How are Australian small businesses managing payroll and award requirements these days?

I’m trying to get a better sense of how other small business owners in Australia are managing payroll and award requirements without getting buried in admin. I’m talking about the usual Fair Work complexities like public holiday and weekend rates, higher duties, allowances, overtime and all the little edge cases that can trip you up, especially once your team grows a bit.

If you’re running a business in retail, hospitality, healthcare, construction or anything similar, how are you actually handling this stuff day to day? Are you relying on spreadsheets, using whatever your accounting software provides, outsourcing payroll or using a dedicated system that handles awards properly?

I’m not asking for anyone’s personal financial advice, just hoping to hear what’s been practical for people who deal with award-heavy environments regularly. It’d be great to hear what’s worked for you and what hasn’t.