Offshore payroll pricing: compare scope, transition and exit costs

Published by SESAY · 2026-10-07 · General Australian payroll guidance

What to understand first

A low monthly fee can exclude the work that creates the most pressure: arrears, exits, year-end activity, reporting and exception investigation. Compare like-for-like scope and total operating cost. Savings claims should state assumptions and should never substitute for evidence of capability and review.

Practical checks

• List included employees, entities, pay frequencies and systems.
• Identify charges for off-cycle work, changes and additional reporting.
• Include transition, retained client effort and required review capacity.
• Agree data return, documentation and support when the service ends.

Fictional example

In a fictional comparison, two payroll officers on $90,000 base salary each cost $180,000 annually before on-costs. An illustrative managed fee of $10,000 per month is $120,000 annually: a $60,000 or 33.3% reduction against base salaries alone. This is not a SESAY quote. Transition costs, GST treatment, retained responsibilities, on-costs and equivalent capacity must be compared separately.

Your next step

Ask the provider to show how workload assumptions support the quoted staffing. Two named specialists are not necessarily two full-time equivalents. Evaluate review coverage and reporting deliverables alongside price, and agree how fees change with headcount or complexity. A clear exit plan reduces dependence on any one supplier.

How SESAY can help

SESAY can scope a managed service combining payroll specialists, shared leadership and Australian governance. Confirm resource allocation, service boundaries and pricing in a tailored proposal before treating projected savings as achievable.

Official sources

• Fair Work — Record-keeping

Sources researched 2026-10-07. Examples are fictional and use stated assumptions. Confirm current rules and your circumstances before acting. This is general information, not individual tax or legal advice. SESAY is independent of the regulators linked here.