Manual Payroll? Nah. These Systems Will Save Your Sanity 🤪👉😊

The Blog
August 29, 2025•4 min read

Manual Payroll? Nah. These Systems Will Save Your Sanity 🤪👉😊

As soon as you make your first hire, you open up a whoooole new way of working.

You're thinking; yeah thanks for stating the obvious.

But I'm not just talking about the actual work you do.

I’m talking about the new legal responsibilities that land squarely on your plate the moment you become an employer. 🥲

One biggie? Payroll.

It's not a responsibility you can outsource, the buck always stops with the business owner, but you can surely make meeting these obligations a heck of a lot easier to manage (and less soul-sucking) with a smart payroll system.

If you're employing staff and have not been using a payroll system to help manage it... mate, you're going to be amazed at all the time, effort, and headspace these systems are about to free up for you!

Let's break it down 👇

🧾 Your Payroll Obligations as an employer in NZ

Whether you’re hiring your first café assistant or building a full team of tradies, these are your must-dos:

✅ Keep accurate employee records (IRD numbers, tax codes, bank details, etc.)

✅ Pay employees their correct wages on time (and provide payslips)

✅ Deduct and pay PAYE and KiwiSaver contributions to IR every payday

✅ File payday reporting to IR within 2 working days of every pay run

✅ Track and calculate leave entitlements correctly (annual, sick, public holidays)

You also need to:

👉 Register as an employer with IRD

👉 Have signed employment agreements for every staff member

👉 Know exactly how your payroll system works (because you’re legally responsible)

💻 Why Use a Payroll System?

Think of a payroll system as your new admin sidekick.

The best systems do more than crunch numbers, they:

  • Handle all those deadlines automatically

  • Keep your employee data tidy and secure

  • Help you stay compliant with IRD (and reduce audit risk)

  • Let employees self-serve for payslips and leave

  • Free up your headspace so you can focus on running your business.

We've touched on a few payroll system options below, each having their own sweet-spots (and price points):

IPAYROLL

  • The "OG" of payroll systems

  • Cloud-based and widely used by SMEs, and schools

  • Automates PAYE, leave management, KiwiSaver, and payday filing

  • Includes an employee self-service portal for payslips and leave

  • Pricing based on number of employees

  • Setup and support costs

PAYSAUCE

  • Similar to iPayroll, but mostly designed for hospo, retail, and agri-businesses

  • Mobile app makes clocking in/out and timesheets a breeze

  • Strong compliance tools and automatic filing

  • Integrates with Xero, MYOB, and other accounting systems

  • Support is top notch

PAYHERO

  • Great for service-based businesses or flexible workforces

  • Handles rostering, timesheets, and leave calculations seamlessly

  • Fully compliant with the NZ Holidays Act

  • Simple pricing structure with unlimited payroll runs

  • Great support

  • Super user-friendly at the employee-end

THANK YOU PAYROLL

  • Social enterprise: profits go to NZ charities 💛

  • Free for registered charities, low cost for small businesses

  • Automates all IRD filing and payslip distribution

  • Ideal for business owners who want simple, ethical payroll

XERO PAYROLL

  • Integrated payroll, leave, and timesheet tracking

  • Easy to manage small teams, but limited for complex setups

  • Perfect for businesses already in the Xero ecosystem

  • Still quite a manual process

  • Support isn't great, as it's lumped in with Xero support which isn't timely

  • Currently on the improve

SMARTLY (formerly Smartpayroll)

  • Longstanding NZ payroll solution (formerly SmartPayroll)

  • Automated payday filing, PAYE, KiwiSaver, and leave

  • Secure cloud-based portal for employers and employees

  • Mobile app for payslips and leave requests

  • Detailed reporting & IRD integration

  • Great for small–mid-sized businesses wanting a reliable, all-in-one option

😅 Soooo.....still Doing Payroll Manually?

Let’s be honest. Doing payroll manually in 2025 is like still using one of those Nokia phones.

Sure, you can… but why would you?

Manual payroll means spreadsheets, IRD portals, missed deadlines, and leave tracking nightmares. It also means more time doing admin, and less time building your business. Your time is worth more than the cost of these systems.

You know there’s a better way.

Payroll might feel overwhelming at first, but with the right system (and support), you’ll be sweet.

💬 Book a quick chat with us to talk through:

  • Your current payroll setup (or lack of one)

  • Which software might suit your team best

  • How we can help get you registered, compliant, and confident

Let’s take payroll off your “too hard basket”.

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