The working capital buffer you never set up is about to disappear

From 1 July 2026, Payday Super comes into effect. Most commentary has focused on the compliance angle - pay super at the same time as wages, not quarterly. Straightforward enough.

But the cashflow story is more interesting than that. And it's the one most businesses haven't thought through yet.

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The float you didn't know you were using

Right now, most employers pay superannuation quarterly. Wages go out every week or fortnight. Super accumulates inside the business and gets paid every three months.

That gap has a name in finance: a float. Money that belongs to someone else, sitting in your account, available to smooth over whatever comes up in the meantime.

Most business owners have never thought of it that way. They just know that quarterly super payments are a larger hit, and the weeks in between feel a little easier.

That's the float working. Silently.

From 1 July, it's gone. Super leaves the account the same day wages do. The quarterly buffer disappears, permanently, and the cash cycle tightens in one step.

Employment Hero modelling puts the average working capital impact at approximately $124k per employer - though that number varies significantly depending on payroll size and cycle. The point isn't the figure. The point is that this is a real working capital shift, not a paperwork adjustment.

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Two changes landing at the same time

There's a second problem arriving on the same date that's getting almost no coverage.

The ATO's Small Business Superannuation Clearing House - the free government service around 250,000 small businesses have used to process super payments — is being permanently decommissioned on 1 July 2026.

That means businesses that have relied on SBSCH need to find a commercial alternative, set it up, and test it before the deadline. Not on the day. Before.

For businesses already dealing with the cashflow mechanics of Payday Super, this is a second operational task with the same deadline. Both require action in the next few weeks.

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Who feels it most

The change hits hardest in sectors with high payroll costs relative to margins. In the trades and construction sector, labour is often the largest cost line. A builder running a team of five tradespeople carries a meaningful super obligation every fortnight. Under the old system, that obligation sat in the business for up to three months before it left. Under Payday Super, it leaves on day one of each pay cycle.

Hospitality operators running thin margins face the same dynamic. Healthcare and allied health practices with employed clinicians and admin staff are in the same position - high payroll costs, fixed billing cycles, limited flexibility on the revenue side.

The businesses that feel it least are those with strong cash reserves, low headcount, or a very short billing-to-receipt cycle. Most SMEs are not in that category.

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What the next five weeks actually require

The conversations worth having before 1 July are not complicated, but they do need to happen.

First, model the impact. Look at your current payroll, calculate what the quarterly super outflow looks like, and work out what it means spread across each pay cycle. The number might be manageable. It might not be. Either way, knowing it before July is better than discovering it after.

Second, if you use the SBSCH, sort out a replacement now. This is a practical task that has a hard deadline. SuperStream-compliant payroll software, a commercial clearing house, or a payroll provider — your accountant can advise on options.

Third, if the modelling shows a genuine cashflow gap in July or August, that's worth discussing early. Lenders are more receptive to working capital conversations before a problem appears in the bank statements than after.

This isn't a crisis for most businesses. It's a timing shift. But timing shifts that businesses don't plan for have a habit of becoming something else.

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The bigger picture

The businesses that navigate July cleanly will be the ones that saw it coming. Not because they're better operators - because they took thirty minutes to model what it means for their numbers.

Payday Super is designed to protect employees. That's the right outcome. But for SMEs carrying thin margins and limited cash reserves, the transition quarter is a genuine risk window. Five weeks is still enough time to prepare. It probably isn't enough time to fix a problem that's already there.

If you'd like to talk through what the cashflow impact looks like for your business, we're happy to run through it. We work alongside your existing accountant - this is the kind of modelling that sits between the compliance work they handle and the day-to-day cashflow picture you're managing.

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Allied Solutions is a business advisory firm based in Busselton, Western Australia. We work with Southwest based SME owner-operators across various industries including trades and construction, allied health, agribusiness, and hospitality.