ELMO Software Review Australia 2026
Best All-in-One HR Platform for AU Mid-Market
ELMO is still the mid-market AU HR suite with a real LMS, and it is still quote-only. The live payroll page is partner-matched STP/super — do not keep a 5/5 native ELMO payroll score or a $0/$35 list price. Hosting is AWS Australia with ISO 27001:2022. Employment Hero publishes HR Essentials $10; Deputy publishes Lite $6.75. Choose ELMO when you will sit through a demo for HR Core + learning + a chosen payroll engine.
- Best for
- Mid-sized AU organisations (50–2,000 employees) in award-heavy industries wanting a single-vendor HR, payroll, and learning platform.
- Not ideal for
- Small teams that need a published per-employee price, buyers who need a proven native ELMO pay engine, or anyone treating $0 as free.
Some links to ELMO Software may be affiliate links. If you buy or sign up, SoftwareHQ may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. That does not change this editorial score. Affiliate disclosure
Overview
ELMO Software is end-to-end au-built hr, payroll and learning platform for mid-market. Founded in 2002 and headquartered in Sydney, NSW (offices across AU, NZ & UK), it serves Australian businesses with local data hosting and AU-based support.
Feature highlights
These highlights come from vendor documentation and editorial analysis of public sources. They are not firsthand test results or a claim that every listed capability was exercised in a trial.
- Quote-only — no public dollars
No AU price table. Do not list $0 or ~$35 as a plan.
- HR Core employee records
Hire-to-retire employee data on one foundation. Onboarding is a separate module.
- Payroll via partner network
Live payroll page matches a curated engine or connects existing payroll. STP2/SuperStream/ABA follow that engine.
- LMS with 400+ courses
Still listed on the products page. Differentiator vs Employment Hero's paid learning bundles.
- Rostering / time and attendance module
Separate product: availability, shift swaps, clock-in, roster-cost alerts, timesheets into the next pay cycle (via the connected payroll).
- AWS Australia + ISO 27001/42001
Security page: AWS AU data centres, ISO 27001:2022, ISO 42001:2023, SOC 2 TSC alignment.
AU Compliance Scores
These scores apply to Australian tax, payroll and banking capabilities where they are relevant to ELMO Software. They are SoftwareHQ editorial judgements from public documentation, not firsthand product tests.
Not applicable means this product type is not scored on that dimension (for example BAS lodgement on a CRM). Not supported means the vendor does not offer it. Unknown means we could not verify it from public sources — that is not the same as unsupported.
HR platform. BAS stays in accounting software.
elmosoftware.com.au/products/payroll (8 Sep 2026): STP Phase 2 is a compliance reference of the selected payroll engine in ELMO's curated partner network (or a connected existing payroll). Not a native ELMO ATO-lodge claim.
Payroll page names SuperStream as a selected-engine reference. No explicit Payday Super ready confirmation on the pages opened. Prior 'preparing for July 2026' copy is not a current ready claim.
Payroll page: keep aligned to local requirements through the selected payroll engine. Homepage still markets Modern Awards/EBAs as built-in. Do not treat that as a certified native ELMO award engine.
Not an accounting tool. Quote GST not printed.
Not a bank-feeds product.
When this was checked
Status as of (page snapshot) against a 90-day review target. Checked dates are not updated when the site is rebuilt.
Editorial article date: . That is not proof that pricing, hosting, or compliance was re-checked.
- PricingVerified
Verified — checked 8 September 2026.
Quote-only. No public dollars. GST not printed. price_monthly null (not 0). ~$35 third-party guess dropped.
- HostingVerified
Verified — checked 8 September 2026.
AWS data centres in Australia. ISO 27001:2022, ISO 42001:2023, SOC 2 TSC alignment, Essential Eight alignment, AWS FTR. 99.5% uptime. CREST pen tests.
- Modern AwardsVerified
Verified — checked 8 September 2026.
Awards/local requirements via the selected payroll engine. Homepage still markets built-in awards — not treated as a native cert.
- Payday SuperUnknown
Unknown — no field-level check recorded.
SuperStream named on the selected engine. No Payday Super ready claim on pages opened 8 Sep 2026.
- STP Phase 2Verified
Verified — checked 8 September 2026.
STP Phase 2 listed as a selected-engine reference in the partner network. Not native ELMO ATO lodge.
- SuperannuationVerified
Verified — checked 8 September 2026.
SuperStream named as a selected-engine reference. No ELMO-branded clearing house on that page.
Pricing (AUD)
All prices below are in Australian dollars and exclude GST. Verified — checked 8 September 2026. Source: elmosoftware.com.au/products.
- Employees: unlimited
Estimate first-year cost for ELMO Software
Observed price changes
Recorded when a listed price changed. This is not a complete vendor timeline.
- Still quote-only. Removed unverified $0 / ~$35 list. Payroll is partner-matched, not a published ELMO SKU.
- Custom Quote · $0 · Still quote-only. Removed unverified price_monthly 0 / ~$35 third-party guess. 0 is not a free plan.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- HR Core + onboarding + rostering + 400+ course LMS on one AU-hosted platform
- AWS Australia hosting with ISO 27001:2022 and ISO 42001:2023
- Can keep an existing payroll engine and two-way sync mapped fields
- Modular — quote only the modules you need
- AU/NZ support positioning on the public site
- No fake $0 free tier
Cons
- No public prices — every deal is a quote
- Live payroll page is partner-matched, not a proven native ELMO STP engine
- Payday Super ready not confirmed on pages opened
- Limited public marketplace vs Employment Hero
- No free trial on the record
- Overkill for teams under ~50 who can buy Essentials $10 or Deputy Lite
How this review was made
Reviews separate vendor documentation, editorial analysis and firsthand records. They are not interchangeable.
- Vendor documentation — Public pages from ELMO Software and other sites. Recorded HTTP(S) URLs are listed under Sources. A source URL is a document we recorded, not a claim that every sentence on this page was checked against that URL.
- Editorial analysis — SoftwareHQ's written verdict and scores for Australian buyers. The header score is an editorial assessment, not a user-review average, not a lab result, and not a number derived from how many evidence records exist.
- Firsthand records — This review has no firsthand observation records, trial walkthroughs, or screenshots from a logged-in SoftwareHQ account. Missing tests stay not tested.
This page does not rank products by speed or security from documentation or from evidence count.
Checked by SoftwareHQ Editorial Team. There is no named author profile for this page; attribution stays with the SoftwareHQ editorial team. How we test and the editorial policy for scoring, independence and affiliate rules.
Sources
Public pages recorded when this review was compiled. They are not a checklist that every claim was verified, and they are not evidence of hands-on product testing.
- Elmosoftware official site
- Elmosoftware Products
- Elmosoftware Payroll
- Elmosoftware Onboarding
- Elmosoftware Rostering Time Attendance
- Elmosoftware Data Security
- Elmosoftware Elmo Payroll Brochure Overview 2026.pdf
ELMO Software Alternatives
If ELMO Software doesn’t quite fit your needs, consider these alternatives for Australian businesses:
- Employment Hero — All-in-one HR, payroll and benefits platform for AU businesses. From $10/employee/mo ex GST.
- Deputy — Rostering, time tracking, and workforce management. From $6.75/user/mo ex GST.
- Tanda — Workforce management with Modern Award compliance. From $12.8/user/mo ex GST.