Payroll and super due, and the account is short

Running short on payroll is one of the worst feelings in business. Your team is counting on their pay, and the tax and super that go with wages carry some of the heaviest consequences if they’re missed. Here’s how secured private funding can help, and what to think about alongside it.

Why payroll obligations are different

Most bills can be negotiated. Payroll-related obligations are harder:

• Wages. Staff must be paid on time under their award or agreement.
• PAYG withholding. Tax withheld from wages belongs to the ATO, and unpaid amounts can make directors personally liable.
• Super. From 1 July 2026, payday super requires contributions to be paid with wages, with a short window to reach the fund. Late super can attract the super guarantee charge and director penalties.

That combination of employee impact and director risk is why payroll shortfalls deserve fast action.

How a secured private loan helps

If you own property with equity, a private lender can provide funds within days, sometimes the same day for smaller amounts. Common structures:

Need	Typical structure
One or two pay cycles, modest amount	Caveat loan for a short term
Payroll plus an ATO catch-up	Second mortgage covering both
Ongoing seasonal gaps	A secured facility sized to the gap, or a line of credit

Interest can often be capitalised, so the loan doesn’t add a repayment to an already stretched month.

The exit question

A lender will ask how the loan gets repaid. Strong answers in payroll situations include:

1. A large receivable that’s late but certain, such as a slow-paying customer or a progress claim
2. Seasonal income arriving in a known month
3. A planned property or asset sale
4. A refinance once financials are updated

A weak answer is “things will pick up.” If payroll is short every month, the business needs a cash flow plan, not just a loan.

Fix the cause, too

While the loan covers the immediate gap, look at why it happened:

• customers paying late, so tighten terms, invoice faster and follow up
• margins too thin, so review pricing
• growth outpacing cash, so consider a working capital facility sized to your growth
• tax and super catching up, so set up a separate account for them each pay run

Your accountant can help you build a cash flow forecast that shows the pressure points weeks ahead.

A worked example: the end-of-quarter crunch

A Brisbane labour hire business with 60 casual staff was owed $900,000 by a government contractor whose payments had been delayed by an internal audit. Wages ran weekly and a large super payment was due. Missing either would have meant staff walking off sites and, for super, exposure for the directors personally.

The directors owned their family home in Carindale with modest debt. A private lender advanced $350,000 on a second mortgage, settling in two business days once the bank’s payout figure and the home’s valuation were in hand. The lender’s interest was covered from the advance for six months, so the company didn’t have to find repayments while it waited on the receivable.

The overdue invoices were paid four months later. The company cleared the private loan and, on its adviser’s recommendation, put an invoice finance facility in place so a single slow payer couldn’t create the same pressure again.

Points to raise with your adviser

Payroll emergencies often sit alongside other obligations, so a quick conversation with your accountant can stop one problem from turning into two:

• Are PAYG withholding and super already overdue, and has the ATO been told?
• Could late super trigger the superannuation guarantee charge, which costs more than paying on time?
• Are directors exposed to a director penalty notice if amounts stay unpaid?
• Is the shortfall a one-off timing gap, or a sign the business needs restructuring?
• Would a payment plan with the ATO cover part of the need, reducing the loan size?

Borrowing to cover payroll makes sense when the money is coming and the gap is temporary. If the gap is permanent, borrowing only delays a harder decision.

Cover your people this week

Tell us the payroll amount, the date it’s due, any PAYG or super catch-up, the property available and how you’d repay. We’ll tell you quickly what’s achievable. There’s no credit check when you first enquire, and your details go to us, not to a list of lenders.

Accurate figures help us size the loan properly the first time. Start your enquiry, or see fast business loans for options without property, then get in touch.