Payday Super is coming here’s what Pronto Xi is doing about it 

Effective 1 July 2026 · Applies to all Pronto Xi Payroll customers 

Not a payroll expert? No problem. In short: Australian law currently lets most employers pay super quarterly. From July 2026, super must be paid at the same time as each pay slip, and must reach the employee’s fund within 7 business days. Pronto Xi will handle the heavy lifting, but there are a few things you’ll need to check. 

What’s actually changing?

The Australian Government is introducing Payday Super, which rewrites three key rules for employers. Super must now be paid on or near payday rather than quarterly. Contributions must reach the employee’s super fund within 7 business days of payday. A new figure called Qualifying Earnings (QE) must be reported in every STP pay event. And the Maximum Contribution Base, the earnings ceiling for super, moves from a quarterly to an annual limit. 

A quick glossary

• STP (Single Touch Payroll) is the system employers use to report payroll data to the ATO each pay run. 
• Qualifying Earnings (QE) is a new earnings figure, similar to ordinary time earnings plus some extras, that the ATO uses to check whether you’ve paid the right amount of super. 
• MCB (Maximum Contribution Base) is the earnings cap above which employers don’t have to pay super. It’s moving from a quarterly to an annual limit. 

Timeline

Now — Review your pay codes. Check that super is flagged correctly across your pay codes before the patch lands. 

Before 30 June 2026 — Pronto Xi patch deployed. Our support team will contact you to schedule the patch. There’s no extra fee for the core changes. 

Before 30 June 2026 — Run a test pay run. After the patch, confirm Super Guarantee calculations and reports look right. 

1 July 2026 — Payday Super begins. QE reporting is required from your very first pay event of the 2026–27 financial year. 

What Pronto Xi is delivering

You don’t need to rebuild anything. The patch handles most of the setup automatically. 

All supported Pronto XI versions (730+) will receive QE reporting in STP events, super liability reporting, a QE flag on pay codes auto-mapped from your existing Super Guarantee settings, annual MCB calculation, and exemption certificate support for employees with multiple employers. 

Pronto Xi 770+ customers also have the option to access direct-to-fund reporting and payments inside Pronto Xi, a fully integrated end-to-end Payday Super experience with no need for an external clearing house. 

What you need to do

Most of the work is handled by the patch, but there are a few things only you can check. 

Before the patch: Review your pay codes and confirm super (Super Guarantee) is flagged on the right ones. Document any special arrangements, for example, awards that require Super Gurantee on certain allowances. 

After the patch: Check which pay codes are now flagged as QE and adjust if anything looks off. Run a test pay run and confirm Super Guarantee calculations and internal reports behave as expected. 

If you miss the 1 July deadline, Pronto Xi has a safety net, if the patch goes in after 30 June, it will backfill year-to-date QE data from 1 July 2026 so your first QE-enabled STP event is still ATO-compliant. That said, we strongly recommend deploying before the new financial year starts. 

What if you’re not fully ready on 1 July?

The ATO acknowledges this is a major transition. During the 2026-2027 year, validation rules will be more flexible for employers who are clearly trying to comply and working with their software provider. Pronto Xi customers who deploy the patch and follow our guidance will be in good shape. 

What’s not optional: paying super on or near payday and ensuring contributions reach funds within the ATO’s timeframes. That obligation starts on 1 July regardless. 

Support included at no extra cost

Customers on active maintenance will receive education guides and plain-English explanations of Payday Super obligations, patch deployment coordinated around your pay cycles with no extra charge for core STP and MCB changes, step-by-step checklists for post-patch testing, and proactive outreach from our support team. 

Questions about which approach suits your organisation, or whether direct-to-fund payments on 770+ are right for you? Reach out to your Pronto Software account manager.

More background from the ATO is available at Payday Super | Australian Taxation Office.