welcome to our newsletter
Abtrac Times : September Issue
This is the place for Abtrac clients to stay up to date with the latest features, news and insights.
Reethu John
Analyst Programmer
+ Software Developer
Hello,
This week we're at the S+SNZ Conference. If you're attending, be sure to come and say hello to the Abtrac team.
In this newsletter we're also inviting you to take part in our Payroll Survey. It's to help us better understand the payroll systems used across the Abtrac community.
And we're showcasing the Jobs Close to Budget report, covering upcoming changes to surcharging rules, and taking a tour of the Abtrac + Xero connection.
Reethu
Meet the Abtrac Team
See You at the Survey & Spatial NZ Conference
We're looking forward to attending the S+SNZ Conference at the Cordis Hotel in Auckland from 9–11 September.
This year’s theme, Going to the Next Level, brings together surveying and spatial professionals to explore the latest developments in technology, AI, infrastructure, practice management and the future of the industry.
If you're attending, come and introduce yourself.
It's always a pleasure to meet our clients in person, hear how you're using Abtrac, and chat about what's happening in your business and across the industry.
Reports
Keep an eye on projects approaching budget
The Projects Close to Their Budget Allocation report highlights current projects that are within 20% of their budget or have already gone over, helping project managers spot potential issues before they become bigger problems.
You can also filter the report by Job Manager or Office, and focus specifically on projects with unbilled WIP.
It's a useful report to include in your regular project and WIP reviews.
Update to online payments rules
Changes to Surcharge rules for Australian Businesses
Following a Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) review, from 1 October 2026 Australian merchants will no longer be able to apply surcharges to Visa, Mastercard, American Express and eftpos payments processed through Abtrac + Stripe Payments.
If you're an Australian business using Stripe Payment Links in Abtrac, and you've enabled the option to pass Stripe processing fees on to your clients, you'll need to manually disable this setting before 1 October 2026.
From that date, separate surcharges on Visa, Mastercard, Eftpos and American Express card payments will no longer be permitted in Australia. Go to Administration > Settings > Invoices and Other Office Settings > from Stripe Settings remove "Pass on the Stripe processing charges to the customers"
From this date your Abtrac subscription invoices (in all countries, including Austalia and New Zealand) will no longer incur a 1.5% payment processing fee when paying via credit card.
Good news - No more card processing fee on your subscription payments
From 1 October 2026, Abtrac subscription invoices — in all countries, including Australia and New Zealand — will no longer incur a 1.5% payment processing fee when paying by credit card.
Survey
What Payroll Software Do You Use?
We’re asking Abtrac users to share their experience with payroll software - which system you use, what works for you, and what you'd change
Complete the survey and go in the draw to win a $50 Bunnings voucher.
It should only take a few minutes to complete.
We’re particularly interested in hearing from firms using different payroll systems, whether you’re using an existing Abtrac integration or transferring timesheet information to your payroll system another way.
The more responses we receive, the better picture we’ll have of the payroll solutions being used across the Abtrac community.
Help us find out what other Abtrac clients are using
We’re often asked, “What payroll software do other Abtrac users use?” or “What would you recommend?”
This survey will help us answer those questions with real experiences from the Abtrac community.
If there are clear trends or a particular system that comes highly recommended, your feedback may also help us decide which payroll integrations to investigate in the future.
We may use the software name and general feedback in an future newsletter. We won’t publish any information that could identify you or your business.
Already sharing Abtrac timesheets to your payroll?
We'd still like to hear from you.
Off the shelf, Abtrac integrates with:
Xero Payroll in New Zealand and Australia
MYOB Business Payroll in Australia.
You can also use custom mapping and our CSV payroll export to extract timesheet data from Abtrac and import it into your payroll system.
Meet the Abtrac Team
We’re Exhibiting at NZ Tech Expo
On 18 September, the Abtrac team will be joining New Zealand's technology and business community at Shed 10 in Auckland.
We'll be in the SaaS Technology area, connecting with industry peers, sharing ideas and exploring new developments across the software landscape.
For us, it's not just about seeing what's new.
It's about bringing fresh insights back to Abtrac, helping us improve our platform and continue delivering greater value for our clients.
These conversations often spark new ideas and perspectives that shape how we continue to evolve our products and services.
If you're attending, come and say hello.
We'd love to catch up.
Learn with Abtrac:
Webinar: Connecting Xero and Abtrac
Getting your Abtrac + Xero connection set up and working smoothly
Connecting Abtrac to Xero helps keep your project management and accounting workflows working together. In this session, we’ll look at how to connect the two systems and configure the settings that control how invoices and client information are shared.
This session is ideal for directors, administrators, finance teams and anyone responsible for managing the Abtrac + Xero connection or sharing invoices between the two systems.
In this session we'll cover:
How Abtrac and Xero work together
The most common method for managing project billing in Abtrac and sharing invoices and contacts with Xero
Setting up the rules for matching and creating Xero contacts
Choosing which Abtrac information is shared as the Xero invoice reference
Configuring tax codes, account codes and invoice settings for Xero
Setting up Xero Tracking Categories and advanced account code mapping
Watch On Demand
Our September webinar will be released on 21 September 2026 as a pre-recorded session.
Register below and we’ll send you the webinar link as soon as it becomes available.