ConnX vs ReadyTech – how they compare for AU/NZ payroll

How do ConnX and ReadyTech differ?

ConnX is an Australian HR software vendor with its head office in Milton, Brisbane. Company profiles list a 2003 founding, and ConnX says it has 20+ years of experience and 500+ clients. It is a modular, web-based HR system covering core HR, payroll self-service, recruitment, paperless onboarding, performance management, learning, leave, workplace health and safety, workflow automation and timesheets with award interpretation.

The structural point is that ConnX does not calculate or process pay, lodge STP or pay super. Those happen in the connected payroll system, with ConnX passing data to and from payroll through an interface. ConnX lists MicrOpay (database or API integration) as its main and best-documented integration, a database integration with HR3 Payroll (ReadyTech), an API integration with Definitiv, and file-based import and export for other payroll systems; some integrations may need the payroll vendor to install additional software. Notably, HR3 Payroll – one of the products now inside ReadyTech's workforce division – is among the payroll systems ConnX supports, so the two vendors overlap in some customer environments.

ReadyTech is an ASX-listed group (ASX:RDY) whose workforce division, Ready Workforce, was built through acquisitions including HR3, Aussiepay, Zambion (NZ), WageLink and ePayroll. Ready Pay runs on multiple engines, offers recruitment, onboarding, talent and learning modules alongside payroll, and is known for rostering and time and attendance in shift-based industries. Buyers should confirm which engine they would be implemented on and the consolidation roadmap. Running two systems means two vendors, an interface to maintain, data that has to stay in sync, and a support boundary between HR/self-service and payroll. When something breaks between the two, it can be unclear which vendor owns the fix. That is not a criticism of either product – it is simply how a layered model works, and it is worth pricing in.

Where does ConnX fit?

ConnX fits organisations that want to keep an existing payroll system – particularly MicrOpay or HR3 Payroll, Definitiv by API, or another system via file-based import and export – and add recruitment, onboarding, performance, learning, WHS and self-service on top. It suits buyers who value a Brisbane-based HR specialist and a modular approach over a single-vendor suite.

Where does ReadyTech fit?

ReadyTech fits organisations, especially in shift-based industries, that want payroll, rostering, time and attendance and HR modules from one vendor group. Its breadth is the draw; the point to confirm is which underlying Ready Pay engine applies to you, how NZ capability via Zambion is integrated, and what the consolidation roadmap looks like.

Where does Affinity fit?

Affinity is a different shape of answer: an AU/NZ enterprise payroll specialist where self-service is included with every plan and runs on the same data model as payroll, so approving leave in self-service is the same action as updating the payroll record. It handles Modern Awards, EBAs and leave entitlements natively, adds pre-payslip anomaly detection through Payroll IQ, and can be delivered as SaaS, Supported or Fully Managed. One honest gap: Affinity does not offer recruitment, performance, learning or WHS – it integrates with specialist HRIS products for those. Some organisations keep a payroll-plus-HR-layer stack; others consolidate payroll, workforce management and self-service on Affinity and integrate a specialist HRIS where recruitment or learning is needed.