Employment Hero: a strong platform with some trade-offs

Employment Hero is one of Australia's most widely-used HR and payroll platforms. It covers a broad range of functionality — recruitment, onboarding, HR, payroll, and rostering — and has invested heavily in building a full-suite product.

However, for certain types of businesses — particularly small businesses, hospitality operators, and accounting practices — the pricing model, accountant tools, and feature set can be a poor fit. This guide explains what to look for in an alternative.

Common reasons businesses switch

1. Per-employee pricing scales costs unpredictably

Employment Hero charges per employee per month. For businesses with seasonal or variable headcount — common in hospitality, retail, and construction — this means costs fluctuate unpredictably. A business that goes from 20 to 40 staff over summer doubles its software cost.

Some alternatives, including ERNVO, charge a flat rate per organisation regardless of headcount. This makes costs predictable and removes the disincentive to add all employees to the system.

2. Accountant portal is not purpose-built

Employment Hero's platform is designed for employers, not for accounting practices managing multiple clients. Accountants and bookkeepers who manage payroll for 10–50 clients often find they need to log in separately to each client's portal and perform manual checks across multiple screens.

Purpose-built accountant portals — like ERNVO's — aggregate compliance status, STP reports, and super obligations across all clients in a single view, with integration into practice management tools like Karbon and XPM.

3. Free plan availability

Employment Hero does not offer a permanent free plan. Small businesses with 1–5 employees who want to manage payroll digitally without a monthly commitment typically need a platform that offers a genuine free tier.

4. Modern Award coverage details

Employment Hero covers Modern Awards, but the specific coverage can vary by plan. Before switching, confirm which awards are covered on the plan you're evaluating and whether penalty rate automation is included.

What to look for in an Employment Hero alternative

STP Phase 2 compliance — non-negotiable for any Australian employer
Modern Award automation — penalty rates, casual loadings, and overtime should be calculated without manual input
Payday Super readiness — check if the platform is ready for the July 2026 deadline
Pricing model — per-employee vs per-organisation; evaluate based on your expected headcount growth
Accountant access — if you use an accountant, can they access your payroll data without a separate portal login?
Rostering — if you run shifts, does the roster connect directly to payroll with Award rates?

ERNVO as an Employment Hero alternative

ERNVO is built specifically for Australian SMBs and the accounting practices that serve them. It covers payroll (STP Phase 2, 18 Modern Awards, Payday Super), HR (onboarding, document management, leave), and rostering (drag-and-drop, real-time cost visibility).

Key differences from Employment Hero:

Per-organisation flat pricing — costs don't scale with headcount
Free plan for up to 5 employees, no expiry
Dedicated Accountant Portal with Karbon and XPM integration
Advisory intelligence — AI-powered portfolio insights for accounting practices

Employment Hero has genuine advantages ERNVO doesn't match: a full recruitment (ATS) module and a performance management module. If these are important to your business, weigh them accordingly.

See the full feature comparison →

Employment Hero Alternative — Why Businesses Are Switching