XBert Type: Standard
Accounting Software: Xero
Country Restriction: Australia only
Risk Type: Payroll Risk
Business Function: Payroll
Overview
The "Monthly Employee Super Contribution check" XBert reviews each employee's pay for the previous month and checks that the right amount of Super Guarantee (SG) was worked out and recorded. Underpaying super can lead to ATO penalties and extra charges, and it short-changes your team. Catching a shortfall early lets you fix it before it becomes overdue.
What it does
This XBert:
Looks at the pay runs that were paid during the previous calendar month
Works out the super that should have been paid on each employee's ordinary time earnings (OTE)
Uses the official Super Guarantee rate for that period (currently 12%) to calculate the expected super
Compares that figure with the super actually recorded on the payslip
Raises an alert when an employee's super for the month looks short and cannot be explained
How it works
Each month, once the previous month's super has fallen due, XBert reviews every employee's pay for that month. It adds up the super-eligible ordinary time earnings, multiplies them by the Super Guarantee rate for the period, and compares the result with the super recorded on the payslip.
An alert is only raised when an employee's super genuinely cannot be matched to what was expected. XBert deliberately leaves out pays that are correct or have a legitimate explanation, including:
Terminated employees
Employees under 18
Employees over 70
JobKeeper top-ups and WorkCover payments
Leave loading and small rounding differences
Pays where the recorded super already meets or exceeds the expected amount
Focusing only on genuine mismatches keeps false alerts low, so a flagged employee is one worth checking.
Example/Use Case
Sarah manages payroll for a small cafe. She recently set up a new "Weekend Penalty" pay item but forgot to mark it as super-eligible. For her chef, David, who earns about $4,800 a month including penalty rates, this meant his super was calculated on his base wage only. Instead of around $576 of super for the month, just $470 was recorded — a shortfall of roughly $106. XBert flagged David's pay, Sarah corrected the pay item's super setting, and the super was topped up before it became overdue with the ATO.
Accounting software
Xero only.
Which countries it supports
Australia only.
Processes
This XBert falls under the Payroll – Superannuation business area.
To resolve it:
Open the flagged employee's pay for the previous month and review their super-eligible (ordinary time) earnings
Check that each relevant pay item is correctly marked as super-eligible in your payroll settings
Confirm the Super Guarantee rate applied is correct for the period (currently 12%)
If super was underpaid, process a super adjustment or top-up so the correct amount is recorded, and pay it before it becomes overdue with the ATO
If the super is actually correct (for example, a valid exemption or adjustment), no change is needed
Once you have reviewed and corrected anything needed, mark the XBert as resolved
Checking super every month helps you stay compliant with your ATO obligations, keep your super liabilities accurate, and treat your employees fairly.