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Australia only

AccountRight calculates the amount of superannuation you need to pay on behalf of your employees, but on occasions the figure calculated might appear to be wrong. This page guides you through the areas you need to check, and how to adjust incorrect superannuation amounts.

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Having trouble with a Pay Super payment? See Troubleshooting Pay Super payments.

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titleTo check that the superannuation category is set up correctly

To check that the superannuation category is set up correctly

  1. Go to the Payroll command centre and click Payroll Categories.
  2. Click the Superannuation tab then click the zoom arrow next to the Superannuation Guarantee category. This category usually relates to the compulsory superannuation required to be paid by employers. If you have multiple funds, you'll need to check each fund in turn.
  3. Check the details of the category based on the following example.
    This is an example only based on the Superannuation Guarantee category that exists in your software by default. Your business circumstances and current legislation may require different setup. Speak to your accounting advisor or the relevant wage authority.
    Example super guarantee category setup

    Linked Expense AccountUsually set to an expense account of your choice. Check with your accounting advisor if unsure.
    Linked Payable AccountUsually set to a liability account of your choice. Check with your accounting advisor if unsure.
    Contribution TypeThis is the type of superannuation, such as Superannuation Guarantee or Salary Sacrifice. This selection determines whether the contribution is paid in addition to gross pay, or deducted from gross or net pay.
    Calculation BasisUsually set to 9.5% of Gross Wages (as of 01/07/2014). Note - if this is set to Base Hourly, it will not cater for employees on Base Salary. Likewise, if it's set to Base Salary, it will not cater for employees on Base Hourly.
    ExclusionsThis is for amounts that should be excluded from the calculation, for example salary sacrifice amounts.Usually left as $0.00.
    LimitUsed to set a limit (or cap) for super contributions. This is usually set to No Limit., but check with the ATO if unsure.
    ThresholdUsed to set a monthly wage threshold before super will be calculated. For example, superannuation guarantee contributions will only be calculated after earning $450 in a month.
  4. Click Employee and select all employees entitled to this superannuation.
  5. Click OK to return to the Superannuation Information window.
  6. Click Exempt and ensure only the appropriate categories have been made exempt. In other words only select a category if you don't want superannuation to calculate on that particular wage category.
  7. Click OK to return to the Superannuation Information window.
  8. Click OK and exit to the Payroll command centre.
  9. Click Process Payroll to test whether this category is working. Ensure the date of the pay is the 1st of the following month as no pays will have been written for that month. This way any prior pays will not influence superannuation calculations.
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titleTo check that previous superannuation calculations were correct

To check that previous superannuation calculations were correct

  1. Go to the Reports menu and choose Index to Reports.
  2. Click the Payroll tab.
  3. Select the Register Detail report (under the Employees heading) then click Advanced Filters.
  4. Select All Employees and select Year-to-Date as the period.
  5. Click Run Report.
  6. Check that the superannuation amounts are correct for each employee. 
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titleHow is superannuation calculated?

How is superannuation calculated?

In a given month, superannuation is calculated on an employee's pay as follows:

The amount of pay for the month MULTIPLIED by the current super rate (9.5%) MINUS super already calculated for that month.

The super calculation also takes into account any adjustments made to an employee's super for a given month.

Here's an example of how a super adjustment affects the super calulation in an employee's pay for a given month:

(MTD = Month to date)

Week

Pay

MTD Pays

MTD Super

Super in Pay

1

$1,000

$1,000

$95

$95

2

$1,000

$2,000

$190

$95

Super adjustment of $50

 

$240

 

3

$1,000

$3,000

$285

$45

This shows that despite the employee being paid the same amount each week, the super calculation in week 3 takes into account the super adjustment. This ensures the correct amount of super is paid to an employee for any given month.

Fixing incorrect super calculations from previous months

If the incorrect super calculation is from a previous payroll year, check with your accounting advisor before attempting to correct this in your software.

If there are only a few incorrect pays, it is best to delete and re-enter these. If these pays have been previously reconciled, make sure that you reconcile the bank account again. For more information on this see Reconciling your bank accounts.

If there are many incorrect transactions, it may be easier to make correcting entries. You will need to enter a $0.00 pay known as a VOID pay for each employee and each month in which the wrong amount of super was paid.

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titleTo fix a super payment

To fix a super payment

  1. Start a new pay run for the employee.
  2. Enter the pay Memo as "Super adjustment" or similar. The date should be entered as the last day of the month.
  3. Enter wage amounts as zero.
  4. Zero out all sick leave and holiday pay accrual amounts.

