Payday Super starts on 1 July 2026, and the ATO's Small Business Superannuation Clearing House closes on 30 June 2026. For venues, agencies, festivals, managers, and promoters, that makes super a per-booking payment workflow rather than an end-of-quarter admin task.
Superannuation helps Australian Accounts calculate eligible super, request and save payee fund details, make or prepare super payments, keep super separate from invoice totals, and choose how each payment is tracked or sent.
Superannuation is available for Australian Accounts. Sign up free to try it now and see how super fits into your booking workflow.
What this helps you do
Calculate super on eligible sole-trader bookings.
Request payee payment and super details once, then reuse saved profiles for future bookings.
Make super payments through SuperChoice, or prepare them for Xero Payroll.
Show super clearly on offers, settlements, invoices, and payment views.
Keep super separate from invoice totals, so the invoice remains the deal-term amount.
Track super manually, make payments through SuperChoice, or prepare draft payroll super lines in Xero Payroll.
Why this matters for live music
The deadline matters because live music and entertainment payments rarely fit a neat payroll cycle. A single week can include casual rosters, one-off artist bookings, touring crew, late invoice payments, missing details, and multiple people checking the same settlement.
That is exactly where super can become painful. A booking is agreed, the invoice is paid, and then someone still has to work out whether super applies, chase the fund details, make the payment, and keep a record of what happened.
The super workflow keeps those steps connected. You can see what is owed, which payees still need to share details, what is ready to send, which payment method was used, and each payment tied to the booking it came from.
How it works
Turn on superannuation for an AUD Account.
Set the default treatment for eligible bookings.
Request each payee's payment and super details, or enter them manually when needed.
Create the booking and review the Superannuation section on the offer, including Pay Super to when it appears.
Approve the settlement and invoice the booking as usual.
After the invoice is paid, send or track the super obligation from the Superannuation dashboard.
Super can be added on top of the deal total or included in the agreed total, depending on your Account settings and the booking.
You can type details into a contact payment profile, but the usual path is easier: send the payee a secure request link or email, let them confirm their own bank, tax, and super details, then reuse that saved profile for future bookings and payments. Related article: Request payment details.
When a payee cannot quote an ABN but super still applies, set Payee ABN to Allow without ABN under Settings → Superannuation. Payees can then choose I do not have an ABN, upload a completed ATO Statement by a supplier, and still provide fund details. See Paying performers without an ABN (Statement by a supplier).
Super chips and Split super only rows use the same status words:
Super applies — Super is on for that person.
ABN needed — there is no ABN yet. Super might apply once there is one.
Statement needed — they are on the Statement by a supplier path instead of an ABN.
Update ABN — there is an ABN, but it needs fixing.
Super details needed — Super applies, but the Super fund is still missing.
Super N/A — Super does not apply. Someone set Not applicable on Payments, or the ABN is a company ABN.
Super N/A is not used just because an ABN is missing. That case is ABN needed.
Who Super is paid to
The invoice payee and the Super payee can be different people on the same side of the booking.
When the fee is paid to an account and Super should go to the person they are acting for, the Superannuation section shows Pay Super to. Choose the invoice payee or the on-behalf party. The invoice and bank payment stay with the fee payee.
New bookings pick the on-behalf party when that choice is available. Existing bookings stay with the invoice payee until you change it. You can change Pay Super to while the settlement is still a draft.
Changing on-behalf wording on a deal term does not change who Super is paid to. Super follows the booking Super settings, including Pay Super to.
Super amount and Super payment details print on the invoice only when Super is paid to the same party as the invoice.
Split super only splits Super to each member that Super applies to while editing Split Payments. The payment of the booking fee stays with the payee on Deal Terms. When you are paying an agency on behalf of a band, members come from the band. On the saved offer, Superannuation names the members Super is split between — Split Payments is not on the offer you send.
When Default "Band" payee types to is Super N/A in Settings → Superannuation, Band payees default as Super N/A on bookings. This can be overridden per account, contact and booking. Super already set on a contact stays as it is. Super sits on the members, not the band.
On the offer, while you are editing Superannuation, a Band, Duo, Collective, or Group payee that Super does not apply to (Super Not applicable, or an ABN that is not a sole trader) shows why Super does not apply, then: Super can still be paid to eligible band members using split payments. Turn on Split Payments is an underlined link in that edit view. It opens Split Payments so you can choose Split super only. The saved offer explains the same state in words and does not show the link. If Super already applies to that payee, Superannuation stays Include Super. If Split super only is already on and nobody Super applies to yet, Superannuation keeps that notice — it does not add a Super line for the band. Artist bookings do not get that members teaching.
On a Band, Duo, Collective, or Group contact's Payments tab, when Super does not apply (including Super Not applicable or an ABN that is not a sole trader) it also says: To pay Super to the members, turn on Split Payments on the booking. The invoice and bank payment still stay with the band.
Choose the payment path that matches your team
You can start simple and change later.
Manual: Calculate super from the booking workflow, pay it through your usual process, and update the status as it moves from ready to sent to received.
SuperChoice: Make ready super payments through SuperChoice, a leading Australian superannuation technology provider with more than 30 years of experience and trusted by major platforms including Xero and MYOB. Once setup is validated, contributions can be sent from the Superannuation dashboard or queued automatically when your settings allow it.
Xero Payroll: Prepare draft payroll super lines in Xero Payroll when your finance or payroll team already reviews pay runs in Xero.
Only one super payment method is active for new sends at a time. Xero invoice sync can still stay connected separately.
Super stays separate from invoices
When add-on-top super applies, the invoice total still stays focused on the booking's deal terms. Super is not added to the invoice total or pushed as an invoice line to Xero. Super amount and Super payment details appear on the invoice when Super is paid to the same party as the invoice. They stay off the invoice when Super is paid to the on-behalf party, or when Super only is on — Super still tracks from the Superannuation dashboard after the invoice is paid.
That keeps the commercial invoice clean while still showing Super on the invoice when the Super destination is the invoice payee.
Useful for both sides of the booking
For the paying side, super becomes part of the same booking, settlement, invoice, and payment workflow.
For artists, DJs, contractors, and other payees, the request-and-save flow helps each eligible payment reach the right fund without a follow-up chase after the booking.
Common questions
Does this replace accounting or payroll advice? No. It helps your team calculate, request, track, and send or prepare super information. Your Account is still responsible for deciding how super applies to your situation.
Does super get added to invoice totals? No. Add-on-top super does not change the invoice total. Super details appear on the invoice only when Super is paid to the same party as the invoice.
Can Super go to someone other than the invoice payee? Yes. Use Pay Super to on the Superannuation section when the invoice is paid to an account and Super should go to the person they are acting for.
Can payees use a self-managed super fund? Yes. Payee profiles can store APRA or industry fund details, and self-managed super fund details when needed.
Do payees need to send details every time? No. Ask once, save the payment profile, and reuse it for future bookings. You can request an update or edit the profile manually when details change.
Can we use Xero? Yes. Xero invoice sync and Xero Payroll super are separate paths. Invoices stay deal-term only, while Xero Payroll can receive draft payroll super lines when configured.