ProviderQMS

Workforce & payroll

Employment Hero vs Sandwai

Compare the published scope, cost evidence and buying questions before you commit.

Sources checked 2026-09-24 · Source-based comparison

Vendor-source research, not hands-on tests or a ranked endorsement. ProviderQMS sells document kits and a separate QMS product. No vendor enquiry collection or affiliate source links. How we compare.

The decision to make

Employment Hero and Sandwai both appear in our workforce & payroll research. Connect availability, skills, shifts, approved time and the payroll handoff. Start with the differences below, then test the same essential workflow. We have not used these products hands-on or established an overall winner.

Employment Hero vs Sandwai: the published starting point
Buying questionEmployment HeroSandwai
What does it do?Employment Hero combines HR, rostering, time and attendance and payroll. Its Australian help centre documents shift roles and certifications, roster audits and timesheet costing.Sandwai serves Australian home and disability care providers with connected office, worker and family applications. Its NDIS workflow links support scheduling to travel and claiming information.
Why consider it here?General Australian HR/payroll support tool relevant to disability employers, without verified participant-management functions.Vendor explicitly names plan-managed, self-managed and NDIA-managed NDIS clients.
What is the cost basis?Current price not verified; request a written quote.Vendor describes a monthly SaaS subscription; current price not verified, so request a written quote.
What should the demo show?Configure a SCHADS worker's split shifts and trace approved hours into payroll costs.Roster a preferred worker and replacement for a plan-managed participant, then trace travel, note and claim information.

Compare the evidence, product by product

Employment Hero — published capabilities

  • roster templates and availability
  • roles and certifications on shifts
  • shift and roster audit reports
  • payroll-linked timesheet costs

Source check: 2026-09-24. Published vendor statements, not independent feature testing.

Questions for Employment Hero

  • Which SCHADS award rules are supported in this plan?
  • Can expired credentials prevent publishing?
  • How do roster and payroll modules differ by subscription?
Read the full Employment Hero profile ↗

Sandwai — published capabilities

  • NDIS line-item and funding management
  • Worker matching and schedule optimisation
  • Support worker mobile schedules and notes
  • Travel distance and time capture for billing

Source check: 2026-09-24. Published vendor statements, not independent feature testing.

Questions for Sandwai

  • How are cancelled visits and non-labour costs represented in claims?
  • Which mobile fields work without reception?
  • How are NDIS and home-care funding kept separate for one client?
Read the full Sandwai profile ↗

Run the same scenario in both

Build a fictional weekend roster with a shift change and travel. Approve the actual hours and reconcile the payroll export with the roster.

  • Match worker availability and required credentials to the proposed shift.
  • Change a shift and confirm who receives the update and acknowledges it.
  • Inspect the treatment of actual times, breaks, allowances and travel.
  • Validate payroll outputs with your payroll specialist; retain the approval history.

Put the quotes on the same basis

Compare active employee definitions, payroll modules, minimum seats, integration fees, onboarding and support.

Use the same volumes, currency, GST basis and billing period for both quotes. Include migration, staff training time, required companion subscriptions and the cost of retrieving records at exit. If a charge is unverified, keep it as an open question rather than treating it as free.

How to reach a decision

  1. Choose the tasks your service cannot operate without before either demonstration.
  2. Record demonstrated, partial, not demonstrated or not applicable for each task. Keep the evidence and edition name.
  3. Ask the vendor to resolve every failed essential task in writing; a high average score cannot erase it.
  4. Test a correction, permission change and export. These are part of everyday operations, not just implementation.
  5. Decide using workflow fit, full cost and your team’s capacity to change systems. Retain the written assumptions for review.

What this comparison does not establish

Workforce software is a supporting system. A claimed award feature is not a guarantee of correct payroll for your employment arrangements. A capability not mentioned in the reviewed source remains unverified, not absent. This comparison does not certify compliance, integrations, accessibility, security or migration outcomes.