Payroll finance, in three simple steps

Why do payroll gaps happen?

Because your team gets paid on a fixed rhythm and your customers don’t. Wages might go out every Thursday, while customers pay 30 or 45 days after the work is done. A growing business feels this most: every new hire adds to the wage bill weeks before their work turns into cash.

Payroll finance bridges that gap. It’s not a special product so much as a purpose: making sure wages, super and PAYG withholding are paid on time, every time, even when income lags.

What’s changed with Payday Super?

Since 1 July 2026, the ATO’s Payday Super rules mean super is paid alongside wages instead of quarterly. According to the ATO:

• The super guarantee is 12% of the qualifying earnings you pay each employee for the pay period.
• Contributions must be received by the employee’s fund no more than 7 business days after the payday, unless a longer period applies.

For cash flow, that’s a big shift. Under the old quarterly system, super money sat in the business account for weeks or months. Now it leaves within days of each payday. Businesses that had unknowingly relied on that float need to plan for it.

Our hiring staff and Payday Super page and the Payday Super cash flow guide go deeper.

What happens if wages or super are late?

The consequences go beyond an unhappy team:

Obligation	If it’s late
Wages	Fair Work obligations; employers need to pay employees at least monthly, and awards may require more often
Super	The ATO can raise the super guarantee charge, including the shortfall, interest and an administrative uplift that starts at 60%
PAYG withholding	Can contribute to director penalties for companies

The ATO’s guidance on missed or late super payments sets out the charge in detail. In short, late super costs far more than a well-structured facility.

Which finance suits payroll?

Payroll gaps usually repeat, so the best tools are ones you can use again and again:

• A line of credit: draw before payday, repay when customers pay. See business line of credit.
• Invoice finance: if you bill other businesses, unlock invoices as soon as they’re issued. See invoice finance.
• A cash flow loan: for a one-off step up, like a new contract or seasonal hiring, typically $5,000 to $500,000 sized on turnover. See cash flow loans.
• Property-secured lending: from $20,000 to $5,000,000 for larger needs or where credit history is a hurdle.

Not sure which fits? Send a 60-second enquiry and a specialist will help you choose. There’s no credit check to ask.

How do I size a payroll facility?

Three steps:

1. Calculate a full pay cycle. Gross wages, plus 12% super on qualifying earnings, plus any PAYG withholding you’ll remit.
2. Count the cycles in your gap. If customers pay 45 days after a weekly payroll starts, that’s six or seven pay runs before the matching cash arrives.
3. Add a buffer. One extra pay cycle covers a slow-paying customer or a public holiday that delays receipts.

Illustrative example only. A labour-hire business places workers with construction firms on 30-day terms and pays its workers weekly. When it wins a contract adding fifteen workers, its weekly payroll jumps immediately while the first invoice won’t be paid for over a month. An invoice finance facility, combined with a small line of credit for super, keeps every pay run and super contribution on time.

Good payroll habits

• Separate account for withholding and super. Move PAYG and super out of the operating account each payday.
• Diarise every date. Paydays, super deadlines and BAS due dates in one calendar.
• Invoice promptly. Business.gov.au’s cash flow advice includes invoicing quickly and following up overdue accounts, which shortens the gap you need to fund.

What payroll costs are easy to miss?

When planning payroll funding, owners usually remember wages and super. These are easier to overlook:

• Leave loading and annual leave for permanent staff, which affects cash flow when leave is taken in busy periods
• Overtime and penalty rates under the relevant award, especially for weekend or holiday work
• Workers compensation premiums, which vary by state and industry
• Payroll tax, if your total wages exceed your state’s threshold
• Back pay or corrections, if an award rate changes or an error is discovered
• Onboarding costs, such as uniforms, equipment and training time

Including these in your plan means your facility is sized for the real payroll, not just the base wage bill. Your payroll software and accountant can help estimate them accurately.

It’s also worth checking how pay frequency interacts with your income. A business paid monthly by customers but paying staff weekly feels the gap four times a month. Our page on late-paying customers covers ways to shorten the income side, and working capital loans explains how to measure the overall gap.

Keep your team paid, on time, every time

Payroll is the one bill most owners will do anything to pay. A well-matched facility means you don’t have to scramble.

When you enquire, nothing touches your credit file. A real person reads your details and calls you, and we won’t spray your information to a pile of lenders. Please be accurate on the form about turnover, your payroll size and how quickly customers pay, so we can match the right facility on the first call. See if you qualify for payroll finance.