Worked Costings and Selection Checklists
Best payroll software for your business type: matching software types to Australian employers
Which type of payroll and HR software is the best fit for micro employers, offices, hospitality and retail, health and care, construction and multi-state businesses, with illustrative cost bands.
The "best" payroll software is the best fit for how your workforce is paid. A micro employer with salaried staff is usually well served by payroll inside its accounting software or a low-cost STP-enabled product. Shift-based hospitality and retail employers need award interpretation, rostering and time clocks. Health, aged care and disability service providers also need qualification tracking and multi-award support. Construction and labour hire need allowances, multiple sites and sometimes portable long service leave. Multi-state employers of 100 or more need payroll tax reporting by state, approvals, and an HR platform. The profiles below match each situation to a software type and an illustrative per-employee cost band; they are not product recommendations.
This guide is part of how to choose payroll and HR software. Vendors are named only as examples of a category, with no price or ranking. All bands are illustrative.
Quick fit table
| Business profile | Best-fit software type | Illustrative cost band per employee a month | Must test |
|---|---|---|---|
| Micro employer, 1–4 staff, simple pay | Payroll in accounting software, or a low-cost STP solution | $0–$10 (often included up to a few employees) | Payday Super payments each pay day |
| Office or professional services, 5–30 salaried | Standalone payroll or payroll + HR | $6–$15 | Salary sacrifice, leave workflows |
| Hospitality and retail, 15–100 with casuals | Payroll with award interpretation, rostering and time clocks | $12–$25 | Penalties, minimum engagements, juniors |
| Health, aged care, disability services | Workforce management with multi-award support and qualification tracking | $15–$30 | Broken shifts, sleepovers, overtime, credentials |
| Construction, trades and labour hire | Payroll with allowances, job costing and multi-site support | $10–$25 | Allowances, portable LSL, job codes |
| Multi-state, 100–300 staff | Payroll + HR platform, possibly separate workforce management | $15–$35 | Payroll tax by state, approvals, multiple entities |
| Group with overseas staff | Enterprise HCM or global payroll plus local payroll | Often quoted per employee per year | Local STP compliance, data location, USD pricing |
Profile 1: micro employer
A sole trader or small company with one to four employees on simple wages. Priorities: STP reporting, Payday Super payments every pay run, correct PAYG withholding and payslips, minimal cost.
Category examples: the payroll features of cloud accounting packages such as Xero, MYOB or QuickBooks Online, or the low-cost STP solutions the ATO lists for micro employers. Watch for plans that include only a small number of employees, and products that leave super to be paid manually, which is error-prone now that super is due every pay day. The Payday Super guide explains why.
Illustrative cost: if payroll is included in a higher accounting tier costing $30 more a month, that is $360 a year for the business.
Profile 2: office and professional services
Salaried staff, some on salary sacrifice, few or no penalty rates. Priorities: leave approvals, self-service, document storage, simple reporting. Award interpretation is less important, but salaried award-covered employees may still need checks that salaries meet award entitlements.
Best fit: standalone payroll, or payroll plus a light HR tier. Illustrative: 20 employees × $10 = $200 a month.
Profile 3: hospitality and retail with casuals
Many casuals, weekend and evening shifts, public holidays, juniors and split shifts. Priorities: rostering against a labour budget, mobile clock-in, automated award interpretation, fast onboarding of new casuals.
Category examples: workforce management tools such as Deputy, Tanda or Humanforce, paired with payroll, or payroll-plus-HR suites with built-in rostering. Watch for billing of every active casual, double application of penalties between roster and payroll systems, and awards that are configured once and never re-rated. See the award interpretation guide.
Illustrative: 45 employees × $18 = $810 a month, plus time clocks.
Profile 4: health, aged care and disability services
Several awards (for example nursing, health professionals and social and community services), broken shifts, sleepovers, on-call allowances, overtime and strict qualification requirements. Priorities: multi-award interpretation, qualification and credential expiry tracking, rostering that respects qualifications, and sometimes client billing integration.
Watch for complex overtime and broken-shift rules that need careful testing, and privacy of sensitive information (health and police check details). See employee data privacy.
Profile 5: construction, trades and labour hire
Allowances (tools, travel, site, height), job and site costing, multiple sites, apprentices, and in some states portable long service leave schemes for construction. Priorities: job codes in timesheets, allowance rules, reporting to portable leave boards, and payroll tax on contractor payments in some cases.
Best fit: payroll with strong job costing, sometimes an industry-specific product. Watch for contractor payments that may be wages for payroll tax or super purposes; ask your accountant.
Profile 6: multi-state employers with 100–300 staff
Several entities, several awards or an enterprise agreement, HR team, approvals. Priorities: payroll tax reporting by state, state-based long service leave, approval workflows, audit trails, analytics, and contract terms (uplift caps, data export, service levels).
Category examples: payroll-plus-HR suites such as Employment Hero-type platforms, or enterprise HCM platforms for larger or more complex groups. Illustrative: 180 employees × $22 = $3,960 a month, plus implementation. See the 3-year TCO worked example.
How to use the profiles
- Find the profile closest to yours; if you fit two, take the more complex.
- Use the "must test" column as the core of your trial script.
- Price two or three products of the best-fit type with the cost per employee estimator.
- Check the cost per employee examples and the renewal guide before signing.
Frequently asked questions
Why don't you name the best product for each type?
Because the best fit depends on your awards, data and processes, and features change often. A trial with your own timesheets is the only reliable test.
Can one product cover all my needs?
Sometimes. All-in platforms reduce integrations but may be weaker in one area. Decide which feature matters most and test that one hardest.
Is outsourcing payroll a better fit for some businesses?
It can be for employers without payroll skills. You remain responsible for correct pay and super, so check the bureau's processes.
What if I outgrow my software?
Plan for it: choose a product with a clear data export, and time the switch for the start of a financial year.
Sources
- Fair Work Ombudsman — finding the right award and pay guides
- Australian Taxation Office — STP solutions for micro employers and Payday Super
- business.gov.au — employing staff and payroll tax links by state
- Fair Work Commission — award documents
