Last updated 21 July 2020

On 21 July the government announced proposed changes to JobKeeper including an extension through to 28 March 2021. These changes do not impact JobKeeper payments until after 28 September 2020.

We'll update this help topic in time for these changes.

Not seeing JobKeeper information for the 2020/2021 payroll year? This information will appear in the Payroll reporting centre and associated JobKeeper reports after you've processed the first pay in the new payroll year.

Before completing any of the setup tasks below, you'll need to enrol for JobKeeper with the ATO.

We'll start by creating an income account for the JobKeeper payments you receive.

1. Go to the Accounts command centre and click Accounts List.
2. Click the Income tab.
3. Click New. The Account Information window appears.
4. Enter an Account Number which suits your accounts list.
5. Enter the Account Name as JOBKEEPER SUBSIDY (NO GST).
   Here's our example:
   
6. Click the Details tab and choose N-T as the Tax Code.
7. Click OK.

You can now set up the required payroll wage category to ensure JobKeeper top-up payments are reported correctly to the ATO.

This wage category will be used for employees earning less than the JobKeeper payment amount, or those who've been stood down. These employees are required to be paid a top-up to bring their taxable gross to $1,500 per fortnight.

The new wage category must be named JOBKEEPER-TOPUP.

Let's set up the JOBKEEPER-TOPUP wage category:

1. Go to the Payroll command centre and click Payroll Categories.
2. On the Wages tab, click New. The Wages Information window appears.
3. For the Wages Name, enter this exact name: JOBKEEPER-TOPUP. The wage category name must match this (all capitals, with a hyphen and no spaces) to ensure it's accepted by the ATO for Single Touch Payroll reporting.
4. For the Type of Wages, select the Salary option (regardless of whether your employees are salaried or hourly based).

5. For the ATO Reporting Category , choose Allowance - Other. This is required by the ATO to ensure the payments are reported correctly through Single Touch Payroll reporting.
   Here's our example:
   
   
   

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   Optional expense account If you want to account for your JobKeeper top-up payments separately, you can create an expense account. You can then select the option Override Employees' Wage Expense Account in the wage category and choose the new expense account. Check with your MYOB Partner or accounting advisor if you're not sure if this is suitable for your business.

6. Click Employee, select the employees you'll be paying during the JobKeeper scheme, then click OK.

7. Click OK to save the wage category. 

This task is only applicable if you're not paying super on JobKeeper top-up payments. If you will be paying super on these payments you can skip this task.

Take a look at these fortnightly pay examples to see what super is typically paid on:

To stop super calculating on the JobKeeper top-up wage category

1. Go to the Payroll command centre and click Payroll Categories.
2. Click the Superannuation tab.
3. Click to open the Superannuation Guarantee category.
4. Click Exempt.
5. Select the JOBKEEPER-TOPUP wage category.
   
6. Click OK, then click OK again to save these changes.

When you need to report that an employee is eligible for JobKeeper, there's a simple step you need to do to let the ATO know via Single Touch Payroll.

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

3. Click the JobKeeper payments tab.

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   Can't see the JobKeeper payments tab? Close and reopen AccountRight.

4. Choose the applicable Payroll year.
5. Select an eligible employee.  

6. In the First JobKeeper fortnight list, choose the relevant fortnightly period during which your employee started receiving JobKeeper.
   

7. Repeat for each eligible employee.

8. Once you've selected all eligible employees, click Notify the ATO.

9. When prompted, enter the name of the authorised sender and click Send. 

If this is your first pay under JobKeeper, make sure you notify the ATO in the Single Touch Payroll reporting centre that you're starting to pay JobKeeper to all eligible employees. For details, see task 4 'Notify the ATO that you're starting to pay JobKeeper'.

1.  Go to the Payroll command centre and click Process Payroll.
2. Choose who you're paying and the pay dates, then click Next.
3. Click the zoom arrow to open an employee's pay.

4. Take note of the amount shown against Base Salary or Base hourly wage category. This is typically the employee's regular income and will help you work out how to record the JobKeeper payment.

