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AccountRight Plus and Premier (v2018.2 and later), Australia only

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Known issue 01/07/2020 - Leave error in AccountRight 2020.2

Are you seeing an error like this when processing leave for an employee in the new payroll year?

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This is because the employees' leave balances haven't carried over from last payroll year, but they will when you record your first pay.

So, in most cases you can ignore this warning and process the pays as normal.

When you record the pay, your employees' leave balances will carry over from the previous payroll year.

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From AccountRight 2020.2 onwards, there's no need to close the payroll year so we've removed that option from the File menu.

Stay compliant by using the latest AccountRight version, and see how we've simplifed your end of payroll year.


If you've been reporting your pays to the ATO via Single Touch Payroll, you need to finalise your payroll information by:

  • 14 July if you have 20 or more employees
  • 31 July if you have 19 or fewer employees.

This replaces the old payment summary process.

When you finalise:

  • you're letting the ATO know that you've completed all pays for the payroll year
  • the status of the employee's income statement in myGov changes to Tax ready so they can pre-fill and lodge their tax return.

 

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TitleBefore finalising
 

Once you've checked your year-to-date totals, you're ready to finalise.

 

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Learn everything you need to know about finalising your payroll information with our free eLearning.

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titleTo check year-to-date totals

To check year-to-date totals

Before finalising, it's a good idea to check the year-to-date (YTD) amounts you've sent to the ATO for the payroll year.

  1. Go to the Payroll command centre and click Payroll Reporting.
  2. Click Payroll Reporting Centre.
  3. Click the the EOFY Finalisation tab.
  4. Choose the Payroll year.

Check your YTD totals—there are a few ways you can do this:

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titleYTD total (at a glance)

Check the displayed Gross Payments (YTD) and PAYG withholding (YTD) amounts. These are the total amounts sent to the ATO for all your employees.
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titleYTD verification report

Click YTD verification report to display a PDF report showing the total of all ATO reporting category amounts sent to the ATO for all employees. This report works the same way as the payment summary verification report, so if you've used that report in the past you can use this new report in a similar way.
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Where are the RFBA amounts?

Here's an example YTD verification report:

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Here’s some things to note when you’re viewing this report:

  • The Reconciliation to Payroll section is not sent to the ATO. It shows total gross wages which you'll also see in the Payroll Summary report in AccountRight. This amount will differ from the total gross wages reported to the ATO, as it doesn’t include Allowances, CDEP, Foreign Income, ETP components (not ETP Tax), Lump Sum values or any additional reimbursable/employee expenses.
  • The ATO Reporting Category section lists the things that have been submitted to the ATO.
  • The Total STP gross wages (in the ATO Reporting Category section) doesn't include allowances, such as JobKeeper amounts. This amount should be the same as what's shown in your Payroll Summary report in AccountRight, minus any allowances or the other pay components which are listed in the Reconciliation to Payroll section.
  • An employee's reportable fringe benefit amounts are reported to the ATO when you finalise, so these won't display on the YTD verification report until after
they're finalised
  • you've completed the finalisation.
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titleSummary of payments (employee level)

Run the Summary of payments report in the Payroll Reporting Centre (click the ellipsis Image Modified button for an employee and choose Download report(PDF)). This PDF report shows a summary of all ATO reporting category amounts sent to the ATO for an employee (gross payments, PAYG withholding, allowances, etc.). It might look like it, but this report is not a payment summary.
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Where are the RFBA amounts? An employee's reportable fringe benefit amounts are reported to the ATO when you finalise, so won't display on the summary of payments report until after they're finalised.

 

What if something looks wrong?

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titleCheck your ATO reporting categories

Check that your payroll categories have been assigned the correct ATO reporting category. Display the Payroll Category List window (Payroll command centre > Payroll Categories) to see what's been assigned and to check that your assignments are correct.

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If you make changes to your ATO reporting categories you'll need to process a $0 pay to update your STP details.

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titleCheck your payroll register report

Use the Employee Payroll Register Detail report to confirm the accuracy of the Gross Payment amounts reported on your employees' Summary of payments reports. Compare the YTD Total Wages amount with the Gross Payments amount on each employee's Summary of payments report.

ReportDescription
Payroll Register DetailThe total wages include all payroll categories and doesn't reduce the total wages by any non-taxable deduction or wage categories, and payroll categories that don't have an ATO reporting category. See an example.
Summary of Payments

The gross payments amount is reduced by any non-taxable deduction or wage categories, and payroll categories that don't have an ATO reporting category. See an example.

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titleEnter a $0 pay

To ensure the latest year-to-date amounts are sent to the ATO for an employee, you can record a $0 (a zero dollar or void) pay for them. It's like a regular pay but you'll remove all hours and amounts. When the $0 pay is recorded, confirm the prompts that you're voiding the pay then send the details to the ATO. The employee's YTD amounts are then sent to the ATO.

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titleTo finalise Single Touch Payroll information

Finalising your Single Touch Payroll information is done in just a few clicks.

 

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titleClick here to see finalisation in action!

