Manage payroll your way with expert support on demand.
Supported payroll keeps you in control, with Affinity's experts on hand to guide, validate, and step in whenever you need them.
You run payroll, but you're never on your own. When a complex situation lands, backup is just a call away – so you can tackle it with confidence.
Affinity's supported payroll lets your team run payroll on the Affinity platform while a dedicated, locally-based expert is on hand for complex pay queries, compliance questions, configuration, and reporting. It gives organisations across Australia and New Zealand the control of in-house payroll with the assurance of specialist backup whenever it's needed.
Payroll can be lonely and thankless
It's the backbone of your organisation – yet it often goes unnoticed until something goes wrong, and the pressure lands on a very small team.
The external challenge
- •Constant legislative change – STP, payroll tax, and now Payday Super
- •Complex awards and agreements with ambiguous edge cases
- •EBA negotiations, terminations, and audits that demand judgment
The internal impact
- •The isolation of carrying payroll when the pressure is on
- •No one to sense-check a tricky calculation before payday
- •Key-person risk when expertise sits with one team member
You shouldn't face it alone
Keeping control of payroll shouldn't mean facing its hardest moments by yourself. You deserve expert backup on demand – people who know your setup and can step in exactly when you need them.
Get in TouchBackup from people who know payroll – and your setup
With 40+ years of payroll experience across Australia and New Zealand, Affinity pairs your team with a dedicated expert who understands your awards, your integrations, and your workforce. They're trained, qualified professionals based right here – ready to help with the complex moments that need experienced judgment.
On Demand
A dedicated expert familiar with your system and needs – available when complexity strikes, not a general queue.
Local Expertise
Trained, qualified practitioners based in Australia and New Zealand who know Modern Awards, EBAs, and the Holidays Act in practice.
Cost Certainty
Transparent, fixed pricing so you get expert support with predictable costs – no surprises when you reach out.
Because together everyone achieves more
Everything from SaaS, plus more.
| Key Feature | Affinity Supported Payroll | Other Payroll Providers |
|---|---|---|
| Allocated support person | Dedicated expert familiar with your system and needs, ready to assist. | May provide a general support team, less personalised. |
| System configuration and admin validation | Setup and validation by experts, ensuring smooth operations. | Less hands-on, often relying on the customer. |
| Ad-hoc reporting assistance | On-demand help with generating complex reports for needed insights. | Limited or standardised reporting assistance. |
| Training and ongoing help | On-demand training and support to keep team confident. | Initial training only, or ongoing support at additional cost. |
| Cost certainty | Transparent pricing – pay a fixed fee for predictability. | Costs may fluctuate with additional services. |
See how supported payroll would work for your team.
Get in TouchWhat changes with expert support on demand
Going it alone
- Complex pay events handled under pressure, solo
- No one to validate edge cases before payday
- Compliance ambiguity left to interpret on your own
- Key-person risk when knowledge sits with one person
- Support that's generic, slow, or charged by the hour
With Affinity Supported
- A dedicated expert who knows your setup, on demand
- Edge cases validated by experienced practitioners
- Compliance questions answered with local expertise
- Backup that removes single-point-of-failure risk
- Transparent, fixed pricing for predictable support
Implement with confidence
Customers lead the implementation at their own pace to ensure changes are effective and tailored to their requirements. Affinity operates as a supportive partner.
Plan
Leverage our tools or integrate with your broader project strategy – our focus is on minimising costs while maximising speed.
Build
Migrate, configure, and test seamlessly while managing change, all with the support of our expert team.
Deploy
Ensure your people, processes, and platform work together perfectly, delivering on our promise of making work life easy.
Optional Transformation
Affinity works with customers to identify risk points and optimise internal processes in conjunction with system configuration.
Optional Workforce Management Implementation
Affinity can scope and implement award interpretation rules for customer testing and acceptance.
"With Affinity's support, we finally have the perfect balance of control and expert guidance. Their help with system configuration, reporting, and ongoing support has not only saved us time but also given us the confidence that our payroll is solid and reliable. We couldn't be happier with the service!"– HR Manager, Manufacturing Business
Other Solutions
Our solutions scale with your business, making us the essential partner for efficient payroll management.
SaaS
Do payroll yourself
Manage payroll in-house while retaining full control over the process, with Affinity's SaaS solution.
Explore SaaSFully Managed
We do your payroll for you
Everything from Supported + Dedicated payroll managers, payroll processing, 3rd party payments, and employee support.
Explore Fully Managed PayrollFrequently asked questions
What does supported payroll include that SaaS alone does not?
Supported payroll includes dedicated access to Affinity payroll experts who understand your specific setup – your awards, your integrations, and your workforce. Rather than general platform support, you have specialists available for complex pay queries, compliance questions, and payroll events that require experienced judgment alongside system capability.
What kinds of situations would trigger a call to the Affinity support team?
Typical scenarios include managing an EBA negotiation's impact on pay, resolving a complex termination payment, navigating an audit query, interpreting an unusual Holidays Act scenario, or onboarding a new workforce segment with different entitlements. The support model is designed for complexity, not just technical troubleshooting.
Is the Affinity support team based in Australia or New Zealand?
Yes. Affinity's payroll experts are based in Australia and New Zealand and work in your time zone. This is relevant not just for availability, but for the expertise they bring – local practitioners who know Modern Awards, EBAs, and the Holidays Act in practice, not in theory.
How does supported payroll handle compliance with Modern Awards and the Holidays Act?
The Affinity platform handles award and agreement interpretation natively, and the support team provides expertise to validate edge cases, interpret changes, and advise on compliance when the rules are ambiguous. For Holidays Act compliance in New Zealand, this is particularly valuable given the complexity of leave liability calculations.
Can we adjust the level of support over time?
Yes. Because all Affinity delivery models run on the same platform, you can move between SaaS, Supported, and Fully Managed as your team's needs change – without migrating to a different system. Support scope can be adjusted at contract renewal.
How does supported payroll differ from fully managed payroll?
In the Supported model, your team runs payroll and the Affinity experts are available as specialists when needed. In Fully Managed, Affinity's team runs the payroll process on your behalf. The distinction is ownership: Supported keeps your team in control; Fully Managed transfers day-to-day operational responsibility to Affinity.
More questions? See our full FAQ
Never run payroll alone again
Whether you're weighing up your options or ready to add expert backup to your team, we'd love to understand how you run payroll and show you what supported payroll could look like. No pressure – just a conversation.