Best Software for Australian Builders and Tradies: Accounting, Payroll and Payments (2026)

Running the books for a construction business is not the same job as running them for a cafe or a consultancy, and most accounting software was built for the cafe. A builder does not send one invoice and get paid: you claim a percentage of a contract as each stage is signed off, you carry retentions a client holds back for months after practical completion, and you cost every job by its own labour, materials and margin while the cash sits tight between claims. This guide compares the accounting, payroll and payments software that actually fits a trades business, priced in Australian dollars, split by how your business runs. Live pricing sits in our accounting, payroll and payment provider comparison tools, and short answers are in the FAQ at the bottom.

In partnership with MYOB. This guide is independently written and editorially controlled by MerchantCompare. MYOB reviewed the product facts about its own software for accuracy, but not our verdicts or comparisons. We may earn a commission when you sign up through some links on this page, which never affects our rankings or the data shown. How we compare providers.

What construction software actually needs to do

The right stack is knowable, and it is not one product. A working construction setup has three parts: an accounting ledger for GST, BAS and job costing, payroll that supports the awards your staff are paid under (either directly or through an integration), and a way to take card on site and settle fast. Some of this is met natively by the mainstream tools and some is not, and knowing which is which is the most useful thing a builder can learn before spending a dollar.

• Progress-claim invoicing: claim a percentage of contract value per stage. None of the general accounting tools do this natively; it is add-on territory (for example Buildxact, Tradify or NextMinute) on top of the ledger.
• Retentions handling: amounts withheld until practical completion. Same as above: handled through a construction add-on or a manual workaround, not a native ledger feature in any tool compared here.
• Job and project costing: labour, materials and margin per job. On MYOB this is Business Pro and AccountRight (AccountRight adds detailed job budgets, costing and profitability); also on Xero, QuickBooks Plus, Reckon Premium and Zoho Books.
• Subcontractor payments and TPAR: paying ABN subbies is accounts payable plus Taxable Payments Annual Reporting, not payroll. The mainstream ledgers handle it.
• Payroll for wage staff: Single Touch Payroll (STP Phase 2) and award interpretation, needed only for people you employ on wages (for example an apprentice), not for subcontractors.
• BAS and GST lodgement: direct ATO lodgement on MYOB, Xero, QuickBooks and Reckon.
• Payday Super readiness: the 1 July 2026 change that requires super to be paid at the same time as wages.
• Mobile and on-site use: invoicing, receipt capture and card payments from a ute or a site.

Which of these you need depends on whether you work on your own or run a crew, so the rest of this guide is in two parts.

Part 1: The solo builder or sole-trader subbie

This is for a one-person operation with no staff on the books. You invoice, you claim GST, you take card on site, and you might sub-contract out the odd job, but you do not run a payroll. You want the cheapest setup that keeps you compliant and gets you paid fast.

Here MYOB leads with Solo, its sole-trader app and its cheapest way in at $11/mo. It is the only option on this list with card payments (Tap to Pay) built into the app, so a subbie working from their phone can invoice and get paid in one place with no separate reader. It handles invoicing, GST tracking and BAS-ready records. For a phone-based one-person operation, it is a genuinely strong, honest fit.

Where Solo stops: it is single-user, has no payroll, and does no job costing, and it prepares BAS-ready records rather than lodging directly (if you need BAS lodged through MYOB, your accountant or bookkeeper can do that via the BAS lodgement portal). The moment you take on a wage employee, need job costing, or want your accountant working in the same file, you outgrow it and step up to MYOB Business Lite or Pro, or a rival.

The full-ledger alternatives for a sole trader who wants room to grow start at Reckon ($24/mo (Plus)), Zoho Books ($16.50/mo (Standard)), QuickBooks ($33/mo (Simple Start)) and MYOB Business Lite ($35/mo (Lite)). All of them lodge BAS direct and give you an accountant login, which Solo does not.

Best for you as a sole trader:

• Cheapest all-in-one for a phone-based subbie: MYOB Solo, invoicing and card in one app.
• Cheapest full ledger with room to grow: Reckon or MYOB Business Lite.
• If you already deal with a Xero bookkeeper: Xero's entry plan, for continuity.

Part 2: The builder running a crew

This is most builders. You run jobs with subcontractors, and you may have an apprentice or one or two staff on wages. You need to cost jobs, pay subbies and report TPAR, and run award-correct payroll for the wage staff, all while managing cash across long project cycles.

First, the distinction that saves you money: paying a subcontractor who invoices you under their own ABN is not payroll. It is accounts payable, plus TPAR reporting at year end, which every mainstream ledger handles. You only need payroll, STP Phase 2 and award interpretation for people you employ on wages, for example an apprentice under a modern award. So a builder who uses only subbies needs a strong ledger, not a strong payroll; a builder with an apprentice needs both.

Accounting: the full ledgers

Run these against your own numbers in our accounting software comparison, which keeps the figures live. Plans and pricing checked July 2026

Where MYOB wins. MYOB is a natural fit for a construction business. Business Lite starts at $35/mo (Lite) (not the cheapest ledger here, but see below), its standalone payroll add-on is the cheapest per head at $3/emp/mo, it lodges BAS direct to the ATO, and its AccountRight tier carries inventory and detailed job costing that suit builders holding materials and costing per job. MYOB is also backed by an established Australian partner network, giving trades and construction businesses access to accounting, bookkeeping and software support.

Where MYOB does not win, and we say so.

