Payday Super has applied since 1 July 2026, so every pay run now has its own super deadline.1 The pay run can look right in payroll and still leave a payment rejected at the fund. This post checks one pay run from the payroll file to the fund’s receipt, in Xero, MYOB or Employment Hero.
The short answer: check seven things on every pay run: qualifying earnings, the super calculation, STP, the payment, the fund’s receipt, any rejected payment and the cash timing. Give each check a named owner and a date. The workbook below holds all of it, with the rule and its source for each check.
- 01 · ClassifyRules sort each pay item
- Ordinary hours: QE
- Sacrifice reversal: not QE
- 02 · Calculate12% of QE, then STP
Payroll Pay run 14 Sample
- QE$9,720.00
- Super at 12%$1,166.40
- 03 · PayA person releases it
Pay run 14: release super?Paid with the wages on payday
- 04 · FundThe fund takes it, or not
- Three payments accepted
- Marco $302.40 rejected
- 05 · FixThe named owner fixes it
Marco, $302.40, rejectedOwner Priya, fix by Wed 11 Nov
- 06 · ConfirmReceipt matched to the run
Payroll Pay run 14 Received
$1,166.40
Fund receipt kept with the pay run.
At the end of the day Steps 1, 2, 4 and 6 are checks. Steps 3 and 5 are decisions a named person makes.
The rule in five lines
| Rule | What it says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Timing | Super is paid at the same time as wages, with each pay run. | Xero4, ATO2 |
| Deadline | It must reach the fund within 7 business days after payday, the QE day. | ATO2, the Act1 |
| First payment to a fund | The first contribution to a particular fund for an employee has 20 business days. | The Act1 |
| Business day | Not a Saturday, a Sunday, or a public holiday for the whole of any State, the ACT or the NT. | The Act1 |
| Clearing house | The ATO’s Small Business Superannuation Clearing House closed on 1 July 2026. | ATO2 |
The clock starts on the QE day, the day you pay qualifying earnings.1 The ATO says super must reach the fund “within 7 business days after payday”.2 The deadline is when the fund has the money, not when you send it. Both periods run from the same day. Treat the 20 days as the outer limit, not the plan.
Check 1: classify every pay item
| Pay item (sample) | Amount | QE? | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Salary, ordinary hours (Priya) | $2,800.00 | Yes | Earnings for ordinary hours of work1 |
| Ordinary hours (Marco) | $2,400.00 | Yes | Earnings for ordinary hours of work |
| Shift loading (Marco) | $120.00 | Yes | Shift-loading is part of ordinary time earnings1 |
| Ordinary hours (Dana) | $2,000.00 | Yes | Earnings for ordinary hours of work |
| Commission (Dana) | $500.00 | Yes | All commissions payable are QE1 |
| Ordinary hours, first pay (Lee) | $1,900.00 | Yes | Earnings for ordinary hours of work |
| Reversal of a sacrificed contribution (Priya) | $150.00 | No | The Act excludes it1 |
| Overtime (not in this run) | – | Check | Vendor guides treat it as generally excluded. Confirm it for your award.3 |
| QE for the run | $9,720.00 | Sample data, not a client’s |
Classify before you finalise the run, not after. Xero’s guide says to “classify them as included or excluded” for each employee.3 Overtime needs its own look: the same guide asks you to tell overtime from rostered ordinary hours.3
What the Act says about qualifying earnings
- Section 10A(1). “(a) the person’s ordinary time earnings; (b) all commissions payable to the person;” The list goes on.1
- Section 10A(3)(a). Not QE: “a payment of an amount that represents the reversal of all or part of a sacrificed contribution”.1
- Ordinary time earnings. “earnings in respect of ordinary hours of work”, and “earnings consisting of over-award payments, shift-loading or commission”.1
- Xero on overtime. “Overtime payments for hours worked beyond ordinary time are generally excluded from QE.”3
Check 2: calculate the super, then report it
Super for the run, A$ · orange: overpaid
Super is 12% of QE. The $150.00 reversal is not QE, so counting it overpays $18.00 on this run.
Illustrative figures, not client data.
