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The JobKeeper program ended on 28 March 2021

If you had employees being paid under JobKeeper right up to the end of the scheme, there's nothing you need to do in MYOB (you don't need to select a Final Fortnight for those employees).

For key dates and actions for employers, see the ATO website.

JobKeeper is a government scheme to help businesses during COVID-19. If your business is eligible you'll be able to keep paying your employees. You'll then submit a monthly declaration to get reimbursed by the government. You'll find all the details about JobKeeper on the ATO website.

We'll step you through how to set up AccountRight for JobKeeper and make payments to your employees. If you've already been paying employees under the original JobKeeper scheme, we'll explain what's changed for the JobKeeper extension and what you need to do.

JobKeeper extension

JobKeeper has been extended from 28 September 2020 until 28 March 2021. Under this extension, the JobKeeper payment rate has changed. It's now based on an employee's hours worked and the extension period.

For all the details on the JobKeeper extension, visit the ATO website.

Already enrolled for JobKeeper?

If you've been paying your employees under the JobKeeper scheme, you don't need to enrol again. But if you haven't already, you'll need to determine your employees' JobKeeper payment tier levels (Tier 1 or Tier 2) and notify them to the ATO. For help with this, see Choosing employee JobKeeper tier levels - MYOB Business.

You've likely already completed the other setup tasks below, but take a quick look if you're not sure. You might want to take a look at task 4 'Pay your employees during JobKeeper' to see some examples of pays using the new JobKeeper payment rates.

Managing JobKeeper in MYOB

Complete each of these tasks to get set up for JobKeeper and pay your employees under the scheme.

 

1. Check if you're eligible for JobKeeper

For all the details on JobKeeper eligibility for businesses, visit the ATO website. If you're eligible and you haven't already enrolled, you'll need to enrol for JobKeeper with the ATO.

What about sole traders?

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.

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, you'll need to:

  • complete task 2a below to set up a new income account (you only need to do this once), and
  • complete task 6 below to record your JobKeeper payments as receive money transactions in MYOB.
2. Set up JobKeeper payments

Once you've completed the enrollment process, you can set up the following in MYOB:

  • a new income account - for receiving JobKeeper payments from the government
  • a new wage (allowance) pay item - to report all JobKeeper top-up payments you pay to employees

We'll also show you how to stop super calculating on your JobKeeper top-up payments.

a. Set up an income account to receive JobKeeper payments

We'll start by creating an income account for the JobKeeper payments you receive from the government. Remember—you pay your employees under JobKeeper, then the government reimburses you the following month.

We'll set up this account as an "other income" type account (8-xxxx), but you could also set it up as an income account type (4-xxxx). If you're not sure which account type best suits your business, check with an accounting advisor.

  1. Go to the Accounting menu and choose Chart of accounts. The Accounts page appears.
  2. Click Create account. The Create account page appears.
  3. Select Detail account.
  4. For the Account type, choose Other income.
  5. Enter a 4-digit Account number after the dash which suits your accounts list. For example, 8-5600.
  6. For the Account Name enter JOBKEEPER SUBSIDY (NO GST), to help you and your employees identify the JobKeeper payments.
  7. For the Tax code, choose N-T.
    Here's our example:

  8. Once you're done, click Save.
b. Set up a JobKeeper wage (allowance) pay item

Under JobKeeper, eligible employees must be paid a minimum amount (see the information at the start of this topic). If an employee's regular pay is less than the JobKeeper payment amount or they've been stood down, you'll need to "top-up" their pay using a new JobKeeper wage pay item.

This new pay item must be named JOBKEEPER-TOPUP to ensure the payments are reported correctly to the ATO.

 

To set up the JOBKEEPER-TOPUP pay item:

  1. Go to the Payroll menu and select Pay items. The Pay items page appears.
  2. Click the Wages and salary tab.
  3. Click Create wage pay item. The Create wage pay item page appears.
  4. Select the option JobKeeper top-up payment. The following fields are automatically completed:
    • Name
    • ATO reporting category

    • Pay basis

      To prevent rejected STP reports, these fields cannot be changed.

    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 pay item 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.

  5. Under Employees using this pay item, choose the employees who will be paid the JobKeeper payments.
    Here's our example:

  6. Click Save.

c. Exempt the JobKeeper top-up category from accruing super

As per the government's information, you must pay super on an employee's regular pay amount, but you can choose whether to pay super on JobKeeper top-up amounts. If you will be paying super on JobKeeper top-up payments you can skip this task.

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

Regular fortnightly incomeFortnightly income with JobKeeperSuper is paid onYou can choose to pay super on
$600$650 (Tier 2 employee)$600$50
$800$1000 (Tier 1 employee)$800$200
$3000$3000 (Tier 1 employee)$3000N/A


To stop super calculating on the JobKeeper top-up pay item

  1. Go to the Payroll menu and choose Pay items. The Pay items page appears.
  2. Click the Superannuation tab.
  3. Click to open the Superannuation Guarantee pay item.
  4. Under Exemptions, click the Add exemption dropdown button .
  5. Choose the JOBKEEPER-TOPUP wage pay item.
    Here's our example:
  6. Click Save.
3. Notify the ATO of eligible employees and payment rates

You need to let the ATO know what the first fortnight is that you're paying each eligible employee under JobKeeper. You also need to advise what each employee's payment rate will be: Full rate (Tier 1) or Part rate (Tier 2). Tell me more about these payment rates.

