22 June 2026 · 8 min read
Quick Answer
To switch from the SBSCH to automated payroll software: (1) export your SBSCH records before 1 July 2026; (2) choose software that calculates 12% super on ordinary time earnings, tracks the Payday Super 7-day deadline and reports through STP Phase 2; (3) enter your business, employee and fund details; (4) reconcile your year-to-date super as the opening balance; (5) run a parallel test pay run; and (6) go live before your first July payday. SAB Account AI does this for Australian small businesses from $9/month.
Switching systems sounds daunting, especially when there is a hard deadline attached. But moving off the SBSCH to automated payroll software is a well-defined migration, and if you do it in the right order it is genuinely low-stress. The businesses that struggle are the ones that leave it to the last week of June and try to set up, reconcile and run their first payroll all at once.
The key insight is that good payroll software changes the nature of the task. The SBSCH was a manual portal — you calculated amounts and entered them. Modern software calculates super automatically on every pay run, tracks the Payday Super deadline for you, and reports through STP in the same step. Once configured, paying super correctly and on time becomes a near-automatic part of running payroll, not a separate quarterly chore.
This guide gives you a clean migration path with a built-in safety check (a parallel test run) so nothing breaks. SAB Account AI (sabaccountai.com) is used as the worked example because it is built for Australian small businesses and automates exactly the parts the SBSCH left manual — from $9/month.
Do not start a migration without first protecting your history. Export your full SBSCH transaction history through ATO Online Services for Business — it disappears after 1 July 2026 and you must keep records for five years. Then reconcile your year-to-date super: for the current financial year, know exactly how much super you have paid each employee and to which fund.
This reconciled position becomes the opening balance in your new software. Getting it right means your new system''s year-to-date figures are accurate from day one, which matters for STP reporting and for any end-of-year reconciliation. Skipping this step is the most common cause of messy figures after a payroll switch.
Reconcile first: Your year-to-date super becomes the opening balance in the new system. Get it right before you migrate, not after.
Pre-switch preparation
The whole point of switching to software (rather than another manual portal) is automation. Look for three automated capabilities: super calculated at 12% on the correct ordinary time earnings base for every employee every pay run; the Payday Super 7-day deadline tracked and flagged automatically; and STP Phase 2 reporting built in so each pay event is reported on or before payday.
If any of those three is manual, you have not really upgraded from the SBSCH — you have just moved the manual work somewhere else. SAB Account AI automates all three, plus generates ATO-compliant payslips and keeps permanent records, which is the full set of things a small employer needs after the closure. Avoid tools that calculate but cannot report STP, or report but cannot track the deadline.
Three must-automate items: calculation, deadline tracking and STP. SAB Account AI does all three automatically — sabaccountai.com.
What ''automated'' should mean
The safest way to switch without risk is a parallel test run. Before you rely on the new software for a real payment, process a complete pay cycle in it and check the numbers against what you would have done before. Confirm: the super amount matches your expectation for each employee, the OTE base is right, the STP report submits successfully, and the payment clears to funds within the 7-day window.
Doing this in June — while the SBSCH still technically exists for reference — gives you a fallback and a comparison point. By the time the SBSCH closes on 30 June 2026, you have already proven the new system works, so your first July payroll under Payday Super is routine rather than a leap of faith.
Parallel test = no surprises: Prove the new system works in June, and your first Payday Super payroll in July is just another pay run.
Safe migration steps
Once your test run checks out, go live: use the new software for your first July payroll and every one after. From that point, paying super correctly is largely automatic — the software calculates it, flags the deadline, reports STP and records everything. Your job shrinks to reviewing and approving.
Keep two habits. First, when you onboard a new employee, enter their fund USI and member number immediately so contributions are never misdirected. Second, periodically export your records as a backup — the SBSCH closure is a reminder that you should always hold your own copy. With SAB Account AI, both are simple: add an employee in minutes, and export permanent records any time, for $9/month. That is the whole migration — done calmly, well before the deadline.
After go-live: Super compliance becomes automatic. Just keep employee fund details current and hold your own record backups.
Going live checklist
SAB Account AI (sabaccountai.com) automates the parts the SBSCH left manual — super calculation, Payday Super deadline tracking, STP and records — so switching is a calm, one-time setup. From $9/month.
SAB Account AI — ATO-compliant invoicing and payslips for Australian small businesses. From $9/mo.
Start free trialExport your SBSCH records, choose software that automates super calculation, Payday Super deadline tracking and STP reporting, enter your business and employee details, reconcile year-to-date super as the opening balance, run a parallel test pay, and go live before your first July payday.
Three things: super calculated at 12% on the correct ordinary time earnings base every pay run, the Payday Super 7-day deadline tracked automatically, and STP Phase 2 reporting built in. If any of these is manual, it is not a real upgrade.
Run a parallel test pay cycle in the new software in June, before the SBSCH closes, and compare the numbers. Once it checks out, go live for your first July payroll so the switch carries no surprises.
Your reconciled year-to-date super — how much you have paid each employee and to which fund this financial year. Accurate opening data keeps your STP and year-end figures correct.
Yes. SAB Account AI calculates 12% super on ordinary time earnings every pay run, flags the Payday Super 7-day deadline, reports through STP Phase 2 and keeps permanent records, from $9/month.