Xero’s guide gives the sum: “You calculate 12% super on QE each pay run up to the annual maximum contributions base”.3 MYOB’s help uses the same 12% for 2026–27,6 and the ATO says you “still contribute the same 12% super guarantee rate”.2
Then compare two numbers: QE and super liability. In MYOB’s example, overtime of 500 is liable for super but not for QE, so the two differ.6 A gap is fine when you can say why. STP carries both: the ATO says to include each employee’s “year-to-date qualifying earnings and super liability”.2
Xero, MYOB and Employment Hero, side by side
| Step | Xero Payroll | MYOB (Acumatica) | Employment Hero |
|---|---|---|---|
| Classify | Map every pay item to its QE treatment.3 | The Pay Item Liabilities form sets which items are QE for STP.6 | Pay categories are classified from their super rate setting. Check them.7 |
| Calculate | 12% of QE each pay run, up to the annual maximum contributions base.3 | The maximum contributions base is annual, not quarterly.5 | The annual maximum contribution base replaces the quarterly cap.7 |
| Exceptions | Overtime is generally excluded. Tell it from rostered ordinary hours.3 | An item can be liable for super but not for QE, such as overtime.6 | An exclusion checkbox covers some industrial super items.7 |
| Report | Report through STP with updated fields.3 | The QE setting decides what STP reports as QE.6 | Not stated on the page read. |
| Pay | Super is initiated when you pay wages.3 | Pay PaySuper with each pay run, or submit the batch to your clearing house.5 | Not stated on the page read. |
| Rejections | Set up exception alerts for bounced contributions.3 | Not stated on the page read. | Not stated on the page read. |
MYOB here means MYOB Acumatica: the AccountRight and MYOB Business payroll help was not read. Employment Hero’s help articles could not be opened, so its column rests on its product update. “Not stated” means the page did not say, not that the product cannot do it.
The vendor words behind the table
- Xero. “Review every pay item in your payroll setup and map it to the correct QE treatment.”3
- Xero. “You calculate 12% super on QE each pay run up to the annual maximum contributions base, and report via Single Touch Payroll (STP) with updated fields.”3
- Xero. “Set up exception alerts for bounced contributions, incorrect fund details, or employees with missing super fund information.”3
- MYOB. “you can use the Pay Item Liabilities form (MPPP1025) to set up which superannuation payments are qualifying earnings.”6
- MYOB. “Liable for Qualifying Earnings (QE) determines if a pay item is reported as qualifying earnings for Single Touch Payroll (STP).”6
- MYOB. “From 1 July 2026, you need to pay PaySuper with each pay run.”5
- MYOB. “The maximum contributions base calculation are changing to annual, rather than quarterly”5
- Employment Hero. “Pay categories are now automatically classified for Qualifying Earnings based on their super rate setting.”7
- Employment Hero. The annual maximum contribution base is “replacing the quarterly cap for post-1 July 2026 pay runs”.7
Check 3: pay with the wages, then count the days
Calendar days · orange: longer period
Sample payday Friday 6 November 2026. No public holiday for a whole State in the window is assumed.
Illustrative figures, not client data.
Pay with the wages and treat the days after payday as slack, not the plan. Count business days from the day after payday: payday is day 0. In the sample, a payday of Friday 6 November 2026 gives Tuesday 17 November for the usual period and Friday 4 December for a first payment to a fund. Both assume no public holiday for the whole of a State, the ACT or the NT falls in the window. Add any that does.1
The longer period covers the first contribution to a particular fund for an employee, after they start or restart, or after you stop paying another fund.1 It is the first payment to that fund only.
The business-day count, day by day (sample)
| Date | Day | Business day |
|---|---|---|
| Fri 6 Nov 2026 | Payday, the QE day | 0 |
| Mon 9 Nov | Monday | 1 |
| Tue 10 Nov | Tuesday | 2 |
| Wed 11 Nov | Wednesday | 3 |
| Thu 12 Nov | Thursday | 4 |
| Fri 13 Nov | Friday | 5 |
| Mon 16 Nov | Monday | 6 |
| Tue 17 Nov | Tuesday | 7: the fund must have it |
Check 4: a rejected payment and its owner
| Field | Entry (sample) |
|---|---|
| Returned | Tue 10 Nov 2026 |
| Payment | Marco, $302.40, to Fund A (sample) |
| Message | “Member number not found” (sample message) |
| Owner | Priya, office manager (sample) |
| Fix by | Wed 11 Nov |
| Fund must receive by | Tue 17 Nov: 5 business days left |
| Fund received | Thu 12 Nov |
The ATO’s steps for a rejected contribution are to review the error message, correct the details and resubmit it to the correct fund.2 No rule names who owns the fix. That is your decision: name a person, not a team, and set the fix-by date the day the payment comes back.
None of the sources read says a rejection pauses the seven business days. Plan as if the days keep running. Look for returns every working day until the fund has accepted every payment.
Check 5: line the cash up with the pay cycle
| Payday | Super leaves with the wages | Fund must receive by | Latest safe send (sample: 3 days) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fri 6 Nov 2026 | $1,166.40 | Tue 17 Nov | Thu 12 Nov |
| Fri 20 Nov | $1,166.40 | Tue 1 Dec | Thu 26 Nov |
| Fri 4 Dec | $1,166.40 | Tue 15 Dec | Thu 10 Dec |
Super is now part of every pay run, so it belongs in the same cash forecast as the wages. As Xero’s guide puts it: “if you pay fortnightly, it becomes fortnightly.”3 The latest safe send date is a business rule, not a legal one. Take the deadline and subtract your provider’s slowest time. The 3 business days here is a sample, so ask your bank and clearing house for yours.
