Introduction
BillMate Payroll is a built-in payroll module designed specifically for Australian small businesses and sole traders. It lets you pay your team accurately and on time — without spreadsheets or expensive payroll software.
What Payroll Does For You
- PAYG Withholding — automatically calculated using the ATO 2025/26 tax withholding tables, including Tax-free Threshold, HELP/SFSS debt, and Medicare Levy adjustments.
- Super Guarantee — 12% SGC automatically applied to Ordinary Time Earnings (OTE) for every eligible pay run.
- Leave Accrual & Tracking — Annual Leave and Sick Leave balances calculated and updated each pay period.
- Payslip Generation — professional PDF payslips with all ATO-required information, ready to download or email.
- Pay Run History — full audit trail of every pay run, from draft to processed.
- Getting Started Checklist — a step-by-step onboarding checklist that guides you through initial payroll setup, from adding your first employee to running your first pay run.
- Smart Date Auto-fill — if you have previously completed a pay run, BillMate automatically fills in the next pay period dates based on your last run's frequency and dates.
- Copy from Last Pay Run — pre-fill hours and allowances from your most recently processed pay run with a single click, saving time on repetitive data entry.
Plan Requirements
Payroll is available on the Team Plan and above. Upgrade your plan from Settings → Billing.
Coming Soon
- Coming Soon Single Touch Payroll (STP) Reporting — direct ATO lodgement via DSP registration (in progress).
- Coming Soon Super Payments — electronic super contributions to employee funds via OZEDI (SuperStream).
Adding Employees — 3-Step Wizard
Before you can run payroll, you need to set up at least one employee record. Go to Dashboard → Payroll → Employees and click "Add Employee". A 3-step wizard guides you through the process.
Step 1: Personal
Enter the employee's basic personal details.
Fields marked with * are required. You must complete all required fields before proceeding to the next step. Use the "Next" button to advance.
Step 2: Employment & Tax
Configure the employee's employment details and tax settings.
Employment Details
Tax Information
Fields marked with * are required. Use "Previous" to go back to Step 1 or "Next" to proceed to Step 3.
Step 3: Super
Set up the employee's superannuation details.
Click "Save Employee" to complete the wizard and add the employee to your payroll. Use "Previous" to go back and make changes.
Employee Limits by Plan
| Plan | Max Employees |
|---|---|
| Team | 5 employees |
| Business | 10 employees |
| Enterprise | 20 employees |
Running Payroll — 3-Step Wizard
Each pay run is created through a simple 3-step wizard. Go to Dashboard → Payroll → Pay Runs and click "New Pay Run".
Step 1: Period Setup
Define the pay period for this run:
- Pay Period Start — first day of the pay period.
- Pay Period End — last day of the pay period.
- Pay Date — the actual date funds will be paid to employees.
- Pay Frequency — choose Weekly, Fortnightly, or Monthly. This affects default hour calculations in Step 2.
Smart Date Auto-fill: If you have previously completed a pay run, BillMate automatically fills in the dates for the next period based on your last run's frequency and end date. A blue info banner at the top of the page confirms that dates have been auto-filled. You can still adjust them manually if needed.
Step 2: Enter Hours & Allowances
All active employees are listed. Use the checkbox on each row to include or exclude an employee from this run.
Copy from Last: Click the "Copy from Last" button to pre-fill hours and allowances from your last processed pay run. This saves time when your team's hours are consistent from period to period. You can still edit any value after copying.
| Field | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Ordinary Hours | Standard hours worked this period | Weekly: 38h | Fortnightly: 76h | Monthly: 164.67h |
| Overtime Hours | Hours beyond ordinary time | 0 |
| Allowances ($) | Car, tool, meal, or other allowances | 0.00 |
| Bonuses ($) | Performance or discretionary bonuses | 0.00 |
| Deductions ($) | Post-tax deductions (e.g. union fees) | 0.00 |
| Salary Sacrifice ($) | Pre-tax contributions (reduces taxable income) | 0.00 |
| Annual Leave Hours | Leave taken this period (deducted from balance) | 0 |
| Sick Leave Hours | Leave taken this period (deducted from balance) | 0 |
Step 3: Review & Approve
A summary table shows the calculated results for each included employee:
| Employee | Base Pay | OT Pay | Allowances | Gross Pay | PAYG Tax | Super | Net Pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jane Smith | $2,923 | $0 | $100 | $3,023 | $734 | $352 | $2,289 |
| Tom Wu | $1,900 | $150 | $0 | $2,050 | $430 | $228 | $1,620 |
| Totals | $4,823 | $150 | $100 | $5,073 | $1,164 | $580 | $3,909 |
Review all figures carefully. If anything needs adjustment, click "Previous" to return to Step 2, make your corrections, and the totals will be recalculated automatically. When you are satisfied, click "Approve" to lock in the pay run. The status will change from Draft to Approved.
Processing Pay
Once a pay run is Approved, you are ready to process it. Processing is the final confirmation that pay has been (or will be) disbursed.
How to Process
What Happens When You Process
- Leave Balances Updated — Annual Leave and Sick Leave hours taken this period are deducted from each employee's balance.
- Leave Accrual — new leave entitlements are automatically accrued based on employment type and hours worked.
- Super Payment Record Created — a Super Guarantee liability record is generated. Super is collated quarterly for Super Payments (coming soon).
- Pay Run Status — changes to Processed.
- Payslips Emailed — if the option was selected, payslips are sent immediately.
Payslips
BillMate generates a compliant payslip for every employee in every pay run. Payslips can be downloaded as PDFs or emailed directly to your team.
