is billed separately.
Switch
If you say yes, we handle the switch, at the start of a quarter.
Cheap payroll service: frequently asked questions
What is the cheapest social secretariat in Belgium?
There is no single answer: every provider charges differently, and your price depends on your employees, your joint committee and the services you choose. So compare the total cost per year.
How much does payroll cost per employee?
That varies by package. Providers that publish their prices usually charge a set-up fee, a fixed monthly price and an amount per employee or per payslip. Business Centrum does not publish rates: you get a quote after a free consultation.
Is a cheap payroll service a risk?
Not if the work is done well. The risk lies in what the price leaves out: who checks your payroll and who files the Dimona on time? A missing Dimona alone costs at least € 3,000 per employee.
Sources
Every amount and deadline on this page was checked against these official sources, last consulted on .
- Arbeidsovereenkomstenwet van 3 juli 1978, art. 15 (Justel)
- FOD WASO, Bedragen van de administratieve geldboeten
- RSZ, Administratieve instructies 2026/3, De verjaring
- RSZ, Administratieve instructies 2026/3, Eerste aanwervingen
- RSZ, Administratieve instructies 2026/3, Gevolgen van niet-betaling
- RSZ, Administratieve instructies 2026/3, Sancties DmfA
- RSZ, administratieve instructies 2026/3: solidariteitsbijdrage voor nalatigheid van de Dimona-aangifte
A cheaper payroll service
Want to know what you really pay?
Call us or book a free consultation. We compare your current cost with what we take over for you.