Economy
Sage Launches Payroll, Invoicing Software in Nigeria
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Market and technology leader for integrated accounting, payroll & HR and payment systems, Sage, has released software products to aid simple and secure online payroll solution for start-up and small businesses.
The products are called Sage One Payroll and Sage One Invoicing, which have been released in the Nigerian market.
Designed to help small businesses focus on what really matters, these software solutions give business builders the freedom to run their businesses anywhere, anytime.
Sage One Payroll seamlessly integrates with Sage One Accounting, offering a complete business solution for start-up and small businesses.
On the other hand, the Sage One Invoicing is an entry-level version of Sage One Accounting that makes it easy for sole traders, self-employed consultants and other micro-business owners to produce professional quotes and invoices.
Speaking on the release, the Regional Director for Sage in West Africa, Mr Magnus Nmonwu, stated that, “We aim to make tasks such as admin and red tape invisible by 2020 so that businesses of all sizes can focus on their business strategy, their customers and following their dreams.
“This is why we place a huge emphasis on automating those tasks that business builders enjoy the least.”
It was gathered that the Sage One Payroll is a smart online payroll solution that can be accessed 24/7 and caters for local tax and legal requirements.
It allows unlimited earnings (owed to employees) and deductions (what the employee owes). The software makes it easy to calculate employees’ net salaries or wages, as well as deductions such as Pay-as-You-Earn (PAYE) and contributions to National Housing Fund (NHF), National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), pension and life insurance.
For as little as N600 for two employees per month, Sage One Payroll streamlines the capturing of transactions, automates payroll calculations and brings visibility to the business.
It also makes it simpler to keep track of annual changes to tax regulations that impact on payroll tax calculations.
“Sage One Payroll complies with all statutory requirements in Nigeria and is priced in local currency, yet it also has the full backing of a global software giant – Sage,” says Mr Nmonwu. “That means our customers enjoy the benefits of a cloud payroll solution which is designed for the local market and yet is built on the latest global best practices and technologies.”
Core features in Sage One Payroll include:
Easy to use: With easy-to-use templates and no payroll jargon, the solution allows employers to simply sign up, add employees and start processing within 5 minutes.
Available anywhere, anytime: Organisations can access data from the cloud which means that their data is available online, anywhere, anytime. All they need is an internet connection.
Tax submissions made easy: With Sage One Payroll, payroll legislation is taken care of. Employers can comply with Personal Income Tax Act requirements and generate tax certificates in one simple step.
Unlimited companies, employees and users: With this smart online payroll solution, the payroll expands and shrinks as a business grows, enabling it to add as many employees or pay cycles as it would like to.
Flexible pricing: The pricing plan, based on different brackets of employee count, won’t break the bank. Companies can pay per month or per year.
Combating fraud and user error: Sage One Payroll software delivers better visibility into transactions, provides an audit trail, reconciles input and output and offers a set of controls, checks and balances that help to prevent errors and fraud.
For the Sage Invoicing software, it enables sole traders and micro-business owners to quote and invoice on-the-go from their PC or mobile device, as long as they have access to an Internet connection, from only N27,840 a year and N2,900 a month.
Customers don’t need accounting software training or financial experience to use the software.
It also provides real-time reports and dashboards so customers can monitor the outcome of quotes, track due and overdue invoices, monitor gross profits and identify popular and fast-selling items. Providing a secure view of their finances on-the-go so they are ready to respond to business opportunities anytime, anywhere.
“Business builders can save hours of paperwork each month, so they don’t spend their weekends compiling invoices, issuing quotes or doing reconciliation,” Mr Nmonwu said.
“When a business outgrows Sage One Invoicing, it can easily upgrade to Sage One Accounting — the complete Sage solution for small businesses that require more accounting, cash flow management and business insights,” he added.
By Adedapo Adesanya
About 143 companies that successfully passed the technical and prequalification stages of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission’s (NUPRC) 2025 Licensing Round will, today, compete for 50 oil and gas blocks at the commercial bid conference in Abuja, the final stage in the allocation process for the assets.
The commission said only the prequalified companies have been invited to attend the event, which will hold at the Conference Centre of the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja, stressing that participation is strictly by invitation.
The commercial bid conference will determine the successful bidders for oil and gas assets located across Nigeria’s producing and frontier basins.
The 50 blocks comprise 16 onshore blocks and 18 shallow water blocks in the Niger Delta, one deep offshore block, three onshore blocks in the Benin Basin, four in the Anambra Basin, four in the Chad Basin, and four in the Benue Trough.
