Editorial Policy

Our Mission

Most software review sites are built for the US market. They rarely mention BAS lodgement, STP Phase 2, Modern Awards, or payday super — the compliance requirements that matter most to Australian businesses. SoftwareHQ AU exists to fill that gap.

We provide independent, Australia-focused software comparisons that evaluate products against the regulatory and operational requirements Australian businesses actually face. Whether you’re a sole trader choosing your first accounting package or an SME evaluating payroll systems for 50 staff, our goal is to help you make an informed decision based on Australian compliance realities — not US-centric feature lists.

How We Rate Products

Review pages show two different scores. Do not read them as the same number.

• The editorial score in the review header is SoftwareHQ’s overall assessment for Australian buyers. It is not an average of user reviews, and it does not apply to every plan, industry or country edition.
• Compliance dimension scores (0 to 5) describe specific Australian tax, payroll and banking capabilities where they apply to that product type.

Every product we review is assessed across 7 Australian compliance dimensions where those dimensions are relevant. A CRM is not failed for missing BAS lodgement; that dimension is not applicable.

1. BAS Lodgement

How well the software supports Business Activity Statement preparation and lodgement with the ATO.

2. STP Phase 2

Single Touch Payroll Phase 2 compliance, including disaggregation of gross amounts, income types, and country codes. We verify whether the software has been updated for Phase 2 reporting as required by the ATO since 1 January 2023.

3. Payday Super Readiness

From 1 July 2026, employers must pay superannuation on payday rather than quarterly. We assess whether the software supports or is preparing for same-day super calculations and payment integration with super clearing houses.

4. Modern Award Support

Whether the software includes built-in Modern Award interpretation for pay rates, penalty rates, overtime, and allowances. Australia has over 120 Modern Awards — we assess how many are supported and whether rates are automatically updated when Fair Work publishes annual wage reviews.

5. GST Handling

How the software manages GST calculations, including support for GST-free, input-taxed, and mixed-supply scenarios. Products are assessed on whether they correctly handle the nuances of Australian GST law, including the various BAS reporting codes (1A, 1B, etc.) and automatic tax code assignment.

6. AU Bank Feeds

Direct bank feed support from Australian financial institutions. We check the number of supported AU banks and credit unions, whether feeds are real-time or delayed, and whether the connection uses secure bank-approved data sharing (e.g. CDR/Open Banking) rather than screen scraping.

7. Data Sovereignty

Where your business data is stored and processed. We assess whether the vendor offers Australian-hosted data storage, complies with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles, and whether data may be transferred overseas. For Australian businesses handling sensitive financial and employee data, knowing where your data lives matters.

How We Verify Data

Reviews distinguish vendor documentation, editorial analysis and firsthand records. They are not interchangeable. The published method, including evidence-kind labels and the claims those records do and do not support, is on How we test.

• Vendor documentation — official pricing, feature, help and compliance pages. Each review lists the HTTP(S) URLs recorded for that product. A listed URL is a source we recorded, not a claim that every sentence was checked against that URL.
• Editorial analysis — SoftwareHQ interprets that public material for Australian buyers and assigns scores. Those scores are our judgements, not a number derived from evidence count.
• Firsthand records — public-website observations or live measurements when a record exists. Missing tests stay not tested. Vendor-provided screenshots on some reviews are labelled as vendor imagery rather than firsthand testing. Do not read a review as a hands-on test report unless that review shows firsthand records.

Unknown vs unsupported vs not applicable

• Not applicable — the dimension does not belong to this product type (for example BAS lodgement on a CRM).
• Not supported — public evidence that the vendor does not offer the capability.
• Unknown — we could not verify the capability from public sources. Unknown is not the same as unsupported.

Where a vendor claim cannot be verified from public sources, we mark it unknown or note the gap rather than filling it in.

Pricing Accuracy

All prices on SoftwareHQ AU are displayed in Australian Dollars (AUD) inclusive of GST, unless otherwise stated. We verify pricing directly from vendor websites on a quarterly basis, and each product listing includes a “last verified” date so you know how current the information is.

Software vendors can change their pricing at any time. While we make every effort to keep pricing current, always confirm the latest pricing on the vendor’s official website before making a purchasing decision.

Affiliate Relationship Disclosure

We believe in full transparency about our business model. Here’s what you should know:

• We earn commissions from some (not all) product links on this site
• Commissions never influence our compliance scores, ratings, or editorial recommendations
• Products cannot pay for higher scores or more favourable reviews
• Products without affiliate arrangements are reviewed with identical rigour and methodology
• Our compliance scoring is based on verifiable product capabilities, not commercial relationships

Editorial Independence

No software vendor has editorial input into our reviews, ratings, or compliance scores. Our editorial process is completely independent:

• No pay-for-play — vendors cannot pay for reviews, ratings, or placement
• No sponsored scores — compliance scores reflect actual product capabilities, not sponsorship
• No vendor editorial input — vendors do not review, approve, or influence our content before publication
• No preferential treatment — every product is assessed using the same 7-dimension framework regardless of commercial relationship

Corrections Policy

We strive for accuracy, but mistakes happen. If you believe any information on this site is incorrect, outdated, or misleading:

• Email us at corrections@softwarehq.com.au with details of the error and a source or reference if possible
• We investigate all correction requests and aim to resolve them within 48 hours
• Confirmed corrections are published promptly with a note indicating what was changed

We welcome corrections from vendors, users, and industry professionals. Getting the facts right is more important to us than being first.

Update Frequency

Keeping information current is essential for a comparison site. Our update schedule:

• Pricing — verified quarterly (January, April, July, October)
• Compliance scores — updated when regulations change (e.g. ATO announcements, Fair Work annual wage review) and during quarterly reviews
• Product reviews — fully refreshed annually, with interim updates for significant product changes
• New product additions — assessed and added as we identify relevant Australian software products