Payroll is one of the essential parts of any organisation. Businesses must keep the payroll system updated to ensure wages are processed accurately and on time. An employees' remuneration is calculated and generated by the payroll software used by the company.

An Australian-specific payroll software will help any Australian business streamline and accurately handle the wages and entitlements of their employees. Whether you use a third-party cloud payroll system or have a personalised system to process payments, here are some essential features that you should seek out:

1. Integration

Having integrated features and modules can help businesses to calculate critical payroll parameters more accurately. Integrating rostering, attendance and payroll data will make the pay calculation seamless. Employee time attendance software enables you to track the total working hours of all employees and process salaries based on the results. Data integration will allow you to store all the relevant data in one place and ease the payroll calculation process. An integrated payroll system automates the pay calculations, thus reducing errors. Furthermore, and integration from your payroll software into your accounting software can also bring greater efficiency to the process.

2. ATO Compliance

STP reporting started on 1 July 2018 for employers with 20 or more employees and 1 July 2019 for employers with 19 or fewer employees. After 1 July 2021, all types of employers and businesses holding an ABN now have to report the payroll information through ATO approved Single Touch Payroll software.

3. Single Touch Payroll compatibility

Your payroll software must have the ability to pass your summarised payroll data to the ATO. This process is called Single Touch Payroll (STP). ClockOn are the only Australian Payroll and STP software offering a free reporting solution for up to 20 employees. 

4. Compliance Management

A well managed Payroll software will ensure your payroll practices remain accurate and in-line with Australian employment law and consistent with any award that your business may be operating under. Fairwork Australia do make frequent changes which can make compliance management more challenging and complex. Therefore, you need to ensure your payroll solutions can handle these adjustments easily.

5. Calculation Accuracy

When it comes to processing payroll for employees, an accurate calculation is essential. Any error or inconsistency can complicate the payment process and bring stressful times to a business manager. Therefore, you need to make sure your payroll software has accurate calculation algorithms and formulas in place. Calculation accuracy will reduce the chances of errors and prevent any mistakes, helping you save a considerable amount of time and money. 

6. High-Level of Security

One of the crucial features in a cloud-based payroll system is upholding a high level of data security. Your payroll system will have valuable data of your company, tax file numbers, employees' personal details, and various pay data. Therefore, you need to ensure your payroll software has solid security and password protection as well as comprehensive audit trails.


Manage Your Payroll and Stay ATO Compliant with ClockOn's Free Attendance and Payroll Software
ClockOn offers FREE Payroll and STP software to small businesses and allows them to report their Single Touch Payroll data to the ATO easily. If you want to learn more about our payroll system and its features, contact us on 02 4344 9444 or book a session with one of our product experts. Alternatively, you can get started for free by clicking below.