Ace Payroll vs Employment Hero – how they compare for AU/NZ payroll

For: Payroll Managers, HR Leaders, Finance Directors|11 min read|Last updated: August 2026

This comparison is published by Affinity. Vendor information is based on publicly available sources. Contact each provider directly for their current capabilities.

Summary

Ace Payroll is a low-cost desktop payroll tool for small NZ businesses, now being decommissioned. Employment Hero is a broad SME “Employment OS” spanning HR, payroll, benefits and hiring. Affinity is shown here as a separate column: an AU/NZ enterprise payroll specialist for organisations whose complexity is concentrated in Australia and New Zealand.

How Ace Payroll and Employment Hero differ

Employment Hero is an Australian-founded (2014) ‘Employment Operating System’ spanning HR, payroll, benefits, recruitment and workforce management, reportedly used by 300,000+ businesses across AU, NZ, the UK, Canada, Singapore and Malaysia. Its payroll engine originated as KeyPay (acquired 2022), and it holds ISO 27001/27017/27018 certification and SOC 2 Type II compliance.

The core distinction for a buyer is what each platform was built to optimise for: Ace Payroll is a low-cost desktop payroll tool for small NZ businesses, now being decommissioned, while Employment Hero is a broad SME “Employment OS” spanning HR, payroll, benefits and hiring. AU/NZ payroll sits within each vendor's broader focus rather than as the sole product, which is where a specialist platform like Affinity differs from both.

One further point matters for this comparison: Ace Payroll is being retired by its owner (see the FAQ below), which means organisations still on it face a mandatory migration rather than a discretionary choice.

Feature comparison

A neutral comparison of Ace Payroll and Employment Hero across payroll and workforce capabilities, with Affinity shown as a separate AU/NZ specialist column. Vendor capabilities should be confirmed directly with each provider.

Native / strong Available / partial Not offered

Capability	Ace Payroll	Employment Hero	AU/NZ specialistAffinity
AU award & EBA interpretation	Not offered: NZ-only product – no AU award functionality	Native / strong: Native award/EBA interpretation via Employment Hero Payroll (formerly KeyPay)	Native / strong: Configurable engine – modern awards, EBAs, shift penalties, allowance stacking
NZ compliance (Holidays Act, KiwiSaver, IRD)	Native / strong: Native IRD Payday Filing, KiwiSaver and ACC levies	Native / strong: Dedicated NZ product – Holidays Act, KiwiSaver, IRD payday filing	Native / strong: Purpose-built Holidays Act engine, KiwiSaver, Payday Filing, NZ team
STP Phase 2 & superannuation	Not offered: Not applicable – NZ-only, no STP	Native / strong: ATO-recognised STP Phase 2; Payday Super readiness via HeroClear (vendor-stated)	Native / strong: Full STP Phase 2 & super, Pay Day Super ready
Pre-payslip intelligence	Not offered: No AI/intelligence features found	Available / partial: Hero AI assistant and anomaly-detection claims – accuracy to be confirmed	Native / strong: Payroll IQ – anomaly & variance checking before the payslip runs
Global / multi-country coverage	Not offered: NZ-only	Native / strong: AU, NZ, UK, Canada, Singapore, Malaysia; EOR services	Not offered: AU/NZ focus – not multi-country
Workforce management	Not offered: Basic leave calendar only – no rostering	Native / strong: Rostering, time & attendance, geofencing, shift swapping	Native / strong: Integrated WFM with real-time labour costing
Delivery / managed payroll	Not offered: Self-managed desktop software only	Available / partial: Primarily self-service SaaS; separate managed/outsourced payroll option	Native / strong: SaaS, Supported & Fully Managed on one platform
Named local AU/NZ support	Native / strong: NZ 0800 helpdesk and local trainer network	Available / partial: Phone support on top-tier plans only; lower tiers AI-bot/email – confirm response times	Native / strong: Named AU/NZ contacts who know your configuration
Product longevity / active roadmap	Not offered: Decommissioned 1 April 2027 (MYOB-confirmed) – no further development	Available / partial: Not a stated focus – confirm directly	Native / strong: Independently owned; continuously invested for 40+ years – no sunset
HR, benefits & hiring breadth	Available / partial: Not a stated focus – confirm directly	Native / strong: Broad SME suite – recruitment, onboarding, benefits marketplace, earned wage access	Not offered: Not offered – integrates with specialist HRIS/benefits providers

