Available for the following plans: Premium, Platinum
Available for the following User Access levels: Manager, Admin
Choosing the right super clearing path has become one of the more consequential decisions an employer will make. Under Payday Super, the cost of a mismatch, a rejection, or a delay is higher than it used to be, and the clearing path you choose directly affects how much of that risk you carry manually.
HeroClear is designed to take as much of that burden off employers as possible to make super clearing something you can set up, trust, and stop thinking about. This page explains the options available through Employment Hero, the trade-offs, and why HeroClear is the recommended default for most EH Payroll customers.
This article will show you how to manage the following:
- Understand why this choice matters
- Identify the three clearing options
- Compare the employer experience
- Recognise why HeroClear is recommended
- Review visible and hidden costs
- Enable HeroClear
- Frequently asked questions
Understand why this choice matters
Under Payday Super, super guarantee contributions must be received by the employee's super fund within 7 business days of payday, with all the information the fund needs to allocate them to the member. If the fund does not receive them in time, even by a day, the Payday Super Guarantee Charge (SGC) applies. The SGC includes the outstanding contribution, notional earnings to compensate the employee, and an administrative uplift of up to 60%.
Specific details to note regarding the 7-business-day window include:
- The deadline is when the fund receives and can allocate the contribution, not when you initiate the payment or when it leaves your bank.
- The clock runs from the Qualifying Earnings (QE) day, the day you pay wages, regardless of whether wages were paid on time.
- Clearing house processing time, bank approval time, and any back-and-forth on rejections all count against your window.
- Employers retain the legal obligation to ensure contributions are received on time, regardless of which clearing option they use.
Identify the three clearing options
Employment Hero supports three clearing paths for super, sitting on a spectrum from fully manual to fully embedded:
- Manual / third-party (SAFF export): You export a SAFF file from payroll, upload it to a third-party clearing house, and separately authorise the payment through your bank. Reconciliation and fund errors are managed outside Employment Hero.
- Integrated clearing: Payroll data flows through an integration to Beam for clearing. You approve the payment in your bank, and fund-side status sits outside Employment Hero. Data flows one way into Beam, and payment authorisation is outside the payroll workflow.
- HeroClear: Runs inside Employment Hero Payroll with no separate portal, file upload, or file transfer to the bank. Validation happens upfront, payments are initiated automatically, and every stage of the batch is tracked back in your payroll dashboard.
Compare the employer experience
| Dimension | HeroClear | Beam Integration | Manual / SAFF |
|---|---|---|---|
| Where the work happens | Inside EH Payroll | Across multiple systems | Across multiple systems |
| Employee fund validation | Upfront checks before payment moves (including MVR) | Handled by EH before Beam | Handled outside EH Payroll |
| Funding the payment | Automated debit or manually moved; native approvals | Automated debit or manually moved | Varies by Clearing House |
| Status visibility | Full money-movement tracking in EH dashboard | Not available in EH Payroll | Not available in EH Payroll |
| Handling rejections/returns | Flagged in-platform with guided resolution | Managed outside EH Payroll | Managed outside EH Payroll |
| Audit trail | Automated logging in EH Payroll | Not maintained in EH Payroll | You maintain records yourself |
| Pricing (ex GST) | $0.20 per employee per batch | $0.30 per employee per batch | $0 from EH + provider fees |
Recognise why HeroClear is recommended
- Embedded in payroll: Super processing happens in the same system as pay runs, removing coordination steps that consume your compliance window.
- Automated cycles: Once set up, HeroClear initiates the debit, submits SuperStream messages, and tracks fund receipt automatically without manual uploads.
- Full visibility: Every stage of a batch's lifecycle is displayed in your payroll dashboard so you can act immediately if something stalls.
- Prevention-focused: Fund and USI checks happen before money moves, and Member Verification Requests (MVR) are connected to minimize rejections.
- Continuous evolution: Built and maintained by Employment Hero to evolve with feedback and regulatory changes.
Review visible and hidden costs
HeroClear is $0.20 per employee per batch, while Beam integration is $0.30 per employee per batch (ex GST). This makes HeroClear 33% cheaper than Beam integration at the same volume.
Yearly savings for an organisation with 20 employees paid fortnightly:
| Team size & cycle | HeroClear ($0.20) | Integrated (Beam) ($0.30) | Yearly saving |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20 employees, fortnightly | ~$104 | ~$156 | ~$52 |
The visible fee is only one part; the hours spent resolving issues across systems is the bigger "hidden" cost. HeroClear minimizes this through upfront validation.
Enable HeroClear
For organisations with multiple entities, HeroClear can be set up on one, several, or all of them. You have full control over the rollout, allowing you to start with a single entity and expand at your own pace. There is no need for a mass migration upfront.
Frequently asked questions
- Do I have to move to HeroClear? No. Existing arrangements remain supported, though HeroClear is the recommended default for Payday Super.
- Is HeroClear SuperStream compliant? Yes. Employment Hero is on the ATO's SuperStream Certified Product Register.
- Does HeroClear remove my obligations as an employer? No. The employer is always legally responsible for ensuring contributions are received by the fund within 7 business days of payday.
- What happens if a contribution is rejected? Rejections are surfaced in the EH Payroll dashboard with guided workflows for resubmission.
- What is the status of the ATO Small Business Super Clearing House (SBSCH)? The SBSCH closes permanently at 11:59 pm AEST on 30 June 2026. Existing users must choose an alternative method before this date.
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The information on this page is general in nature and does not constitute legal, tax, or financial advice. Employers should consult the ATO's current guidance and their own advisers for advice specific to their circumstances.