When you process the pay, the software will automatically calculate the amount of superannuation needed to adjust your employee's super to the new correct amount providing it is for the current month. Should the adjustments relate to prior months the figures will need to be entered manually in the Pay Employee window. These pays will appear as VOID in your accounts.

See our example below.

Pay employee window with zero net pay and super amount entered

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<h2><i class="fa fa-comments"></i>&nbsp;&nbsp;Super calculation FAQs</h2><br>
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titleWhy is an employee earning zero super?

Why is an employee earning zero super?

There are 3 things which can cause this:

  • The Limit in the superannuation category is set to zero. See To check that the superannuation category is set up correctly above for more details.
  • The employee hasn't earned $450 for the month. Superannuation guarantee contributions will only be calculation after an employee earns $450 in a month.
  • A super adjustment was processed part way through the month. This can affect super calculations for that month. See How is superannuation calculated above for more details.
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titleWhat should I do if my employee earned zero superannuation on their first pay?

What should I do if my employee earned zero superannuation on their first pay?

If the amount earned by an employee for their first monthly pay is less than $450, no superannuation will be calculated. This is because in the Superannuation Information window for the Superannuation Guarantee contribution category, the wage threshold before superannuation is calculated is set to $450. When the employee receives their next monthly pay and their gross earning are above $450, superannuation will be calculated on the total gross amount of wages/salary earned. That is, the software will "catch up" on the superannuation amount because total gross wages/salary for the month are now greater than $450.

To check whether this is the case, go into Process Payroll and make the date of the pay the 1st of the following month as no pays will have been written in that month yet. In this way, any prior pays will not influence superannuation calculations. Make the gross pay greater than $450 and see if the superannuation is calculated. 

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titleThe Payroll History in an employee's card shows that some superannuation has already been calculated. Will this affect the calculation of superannuation?

The Payroll History in an employee's card shows that some superannuation has already been calculated. Will this affect the calculation of superannuation?

Yes. If the superannuation history for an employee has been previously adjusted, your software will calculate less or more superannuation to ensure that the amount being calculated is 9.5% of the gross amount of salary/wages.

To check this:

  1. Go to the Card File command centre and click Card List.
  2. Click the Employee tab and click the zoom arrow next to one of the employees whose superannuation is not calculating.
  3. Click the Payroll Details tab.
  4. Click Payroll History and view the amount allocated to superannuation for the month. For example, an employee earned $1000 for the month, but the superannuation calculated on the current pay is $40, not $95.00 ($1,000 x 9.5%). When you check the payroll history for the employee, you see that $55.00 has already been allocated to superannuation. As such, only $40 is calculated on the employee's pay to bring the total superannuation amount to $95.00.
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titleHow do I exempt a wage category from accruing super?

How do I exempt a wage category from accruing super?

Super might not be payable on certain wage categories. If you're unsure about whether a wage category should accrue super, check with the ATO.

To prevent super accruing on a wage category:

  1. Go to the Payroll command centre and click Payroll Categories.
  2. Click the Superannuation tab then click the zoom arrow next to the Superannuation Guarantee category.
  3. Click Exempt.
  4. Select the wage category to be exempted from accruing super.
  5. Click OK.
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titleWhy isn't super being calculated on a wage category?

Why isn't super being calculated on a wage category?

If you've set up a wage category which isn't accruing super, check the following.

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If you're unsure about whether a wage category should accrue super, check with the ATO.
  1. Go to the Payroll command centre and click Payroll Categories.
  2. Click the Superannuation tab then click the zoom arrow next to the Superannuation Guarantee category.
  3. Click Exempt.
  4. Ensure all wage categories which should be accruing super are not selected (super will not be calculated on any wage category selected here).
  5. Click OK.

 

 

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titleWhy is my salary sacrifice super calculating incorrectly?

Why is my salary sacrifice super calculating incorrectly?

If you have set up salary sacrifice to use a fixed percentage, the calculation will look at the total pay for the month and work out the amount to sacrifice. So, if your salary sacrifice is set up mid-month there may be previous pay amounts used in the calculation.

In these cases, manually enter the correct salary sacrifice amount when recording your pays. The following month the calculation will correct.

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titleRelated topics
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Superannuation

Employees with multiple super funds

Processing your payroll

Make superannuation payments

Troubleshooting Pay Super payments

Additional superannuation contributions

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