Choosing the best payroll software in Australia is not just about price. It is about finding a system that handles compliance, reduces admin, and fits how your business actually operates.

For some businesses, payroll sits inside accounting software. For others, payroll is part of a broader workforce system that includes rostering, timesheets, leave, and HR.

A payslip is a summary of a payment made to an employee. As an employer you're required by law to provide your employees with a payslip each time a payment is made.

A payslip can be provided to an employee in paper or electronic form and has required information such as employee name, employer name, ABN, gross and net amount of payment to name just a few.

Updated 1 September 2026: This article has been updated with recent Australian payroll underpayment cases and current information about payroll compliance.

Payroll underpayments are not limited to small businesses with poor record keeping. Some of Australia’s largest employers have discovered payroll errors running for years, often because the rules sitting between an employee’s recorded hours and their final pay were not applied correctly.

The scale of the problem is significant. The Fair Work Ombudsman recovered $358 million for more than 249,000 underpaid workers in 2024-25 alone. Around 60% of those recoveries came from large corporate employers.

ClockOn’s free payroll software continues to support small Australian businesses with everything they need to manage payroll and meet ATO requirements.

With over two decades of experience in workforce management, we understand the pressure small businesses face when it comes to payroll compliance. That’s why our ClockOn Starter package is designed to remove barriers, offering an easy, effective, and compliant payroll solution at no charge forupto12months.

Most businesses do not replace manual timesheets because someone wrote down one wrong number. They replace them because payroll has become dependent on chasing, interpreting and re-entering information every pay cycle.

A manager may know that an employee stayed late, worked through a break or filled a higher-duty role. Payroll only sees what makes it onto the timesheet. If that context is missing, even a perfectly totalled timesheet can produce the wrong pay outcome.

That is the real value of a time and attendance system. It creates a clearer path from what happened during the shift to what is reviewed, approved and ultimately paid.

As per the 30th of March 2020, the Australian Government has created the JobKeeper payment subsidy.

The Rising Need to Track Employee Hours

The fast-paced world of business demands precision. In the age of digital transformation, businesses are looking for efficient ways to track employee hours. The accuracy of this process isn't just a matter of paying employees correctly; it's about compliance, productivity, and financial integrity.