Free award & payroll templates
Editable Excel worksheets and checklists to help you prepare, review and reconcile payroll before every pay run. Designed for Australian businesses, fully editable and 100% free — no signup required.
Browse templatesThese award and payroll templates support payroll preparation only — they do not calculate wages, penalties or entitlements. They reflect Australian Fair Work and modern award principles at the time of publication and are provided as a general guide, not legal or financial advice. Always process pay using compliant payroll software. It does not constitute legal, HR, or professional advice and should not be relied on as a substitute for advice specific to your business, workforce, or circumstances.
What are award & payroll templates?
Award and payroll templates are editable worksheets and checklists that help you gather, review and double-check payroll inputs before you process a pay run. They cover the steps before payroll — collecting hours, overtime and allowances, reviewing modern award obligations, and reconciling rostered, timesheet and paid hours to catch errors before payday.
These templates are a manual companion to your payroll process, not a replacement for it. They prompt you to check obligations under any modern award and support accurate, compliant pay across hospitality, retail and construction. Start with the payroll preparation worksheet to gather your inputs, then run the pay run checklist before you finalise.
When spreadsheets become painful, payroll integration connects your roster to Xero and MYOB and applies the right rates, penalties and overtime automatically — no manual calculations, no compliance risk.
Free award & payroll templates
6 editable Excel templates — download instantly, no signup
Payroll preparation worksheet
Gather all your payroll inputs in one place — hours, overtime, allowances and notes — before each pay run. Works for weekly, fortnightly or monthly pay cycles.
Read morePay run checklist
A step-by-step checklist covering timesheets, leave, allowances and super so nothing is missed before payday. Run it the same way every pay cycle for consistency.
Read moreAward compliance checklist
Review your modern award obligations systematically — award identification, classifications, penalties, allowances and record-keeping — without calculating rates yourself.
Read moreCasual vs part-time comparison
Compare base rate, casual loading and leave entitlements side by side to see which employment type is cheaper and support smarter workforce decisions.
Read morePayroll reconciliation template
Cross-check rostered, timesheet and paid hours to catch discrepancies before pay day. A simple way to spot errors before they become underpayments.
Read moreLeave & super tracker
Track staff leave balances and super contributions with manual entries. Keep a clear record of what each employee has taken and what's owed.
Read moreWhat good payroll preparation includes
The checks a solid pre-payroll process should cover
This is why we offer several templates — each covers a different stage of preparing and reviewing payroll.
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Put these templates into practice with our wider payroll and award resources.
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Tailored for the Australian industries we serve.
Why payroll preparation matters
Most payroll errors start before pay is processed — a missed allowance, the wrong award classification, or hours that don’t match the roster. A consistent pre-payroll process catches these issues early, protecting your business from underpayment claims and rework.
Reviewing modern award obligations and reconciling hours each cycle demonstrates due diligence under the Fair Work Act 2009. These templates give you a repeatable starting point; when manual checks become a bottleneck, see our how to reconcile payroll guide and payroll integration for automated, always-current award interpretation.
Ready for automated payroll?
When spreadsheets become painful, RosterElf connects your roster to Xero and MYOB, automatically interprets awards, and exports payroll-ready timesheets — so you can stop calculating by hand and reduce compliance risk.
Award & payroll templates FAQ
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Yes — all six templates are completely free to download. No signup, email or payment required. Download instantly and start using them in Excel or Google Sheets.
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All templates download as editable Excel (.xlsx) files. Because they’re fully editable, you can adapt them in Excel or Google Sheets, or export them to PDF or Word yourself.
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Google Sheets includes some basic budgeting templates, but not Australian payroll preparation templates. Our payroll preparation worksheet is an Excel file that opens and edits directly in Google Sheets, with fields built around Australian awards, super and leave.
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Yes. The payroll preparation worksheet works for any pay cycle — weekly, fortnightly or monthly — and the pay run checklist helps you complete each cycle consistently.
Before you download
General information only — not legal advice
This document is a general HR template provided for informational purposes only. It is not legal advice and may not reflect the latest changes in legislation or apply to every workplace situation. RosterElf Pty Ltd and the template provider accept no liability for any loss arising from reliance on this document. Users should seek independent legal advice and customise the template to ensure it complies with all relevant laws, awards and workplace requirements.