• Cheaper full ledgers exist. Reckon, Zoho Books and QuickBooks all undercut MYOB's Business Lite entry price, so a builder who just needs GST, invoicing and basic bookkeeping can pay less elsewhere.
• Xero bundles payroll into every plan and has the widest add-on ecosystem, including most construction tools, so a Xero-committed builder may find the real gap smaller than the sticker price.
• Progress claims and retentions are add-on territory for every tool here, MYOB included. MYOB AccountRight supports documented accounting workflows for progress payments and retentions, but purpose-built progress-claim and retention handling comes from a specialist construction integration, not the ledger alone.

Payroll: only for your wage staff

You only pay for this if you employ someone on wages, an apprentice being the common case.

Compare these at your headcount in our payroll software comparison.

Verdict. If you employ someone under an award, award interpretation is the feature that matters most. Employment Hero runs a native award engine, which also powers QuickBooks AU payroll. MYOB reaches award interpretation through a workforce-management integration (such as Tanda or Wageloch) rather than a native engine, so a builder with award-heavy payroll may prefer Employment Hero; MYOB is the cheapest per head for a small crew and keeps everything in one ledger. A note on the plans: MYOB Business Lite covers payroll for up to 2 employees, and Business Pro is unlimited, so a growing crew moves to Pro. Xero's payroll is included in the plan price but is banded by headcount, its $78/mo (Grow) plan covers 2 employees, with larger teams stepping up through its tiers.

Taking card on site

Whether you are a solo subbie or running a crew, you will want to take card at the job. MYOB Solo builds Tap to Pay into its app, which is convenient for a one-person operation, but a standalone reader is cheaper per tap.

None of these charge a monthly fee. MYOB is an accounting and payroll company, not a card acquirer, so on payments we rank purely on merchant cost. SumUp and Zeller are the cheapest in-person rate; Stripe suits invoice and online-heavy work; Tyro offers same-day settlement, useful for cash flow between claims. Model your own volume in our payment provider comparison.

Recommended stacks

• Builder using only subcontractors (no wage staff): MYOB Business Pro or Xero for the ledger, job costing and TPAR, plus SumUp or Zeller for card on site, plus a construction add-on (Buildxact, Tradify) for progress claims. No payroll needed.
• Builder with an apprentice or a couple of staff: the same ledger, plus payroll. MYOB Business Pro with the per-employee add-on and integration-based award interpretation, or the ledger of your choice paired with Employment Hero if the award payroll is complex.
• Growing construction firm: MYOB AccountRight or Xero's higher tiers for the ledger, Employment Hero for heavier award payroll, plus a dedicated construction job-management platform on top.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best accounting software for a construction business in Australia?

There is no single winner, but for a builder running subbies with an apprentice or two on wages, MYOB is a strong fit: its payroll add-on is the cheapest per head, and AccountRight adds detailed job costing for firms holding materials. QuickBooks and Reckon are cheaper ledgers, and a Xero-committed builder may prefer Xero with payroll included. The right answer depends on whether you employ wage staff and how much job costing you need, which you can model in our accounting software comparison.

Does MYOB do progress claims and retentions?

Not as a native, out-of-the-box feature, and neither does Xero, QuickBooks or Reckon. MYOB AccountRight supports documented accounting workflows for progress payments and retentions, but purpose-built progress-claim and retention handling comes from a dedicated construction add-on (for example Tradify, Buildxact or NextMinute) on top of the ledger. If progress claims are central to how you bill, choose your accounting software for how well it connects to a construction add-on.

What is the best accounting app for a sole trader tradie?

For a one-person operator who mainly invoices and takes card, MYOB Solo is a strong pick at $11/mo, with Tap to Pay built into the app so you do not need a separate reader. If you want a full ledger that lodges BAS direct and can grow with you, Reckon or MYOB Business Lite are better, and if you take on staff or need job costing you will outgrow a sole-operator app either way.

Do I need payroll software if I only use subcontractors?

No. Paying a genuine subcontractor who invoices under their own ABN is accounts payable, not payroll, and you report those payments to the ATO through Taxable Payments Annual Reporting (TPAR), which the mainstream ledgers handle. You only need payroll, STP Phase 2 and award interpretation when you employ someone on wages, for example an apprentice under a modern award. Getting the subcontractor-versus-employee line right matters, because misclassifying an employee as a contractor carries real liability.

MYOB vs Xero for builders: which is better?

For a builder with wage staff, MYOB tends to win on cost, with a lower entry price and the cheapest per-employee payroll add-on. On award payroll they differ: MYOB reaches award interpretation through an integration (such as Tanda or Wageloch), while Xero's included payroll is only limited on award automation, so award-heavy employers often prefer a native engine like Employment Hero with either ledger. Xero wins on ecosystem, with the widest range of construction add-ons and being the default for many bookkeepers, so if you already work with a Xero accountant the switching cost can outweigh the price difference.

What changes for construction payroll under Payday Super in 2026?

From 1 July 2026, super contributions must be paid at the same time as wages rather than quarterly, so a builder paying wage staff weekly or fortnightly needs payroll software that pays super on that same cycle. The mainstream payroll options are Payday Super ready, so the practical task is making sure your super clearing house and pay run are set up for the new timing before it starts. You can estimate the cash-flow impact with our Payday Super calculator.

The bottom line

For a trades business, the right software depends on how you run: a solo subbie is well served by a cheap sole-trader app like MYOB Solo plus a low-rate card reader, while a builder running a crew needs a full ledger with job costing, award payroll for any wage staff, and a construction add-on for progress claims. MYOB is a strong fit across both, and we have said where it is not the cheapest and where a competitor wins. Line the options up on your own numbers in our accounting, payroll and payment provider comparisons, or talk to our team if you want a hand matching a stack to your business.