 

  1. Go to the Payroll command centre and click Payroll Reporting.
  2. Click Payroll Reporting Centre.

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    If this button says Connect to ATO, it means the company file hasn't been set up for Single Touch Payroll, or you haven't added yourself as a declarer for STP.

  3. Click the EOFY Finalisation tab and choose the Payroll year you're finalising.
  4. If you need to report fringe benefits for an employee (what is this?):
    1. Click the ellipsis button for the employee and choose Enter RFBA.
    2. Enter in both the:

      • Reportable fringe benefits amount $

      • Reportable fringe benefits amount exempt from FBT under section 57A $
        The combined value of these must be above the thresholds set by the ATO.

    3. Click Add amounts.
  5. Select each employee you want to finalise, then click Set as Final.
  6. Enter the name of the Authorised sender and click Send.

What's next?

Each employee that has been finalised will have the Final indicator ticked in the payroll reporting centre. You can let these employees know that they can now sign in to myGov to complete their tax returns.

You can now close your payroll year and update the PAYG tax tables. You'll then be Providing you've installed the latest AccountRight version, you're ready to start processing pays from 1 July for the new payroll year.

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Receiving JobKeeper payments?

Don't forget you need to provide monthly declarations to the ATO about your current and next month's turnover under the JobKeeper scheme.

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STP reports different to the ATO's Business Portal?

The Business Portal shows every pay run declared through STP, including adjustments. So, in most cases, the Business Portal may not match your STP reports.

For more details, see the FAQ below, Why don't my STP reports match the ATO's Business Portal?

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<h2><i class="fa fa-comments"></i>&nbsp;&nbsp;FAQs</h2><br>

What if I've terminated an employee before setting up Single Touch Payroll reporting?

If you terminated an employee during the 2018-19 financial year before you started using Single Touch Payroll, you might need to prepare a payment summary. This depends on whether the employee’s final pay was an Employment Termination Payment (ETP) or not.

If the final pay:

If you weren't using AccountRight when you terminated the employee, complete a manual payment summary for them using forms available from the ATO
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titleWhat if I've terminated an employee before setting up Single Touch Payroll reporting?
Why don't my STP reports match the ATO's Business Portal?

Why don't my STP reports match the ATO's Business Portal?

Each STP report sent to the ATO includes the employer pay period information and the employee year-to-date (YTD) amounts.

As the ATO doesn't allow you to delete these reports, the Business Portal will show every pay run declared through STP, including ones that you have deleted or reversed in your software.

So, in most cases, if you've made payroll adjustments the Business Portal may not match your STP reports.

It's still a good idea to check year-to-date totals in AccountRight before finalising. See To check year-to-date totals, above.

If you've

terminated employees before setting up STP see finalising payroll for employees terminated before using STP. 

 

If you've checked these things and an employee still isn't showing, record a $0 (zero dollar) pay for employee. Remove all hours and amounts from the pay. When the $0 pay is recorded, you'll be prompted to declare and send the details to the ATO. The employee's YTD amounts are then sent to the ATO and the employee will appear in the finalisation list.

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titleWhy is an employee missing from the EOFY Finalisation list?

Why is an employee missing from the EOFY Finalisation list?

Only employees who have been paid in the current payroll year appear in the EOFY Finalisation list. If an employee isn't listed, check that:

  • the employee's Employment Basis is set to Individual or Labour Hire. You'll find this setting in the Payroll Details tab > Personal Details of the employee's card. Employees set as Other won't appear in the list.
  • at least one pay been recorded for the year, after setting up STP.
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titleHow do I undo a finalisation?

How do I undo a finalisation?

Yes, you can undo an employee's finalisation. When you do, the employee's income statement in myGov will no longer be Tax ready so they won't be able to pre-fill and lodge their tax return.

  1. Go to the Payroll command centre and click Payroll Reporting.
  2. Click Payroll Reporting Centre.
  3. Click the EOFY Finalisation tab.
  4. Choose the Payroll year.
  5. Click the ellipsis button for the employee and choose Remove finalisation.
  6. Enter the name of the Authorised sender and click Send. The Final indicator tick is removed for the employee. If it's still there, click a different tab then return to the EOFY Finalisation tab.
  7. When you're ready, you can finalise the employee again.

Will there be a problem if I've reported via STP as well as prepared payments summaries?

No, this won't cause any issues or double-ups. Just remember next year you won
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titleWill there be a problem if I've reported via STP as well as prepared payments summaries?
Do I have to prepare payment summaries as well as finalising my payroll year?

Do I have to prepare payment summaries as well as finalising my payroll year?

If you've been reporting via STP, you don't need to prepare payment summaries or lodge the EMPDUPE file with the ATO. Your employees will have access to their year-to-date payroll information by signing in to myGov.

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titleWhat if I have duplicated ETP amounts?

What if I have duplicated ETP amounts?

You can delete duplicated ETP amounts from the payroll reporting centre. For all the details, see Deleting an employment termination payment.

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titleRelated topics

About Single Touch Payroll reporting

Terminate an employee in Single Touch Payroll reporting

Reportable fringe benefits (RFBA) with Single Touch Payroll reporting

Deleting an employment termination payment