Full HCM suite (ichris / Pay21)

Frontier Software (ichris / Pay21) for AU/NZ payroll

Frontier Software is a full human capital management suite – payroll, recruitment, talent, learning, and HR – delivered via ichris/Pay21 through software licensing, hosted options, or outsourced payroll services.

Frontier covers payroll, recruitment, talent, learning, and HR in one platform, offered as software licensing, hosted deployment, or fully outsourced payroll services, giving organisations flexibility in how they consume it.

Frontier supports NZ compliance including Holidays Act calculations and IRD Payday Filing, and offers integration via its API21 platform and file-based methods, plus a Workato connector.

For complex EBA environments specifically, it's worth confirming how configurable Frontier's award engine is compared to a platform designed from the ground up for layered modern awards and EBA structures, and evaluating its Human Capital Intelligence (HCI21) analytics against your reporting needs.

Why organisations look at alternatives to Frontier

  • Payroll is one module within a broader HCM suite, not the sole focus
  • Award engine configurability worth testing against complex EBA structures
  • No documented pre-payslip anomaly detection equivalent to Payroll IQ
  • Confirm current integration options (API21, file-based, Workato) directly

Affinity: 40+ years of AU/NZ payroll – 500,000+ employees processed, ISO 27001 certified, single AU/NZ database.

Which providers can you compare Frontier Software against?

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More on Affinity →See every AU/NZ payroll comparison →Compare Frontier Software on outsourced delivery →

What's involved in moving off Frontier Software?

Moving off Frontier Software usually means separating AU/NZ payroll from a wider HCM suite – and often from other countries' payrolls.

  • Other-country payrolls – which of the countries Frontier pays today stay on ichris and which move
  • HR, recruitment and learning – the HCM modules you use beyond payroll, and where each will live afterwards
  • Integrations and workflows – connections built on API21, file interfaces or the Workato connector, and workflows built in Frontier
  • Year-to-date balances and STP – earnings, tax and super for the year to date, so STP continues without duplicate income statements
  • Parallel runs and timing – how many pay cycles to run side by side, and whether to switch mid-year or at 1 July

Build agreed before you commit, two parallel pay runs minimum, and most projects reach first go-live in 3–4 months (indicative) – how Affinity migration works →

Not sure where to start? Talk it through with the Affinity team – we'll look at your Frontier Software setup, awards and pay cycles and what a move would involve.

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Frequently asked questions

Does Frontier Software have an API for integrations?

Frontier offers integration capabilities including their API21 platform and file-based methods, plus a Workato connector. For the most current information on Frontier's integration options, contact Frontier directly.

What delivery models does Frontier offer?

Frontier offers software licensing (ichris/Pay21), hosted options, and outsourced payroll services.

Which platform is better for NZ Holidays Act compliance?

Both Frontier and AU/NZ payroll specialists support Holidays Act calculations and IRD Payday Filing. Compare the depth of local support and how compliance anomalies are monitored across NZ pay rules.

Starting a payroll review?

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Choosing a payroll provider

Define what you actually need before you compare a single vendor – then turn it into a scored brief every vendor answers. Includes an RFP template and weighted scoring tool.

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