BankIT – Put Money Aside Between Contracts
BankIT is a PayMe Australia service that lets contractors set money aside from their pay while they are working, so they stay paid through the periods they are on holidays or between contracts. It is a way of smoothing contractor income across the year — not an employment entitlement and not annual leave.
What is BankIT?
Contract work pays for the hours you work. Take a fortnight off over Christmas and there is nothing coming in, even though the mortgage, the rent and the car payment keep going.
BankIT is PayMe's answer to that. While you are working, an agreed amount is set aside from your pay. When you take time off, that money is paid out to you, so there is still money arriving on your usual pay cycle.
How BankIT works
BankIT is set up with your PayMe payroll contact, who confirms the amount and how it will be released before it starts. It is your money from your pay, held aside for a period you have chosen — nothing is invested and nothing is locked into a product.
- Step 1
Decide what to set aside
Talk to your named PayMe contact about an amount per pay that suits your rate and the time you plan to take off.
- Step 2
It comes out of your pay while you work
The agreed amount is held aside each pay cycle and appears on your payslip, alongside your taxable wage, PAYG withholding and superannuation.
- Step 3
It is paid to you when you take the time off
During the holiday, shutdown or gap you were saving for, the banked amount is released through your normal pay run so money keeps arriving.
- Step 4
Adjust it as your contracts change
If your rate, hours or plans change, tell your PayMe contact and the arrangement can be changed to match.
BankIT isn't annual leave
This is worth being direct about. Annual leave is a paid entitlement your employer funds on top of your wage. BankIT is not that: it is your own pay, set aside for later. It does not create any leave entitlement, and it does not change your engagement with your recruitment company.
What it does is remove the planning problem. Casual and contract roles usually carry a higher rate precisely because they do not include paid leave, and BankIT is how you turn part of that rate into money that is there when you stop working.
Why contractors use BankIT
The situations come up over and over in Australian contracting, and they are almost always predictable months in advance.
- Christmas and January shutdowns, when the client site closes whether you wanted the break or not.
- A family holiday that is already booked and paid for.
- The gap between one contract finishing and the next one starting.
- Planned time away — a wedding, a move, school holidays, a medical procedure.
- Simply making income more predictable across a year of variable hours.
Read the longer explanation in BankIT: empowering contractors with income continuity and No holiday leave? Problem solved with BankIT.
BankIT FAQs
What is BankIT?
BankIT is a PayMe service that sets an agreed amount aside from a contractor's pay while they are working, and pays it out during the periods they are on holidays or between contracts, so income keeps arriving.
Is BankIT annual leave?
No. Annual leave is a paid entitlement funded by an employer. BankIT is your own pay held aside for later at your request. It does not create a leave entitlement and does not change your engagement with your recruitment company.
Can contractors use BankIT between contracts?
Yes — that is one of the main reasons contractors use it. Money set aside while you were working can be released across the gap between one placement finishing and the next starting.
Can I choose how much to put aside?
Yes. You agree the amount per pay with your named PayMe payroll contact based on your rate and the time you expect to take off, and it can be adjusted if your circumstances change.
When can I access my BankIT money?
The banked amount is released through your normal pay run for the period you set it aside for. Talk to your PayMe payroll contact about the timing so it lines up with when you stop working.
What happens to BankIT if my contract ends?
The money is yours. Speak with your PayMe payroll contact and it can be paid out to you or held for the gap before your next placement, whichever suits you.
Related pages
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