Delivery footprint
Both providers run predominantly or fully onshore – a genuine point of similarity in a market where several competitors run hybrid or offshore delivery.
- Proprietary multi-tenant cloud SaaS (Affinity Payroll Engine)
- 100% onshore: Melbourne, Sydney, Auckland, Whangārei
- Native AU & NZ processing on a unified database
- Proprietary multi-tier cloud / hosted SaaS (ichris, Pay21 engine)
- Predominantly onshore: Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, Brisbane, Perth, Auckland, Wellington
- Fully integrated AU & NZ statutory engines in a single master system
Why this matters: since both providers avoid offshore processing, the footprint decision here is less about data sovereignty and more about scale and support ownership. Frontier Software's broader regional office network suits organisations with distributed operations across many Australian and NZ cities; Affinity's smaller, more concentrated footprint is matched by direct Tier-1 support built into the standard service rather than an add-on.
Calculation depth
Frontier Software's ichris/Pay21 engine is described as deep and highly customisable, purpose-built for enterprise public sector, health, and multi-union EBA environments – genuinely complex agreement territory. On the NZ side, its statutory engine handles 52-week gross earnings, OWP, and alternative holidays, a mature approach to Holidays Act compliance. Statutory lodgements are comprehensive: complete STP Phase 2 certified reporting, SuperStream, workers compensation, and IRD filings.
Affinity's rule builder is likewise built for intricate shift penalties, multi-tier EBAs, and complex allowance stacking, with a native NZ engine tracking continuous gross earnings, OWP, ADP, and leave liabilities directly. Affinity also lodges STP Phase 2, is Pay Day Super ready, and handles PAYG/SuperStream and NZ IRD Payday Filing directly.
Both engines are built for genuine complexity rather than standard-award simplicity – this is not a depth-versus-shallowness comparison the way it can be against some other providers. The differentiator is more about the size and profile of organisation each is optimised for: Frontier Software's floor starts higher, at 250 employees, versus Affinity's 100.
Audit, QA & who owns support
Frontier Software runs multi-level verification protocols, pre-commit variance registers, and historical gross pay deviation metrics – a thorough, multi-layered audit approach. For Tier-1 support, however, the standard model keeps client HR retained: your team handles employee queries by default. Direct employee query handling is available, but only through a tailored outsourcing agreement – it is not the baseline offering.
Affinity runs pre-payslip automated checking through Payroll IQ alongside dedicated local payroll manager variance audits, and Tier-1 employee support is direct provider ownership as standard – no separate negotiation needed. A named local Payroll Manager is the primary operational escalation point from day one. If your priority is employees never having to go through your HR desk for a payslip question, that outcome is built into Affinity's standard service rather than something to negotiate separately.
Banking & who carries the liability
Frontier Software offers client-approved ABA file generation, or end-to-end payment distribution executed from the client's own accounts – both options keep the payment mechanics closer to the client than a fully provider-managed model.
Affinity operates a provider-managed trust and disbursal model, executing net pay, ATO, IRD and super fund payments directly on the client's behalf.
Regardless of which banking or disbursal model is in place, statutory payroll compliance liability is non-delegable under the Fair Work Act 2009 (AU) and equivalent NZ employment law. Whether payments run from the client's own accounts or a provider-managed trust, the employer remains legally accountable for correct and timely payment of wages, tax, and superannuation – outsourcing the mechanics does not outsource the liability.
Retained resourcing & implementation
How much of your own team's time this arrangement still requires, and how long it takes to get live.
| Dimension | Affinity | Frontier Software |
|---|---|---|
| Retained client FTE | 0.15 – 0.3 FTE per 1,000 employees | 0.3 – 0.6 FTE per 1,000 employees |
| Implementation velocity | 8 to 16 weeks (full parallel run testing) | 12 to 24 weeks (comprehensive EBA mapping and validation) |
| Ideal profile | 100 to 10,000+ employees; complex Modern Awards, EBAs, and trans-Tasman workforces | 250 to 15,000+ employees; established mid-to-large enterprises with complex enterprise agreements |
Where Frontier Software excels
Frontier Software is genuinely strong in areas suited to large, complex enterprise agreement environments.
Deep, highly customisable engine for public sector and multi-union EBAs
Frontier Software's ichris/Pay21 engine is purpose-built for the most complex enterprise agreement environments – public sector, health, and multi-union EBAs – where it has genuine engine depth.
Broad onshore regional office footprint
Frontier Software runs regional offices across Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, Brisbane, Perth, Auckland, and Wellington – a wider onshore geographic spread than most outsourced providers, useful for organisations with distributed regional operations.
Mature 52-week NZ Holidays Act handling
Frontier Software's NZ statutory engine handles 52-week gross earnings, OWP, and alternative holidays – a mature, established approach to New Zealand's more complex leave calculations.
Built for the very largest enterprise agreements
With an ideal profile reaching 15,000+ employees, Frontier Software is positioned for some of the largest and most complex enterprise agreement environments in the market.
Where Affinity excels
Affinity's advantages centre on support ownership as standard, retained FTE, and implementation speed.
Direct Tier-1 support as standard, not an add-on
Affinity's local AU/NZ team handles Tier-1 employee queries directly by default. With Frontier Software, that same outcome requires a tailored outsourcing agreement negotiated on top of the standard service.
Lower retained client FTE
Affinity's retained FTE (0.15–0.3 per 1,000 employees) is lower than Frontier Software's (0.3–0.6 per 1,000), meaning less of your own team's time is tied up running the relationship day to day.
Faster implementation
Affinity's 8 to 16 week implementation, with full parallel run testing, is faster than Frontier Software's 12 to 24 week timeline for comprehensive EBA mapping and validation.
Provider-managed disbursal by default
Affinity executes net pay, ATO, IRD and super fund payments directly on the client's behalf. Frontier Software's default is client-approved ABA generation or client-run distribution, keeping more of the payment mechanics – and operational load – with the client.
Serves a broader range including smaller enterprises
Affinity's ideal profile starts at 100 employees, while Frontier Software's enterprise focus starts at 250 – Affinity fits organisations further down the size range that still run complex awards or EBAs.
Who's each provider best for?
Both suit complex agreement environments – the decision comes down to scale, support ownership, and how much your team wants to remain involved.
- Want direct employee Tier-1 support as the standard offering, not a negotiated add-on
- Sit in the 100 to 10,000+ employee range with complex awards or EBAs
- Want lower retained FTE and a faster implementation
- Prefer provider-managed disbursal over running your own ABA files
- Are a 250 to 15,000+ employee established enterprise with multi-union EBAs
- Operate in public sector, health, or heavily unionised sectors
- Want to retain more direct control over the payment/disbursal step
- Value a broad regional onshore office presence across AU and NZ
- Value onshore delivery highly and want to compare two providers that both meet that bar
- Are negotiating a tailored support agreement and want a like-for-like standard-service comparison first
- Run enterprise agreements complex enough that engine depth matters more than price alone