All guides
Compare payroll and HR software types for Australian employers: per-employee pricing, 3-year cost, STP Phase 2, Payday Super, award interpretation, switching and official sources.
Payroll Software Costs, Pricing Models and 2026 Rules
- Award interpretation software and modern awards: what it automates and where it goes wrong
How award interpretation in payroll and rostering software works under Australian modern awards, what it costs, the 2026 wage increases and how to test the configuration.
- Payday Super and payroll software: what your system must do since 1 July 2026
What Payday Super means for payroll software in 2026–27, from qualifying earnings and the 12% rate to paying with every pay run, the 7-business-day rule and the clearing house closure.
- Payroll and HR software comparison for Australian employers: types, costs and 2026 rules
Compare payroll and HR software types for Australian small and mid-sized employers, the cost lines that drive the price, and the 2026–27 rules any system must handle.
- Payroll software pricing models: per employee per month, base fees, tiers and add-ons
How payroll and HR software is priced in Australia, from per-employee monthly fees and minimums to tiers, add-ons and annual contracts, with illustrative worked comparisons.
- Payslip and employee record rules under the Fair Work Act: what your software must produce
What payslips must contain under Fair Work Regulations reg 3.46, the one-working-day rule, the 7-year employee record requirement and how to check your payroll software meets them.
- STP Phase 2: what your payroll software must report, and how to check it is set up
What Single Touch Payroll Phase 2 requires of payroll software in 2026–27, including reporting on or before pay day, disaggregated pay, income types and Payday Super fields.
- USD-priced HR software in Australia: exchange rates, GST and the real AUD cost per employee
How US-dollar pricing, exchange-rate swings, card fees and GST on imported digital services change the AUD cost of HR and payroll software, with illustrative per-employee examples.
Worked Costings and Selection Checklists
- Does automated award interpretation pay for itself? A payback worked example
A worked payback calculation for moving from manual timesheets and award calculations to automated award interpretation, with time-saving estimates, three scenarios and honest limits.
- 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.
- Payroll software cost per employee: worked examples for 3, 15, 40 and 150 employees
Illustrative worked examples of the monthly and annual cost of payroll and HR software per employee at four business sizes, showing how base fees, minimums and casuals change the result.
- How to choose payroll and HR software in Australia: a step-by-step selection process
A practical eight-step process for choosing payroll and HR software that fits your awards, rosters and headcount, from requirements and trials to costing and contract checks.
- HR software modules explained: rostering, leave, self-service and HR records, and what each costs
What each payroll and HR software module does for an Australian employer, from leave accruals and rostering to onboarding and self-service, how it is usually priced and when it is worth paying for.
- Payroll software integrations: accounting, time clocks, super, banks and HR tools
How payroll software connects to accounting software, rostering and time clocks, super funds and clearing services, bank files and HR tools in Australia, and the integration risks to test.
- Payroll and HR software 3-year total cost of ownership: a worked example with two options
A line-by-line 3-year TCO for payroll and HR software at a 60-employee Australian business, with headcount growth, renewal uplifts, USD pricing, one-off costs and internal time.
- Payroll software renewal price increases: how uplifts compound and how to cap them
How renewal uplifts, headcount growth and new add-ons push up payroll and HR software costs in Australia, with worked compounding examples, contract clauses to look for and negotiation tips.
Payroll Pitfalls, Switching Risks and Official Sources
- Employee data privacy in payroll and HR software: the employee records exemption and its limits
How the Privacy Act's employee records exemption works for payroll and HR software in Australia, where it stops, TFN rules, data breaches, offshore storage and security checks to demand from vendors.
- Leave accrual set-up errors in payroll software: annual, personal and long service leave
The most common leave accrual mistakes in Australian payroll software, how they build up, worked examples of the cost, and how to test annual, personal/carer's and long service leave settings.
- Payroll software contracts: terms, auto-renewal, liability limits and getting your data out
What to check in a payroll or HR software contract in Australia, including term and notice, liability caps, service levels on pay day, data export on exit and the 7-year record rule.
- Payroll software pitfalls in Australia, and the official sources that help you fix them
The payroll and HR software failures that cost Australian employers most, from award misconfiguration and late super to bad migrations, and which official body to check or contact for each.
- Switching payroll software mid-year: year-to-date figures, STP, leave balances and a safe cut-over
How to switch payroll software in Australia without breaking STP year-to-date figures, leave balances or Payday Super, with a cut-over timeline, reconciliation steps and migration costs.
- Underpayment, the wage theft offence and payroll software: what software can and cannot protect you from
How the intentional underpayment offence in force since 1 January 2025, civil penalties and the Voluntary Small Business Wage Compliance Code relate to payroll software set-up and checks.