Superannuation is one of the most important (and heavily penalised) employer obligations in Australia. Get it wrong, and you're liable for the Super Guarantee Charge (SGC) — which includes the shortfall, interest at 10%, and an administration fee, none of which are tax-deductible. This guide covers every aspect of configuring super in Odoo to keep your business compliant.
Super Guarantee basics for employers
- SG Rate for 2025-26 — 12% of Ordinary Time Earnings (OTE). The rate increases by 0.5% annually until it reaches 12% in 2025.
- Who's eligible — All employees aged 18+ (and under-18s who work 30+ hours/week). No minimum earnings threshold since 1 July 2022.
- Payment deadline — Super must be received by the employee's fund by the 28th of the month following the end of each quarter (28 Oct, 28 Jan, 28 Apr, 28 Jul).
- Maximum super contributions base — $65,070 per quarter for 2025-26. You don't have to pay SG on earnings above this cap (but you can).
- Contractors — Contractors paid principally for labour may be classified as employees for super purposes. Check the ATO's worker classification tool.
Step 1: Configure the SG rate in Odoo
- Go to Payroll → Configuration → Settings
- Set the Super Guarantee rate to the current financial year's rate (12% for 2025-26)
- Check this value at the start of each financial year — the rate changes annually
- Configure the maximum contributions base per quarter if you want Odoo to cap super calculations
Set a calendar reminder for 1 July each year to update the SG rate. Missing the rate change means underpaying super, which triggers the SGC.
Step 2: Understand OTE (Ordinary Time Earnings)
Super is calculated on OTE, not total gross pay. Getting OTE right is critical:
- Included in OTE: Base salary, commission and bonuses, paid leave (annual, sick, long service), shift loading, allowances related to ordinary hours
- Excluded from OTE: Overtime pay, workers' compensation payments, reimbursements, genuine redundancy payments (within tax-free limits)
- Grey areas: Some allowances may or may not be OTE depending on their nature. Travel allowances for ordinary work hours = OTE. Overtime meal allowances = not OTE.
In Odoo, configure each salary rule's OTE flag:
- Go to Payroll → Configuration → Salary Rules
- For each rule, check or uncheck the OTE flag
- Base salary, leave, bonuses, commissions → OTE = Yes
- Overtime → OTE = No
- Reimbursements → OTE = No
Step 3: Set up employee super funds
Each employee must have a nominated super fund:
- Go to the employee record → Private Information tab → Superannuation section
- Enter the fund name, USI (Unique Superannuation Identifier), and the employee's member number
- If the employee hasn't chosen a fund, use your business's default fund (or the employee's stapled super fund via ATO)
- From 1 November 2021, you must check for a stapled super fund via ATO Online services for new employees who don't nominate a fund
To look up an employee's stapled super fund, log into ATO Online services for business → Employee super accounts → Stapled super fund. You'll need the employee's TFN, name, and date of birth.
Step 4: Configure salary sacrifice
If employees want to salary sacrifice into super:
- Create a salary rule for Salary Sacrifice (Super)
- The sacrifice amount is deducted from gross pay before PAYG withholding (reducing taxable income)
- Salary sacrifice contributions are paid to the super fund as employer contributions (taxed at 15% in the fund)
- SG is still calculated on the pre-sacrifice OTE unless you have a specific salary sacrifice agreement that bases SG on post-sacrifice
- Report salary sacrifice separately in STP Phase 2
- Ensure the total of SG + salary sacrifice doesn't inadvertently exceed the employee's concessional contributions cap ($30,000 for 2025-26)
Step 5: Set up super payments
You don't pay each super fund individually. Use a Super Clearing House:
- ATO Small Business Super Clearing House — Free for businesses with 19 or fewer employees, or annual aggregated turnover under $10 million. You submit one payment and the clearing house distributes to individual funds.
- Commercial clearing houses — Beam, SuperChoice, QuickSuper. Better for larger businesses or those wanting automated integration.
- In Odoo, export the super payment file (CSV or SuperStream format) after each pay run
- Upload to your clearing house and make one bank payment
- Record the super payment in Odoo to clear the super liability account
Step 6: Quarterly reconciliation
At the end of each quarter, before the 28th of the following month:
- Run a super report in Odoo: Payroll → Reporting → Super Contributions
- Verify each employee's super matches 12% of their OTE for the quarter
- Check no employee exceeds the maximum contributions base
- Submit the payment through your clearing house
- Confirm the payment is received by the funds by the deadline (not just sent)
- Keep records — the ATO recommends keeping super records for 5 years
Pay super monthly (ideally when you process each pay run) rather than waiting until the quarterly deadline. This reduces the risk of missing the deadline and gives you a buffer if there are payment processing delays.
What happens if you get it wrong
The consequences of underpaying or late-paying super are severe:
- Super Guarantee Charge (SGC) — If super isn't paid in full by the quarterly deadline, you must lodge an SGC Statement and pay: the shortfall amount, 10% interest charge (not tax-deductible), $20 per employee per quarter administration fee
- Director penalties — Directors can be personally liable for unpaid SGC amounts
- Penalty for failure to lodge SGC statement — Up to 200% of the SGC amount
- No tax deduction — Late super paid via the SGC process is not tax-deductible, whereas on-time super payments are
The ATO actively audits super compliance and matches your STP data against fund receipts. Getting your Odoo super configuration right from day one avoids these costly penalties.