5. Enter the employee's pay.

   If an employee is	Do this
   being paid less than the JobKeeper payment	Enter the hours or amount for the work they've done against the relevant wage categories, such as Base Salary or Base Hourly. Enter the top-up amount (to bring their pay up to the required JobKeeper payment amount) against the JOBKEEPER-TOPUP wage category. Only enter the amount, not hours. This ensures leave won't accrue on the JobKeeper top-up. See the FAQ below for more details.
   being paid more than the JobKeeper payment	Enter their pay as you normally would against the relevant wage categories, such as Base Salary or Base Hourly .
   stood down	Enter the full JobKeeper payment against the JOBKEEPER-TOPUP wage category. Stood down employees still accrue their usual leave entitlements. See the FAQ below for more details.

   Here are some examples:

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   Example 1: Employee paid less than $750 per week Here's an example of a casual employee who works 20 hours per week and whose pay is less than the JobKeeper amount ($750). For their 20 hours they earn $576.92 a week. Under JobKeeper, they'll now earn $750 a week so we've put their extra $173.08 against the JOBKEEPER-TOPUP wage category ($576.92 + $173.08 = $750).

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   Example 2: Employee paid more than $1500 per fortnight Here's an employee whose fortnightly pay is more than the fortnightly JobKeeper amount ($1500). They normally earn $1742.31 a fortnight. Under JobKeeper, they'll still be paid the same. So we'll enter their pay as we normally would and record their pay against the relevant wage category, in this case Base Salary.

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   Example 3: Employee who is stood down Here's an employee who has been stood down. Regardless of what they were earning while working, they'll now receive the full JobKeeper payment. So in their fortnightly pay we'll enter $1500 against the JOBKEEPER-TOPUP wage category.

6. When you're done, click OK.
7. Repeat steps 3 - 6 for each employee.
8. Finish your pays as you normally would. Need a refresher?

The payments from the government will appear in AccountRight when your bank feed transactions appear.

• If you've already recorded a Receive Money transaction for the deposit (as described below), you can match the bank feed transaction to it.
• If you haven't already recorded a Receive Money transaction for the deposit, you can do so straight from the Bank Feeds window. When creating the Receive Money transaction, allocate the deposit to the income account we set up earlier (the steps below will show you what this means).

For details about how to work with bank feed transactions, see Approving a bank feed.

You'll need to manually record a Receive Money transaction, like this:

1. Go to the Banking command centre and click Receive Money. The Receive Money window is displayed.
2. In the Deposit to Account field, choose the bank account the payment went into.
3. If you've set up a card for the ATO or Australian Government (for example), choose this card in the Payor field.
4. In the Amount field, enter the payment amount.
5. Enter a Memo to describe this transaction. This'll make it easier to identify the transaction later.
6. In the Acct No. field on the first line, choose the income account we created earlier. The Name and Amount will appear.
   Here's our example:
   
7. The Tax code will be based on the one you specified when creating the income account, so you shouldn't need to change this.
8. Click Record.

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

How are leave accruals affected by JobKeeper? 

Typically, an eligible employee's leave entitlements will not change under JobKeeper. The amount of leave they were accruing before JobKeeper will continue to accrue during JobKeeper. For more information, visit the Fair Work website.

As the JOBKEEPER-TOPUP is set up as a salary type wage category, hours can't be entered against it on the pay run. So if an employee's leave entitlements are based on a % of hours worked, no leave will accrue on JOBKEEPER-TOPUP payments.

This means you'll need to use a new wage category if you need to record leave accruals for employees:

• whose leave is set up as a % of hours worked, and
• who are receiving payments against JOBKEEPER-TOPUP, for example a stood down employee.

This category will only be used to calculate leave accruals and will have no dollar amount against it. Therefore, it won't need to be reported to the ATO.

Let's step you through it:

1. Go to the Payroll command centre and click Payroll Categories.
2. On the Wages tab, click New. The Wages Information window appears.
3. For the Wages Name, enter a name that's easy to identify, such as Leave Accrual - Stand Down.
4. For the Type of Wages, select the Hourly option (regardless of whether your employees are salaried or hourly based).

5. For the ATO Reporting Category choose Not Reportable.

6. For the Pay Rate, select Fixed Hourly Rate of and leave the value as $0.0000.
   Here's our example:
   

7. Click Employee, select the employees who will be paid the JobKeeper payments, then click OK.
8. Click OK to save the wage category. 

When you pay the employee, enter the amount of hours they need to accrue leave on.

What if I've paid my employees before setting up JobKeeper?

No problem, there's no need to change the pays you've already done.

