How to choose the right payroll software - and why it matters
Choosing payroll software might not be the most exciting business decision you’ll make - but for growing SMEs, it’s one of the most important.
Payroll sits at the intersection of your people, your finances, and your legal obligations. When it works well, it’s almost invisible. When it doesn’t, it can quickly become stressful, time-consuming, and risky.
So how do you choose the right payroll software for your business - and how do you make sure it’s actually set up to support your growth?
Here’s what to look for, and what we see working best for Kiwi businesses.
Why payroll software matters for growing NZ businesses
As your team grows, payroll gets more complex. More employees usually means:
Different pay rates and hours
Leave balances to track
KiwiSaver, student loans, and tax changes
Greater compliance responsibilities as an employer
Spreadsheets and manual processes might work at the very start, but they rarely scale. The right payroll software helps automate calculations, reduce errors, and keep you aligned with New Zealand employment legislation.
But software alone isn’t the whole answer.
Key things to look for in payroll software
1. NZ compliance built in
New Zealand payroll rules change regularly – minimum wage increases, tax thresholds, KiwiSaver updates, and leave entitlements all need to be handled correctly.
Good payroll software should:
Automatically apply IRD tax rules
Support KiwiSaver and student loan deductions
Stay up to date with legislative changes
Produce compliant payslips and reports
This is non-negotiable. Payroll errors don’t just frustrate staff – they can expose your business to penalties and disputes.
2. Ease of use (for real people, not payroll experts)
Growing businesses don’t always have a dedicated payroll specialist in-house. Your payroll system should be:
Easy to navigate
Clear and intuitive
Able to handle common scenarios without workarounds
If payroll feels confusing or overly technical, it’s often a sign the system isn’t right – or hasn’t been set up properly.
3. Automation and accuracy
Manual data entry is one of the biggest sources of payroll mistakes.
Look for software that can:
Automatically calculate pay, tax, and leave
Reduce double-handling of information
Minimise the chance of human error
Automation saves time, but it also creates consistency – something your employees will notice and appreciate.
4. Reporting and visibility
As your business grows, you’ll want clearer insight into your people costs.
Strong payroll software should allow you to:
Run payroll and compliance reports easily
Track leave balances and trends
Support budgeting and forecasting
This information becomes especially valuable when planning growth, hiring, or restructuring.
5. Integrations with other systems
Payroll doesn’t exist in isolation. Many businesses benefit from payroll software that integrates with:
Accounting platforms (eg. Xero)
Time and attendance systems
HR or leave management tools
The more your systems talk to each other, the less admin sits on your desk.
Payroll software vs payroll support – what’s the difference?
One thing we see often with growing SMEs is the assumption that choosing payroll software means payroll is “sorted”.
In reality, software is just the tool. The real risk – and opportunity – sits in how it’s implemented, managed, and maintained.
This is where outsourced payroll support can make a meaningful difference.
With the right support in place, you get:
A payroll system set up correctly from day one
Confidence that compliance changes are applied properly
Someone to sense-check complex scenarios
Less pressure on business owners or ops teams
Many of our clients use modern, NZ-compliant payroll platforms, but don’t have to worry about running payroll themselves. We handle the processing, checks, and ongoing updates, so payroll just happens in the background.
Common payroll pain points we see in growing SMEs
Some of the most common issues we help businesses resolve include:
Payroll systems that were never set up properly
Inconsistent handling of leave and public holidays
Stress around audits, disputes, or IRD queries
Payroll being dependent on one internal person
Owners spending hours each pay cycle on admin
These aren’t failures – they’re growing pains. But they’re also signs it might be time to rethink how payroll is managed.
How Konnect Koncepts supports payroll for NZ businesses
At Konnect Koncepts, we work alongside growing SMEs to take the pressure off payroll.
We use trusted, New Zealand–based payroll systems and tailor the setup to your business. More importantly, we manage the ongoing processing and compliance, so you’re not left trying to keep up with changes on your own.
Learn more about our payroll services here: Our Outsourced Payroll Services
Our payroll support is designed to:
Scale as your business grows
Reduce risk and rework
Free up your time to focus on running the business
Give your people confidence they’re being paid correctly, every time
Choosing the right payroll software is an important step – but choosing the right payroll setup is what really sets growing businesses up for success.
With the right systems and the right support, payroll doesn’t have to be stressful, confusing, or time-consuming. It can simply work.
If you’d like a conversation about what that could look like for your business, we’re always happy to chat.
