What is KeyPay now?
KeyPay rebranded to Employment Hero in March 2023. Its payroll services continue under the Employment Hero name, covering pay runs, timesheets, shifts, expenses and leave. Existing payroll businesses and partner-branded services can still make the KeyPay name relevant when identifying the system behind a login.
Where it fits
This guide helps teams and advisers who know their payroll as KeyPay identify the right route. It is a product-history and configuration distinction, rather than another independent payroll engine.
What to check first
Confirm the current provider, payroll business and permissions. The familiar name does not tell you which employer, partner environment or settings a connection can access.
KeyPay’s official Employment Hero rebrand notice. Checked 9 October 2026. This is a product overview, not a hands-on performance test.
Keep every client business distinct.
One client business at a time
An adviser may manage several payroll businesses. Keep each Company’s employee links, sources and transfer decisions inside the selected business.
Familiar labels, precise matching
Labels that payroll teams know are useful context, but IDs, work-type namespaces and employee assignments define the transfer. Similar names do not silently merge people.
The details that need to match.
Business boundary
Authorised access to one business is not permission to transfer hours into another.
Stable identity
Use explicit payroll identity links. Repeated codes or names are conflicts to resolve.
Earning dimensions
Work types and pay categories remain distinct; assigned employee locations must also be checked.
One business. One reviewed scope.
Select the payroll business
Confirm authorised access and keep the Company context explicit.
Review people and hours
Link payroll identities, resolve exceptions and keep the source beside the work.
Preview the selected scope
Compare additions and conflicts for the employee, dates and earnings dimensions before confirmation.
Keep existing payroll protected.
Add-only is the default for the selected business. Existing, locked and unknown work is held. A replacement needs a precise preview and explicit confirmation; it must preserve unrelated entries and never span multiple businesses automatically.
Corrections after approval require another review. An uncertain delivery must be reconciled before retrying. Pay calculation and finalisation remain in your payroll system.
Scope and setup requirements
- Australian KeyPay / Employment Hero payroll businesses with verified access. Adviser access is assessed per business.
- Authorised payroll-business access and explicit Employee links.
- Verified category assignments, existing entries and writable payroll states.
- KeyPay and Employment Hero Payroll share a family, not universal brand access.
- No automatic cross-client bulk transfer.
- Provider access and writable-state evidence are required before activation.
Your questions, answered.
Is KeyPay still a separate brand?
Employment Hero replaced the KeyPay brand. Many payroll teams still use the older name; this guide recognises that terminology.
Can one adviser connection cover every client?
Each business needs verified access and separate Company identity mappings. Cross-business assumptions are unsafe.
What if two Employees share a payroll code?
Treat the collision as a matching decision. Explicit identity links protect existing Employees from an accidental merge.
Provider background
First-party product references, checked 9 October 2026. Workplace images are illustrations, not customer endorsements.