Datacom Datapay vs MicrOpay – how they compare for AU/NZ payroll

How Datacom Datapay and MicrOpay differ

Datacom Datapay comes from Datacom, a NZ-headquartered technology company with 60+ years of history, for which payroll is one part of a much broader IT services portfolio. Datapay serves enterprise customers while Smartly serves small NZ businesses; Datacom is well known for its five-step Holidays Act remediation work and NZPPA-certified consultants.

MicrOpay (now branded Access MicrOpay Evo) is a long-standing Australian payroll application owned by The Access Group, which acquired it as part of Sage's Australian and Asian businesses in 2021. It runs as Windows software on the customer's own servers or hosted by Access (Access Payroll Online), and has shipped STP Phase 2 and Payday Super updates, an integrated super clearing house, and an Evo layer adding dashboards, analytics and an AI Copilot.

The core distinction for a buyer is what each platform was built to optimise for: Datacom Datapay is a New Zealand enterprise payroll platform within a broader technology services business, while MicrOpay is an established Australian payroll application, owned by The Access Group, that runs on-premise or hosted by Access. 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.

Where Datacom Datapay fits

Datacom Datapay is built for organisations – especially in New Zealand – that want deep Holidays Act expertise and NZPPA-certified consultants backed by a much larger IT services organisation. Its five-step Holidays Act remediation methodology, Payroll Assistant AI tool, and broader Datacom technology ecosystem make it a strong fit where NZ payroll compliance depth and a single relationship with a large local technology provider matter most.

Where MicrOpay fits

MicrOpay is built for Australian organisations – typically small to mid-sized, running payroll in-house – that want a familiar, long-established payroll engine with the option of on-premise or Access-hosted delivery. Its large installed base, Payday Super-ready releases with built-in super clearing, and the newer Evo analytics and Copilot layer make it a strong fit where continuity with a known AU payroll application matters more than deep NZ coverage or enterprise award complexity.

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 Datacom Datapay or MicrOpay. Some organisations run Datacom Datapay or MicrOpay 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.