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Comparison Guide

Affinity vs Ace Payroll – what to do now that Ace Payroll is being retired

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

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

Summary

This is not a head-to-head comparison between two similar platforms. Affinity is an AU/NZ enterprise payroll specialist. Ace Payroll is a small-business desktop payroll application for New Zealand, owned by MYOB since 2015, that MYOB has confirmed will be decommissioned on 1 April 2027. If your organisation still runs Ace Payroll, the practical question is no longer whether to move – it is what to move to, and this comparison is written for that decision.

What the Ace Payroll retirement means

Ace Payroll was built in 1990 for small New Zealand employers and has been owned by MYOB since a NZ$14 million acquisition in 2015. It is a locally-installed Windows desktop application – not a cloud or SaaS product – priced on a flat fee rather than a per-employee subscription, and it natively handles IRD Payday Filing, KiwiSaver and ACC levy tracking for businesses ranging from a couple of employees up to around 1,500.

MYOB has published an official end-of-life notice confirming Ace Payroll will be decommissioned on 1 April 2027, after which no further features, patches, compliance updates or support will be provided. This is a separate and later deadline to the unrelated "MYOB Payroll" product, which was decommissioned in April 2026 – the two are easy to confuse, and MYOB's own community moderators have had to clarify the distinction for customers. MYOB's recommended path is migration to MYOB Business Payroll (cloud-based), supported by a data-migration mapping tool and a sales-specialist callback service.

For payroll teams on Ace Payroll, this is a mandatory re-platforming project on someone else's timeline, not a discretionary software upgrade. That makes it a reasonable moment to evaluate every option on its merits – including whether a like-for-like move to your current vendor's replacement product is genuinely the best fit, or whether a different platform is now a better match for how your business has grown since 1990-era desktop payroll was the norm.

Understanding the difference – simple desktop tool vs enterprise payroll platform

Ace Payroll was designed for very small New Zealand employers who wanted a low-cost, straightforward desktop tool to meet IRD compliance obligations – Payday Filing, KiwiSaver, ACC levies – without the overhead of a full platform. For businesses that size, with simple pay conditions and no complex award structures, that simplicity was the point.

Affinity was built for a different problem: AU/NZ payroll that grows in complexity as an organisation scales – multiple pay conditions, Holidays Act calculations across leave types, cross-Tasman operations, and (for organisations with an Australian presence) Modern Award and STP Phase 2 compliance. Affinity is a cloud platform with real-time processing, workforce management, pre-payslip intelligence and three delivery models, built for organisations that need more than a desktop compliance tool.

The question for a business currently on Ace Payroll is not which product is "better" in the abstract – it is what your organisation needs today. If you are still a very small, NZ-only employer with simple pay conditions, a like-for-like small-business cloud product may suit you fine. If your organisation has grown – more employees, more complex leave and pay arrangements, or operations spanning both New Zealand and Australia – Affinity is built for that next stage.

Operating model comparison

Affinity

Cloud-based AU/NZ payroll platform, continuously developed and supported
Purpose-built Holidays Act, KiwiSaver and Payday Filing engine for New Zealand, plus full Modern Award and STP Phase 2 compliance for Australia
Three delivery models on one platform: SaaS, Supported, Fully Managed
40+ years of AU/NZ payroll innovation – 10+ industry firsts
ISO 27001 security framework, single AU/NZ database
Named AU/NZ support contacts as standard

Ace Payroll

Locally-installed Windows desktop application, not cloud/SaaS
NZ-only; no Australian payroll capability
Native IRD Payday Filing, KiwiSaver and ACC levy tracking for small businesses (roughly 2–1,500 employees per vendor materials)
Flat-fee pricing rather than per-employee subscription
Owned by MYOB; being decommissioned 1 April 2027, with customers directed to MYOB Business Payroll

Why this matters: Ace Payroll's product investment has effectively ended – MYOB has set a fixed decommissioning date and confirmed no further features, patches or compliance updates will follow. Affinity, by contrast, is continuously invested in and has no sunset date. For a business forced to choose a new platform regardless, the more useful comparison is between live, actively-developed products – not a decision anchored to what a now-retiring desktop tool used to do. See how the delivery models stack up.

Feature comparison

This table compares Affinity against Ace Payroll as it stands today. Ace Payroll's own capabilities will not change before its 2027 decommissioning; confirm any migration-specific detail directly with MYOB.

Feature	Affinity	Ace Payroll
Primary purpose	AU/NZ enterprise payroll specialist	Low-cost desktop payroll for small NZ businesses – being decommissioned 1 April 2027
Platform type	Cloud-based SaaS, continuously developed	Locally-installed Windows desktop application
NZ compliance	Purpose-built Holidays Act engine, KiwiSaver, Payday Filing with IRD, NZ-based support team	Native IRD Payday Filing, KiwiSaver and ACC levy tracking; Holidays Act handling is marketed but independent verification of depth was not found
Australian payroll	Full Modern Award interpretation, EBA handling and STP Phase 2 compliance on the same platform	Not offered – NZ-only product
Award and pay-condition complexity	Configurable engine handling complex modern awards, EBAs, shift penalties and allowance stacking, integrated with Payroll IQ for pre-payslip anomaly detection	Basic pay-item setup for straightforward small-business pay conditions; not designed for complex award interpretation
Intelligence / anomaly detection	Payroll IQ – automated anomaly detection, variance checking, pre-payslip risk flagging	Not offered – no AI or intelligence features found
Workforce management	Integrated workforce management with real-time labour costing	Basic leave calendar only; no rostering or scheduling
Delivery models	Three models on one platform: SaaS, Supported, Fully Managed	Self-managed desktop software only; no managed payroll service found
Data residency	All data held in a single secure AU/NZ database, ISO 27001 security framework	NZ-based vendor with an optional online backup service; no formal data-residency certification found
Support model	Named AU/NZ-based support contacts who know your configuration and awards, as standard	NZ 0800 helpdesk and a network of local trainers
Product continuity	Actively and continuously developed – no sunset date	Being decommissioned 1 April 2027 (MYOB-confirmed); no further development
Ownership	Independently owned AU/NZ company. Product decisions driven by AU/NZ customer needs	Owned by MYOB (acquired 2015)