Before your next pay run, make sure you notify the ATO that you've started making JobKeeper payments via Single Touch Payroll. For details, see task 4 'Notify the ATO that you're starting to pay JobKeeper'.

Do I have to pay back pay?

As the ATO requires each eligible employee to be paid at least $1500 per fortnight, you'll need to make sure your first JobKeeper pay includes any required back pay.

An employee has become ineligible during JobKeeper. What should I do?

If an employee becomes ineligible during the JobKeeper scheme, you need to notify the ATO via Single Touch Payroll, by choosing a Final JobKeeper fortnight date for the employee.

1. Go to the Payroll command centre and click Payroll Reporting.
2. Click the JobKeeper payments tab.
3. Select the employee.

4. In the Final JobKeeper fortnight list, choose the relevant fortnightly period after the last JobKeeper payment they've received. For example, if an employee's last JobKeeper payment was 14 August (during FN10) then choose 17 Aug - 30 Aug JOBKEEPER-FINISH-FN11 as the Final JobKeeper fortnight.
   

5. Repeat for any other affected employees.

6. Once you're done, click Notify the ATO.

7. When prompted, enter the name of the authorised sender and click Send. 

This will inform the ATO that the employee will no longer receive JobKeeper payments.

What if I've accidentally selected an ineligible employee for JobKeeper?

If you've notified the ATO that JobKeeper has started for an employee that is not eligible for JobKeeper, you can easily fix this in the STP reporting centre.

1. Go to the Payroll command centre and click Payroll Reporting.
2. Click the JobKeeper payments tab.
3. Select the ineligible employee.  

4. In the Final JobKeeper fortnight list, choose the same fortnightly period you chose for the First JobKeeper fortnight.
   

5. Repeat this for any other employees who you've accidentally selected.

6. Click Notify the ATO.

7. When prompted, enter the name of the authorised sender and click Send.

If you need to reverse or delete any pays you've processed for the employee, see Changing a recorded pay.

What if I've selected the wrong JobKeeper start date for an employee?

This is easily fixed. You just need to:

1. Go to the Payroll command centre and click Payroll Reporting.
2. Click the JobKeeper payments tab.
3. Select the employee.  

4. In the Start JobKeeper fortnight list, choose the correct fortnightly period.

5. Repeat this for any other employees whose start date needs to be amended.

6. Click Notify the ATO.

7. When prompted, enter the name of the authorised sender and click Send. 

How do I make a final JobKeeper payment to an employee?

If you need to make a final JobKeeper payment to an employee, you need to notify the ATO via Single Touch Payroll, by choosing a Final JobKeeper fortnight date for the employee.

1. Go to the Payroll command centre and click Payroll Reporting.
2. Click the JobKeeper payments tab.
3. Select the employee.

4. In the Final JobKeeper fortnight list, choose the relevant fortnightly period after the last JobKeeper payment they've received. For example, if an employee's last JobKeeper payment was 14 August (during FN10) then choose 17 Aug - 30 Aug JOBKEEPER-FINISH-FN11 as the Final JobKeeper fortnight.
   

5. Repeat for any other affected employees.

6. Once you're done, click Notify the ATO.

7. When prompted, enter the name of the authorised sender and click Send. 

This will inform the ATO that the employee will no longer receive JobKeeper payments.

Is my business eligible for JobKeeper?

To determine if your business is eligible for JobKeeper, you must calculate if your turnover has reduced. To check your eligibility use the turnover test, visit the ATO website.

You can run the following reports to help provide you with the information you need to calculate any change in turnover:

• GST report (GST exclusive) – monthly or quarterly
• Profit and loss report
• Budget (if projections are relevant)

Use the appropriate report to identify relevant income, exclusive of GST, for the two periods that you are comparing. This may not be straightforward so check with an MYOB Partner or the ATO for guidance.

I'm a sole trader. Am I eligible for JobKeeper?

Sole traders (with no employees) may be eligible to receive JobKeeper payments if their business has experienced a downturn according to the ATO’s eligibility criteria. To check if you’re eligible visit this ATO website.

If you’re eligible, there’s no need to set yourself up as an employee in AccountRight – just enrol directly with the ATO.

When you receive JobKeeper payments from the government, follow the steps in this help topic to set up a new income account and record them as a Receive Money transaction in AccountRight.