Where Ace Payroll fits

Ace Payroll has historically suited very small NZ employers wanting a low-cost, simple desktop tool for IRD compliance rather than a full-featured platform. With MYOB decommissioning it on 1 April 2027, it is no longer a viable long-term choice – the practical question for remaining Ace Payroll customers is which platform to move to, not whether to move.

Where Employment Hero fits

Employment Hero is built for small-to-medium AU/NZ businesses that want HR, payroll, benefits and hiring bundled into one broad, self-service platform with AI-assisted tooling (Hero AI). Its benefits marketplace, recruitment and onboarding modules, and multi-country reach make it a strong fit for SMEs that value breadth and self-service over dedicated, high-touch AU/NZ enterprise payroll support.

Where Affinity fits

For organisations whose payroll complexity is concentrated in Australia and New Zealand, a specialist engine with pre-payslip intelligence, delivery-model flexibility, local data residency, and named local support is a different proposition to either Ace Payroll or Employment Hero. Some organisations run Ace Payroll or Employment Hero for their broader positioning and Affinity for a complex AU/NZ operation; others choose Affinity specifically because they need genuine cross-Tasman depth that neither platform is built to prioritise.

Frequently asked questions

Is Ace Payroll or Employment Hero better for Australian payroll?

Ace Payroll is a low-cost desktop payroll tool for small NZ businesses, now being decommissioned. Employment Hero is a broad SME “Employment OS” spanning HR, payroll, benefits and hiring. Which fits better for Australian payroll depends on which of those is closer to what your organisation actually needs. Confirm current AU award and EBA depth directly with both providers. For organisations whose complexity is concentrated in Australia and New Zealand, a specialist engine like Affinity is built specifically for that depth.

Do Ace Payroll and Employment Hero handle New Zealand payroll?

Ace Payroll: Native IRD Payday Filing, KiwiSaver and ACC levies. Employment Hero: Dedicated NZ product – Holidays Act, KiwiSaver, IRD payday filing. Confirm current NZ depth directly with each provider – Holidays Act, KiwiSaver and IRD payday filing all require genuine local engine work, not just tax-table updates. Affinity runs a purpose-built NZ payroll engine with 40+ years of Holidays Act experience and an NZ-based support team.

What is the main difference between Ace Payroll and Employment Hero?

Ace Payroll is a low-cost desktop payroll tool for small NZ businesses, now being decommissioned, while Employment Hero is a broad SME “Employment OS” spanning HR, payroll, benefits and hiring. They overlap on core payroll compliance but differ in scope, ownership model, and the customer base each was built to serve.

How does Affinity compare to Ace Payroll and Employment Hero?

Affinity is an AU/NZ enterprise payroll specialist. It does not try to match Ace Payroll or Employment Hero on their own ground; it competes on depth of AU/NZ award and Holidays Act compliance, pre-payslip intelligence, delivery-model flexibility, local data residency, and named local support.

Why is Ace Payroll being retired, and what should I do?

Ace Payroll is a New Zealand-only, locally-installed desktop payroll application, owned by MYOB since 2015 and originally built in 1990 for small NZ employers. It handles IRD Payday Filing, KiwiSaver and ACC levies natively, priced on a flat-fee rather than per-employee basis. MYOB has confirmed Ace Payroll will be decommissioned on 1 April 2027, with customers directed to MYOB Business Payroll. If your organisation is still running Ace Payroll, treat this as a forced re-platforming project on a deadline, not a routine software update. It is a reasonable moment to evaluate options on their merits – including a specialist AU/NZ payroll platform like Affinity – rather than defaulting to whatever migration path is offered.

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