Where Ace Payroll has fit (historically)

For very small New Zealand employers with simple pay conditions and a preference for a low-cost, one-off-fee desktop tool over a subscription platform, Ace Payroll served that niche for over three decades. Its native IRD Payday Filing, KiwiSaver and ACC levy handling met the core compliance needs of very small businesses without the cost or learning curve of a broader platform. That fit no longer extends forward, given MYOB's confirmed decommissioning date.

Where Affinity excels

Affinity's advantages are specific to organisations that need a live, continuously developed payroll platform with real depth – the areas that matter most for a business being forced to choose its next platform anyway.

A platform with no sunset date

Affinity has been continuously developed for 40+ years, with 10+ industry firsts along the way. There is no fixed decommissioning date and no forced migration on someone else's timeline – a material consideration for any organisation that has just lived through one.

Genuine NZ payroll depth

A purpose-built Holidays Act engine, KiwiSaver processing and IRD Payday Filing, backed by an NZ-based support team – built for the complexity Ace Payroll's desktop model was never designed to handle at scale.

Room to grow into Australian payroll

If your organisation expands across the Tasman, Affinity runs Australian Modern Award interpretation, EBA handling and STP Phase 2 compliance on the same platform, with the same team – something a NZ-only desktop tool cannot offer at all.

Pre-payslip intelligence

Payroll IQ flags anomalies before the payslip runs – variance checking, unusual uplifts, missing allowances – a level of automated checking a basic desktop application does not provide.

Flexible delivery models

Three models on one platform: SaaS (self-managed), Supported (dedicated Affinity person alongside your team), and Fully Managed (Affinity runs payroll end to end) – options a single-user desktop tool does not offer.

Named local support

Named AU/NZ-based support contacts as standard, rather than a helpdesk model, for organisations that want a consistent point of contact as their payroll grows more complex.

Who is each platform best for?

Choose Affinity if you:

Are migrating off Ace Payroll and want a cloud platform with genuine capacity to grow, not just a like-for-like replacement
Have outgrown simple desktop payroll – more employees, more complex pay conditions, or leave arrangements beyond the basics
Operate, or plan to operate, across both New Zealand and Australia
Want pre-payslip intelligence, delivery-model flexibility, and named local support as standard

A simple small-business cloud product may still suit you if you:

Remain a very small, NZ-only employer with straightforward pay conditions and no plans to expand
Prioritise the lowest-cost, simplest possible migration path over platform depth or growth headroom

Frequently asked questions

Is Ace Payroll really being retired?

Yes. MYOB has published an official end-of-life notice confirming Ace Payroll will be decommissioned on 1 April 2027, with no further features, patches, compliance updates or support after that date. This is separate from the earlier decommissioning of the unrelated “MYOB Payroll” product in April 2026 – confirm which product and deadline applies to you directly with MYOB.

What happens if I don't migrate off Ace Payroll before 1 April 2027?

MYOB’s notice states that Ace Payroll will no longer receive features, patches, compliance updates or support after decommissioning. Running unsupported payroll software carries obvious compliance risk given how frequently IRD, KiwiSaver and Holidays Act requirements change. Confirm the exact cutover details and any transition support directly with MYOB.

Does Affinity offer a migration path from Ace Payroll?

Affinity supports organisations moving off legacy and retiring payroll systems as part of standard implementation. Get in touch to discuss your specific data, timeline and compliance requirements.

Is Affinity only for large enterprises?

Affinity is built for AU/NZ organisations whose payroll complexity is meaningful – multiple pay conditions, Holidays Act leave calculations, cross-Tasman operations, or the prospect of Australian award compliance as the business grows. If your organisation is evaluating what comes after Ace Payroll, that is exactly the point at which specialist depth starts to matter.

Does Affinity handle Australian payroll as well as New Zealand?

Yes. Affinity runs full Modern Award interpretation, EBA handling and STP Phase 2 compliance for Australia on the same platform as its New Zealand payroll engine – one platform, one team, for organisations operating across the Tasman. Ace Payroll is NZ-only and does not offer Australian payroll.

How does pricing compare?

Ace Payroll has historically used a flat-fee pricing model rather than a per-employee subscription. Affinity’s pricing reflects AU/NZ payroll depth and your chosen delivery model. Given Ace Payroll is being decommissioned regardless, the more useful comparison is between the total cost of your realistic replacement options – request current pricing directly from each provider you are evaluating.

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