Sage

Sage does not publish standard payroll pricing in Australia. Both the per-employee rate and the monthly base fee are available by quote only, tailored to your organisation's size and the modules required. Contact Sage directly for a custom proposal. This is consistent with Sage's positioning as a mid-market and enterprise platform rather than a price-list SMB product.

Yes. Sage supports STP Phase 2 for Australian payroll, reporting the expanded data set including itemised income types and leave components to the ATO each pay cycle. Sage also covers BAS lodgement and GST across its accounting and payroll suite. Businesses migrating from Sage's older payroll products should confirm their specific version supports the current STP Phase 2 requirements.

Sage's award interpretation capability in Australia is rated as limited compared to AU-built specialists. It covers foundational compliance requirements but does not offer the same depth of pre-built Modern Award automation as platforms such as KeyPay or Employment Hero. Businesses with complex award obligations in industries such as hospitality or retail should assess whether Sage's current AU award support meets their requirements before committing.

Sage is positioned for mid-market to enterprise businesses rather than small teams. It scales well for organisations that need a global accounting and payroll platform with multi-entity, multi-currency, and cross-border reporting capabilities. Australian small businesses looking for a simple payroll-plus-accounting combination at a known monthly cost will typically find locally focused platforms such as Xero, MYOB, or KeyPay better suited to their needs.

Sage Payroll integrates natively with Sage Accounting and connects to Xero via API. For larger organisations running Sage Intacct or Sage 300, integrations extend to ERP-level systems and HR platforms. The integration depth available depends on the specific Sage product in use, so businesses should confirm their required connections during the sales process.

MYOB and Xero are more widely used in the Australian SMB market, offer published pricing, and have larger local accountant and bookkeeper networks. Sage has stronger mid-market and enterprise capabilities and a broader global footprint, but its smaller AU presence means fewer local advisors and less AU-specific payroll depth relative to MYOB in particular. Sage tends to suit businesses that are part of a global group already running Sage systems rather than businesses choosing a payroll platform from scratch in Australia.