After five years working with businesses across New Zealand on their payroll systems, I get asked the same question often: "What payroll software do you recommend?"
My answer is almost always Employment Hero.
Now, to be completely up front with you, I’m actually an Employment Hero partner. But that came as a result of me loving and using the software so much, rather than the other way round.
It’s not the only software I work with, but it’s often my go-to when helping a client set up a new system because it consistently delivers on three things that matter most: integration, transparency, and automation.
The problem with “Frankensteining” your software
Lots of businesses have cobbled together multiple systems to manage their people.
One software for timesheets, a platform for HR documents, another for payroll, maybe a fourth for rostering. Each system talks to the others... sort of… usually with manual data entry, spreadsheets, and crossed fingers.
Employment Hero solves this by bringing HR, hiring, employee experience, and payroll into one platform. When everything lives in the same system, data flows automatically. An employee logs their hours, those hours flow into payroll, leave balances update, and pay is calculated.
For payroll administrators, this means fewer software platforms to learn, fewer passwords to remember, fewer subscriptions, and fewer places where errors can creep in.
“Show your workings”: transparency at its best
Something that sets Employment Hero apart is seeing how it calculates things like annual leave.
Many payroll systems can feel secretive. You input data, and a number spits out. If something looks off, you have to go back through notes, records, or spreadsheets to figure out which part of the calculation is wrong.
Employment Hero has pop-ups that break down exactly how each pay run is calculated. You can also download spreadsheets to verify the accuracy quickly while reviewing payroll or investigating a discrepancy.
For payroll compliance, this transparency is invaluable. When you can verify calculations match what the employment agreement or legislation requires, you know you're paying people correctly.
Setting pay conditions: automating the complex stuff
Employment Hero’s pay conditions engine is where you set up rules for all the complex pay scenarios that usually require manual intervention.
Like shift allowances that kick in at certain times, overtime calculations that vary based on how many hours someone has worked in a week, or different rates for weekends versus public holidays. All of these can be automated with rules.
For businesses with shift workers or complex employment agreements, this reduces both manual work and errors. Instead of the payroll administrator manually checking every timesheet and applying the right rates, the software does it automatically based on the rules you've configured.
You can test rules before activating them so you know they'll work correctly. You can adjust rules when things change or employment agreements are updated. And because everything is documented in the system, there's no relying on one person's knowledge of "how we calculate overtime for night shifts."
What this means for your business
When I'm helping a business choose payroll software, I'm thinking about four things:
Will the software meet their compliance requirements?
Can they verify the calculations are correct?
Will it reduce the time and stress involved in running payroll?
How well does it integrate with other critical people systems?
Employment Hero ticks all these boxes. It's not perfect (no software is), and it still requires proper setup and oversight. But it gives you the tools to run payroll efficiently while maintaining the ability to verify everything is correct.
For businesses with straightforward payroll needs, it handles the basics well. For businesses with complex requirements – shift workers, multiple pay rates, intricate employee agreements – the pay conditions engine and transparency features make it manageable.
If you're looking at payroll software or struggling with your current one, Employment Hero is worth considering. And if you need help setting it up, migrating your data, or configuring those pay condition rules properly, that's exactly what I’m here for.
A properly configured system saves you hours every fortnight and reduces compliance risk. Getting the setup right from the start makes all the difference.
Get in touch if you'd like help choosing the right software for your business or setting up Employment Hero to work properly for your specific needs.
About the author
Karyn Campbell is a New Zealand payroll consultant and founder of Payroll Consult. With 5+ years running her own consultancy and a background in payroll software – including roles across client support, onboarding, and partnership management at a leading NZ payroll provider – Karyn brings a rare combination of technical knowledge and real-world compliance experience. She works with business owners, bookkeepers, and payroll teams across New Zealand, specialising in payroll audits, system reviews, and fixing complex payroll issues for teams that don’t work a typical 9-5.