You'll need to complete these steps for your current eligible employees, and any employees who become eligible during the scheme. Tell me more about eligible employees.

Here's how to notify the ATO of your eligible employees and their payment rates:

  1. Go to the Payroll menu and choose Single Touch Payroll reporting.
  2. Click the JobKeeper payments tab.

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

  4. Choose whether the employee is Full rate (Tier 1) or Part rate (Tier 2). For help working this out, click View JobKeeper tier suggestions (PDF). Help me choose my employee tiers.

  5. Repeat for each eligible employee.

  6. Click Notify the ATO.

  7. When prompted to send your payroll information to the ATO, enter your details and click Send

To stop paying an employee JobKeeper payments, you'll need to enter a finish fortnight for them and inform the ATO. See the FAQs below for details.

4. Pay your employees during JobKeeper

The pays you complete under JobKeeper will look quite similar to any other pay day, but with these changes:

For employees who:

  • earn more than the minimum JobKeeper payment amount, enter their pay as you normally would against the relevant pay items
  • earn less than the minimum JobKeeper payment amount, enter their regular pay as you normally would against the relevant pay items, and the top-up amount (to bring their pay up to the JobKeeper minimum) against the JOBKEEPER-TOPUP pay item
  • are stood down, enter their total JobKeeper payment against the JOBKEEPER-TOPUP pay item.

If this is your first pay under JobKeeper, make sure you've notified the ATO of all eligible employees. For details, see task 3 'Notify the ATO of eligible employees and payment rates'.

JobKeeper payment rates

Under the JobKeeper extension, the ATO introduced two payment rates based on an employee's eligibility. Here are the JobKeeper payment rates (before tax) based on pay frequency during both JobKeeper extension periods. Learn more about the payment rates on the ATO website.

Pay frequencyFull rate (Tier 1)Part rate (Tier 2)
 

Extension Period 2

(4 Jan 2021 - 28 Mar 2021)

Extension Period 2

(4 Jan 2021 - 28 Mar 2021)

Weekly$500$325
Fortnightly$1000$650
Twice a Month$1083$704.17
Monthly*$2167*$1408*
*This amount is averaged across 12 months. Monthly paid employees must receive at least the fortnightly payment amount for each full JobKeeper fortnight within the month.
To process a JobKeeper pay
  1. Go to the Payroll menu and choose Create pay run. The Create pay run page appears.
  2. Choose your Pay cycle.
  3. Choose who you're paying and the pay dates. Then click Next.
  4. Click the arrow to open an employee's pay.
  5. Take note of the amount shown against the Base Salary or Base Hourly pay items. This is typically the employee's regular income and will help you work out how to record the JobKeeper payment.
  6. Enter the employee's pay. Refer to the table above for JobKeeper payment rates for Tier 1 and Tier 2 employees.

    If an employee isDo this
    being paid less than the JobKeeper payment
    1. Enter the hours or amount for the work they've done against the relevant pay item, such as Base Salary or Base Hourly.
    2. Enter the top-up amount (to bring their pay up to the required JobKeeper payment amount) against the JOBKEEPER-TOPUP pay item. Only enter the amount, not hours. This ensures that 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 pay item, such as Base Salary or Base Hourly wage pay item. Employees will accrue their usual leave entitlements.

    stood down

    Enter the full JobKeeper payment against the JOBKEEPER-TOPUP pay item. Employees still need to accrue their usual leave entitlements. See the FAQ below for more details.

    Here are some examples:

    Example 1: Tier 1 employee paid less than $500 a week

    Here's an example of a casual employee who works 20 hours per week and whose pay is less than the minimum JobKeeper amount they're entitled to ($500).

    For their 20 hours they earn $450 a week. Under JobKeeper, they'll now earn $500 a week so we've put their extra $50 against the JOBKEEPER-TOPUP pay item.

    Example 2: Tier 2 employee paid more than $650 per fortnight

    Here's a part time employee whose fortnightly pay is more than the minimum JobKeeper amount they're entitled to ($650). They normally earn $950 a fortnight. Under JobKeeper, they'll still be paid the same.

    So we'll enter their pay as we normally would against the Base Hourly pay item.

    Example 3: Employee who is stood down

    Here's a Tier 1 full time employee who has been stood down. Regardless of what they were earning while working, they'll now receive the full Tier 1 JobKeeper payment.

    So in their fortnightly pay we'll enter $1000 against the JOBKEEPER-TOPUP pay item.

  7. After entering the JobKeeper amount and adjusting the employee's Normal amount, complete the rest of the pay run as normal. Need a refresher?
5. Make a monthly JobKeeper declaration to the ATO

You need to provide a monthly JobKeeper declaration to the ATO about your current and next month's turnover and to reconfirm your business details and employee eligibility. 

