Changing payroll software: a checklist for moving to Ledra

Before the first Ledra pay run, agree the cut-over date and how earlier pay will remain reported. Then compare each employee's opening balances with the reports from your old system. Keep access to those records until corrections and STP finalisation have been dealt with.

This checklist covers an Australian employer moving payroll within the same legal entity. A change of employer, ABN or branch needs its own review with your accountant or registered tax or BAS agent.

Agree the last old-system pay and the first Ledra pay

Write down the last pay processed in the old system, the date its balances cover, and the first pay date you intend to process in Ledra. Check the financial year as well as the pay period, particularly around 30 June.

In Payroll Settings, save the agreed Payroll cut-over date before entering opening balances. For a move using Separate Reporting, the first Ledra Pay Date must be after that cut-off. Review any pay period that spans the change so it is not processed twice or missed.

The current opening-balance workflow supports the 2026-27 financial year. Earlier-year moves need a separate review. If payroll records already exist in Ledra for the relevant financial year, contact support about a reviewed correction or migration before trying to change the starting position.

Keep a reconciled copy of the old records

Export the reports you need while you still have access to the old system. Compare employee-level figures with the payroll totals, and investigate differences before entering them in Ledra.

Record	What to check
Employee details and employment records	Payroll IDs, commencement dates, employment basis, agreed hours and current pay arrangements. Keep tax declarations and payment instructions secure.
Year-to-date payroll report	Gross earnings, PAYG withheld, employer super, deductions and salary sacrifice through the agreed cut-off.
Earnings used in calculations	Review the relevant superable earnings and any working holiday maker taxable payments. Do not assume every earnings base equals gross pay.
Leave records	Reconcile leave taken and outstanding entitlements separately. Financial payroll opening amounts do not establish that leave records have been transferred.
STP records	Retain the reports, responses and any corrections or finalisation records needed to explain what has already been reported.
Super payment records	Distinguish amounts accrued from amounts actually paid, and identify anything still outstanding.

The Fair Work Ombudsman requires time and wages records to be kept for seven years. Keep them accessible and protect employee information when changing systems; ending a software subscription does not remove the record-keeping obligation.

Decide how earlier STP amounts will remain reported

The ATO's guidance on changing payroll software explains why moving previously reported YTD amounts needs care. Reporting the same pay under a different software or employee identifier can produce duplicate income statements.

Ledra currently supports Opening balances, using Separate Reporting. Prior amounts can support the relevant calculations and labelled YTD history, while the earlier pay remains reported through the previous system. Full Transfer YTD filing and previous BMS/Payroll ID migration filing are not currently available in Ledra.

Agree the approach with your adviser before submitting. Where YTD amounts are not transferred for STP reporting, employees can have separate income statements, and each must be finalised appropriately. Keep access to the previous software for this work. Do not zero its reported amounts merely because you have entered opening balances in Ledra.

Review employee setup and opening balances in Ledra

Check the organisation and each employee's details, employment settings, pay items, tax information and super fund choices. Use the old records to verify the settings rather than assuming that importing a name has recreated the employee's payroll arrangements.

Open the employee's Opening Balances section and check its financial year and Balances through date against the company cut-over date. Enter the reviewed opening amounts and save the draft. Complete the other relevant employees before confirming the organisation's opening balances.

Choose No previous payroll only when no employee in the organisation was paid earlier in that financial year. It is not a shortcut for a mid-year move where the old system holds earlier wages.

Confirmation locks the shared opening balances and requires the applicable permission and security verification. Check everyone included and resolve differences before confirming; a later correction needs review. Entering opening balances does not create a historical pay run, journal or payment.

Compare history and new pay without paying it twice

Synthetic example, not customer data. The following figures show gross-pay reconciliation only. They do not calculate PAYG withholding, super or an employee's entitlement.

Part of the review	Illustrative gross pay	Treatment to check
Old-system report through 31 October 2026	$10,000	Retain the previous pay and STP records. Review this as earlier history, not another pay to make.
First Ledra pay after the cut-off	$2,000	Review the new pay period and the amount being processed in Ledra.
Earlier history plus the new pay	$12,000	Reconcile the combined gross-pay history. This is not a new $12,000 payment or an instruction to report all $12,000 again from Ledra.

Compare each employee as well as the organisation total. A correct combined total can still hide a missing employee or an amount allocated to the wrong person.

Check the first pay run and its separate outcomes

Before posting, review the pay period, Pay Date, employee list, earnings, tax, deductions and super against the supporting records. Check that the chosen payroll plan supports the employees and pay cycle you need.

In Payroll Settings, review the Default payroll account. Check the Software ID and complete the ATO nomination steps shown for your organisation before STP reporting. An in-app confirmation records your acknowledgement; the STP response still needs to be checked after a report is submitted.

Review the payslips and reporting results after processing. Posting a pay run or obtaining an accepted STP response does not prove that employees or super funds have been paid. Reconcile the actual payments and follow up outstanding items through the relevant payment process.

Use the payroll workflow overview for the surrounding Ledra tools. If you are also moving your accounting records, the accounting software preparation checklist covers opening accounts, contacts and bank records. Keep the payroll and accounting reconciliations identifiable so you can explain both starting positions.