According to the commission, the winning bids will be determined through a transparent evaluation process based on clearly defined commercial parameters. These include the signature bonus offered by bidders, the proposed work programme commitment and the level of performance security provided. The final selection will be based on a weighted technical and commercial score.
The licensing round is being conducted under the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021, which requires a transparent and competitive process for the award of petroleum assets.
NUPRC had announced the commencement of the 2025 Licensing Round on November 11, 2025, before opening the online bid portal on December 1, 2025, to enable interested companies to register and participate in the exercise.
To ensure prospective investors fully understood the requirements, the commission organised a pre-bid conference on January 14, 2026, at Eko Hotels and Suites, Lagos. The event provided detailed explanations on the licensing guidelines and bidding procedures to registered participants and other stakeholders.
Registration and submission of prequalification documents closed on February 27, 2026, while the prequalification evaluation was completed on March 16, 2026.
NUPRC disclosed that 286 companies initially submitted applications for prequalification.
Following the evaluation process, 196 companies were cleared to participate in the technical and commercial bid stages.
The prequalified 143 companies eventually submitted a total of 200 bids for the available oil and gas blocks. These companies are now set to compete at the commercial bid conference, where the financial offers will be opened and evaluated to determine the eventual winners.
The licensing round is expected to attract fresh investment into Nigeria’s upstream petroleum sector, boost exploration activities across both producing and frontier basins, increase crude oil and gas reserves, and support the country’s drive to grow production and government revenue.
It also underscores the regulator’s commitment to implementing a transparent, competitive and investor-friendly licensing regime under the Petroleum Industry Act.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has retained all key monetary policy parameters following the conclusion of its two-day meeting on July 21, 2026, on Tuesday, maintaining its tight monetary policy stance to curb inflation and support macroeconomic stability.
According to the Governor of the apex bank, Mr Yemi Cardoso, who chaired the committee, the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR), which serves as the benchmark interest rate, remains at 26.50 per cent. The MPC also retained the asymmetric corridor around the MPR at +50 basis points and -450 basis points.
In addition, the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) for commercial banks was left unchanged at 45.00 per cent, while the CRR for merchant banks remains at 16.00 per cent. The committee also retained the CRR on non-Treasury Single Account (Non-TSA) public sector deposits at 75.00 per cent, with the liquidity ratio at 30.00 per cent.
The decision reflects the apex bank’s continued commitment to containing inflationary pressures through a restrictive monetary policy while safeguarding the resilience of Nigeria’s financial system amid ongoing macroeconomic adjustments.
By keeping all policy tools unchanged, the MPC signalled its intention to continue managing excess liquidity in the banking sector and maintain stability in financial markets.
The move is also expected to provide greater policy certainty for investors and businesses monitoring the country’s monetary policy direction.
The latest decision also means borrowing costs are likely to remain elevated in the near term as the central bank continues to prioritise price stability over monetary easing.
Analysts had expected the CBN committee to retain the rate after Nigeria’s headline inflation came in at 15.91 per cent as of June 2026, marking a slight decline from 15.93 per cent in May.
However, even as overall price growth has moderated significantly compared to previous periods, food inflation remains a persistent challenge, accelerating to 17.52 per cent in June.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Shareholders of Unilever Nigeria Plc will receive an interim dividend of N2 per share, the board of the organisation has said.
The cash reward was announced after the company released its financial statements for the first half of the year ended June 30, 2026.
The payment will be made on Friday, August 14, 2026, only to investors whose names appear on the Register of Members at the close of business on Friday, July 31, 2026.
A quick look at the financial performance of the firm in the first six months of this year showed that revenue improved by 22.22 per cent to N119.9 billion from the N98.1 billion achieved in the corresponding period of last year.
A rise in earnings also resulted in a 16.43 per cent surge in cost of sales, though this did not shrink the gross profit, which rose by 29.93 per cent to N54.7 billion from N42.1 billion. The operating profit stood at N24.4 billion in the period under review, higher than N18.8 billion in the same period of 2025, while the net finance income contracted by 9.43 per cent to N4.8 billion from N5.3 billion due to elevated borrowing costs.
Business Post reports that despite higher taxes paid in the first six months of 2026, the net profit grew by 8.33 per cent to N15.6 billion from N14.4 billion, enabling the board to pass on value to shareholders for their faith in the firm.