Downloading Payslips
Emailing Payslips
What's on a Payslip
Each payslip follows the Australian standard layout:
- Paid By — your business name, ABN, and contact details. If a PDF Logo is uploaded in Settings it is displayed here; otherwise the standard business logo and company name are shown.
- Employment Details — employee name, job title, employment type, pay period, and pay date.
- Summary Bar — a quick-glance bar showing Gross Pay, Tax, Super, and Net Pay for this period.
- Salary & Wages — a detailed table with columns for Hours, Rate, This Pay, and YTD for each earnings line (ordinary hours, overtime, allowances, bonuses, leave pay).
- Tax — PAYG withholding with both This Pay and YTD columns.
- Superannuation — SGC contribution with both This Pay and YTD columns.
- Leave — Accrued, Used, and Balance columns for Annual Leave and Sick Leave.
- Net Pay — the final amount payable to the employee.
Leave Management
BillMate tracks Annual Leave and Sick Leave for all permanent employees. Casual employees are not entitled to paid leave and are automatically excluded from accruals.
Viewing Leave Balances
Navigate to Dashboard → Payroll → Leave to see all employee leave balances at a glance.
Each employee card shows:
- Annual Leave: remaining balance (hours and days), accrued this year, used this year
- Sick Leave: remaining balance (hours and days), accrued this year, used this year
Manual Adjustments
If you need to correct a balance — for example, when an employee transfers in with an existing entitlement — click the "Adjust" button on any leave card.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Leave Type | Annual Leave or Sick Leave |
| Hours | Positive number to add hours; negative to reduce |
| Reason | Descriptive note for audit trail (e.g. "Opening balance on hire") |
Automatic Leave Accrual
Leave is accrued each time a pay run is processed, based on employment type:
| Employment Type | Annual Leave (per year) | Sick Leave (per year) | Accrual Basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full Time (38 h/wk) | 152 hours (4 weeks) | 76 hours (10 days) | Per pay period pro-rata |
| Part Time (e.g. 20 h/wk) | 80 hours (0.526 FTE × 152h) | 40 hours (0.526 FTE × 76h) | FTE ratio × full-time entitlement |
| Casual | — | — | Leave loading included in casual rate |
FTE Calculation Example
A part-time employee working 20 hours per week has an FTE of 20 ÷ 38 = 0.526. Their annual leave entitlement is 0.526 × 152 = 80 hours per year, accrued proportionally each pay period.
Understanding Tax Calculations
BillMate uses the ATO's official 2025/26 weekly tax withholding tables to calculate PAYG amounts. The calculations are performed on the gross taxable income for the period and scaled to a weekly equivalent, then converted back to the actual pay frequency.
PAYG Withholding Examples
The table below shows approximate PAYG withholding for an employee who claims the Tax-free Threshold, with no HELP/SFSS debt, on a weekly pay frequency. Actual amounts may vary slightly based on individual tax settings.
| Weekly Gross Pay | PAYG Withheld (approx.) | Net Pay (approx.) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| $800 | $88 | $712 | 11% |
| $1,000 | $170 | $830 | 17% |
| $1,500 | $345 | $1,155 | 23% |
| $2,000 | $525 | $1,475 | 26.3% |
| $3,000 | $924 | $2,076 | 30.8% |
Super Guarantee (SGC)
Super is calculated at 12.0% of Ordinary Time Earnings (OTE) for FY 2025–26.
What counts as OTE?
- Base Pay (salary or hourly for ordinary hours)
- Leave Pay (Annual Leave, Sick Leave paid out)
- Allowances (generally included unless ATO-exempt)
- Bonuses (included)
Overtime does not count as OTE and is excluded from the super base.
Quarterly Super Cap (FY 2025–26)
The Maximum Superannuation Contribution Base is $62,270 per quarter. Super is not required to be paid on earnings above this cap per quarter. BillMate applies this cap automatically for high-income employees.
| Gross Pay (Fortnightly) | OTE | Super @ 12% | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| $3,800 (incl. $200 OT) | $3,600 | $432 | OT excluded from OTE |
| $5,000 (all ordinary) | $5,000 | $600 | Standard calculation |
| $10,000 + Bonus $2,000 | $12,000 | $1,440 | Bonus included in OTE |
Salary Sacrifice
Salary sacrifice is a pre-tax arrangement where part of an employee's gross salary is contributed to super (or other approved benefits) before income tax is calculated.
How it affects tax
| Without Sal Sac | With $500 Sal Sac | |
|---|---|---|
| Gross Pay | $5,000 | $5,000 |
| Salary Sacrifice | $0 | $500 |
| Taxable Income | $5,000 | $4,500 |
| PAYG Withheld (approx.) | $1,420 | $1,235 |
| Net Pay | $3,580 | $3,265 |
Note: Super is still calculated on the full OTE before the salary sacrifice deduction (concessional contributions count toward super balance separately).
Pay Run History & Dashboard
Pay Runs List
Go to Dashboard → Payroll → Pay Runs for a full list of all pay runs. Use the status filter bar to narrow the view:
- All — show every pay run
- Draft — created but not yet approved
- Reviewing — under review before approval
- Approved — approved, not yet processed
- Processed — fully processed and locked
Pay Run Card
Each card in the list displays at a glance:
- Pay period (start date → end date)
- Pay date
- Status badge
- Financial summary: Total Gross / Total Tax / Total Super / Total Net Pay
- Number of employees included
Payroll Dashboard Overview
The main Payroll tab shows a real-time dashboard with key metrics:
Monthly Trend Chart
A bar chart shows monthly Total Gross Pay for the current financial year, making it easy to spot seasonal patterns, bonus months, or staffing changes over time.