What are ordinary time earnings?

Broadly, what an employee earns for their ordinary hours of work. Most penalty rates, loadings, allowances, commissions and paid leave are included. Overtime is generally excluded, because it is not payment for ordinary hours. That single distinction is the most common source of super calculation error in both directions.

Is super payable on casual loading?

Casual loading forms part of ordinary time earnings, so yes — super is generally payable on it. Excluding casual loading from the super base understates the contribution for every casual on the payroll, which compounds quickly in a business with a large casual workforce.

Is super payable on annual leave and public holidays?

Paid leave taken during ordinary hours generally forms part of ordinary time earnings, so yes. A lump sum paid on termination in lieu of unused annual leave is treated differently. Check the specific payment type rather than assuming leave is always in or always out.

Does the payment date or the received date matter?

The date the fund receives the contribution. That is why this template has two date columns. A payment made before the deadline that arrives after it is still late. Clearing houses can take several business days to pass contributions on, so that lag has to be built into when you pay.

How have the timing rules changed?

The requirement has moved toward aligning contributions with payday rather than quarterly deadlines. Confirm the current rule and the date it applies from. For a weekly-paying business that can mean a great many more remittance cycles a year than four, which changes the administrative load considerably.

How often should I reconcile super?

At minimum each quarter before the deadline, and before lodging the BAS for the period. If you pay super with each pay run, reconcile at that cadence. The liability account should clear to nil once the contribution is paid. A balance that never clears is the signal worth chasing.

What if I find an unpaid quarter?

Raise it immediately and take advice. Unpaid superannuation does not resolve itself, and the charge grows with time. If you are taking over a file, document it in writing to the client before you start processing — see the client handover checklist.

FREE EXCEL TEMPLATE Last updated 28 August 2026

Superannuation reconciliation with on-time tracking

Q: What happens if super is paid late?

The shortfall becomes a superannuation guarantee charge. The charge is not tax deductible and includes an interest component and an administration component, so it costs materially more than the original contribution. There is no grace period — late by one day is late.

Quarter by quarter, employee by employee — what was payable on ordinary time earnings, what was actually paid, and critically, the date the fund received it rather than the date you paid it.

Super reconciliation template

Excel (.xlsx) · 120 rows · no signup

Payable calculated from OTE and rate

Variance column that must be nil

Separate paid and received-by-fund dates

Quarter and on-time dropdowns

General information only, not tax or accounting advice.

This template is general information for Australian employers. Award coverage, classifications, superannuation and reporting obligations depend on your circumstances — confirm them with Fair Work, the ATO or a registered BAS agent. 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.

References HR Hub disclaimer Modern Awards Fair Work

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What's in the super reconciliation

Thirteen columns built around the two dates that matter.

Quarter dropdown

Q1 Jul–Sep through Q4 Apr–Jun, so a full year fits on one sheet and filters cleanly.

Employee and fund

Name, fund and member number — the details a contribution actually needs to land.

Payable from OTE

Ordinary time earnings times the rate, rounded. Not calculated on gross.

Paid and variance

What was actually paid, and the difference. Variance must be nil.

Two dates

Date paid and date received by fund, side by side — because only one of them determines lateness.

On-time flag

Yes, No or Check per row, so anything needing action is filterable before quarter end.

The date that decides whether a contribution was late

Same payment, two dates. Only one of them counts.

Employee	Payable	Paid	Date paid	Received by fund	On time?
A. Fraser	$1,482.00	$1,482.00	26/10/2026	29/10/2026	Yes
J. Okafor	$1,196.00	$1,196.00	27/10/2026	02/11/2026	Check
M. Silva	$1,340.00	$1,204.00	26/10/2026	29/10/2026	Variance

The second row was paid before the deadline and received after it. Clearing houses take days to pass money on, and a contribution that arrives late is treated as a shortfall even when the payment left on time.

Why superannuation needs its own reconciliation

It is the payroll error with the sharpest consequences and the quietest onset.

Late is expensive

A late contribution becomes a superannuation guarantee charge. The charge is not deductible and includes an interest component and an administration component.

Late by a day is still late

There is no grace period. That is why the received-by-fund date is what you diarise against, and why clearing house lag has to be built into your timing.

OTE, not gross

Overtime is generally excluded from ordinary time earnings; most penalty rates, loadings and paid leave are included. Both directions of error are common.

Every employee, every quarter

A single employee missed from one quarter is a shortfall. Filtering by quarter is how you confirm nobody was.

Payday super changes the timing, not the principle

The rules on when contributions must reach a fund have moved toward alignment with payday rather than quarterly deadlines. Confirm the current requirement and the date it applies from, rather than carrying forward a quarterly habit.

For a business paying weekly, that can mean many more remittance cycles a year than the four this sheet is laid out for — use the quarter column to group, and reconcile at whatever cadence you actually pay. The payday super calculator works through what that means in practice.

How to reconcile superannuation

Four steps per quarter, or per pay cycle if you are paying more often.

1. Pull OTE from payroll

Ordinary time earnings per employee for the period — not gross. Your payroll reports should give you this directly.

2. Calculate what was payable

OTE times the current rate. The sheet does this once you enter both.

3. Match to what was paid

Per employee, per fund. Any variance is either a calculation error or a missed employee.

4. Check the received date

Confirm the fund received it in time, and that the liability account clears to nil.

Reconcile before you lodge the BAS for the period, not after. An unresolved super variance usually means the wages figures behind W1 are wrong too.

Who needs a super reconciliation

Employers of any size

The obligation applies from the first employee, and so does the charge for getting it wrong.

Bookkeepers and BAS agents

Confirming super was paid on time is a standard part of a quarterly file review.

Anyone taking over a payroll

Unpaid or late quarters are the liability most often inherited unknowingly.

For accountants & bookkeepers

Do your clients pay super on rostered staff?

Penalty rates and casual loading are ordinary time earnings; overtime generally is not. Getting that split right every pay is what RosterElf handles automatically — and advisors who bring shift-based clients across earn recurring monthly income per employee managed.

Recurring monthly income

$1.00–$2.00 per active employee

Signup bonus

$100 per new client business

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Definitions

Plain-English explanations of the terms used on this page.

Ordinary time earnings

What ordinary time earnings means for an Australian business.

Learn more

Superannuation guarantee

What superannuation guarantee means for an Australian business.