Running payroll in Australia means more than paying people on time. You need Single Touch Payroll Phase 2 reporting to the ATO, superannuation calculations, PAYG withholding, and tools that match your award conditions. These are the five best payroll platforms for Aussie small businesses in 2025, ranked on compliance, features, value, and ease of use.
Top 5 Payroll Softwares in Australia
Rank | Platform | Best for | Starting Price (AUD) |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | Small businesses on Xero | From $33/mo | |
2 | Award/roster industries | From $19/employee | |
3 | Accountants and bureaus | From $6/employee | |
4 | QuickBooks users | From $25–$40/mo | |
5 | Micro businesses | Free – $8/employee |
1. Xero Payroll: Best overall for Australian small businesses
Founded in 2006, the parent company Xero has grown rapidly to serve millions of small businesses across Australia, New Zealand and the UK by providing cloud-based accounting software designed for ease of use and real-time financial insight.
Xero Payroll extends this platform to cover staff payments, superannuation, tax withholdings and STP Phase 2 compliance.
Because the payroll module sits inside the same environment as your ledger, invoices and BAS preparation, it offers a unified experience—and that can reduce complexity, duplication and errors.
If you’re running a small Australian business and already rely on Xero for accounting, adding payroll is a natural step toward full-financial integration.
Key Features:
Pros:
Cons:
Pricing:
Xero plans in Australia for 2025 start from ≈ AU $33/month for the Starter plan, with the more feature-rich plans (Standard, Premium or the newer equivalents) around AU $70/month or more.
They have recently changed plan names and structure (from 1 July 2024).
Best For:
Small businesses already using Xero accounting, who want payroll, superannuation and ATO reporting integrated with their financials, and minimal duplication of systems.
Why We Picked It:
Because Xero offers a truly seamless experience between accounting and payroll, with strong compliance for Australian employers (e.g., STP Phase 2) and a trusted brand in the small-business space. The integration saves time, reduces errors and helps businesses stay on top of BAS, payroll and taxes within one platform.
If you’re considering trying it out, Xero is currently offering
90% off for the first four months if you go through the link below.
2. Employment Hero Payroll: Best for Award and Roster-Based Workforces
Australian-founded Employment Hero combines payroll, HR, and employee management in one cloud platform. Its payroll system, powered by the KeyPay engine, is designed for businesses with complex staffing arrangements, like hospitality, healthcare, and retail, where awards, shift penalties, and rosters need to be handled automatically. It’s ATO-certified, supports multi-site setups, and connects with Employment Hero’s full HR suite for onboarding, leave, and performance management.
Key Features:
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Pricing:
Publicly listed pricing suggests from AU $19 per employee/month for the Lite plan, around AU $29 per employee/month for Plus, and AU $49 per employee/month for the Unlimited plan (though actual quotes may vary depending on modules and implementation).
Best For:
Businesses with complex staffing conditions (rosters, modern awards, multiple sites), or those wanting HR + payroll in one system, especially in hospitality, healthcare, retail or other casual/shift heavy industries.
Why We Picked It:
Employment Hero stands out for combining payroll with HR, strong award-interpretation, mobile self-service, and Australian compliance. Its feature set helps businesses with more than just basic pay-runs — it supports growing teams, varied staffing types and additional HR workflows which many payroll tools don’t include.
3. KeyPay: Best for Accountants, Bureaus and Flexible Payroll Engines
Launched in 2012, KeyPay is one of Australia’s most powerful and customisable payroll engines. It’s trusted by accountants, bookkeepers, and outsourcing firms for its flexibility, advanced automation, and deep compliance tools. Many well-known payroll brands, including Employment Hero, actually run on KeyPay’s technology. If you need full control over automation rules, complex awards, and multiple business entities, KeyPay delivers.
Key Features:
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Pricing:
KeyPay’s published pricing: Standard plan at AU $6 per active employee/month + GST, Plus plan at AU $8 per active employee/month + GST.
Best For:
Accounting firms, payroll bureaus, multi-entity businesses or any organisation with complex pay-rules (modern awards, shift penalties, rosters) needing high flexibility and automation.
Why We Picked It:
KeyPay offers deep automation, custom pay-condition engines, award interpretation and strong compliance, while also being scalable and transparent in pricing. It’s ideal for businesses who want to build or outsource detailed payroll workflows rather than just “run one simple pay-roll” system.
4. QuickBooks Payroll Australia: Best for Businesses Already Using QuickBooks
Developed by Intuit, QuickBooks is a global leader in small business accounting — and its Australian payroll solution integrates perfectly with it. Powered by Employment Hero, QuickBooks Payroll is ATO-approved and tailored for Australian businesses that want payroll and accounting in one place. It’s a great fit for companies already using QuickBooks Online, providing a familiar experience and automated data flow between pay runs and financials.
Key Features:
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Pricing:
Exact pricing for the Australian QuickBooks Payroll add-on isn’t always clearly published publicly in all tiers; however, the core benefit is the integration with QuickBooks Online accounting. (Note: always check the latest quoting for your region.)
Best For:
Businesses already using QuickBooks for accounting who want their payroll, book-keeping and compliance aligned in one platform, reducing duplicate data entry and simplifying month-end workflows.
Why We Picked It:
The strength lies in the seamless sync between payroll and accounting. For small businesses already inside QuickBooks, adding payroll into that ecosystem means fewer systems to manage, better accuracy, and less manual effort. It’s a smart choice when your books are already there.
5. Payroller: Best for Micro-Businesses Needing Affordable, Compliant Payroll
Payroller is an Australian-made payroll app built for micro and small businesses. It’s affordable, ATO-approved, and incredibly easy to use, perfect for sole traders, freelancers, or small employers with only a few staff. With both desktop and mobile access, Payroller lets you process pay runs, manage leave, and send payslips in just minutes. Despite its simplicity, it covers all compliance requirements, including STP Phase 2, superannuation, and PAYG.
Key Features:
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Pricing:
Payroller offers very affordable plans, including a free or low-cost tier for very small businesses or sole traders. For more staff, small monthly fees apply (exact per employee pricing depends on package). (Source: vendor website).
Best For:
Sole traders, freelancers, family-businesses or micro-employers with only a few staff, who need full compliance (STP, PAYG, super) but don’t need heavy HR modules or advanced roster/award engines.
Why We Picked It:
Because it hits the sweet spot of compliance + affordability + simplicity. Without heavy add-ons or advanced modules, it lets very small employers stay legal, pay staff and lodge with the ATO in an easy, cost-effective way.
Top 5 Payroll Softwares in Australia
- 1Xero Payroll: Best overall for Australian small businesses
- 2Employment Hero Payroll: Best for award and roster heavy teams
- 3KeyPay: Best for builders and advisors who want KeyPay’s engine directly
- 4QuickBooks Payroll (Australia): Best for tight accounting–payroll sync
- 5Payroller: Best budget-friendly STP payroll for very small teams
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