Need to pay super on time under payday super?

For years, many small businesses treated super as a quarterly bill. Wages went out weekly or fortnightly, and super was paid by the 28th of the month after each quarter. Payday super changed that. From 1 July 2026, super guarantee contributions must be received by your employees’ funds within 7 business days after each payday. The money that used to sit in the account for up to three months now leaves with every pay run.

Why this squeezes cash flow

The total amount of super has not changed. The super guarantee rate remains 12% of ordinary time earnings. What changed is the timing. A business with a $40,000 fortnightly payroll used to build up roughly a quarter’s worth of super before paying it. Now that money goes out every fortnight. In the first months of the new system, some businesses find they had been unintentionally using that quarterly float as working capital.

What to do if super is due and cash is short

1. Calculate the super for this pay run, using the ATO’s guidance on ordinary time earnings.
2. Check when it must arrive. Within 7 business days after payday, allowing for clearing-house and fund processing time.
3. Look at the next few weeks, not just this pay run. The cash flow gap calculator shows whether this is a one-off or a recurring squeeze.
4. Arrange funding early. Short-term funding can cover super alongside wages. With statements ready, approval within the hour is common.

Seen enough to know you want to talk? Start here. It costs nothing to ask and leaves your credit file untouched.

One-off bridge or ongoing facility?

Situation	Usual fit
A single tight pay run	Short-term funding repaid from upcoming receipts
Every pay run feels tight since the change	A line of credit to smooth timing while you adjust
Super arrears from before the change	Talk to your accountant first, then consider funding to clear them

Building it into the business

The lasting fix is to treat super as part of each pay run, not a separate quarterly bill. Many owners move the super amount into a separate account on payday so it is never mistaken for spare cash. Reviewing customer payment terms, invoicing promptly and pricing to cover the true cost of labour all help. The Fair Work Ombudsman and ATO both publish guidance on the new rules.

A worked example (illustrative)

A landscaping business with 15 employees used to pay super quarterly. In August 2026, its first full month under payday super, a big council invoice is delayed and the fortnightly super of about $7,800 is due alongside wages. The owner arranges a small line of credit, draws the super amount the same day and repays it when the council pays. From then on, super goes into a separate account every payday.

Your fast-funding checklist

Most delays come from documents that are not ready when they are asked for. Line these up before you enquire:

• Payroll report showing ordinary time earnings and super for the pay run
• Payday date and fund details
• Business bank statements
• Photo ID and ABN

What can slow it down

In our experience, delays usually come from one of these:

• Not knowing which payments count for super
• Leaving funding until day six of the seven
• Statements that do not clearly show payroll
• Using personal accounts for business payroll

A note on the enquiry form

The enquiry form asks for the amount, purpose, time trading, monthly revenue, credit history, state and whether you own property. Each answer points your enquiry towards the right lane. When the answers are accurate, the first call can go straight to approval. When they are rounded up, guessed or left vague, the assessor has to unpick them, and that is where hours turn into days. If you are unsure of a figure, give your best honest estimate and say so.

Before you go

• From 1 July 2026, super is due with each pay run, not quarterly
• Contributions must reach funds within 7 business days of payday
• The super guarantee rate is 12% of ordinary time earnings
• Fast funding can bridge the transition while you rebuild cash flow

What happens after you enquire

There is nothing magic about fast funding. It is mostly about removing waiting time. We ask for the right evidence at the start instead of drip-feeding requests, we do not need a valuation on property-secured loans, and documents are signed online rather than posted. That is why a decision within the hour is common and why money can be in your account within 24 hours. The part we cannot control is how quickly signatures and documents come back, so having them ready makes the biggest difference.

Your next step

Tell us what you need and when you need it by. There is no credit check to enquire, nothing is passed around the market, and a human being, not an algorithm, reads it. Accurate answers on the form are the single biggest thing you can do to speed things up. See if you qualify.