A Datapay payroll migration is rarely just a technical exercise. For Ritchies Transport, it was a compliance challenge first and Alxemy was embedded from extraction to go-live.
The Challenge
When Ritchies Transport made the decision to move from MYOB Exo to Datapay, the goal was clear. Modernise payroll, improve compliance, and move quickly.
But the path to go-live was anything but straightforward.
The migration needed to happen under time pressure, with a financial year-end audit approaching and a requirement to provide a best-estimate leave liability for Finance. At the same time, the existing system held data gaps that complicated everything. Missing hours, inconsistent employee records, and work patterns that were not available for all staff.
Moving payroll systems is rarely just a technical exercise. For Ritchies Transport, it was a compliance challenge first.
The Complication
MYOB Exo had served its purpose, but it was not built for the weeks-based annual leave treatment that Datapay requires under the NZ Holidays Act.
Converting annual leave balances from a days- or dollar-based approach to a weeks-based format required more than a formula. It required a clear definition of what a week meant for each employee, and that definition looked different depending on their work pattern.
Variable Roster Employees
Actual days and weeks worked had to be analysed to establish the definition of a working week for each employee on a variable roster.
Standard Salaried Staff
For employees on a five-day week, a different approach applied, simpler in structure but still requiring validation against the data held in MYOB.
Percentage or Dollar-Based Accrual Cohort
A specific cohort required its own conversion logic entirely, separate from the approaches applied to other employee groups.
Compounding this, MYOB did not reliably hold the full hours data that Datapay’s weeks-based calculations depend on. Hours had to be estimated and derived, with every assumption documented to support the leave liability assessment Finance needed for the audit.
What Alxemy Did
Alxemy embedded alongside the Ritchies Transport project team to manage the Datapay payroll migration from extraction to go-live.
Data Migration
Actual days and weeks worked had to be analysed to establish the definition of a working week for each employee on a variable roster.
Annual Leave Conversion and Leave Liability Support
For employees on a five-day week, a different approach applied, simpler in structure but still requiring validation against the data held in MYOB.
Automation and Quality Assurance
To manage the volume and complexity of the data, macros were developed to generate 52-week earnings outputs per employee. These covered average weekly earnings, ordinary weekly pay, definition of week, and accrued, outstanding, and advance leave balances. QA checks were run throughout to surface and resolve data issues carried over from MYOB.
Testing, Parallel Runs, and Go-Live Readiness
A structured testing programme was built using a Jira board with NZ-standard payroll test cases. Alxemy supported testing execution, captured and triaged issues with the vendor, and ran parallel payroll checks to validate outputs before go-live. Sign-off reporting was prepared to give the project team and leadership confidence at each stage.
The Outcome
Ritchies Transport completed the Datapay payroll migration with the data quality, compliance logic, and delivery structure needed to go live with confidence.
For the Finance Team
The finance team had the leave liability outputs they needed ahead of the year-end audit, documented, defensible, and delivered on time.
For the Payroll Team
The payroll team had a tested, validated system and the knowledge to run it. The complexity of the Holidays Act, often the hardest part of any NZ payroll migration, was worked through methodically, with every assumption documented and every cohort accounted for.
When the pressure was highest, the structure held.
Every payroll migration comes with its own version of complexity.
Whether it is a tight deadline, a compliance gap, or data that does not quite add up, Alxemy has seen it before and knows how to work through it.
If you are planning a payroll system change and want to talk through what good preparation looks like, we are happy to have that conversation.
