5 questions to help you decide if it's time to switch payroll solutions

As the year begins, many organisations review their systems and question what's working. Payroll often comes up, especially as increasing complexity in compliance, award interpretations, and workforce models makes 'good enough' harder to maintain. While switching systems involves effort, staying with an outdated one can lead to manual workarounds, compliance stress, and inefficiencies that hinder strategic focus.

Research from Yellow Canary’s 2025 State of Payroll Compliance Report shows that nearly one in three Australian businesses cite the reliability of their payroll software and ongoing reliance on manual processes as key areas of concern when it comes to underpayments.

Upcoming Payday Super requirements, increasingly complex award interpretations, the evolving nature of work—such as casuals, contractors, multi-site operations, hybrid arrangements—and the management of timesheets, overtime, rosters, and leave are raising the standard for what 'good enough' means in payroll systems.

Switching payroll or workforce management solutions is not a small decision for any business, as it is one of the core operational functions that ensures employees are paid accurately and on time, compliance requirements are met, and workforce data is managed efficiently. This process involves implementation time, training, change management, and cost.

However, staying with a system that is not future-ready also incurs costs, such as manual workarounds, compliance stress, and the hours your team spends keeping things afloat rather than focusing on strategic work. With the increasing complexity of compliance, award interpretations, workforce models, and the management of timesheets, overtime, rosters, and leave, the bar for what 'good enough' means in payroll systems continues to rise.

Australian payroll is facing significant shifts, and they're all happening at roughly the same time. Some key reasons why businesses are rethinking their payroll and workforce management solutions:

Payday Super is less than six months away

From 1 July 2026, superannuation must be paid every time payroll runs, not quarterly, and contributions must be paid into employee super funds within seven business days of payday. 
This change addresses a significant issue, as the ATO estimates around $6.25 billion in unpaid superannuation annually, affecting 2.5 million Australian employees who collectively missed $4.3 billion in super.

The ATO is watching more closely

Single Touch Payroll provides real-time visibility into payroll data, eliminating the buffer for correcting errors.

Wage theft is now a criminal offence

From January 2025, intentional underpayment is a criminal offence under the Fair Work Act, with severe penalties including fines and imprisonment.

Awards are becoming more complex

 Australia has over 120 modern awards, constantly updated by the Fair Work Commission, adding layers of complexity for businesses managing multiple awards.

Workforce models are changing

Businesses are managing diverse employment types, including permanent staff, casuals, contractors, and hybrid arrangements, requiring payroll systems to handle increased complexity.

These simultaneous shifts highlight why legacy systems, designed for simpler times, are no longer sufficient. Businesses must adapt to meet these new challenges effectively.

Here's what all of this adds up to: payroll systems built 5-10 years ago were not designed for today's requirements. They were built for quarterly super payments, less intense ATO scrutiny, and simpler workforce structures. These legacy systems are no longer sufficient to handle the increasing complexity of compliance, award interpretations, workforce models, and the management of timesheets, overtime, rosters, and leave. Businesses must adapt to meet these new challenges effectively.

1. Is your system handling compliance, or is your team doing all the work?

If your team is constantly fixing compliance issues, the workload and risk only grow.

Why it matters: Compliance should be built into the system, not reliant on manual effort.

Signs to watch for:

• Award updates need manual reconfiguring.
• STP lodgements frequently need corrections.
• Payday Super feels like a manual process.
• Compliance knowledge is tied to individuals, not the system.

2. How much time does each pay run really take?

Payroll effort adds up fast, and outdated systems only make it worse.

Why it matters: Modern systems reduce manual work, not shift it around.

Signs to watch for:

• Pay runs take days to complete.
• Spreadsheets are a must to close payroll.
• Errors and follow-ups are routine.
• Employees often query their pay.

3. Will your system scale as the business grows?

Payroll complexity increases with growth—your system needs to keep up.

Why it matters: A system that works today must handle future workforce complexity.

Signs to watch for:

• Managing multiple sites or awards is a struggle.
• New employment types need workarounds.
• Reporting can’t keep up with business needs.
• System limits feel restrictive.

4. Do you know the true cost of running payroll?

Licence fees are just the start—there’s more to the real cost.

Why it matters: Hidden costs like time, risk, and manual effort add up.

Signs to watch for:

• Support or consultancy costs keep rising.
• Maintaining the system drains internal resources.
• Manual work offsets perceived affordability.
• Upgrades or fixes come at extra cost.

5. Is your payroll data actually useful?

If your data is hard to access, you’re making decisions with one hand tied behind your back.

Why it matters: Payroll data should drive insights, not create barriers.

Signs to watch for:

• Reporting relies on Excel exports.
• Labour cost visibility is delayed or retrospective.
• Payroll data doesn’t integrate with finance or HR systems.
• Insights need IT support to extract.

If these sound familiar, it might be time to rethink your payroll system.

✔ The same issues keep popping up
The same award fixes or corrections appear every pay cycle. Small frustrations happen, but recurring problems show the system is creating extra work for the team.

✔ Payday Super feels like a question mark
There is uncertainty about how super will be processed in each pay run, or whether it will reach employee funds within 7 days. With July 2026 just months away, this requires attention now.

✔ Payruns are taking too long
When pay runs stretch across multiple days due to manual entry, reconciliations, or error corrections, the team spends more time on admin than on strategic work.

✔ Manual workarounds have become the norm
Spreadsheets and cross-checks are fine occasionally. But when they are needed every cycle, the system is not performing as it should.

✔ Compliance keeps everyone on edge
When award updates require manual configuration every time Fair Work makes changes, or the team needs to double-check everything, it signals a lack of trust in the current system.

✔ The system can't scale with growth
As headcount, locations, and award complexity increase, systems without clear scalability or a roadmap can slow the business rather than support it.

✔ Technology feels outdated
Systems built 5-10 years ago weren't designed for today's requirements. They often can't integrate with modern cloud tools, and a lack of automation increases manual work. 

The businesses rethinking their payroll approach aren't just upgrading software. They're changing how payroll operations actually work. Before looking at specific solutions, it helps to understand what modern payroll platforms deliver:

Integration across the business

Time and attendance data flows directly into payroll. HR and payroll share the same employee information. Super processing happens as part of the pay run, not as a separate monthly task. The data doesn't need to be moved, matched, or reconciled—it's already there.

Automation handles the repetitive work

Award interpretation, super calculations, compliance checks, leave accruals—these happen automatically. Teams focus on decisions that need judgment, not tasks that don't.

Real-time visibility replaces guesswork

Labour costs are visible now, not retrospectively. Compliance status updates continuously. Workforce trends show up as they develop, not weeks later in a report.

Access payroll solutions like Definitiv Evo and MicrOpay Evo are built this way—not as separate tools stitched together but as integrated platforms where payroll, workforce management, and compliance work together from the start.

AI is elevating payroll capabilities

According to the APA 2025 AI Adoption Report, 74% of payroll professionals recognise AI could improve compliance and reduce errors. The technology exists to strengthen fraud detection, automate complex calculations, and provide real-time monitoring. 

Q1 2026 offers a strategic window. It's ahead of the July Payday Super deadline and the end-of-financial-year pressures, and it gives teams breathing room to evaluate options, test systems, and implement changes before compliance requirements intensify.

Making the switch now means moving at your own pace. No last-minute stress, just time to prepare, train teams, and gain confidence in your new payroll system

The Access Group payroll solutions are designed to take the stress out of payroll with automated compliance, Payday Super support, Beam integration, and AI-powered tools, freeing your team to focus on more strategic work. 

Speak to our specialists today to explore how payroll can work smarter for your business.