The checklist, in order
- Classify. Map every pay item to qualifying earnings or excluded before you finalise the run.
- Calculate. Work out 12% of QE, up to the maximum contributions base, and compare it with QE.
- Report. Check that STP carries year-to-date QE and super liability.
- Pay. Send the payment with the wages, through a SuperStream-compliant clearing house or fund.
- Count. Write down the date the fund must receive it, in business days.
- Look for returns. Check for rejected or returned payments every working day.
- Assign. Give each rejected payment a named owner and a fix-by date.
- Match. Match the fund’s receipt to the pay run and keep the evidence.
- Forecast. Put super in the same cash forecast as the wages.
The workbook below adds the rule, the source and its date for each check.
Download the one-pay-run workbook
| Sheet | What it holds |
|---|---|
| Checklist | 15 checks, each with its rule, source and date, a column for each product, an owner and a Done box |
| Deadline calculator | Your payday in, the 7 and 20 business day dates out, and a latest safe send date |
| Sample pay run | The sample on this page, with live formulas |
| Rejected payments | A log with owner, fix-by date and business days left |
| Sources | Every page read, with its date, and what could not be read |
Download the Excel workbook, about 25 KB. I worked as a tax adviser for 10 years. This workbook is general information, not tax advice, and every rule carries its source and date so you can check it.
Where a person stays in charge
Rules check
The business-day count, QE against super liability, and the returns, the same way every pay run.
Claude reads
A fund’s rejection message, and writes a one-line note for the owner.
You decide
A named person fixes each payment and approves the pay run and the money.
Where your payroll product or clearing house offers an API or an export, I connect it. Rules count the days and compare the numbers. Claude can read a rejection message and write a one-line note for the owner. A person approves the pay run, fixes the payment and releases the money.
Start with a free fit check by email at the foot of this page. If one workflow is the problem, such as a rejected-payment queue, the next step is a Workflow Audit for A$990 (AUD, no GST charged). It is a 60-minute call, a read-only review of your systems and a written report, with a fixed quote for each of the top 3 things worth automating.8 A custom build starts from A$9,500 on the pricing page (AUD, no GST charged).8
Questions
When must super reach the fund under Payday Super?
Within 7 business days after payday, counted from the QE day. A first contribution to a particular fund has 20 business days.
Does a rejected payment stop the clock?
None of the sources read says it does. Plan as if the seven business days keep running, and fix the payment the day it comes back.
Who should own a rejected payment?
No rule names an owner. Name one person, and set a fix-by date.
Do the checks differ in Xero, MYOB and Employment Hero?
The checks are the same. The table shows where each product’s own pages differ, and where they say nothing.
Is this tax advice?
No. It is general information from the Act, the ATO and the vendors’ own pages, each dated. Check the rule for your business with the ATO or a registered adviser.
Sources
- 1. Federal Register of Legislation, “Treasury Laws Amendment (Payday Superannuation) Act 2025” (C2025A00057, as made 6 November 2025), read 31 October 2026: legislation.gov.au/C2025A00057/asmade/2025-11-06/text/1/pdf
- 2. Australian Taxation Office, ATO Community, “Payday Super has started: here’s what employers need to know and do” (last updated 22 July 2026), read 31 October 2026: community.ato.gov.au/s/article/a07Mo00001qD2iH/payday-super-has-started-heres-what-employers-need-to-know-and-do
- 3. Xero, “Qualifying earnings and Payday Super” (published 25 July 2026), read 31 October 2026: xero.com/au/guides/qualifying-earnings-payday-super
- 4. Xero, “Payday Super resources” (undated), read 31 October 2026: xero.com/au/programme/payday-super-resources
- 5. MYOB, MYOB Acumatica 2025.2.100 release notes, “Payroll: Support for Payday Super (AU)”, read 31 October 2026: help.myob.com.au/advanced/…/MYOBACU_RN_2025_2_1_Payroll_PayDaySuper
- 6. MYOB, MYOB Acumatica help, “Setting Up Qualifying Earnings (AU)”, read 31 October 2026: help.myob.com.au/advanced/…/PP__Setting_Up_Qualifying_Earnings_AU
- 7. Employment Hero, partner product updates, “Payday Super: Qualifying Earnings (QE) & Annual Maximum Contribution Base (MCB)” (20 May 2026), read 31 October 2026: partners.employmenthero.com/…/payday-super-qualifying-earnings-qe-annual-maximum-contribution-base-mcb
- 8. Works Better, “Pricing” and “Workflow Audit”: worksbetter.ai/pricing (Custom build from A$9,500; Workflow Audit A$990; AUD, no GST charged) and worksbetter.ai/workflow-audit
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