You'll need to declare this information to the ATO between the 1st to the 14th day of each month to receive reimbursements for the JobKeeper payments you made to your eligible employees in the previous month.

For all the details see Monthly JobKeeper declarations - MYOB Business.

6. Receive JobKeeper payments from the government

The JobKeeper payments you receive from the government will be deposited into your nominated bank account.

How you record these payments in MYOB depends on whether or not you have a bank feed set up on that account.

If you use bank feeds

The wage subsidy payments from the government will automatically appear in your bank feed transactions.

  • 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 recorded a Receive Money transaction for the deposit, you can do so straight from the Manage bank feeds page (Banking > Manage bank feeds). 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 Managing your bank feeds.

If you don't use bank feeds

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

  1. Go to the Banking menu and choose Receive money. The Receive money page appears.
  2. In the Bank account field, choose the JOBKEEPER-TOPUP income account the JobKeeper payment has been deposited into.
  3. (Optional) If you've set up a contact for the ATO, choose them in the Contact field.
  4. For the Description of transaction, enter the details of this payment.
  5. In the Account column, choose the income account you created earlier.
  6. In the Amount column, enter the JobKeeper payment amount you've received. The Tax code will be based on the one you specified when you created the income account. In this case, it will be N-T Not Reportable.
    Here's our example:
  7. When you're done, click Record.

  FAQs


What if my business is no longer eligible for JobKeeper?

What if my business is no longer eligible for JobKeeper?

If your business is no longer eligible for JobKeeper, there's nothing you need to do in MYOB. As you'll no longer be making a monthly declaration to the ATO, you'll no longer be included in the scheme. 

How are leave accruals affected by JobKeeper?

How are leave accruals affected by JobKeeper? 

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

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

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

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

This pay item 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 menu and select Pay items. The Pay items page appears.
  2. Click the Wages and salary tab.
  3. Click Create wage pay item. The Create wage pay item page appears.
  4. Enter a name that's easy to identify, such as Leave Accrual - Stand Down.
  5. Choose Allowance - other as the ATO reporting category.
  6. For the Pay basis, select Hourly.
    Here's our example:

  7. Under the Employees using this pay item, choose the employees who will be paid the JobKeeper payments.
  8. Click Save.

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

Example: A Tier 1 employee who has been stood down and is currently being paid $1000 per fortnight as part of JobKeeper.

We've entered the following:

  • 76 hours against the Leave Accruals - Stand Down pay item (this has a $0.00 amount).
  • $1000 against the JOBKEEPER-TOPUP pay item.

Notice the Personal and Annual Leave Accrual amounts have been automatically calculated.

Need to adjust an employee's leave balance? See Managing your employees’ leave. If you're really stuck, contact us or speak to an MYOB Partner.

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

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 of the eligible employees and their payment rate via the payroll reporting centre. For details, see task 3 'Notify the ATO of eligible employees and payment rates'.

When notifying the ATO, make sure you choose the relevant fortnightly period during which your employee started receiving JobKeeper and their employee tier.

For example, if you've already paid employees during the period 28/09/2020 - 12/10/2020, you need to choose the 28 Sep - 12 Oct fortnightly period in the First JobKeeper fortnight field.

Do I have to pay back pay?

As the ATO requires each eligible employee to be paid the minimum JobKeeper payment rate, you'll need to make sure your first JobKeeper pay includes any required back pay.

 

Example: Tier 1 employee whose regular fortnightly pay is $1100 and is owed JobKeeper back pay

Your business became eligible for JobKeeper from 28 September (14th fortnight of JobKeeper scheme), but you already processed a pay for the employee on 5 October (before you set up JobKeeper in AccountRight). Your next pay is scheduled for 12 October (15th fortnight of JobKeeper scheme).

You need to work out the amount of JobKeeper back pay you owe the employee from the previous pay and add it to their next pay.

So, if you've paid your employee their regular pay of $1100 per fortnight, your next pay will need to include the $100 JobKeeper top-up back pay, as well as the additional $100 they would be getting for this fortnight's JobKeeper top-up.

$1100 (regular pay) + $100 (JobKeeper top-up backpay) + $100 (JobKeeper top-up current pay) = $1300. This will bring their total gross pay for this fortnight to $1300.

This means $200 needs to be recorded against the JOBKEEPER-TOPUP wage category.

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

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

If an employee becomes ineligible during the JobKeeper scheme or you need to stop paying them JobKeeper, 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 fortnightly period after the last JobKeeper payment they've received. For example, if an employee's last JobKeeper payment is 12 October (during FN15) then choose 26 Oct - 08 Nov JOBKEEPER-FINISH-FN16 as the Final JobKeeper fortnight.

  5. Repeat for any other affected employees.

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

  7. When prompted to send your payroll information to the ATO, enter your details and click Send

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

What if I've sent the wrong JobKeeper start or finish date for an employee?

What if I've sent the wrong JobKeeper start or finish date for an employee?

You can change (or remove) the start and finish dates you've sent for an employee, but the ATO will only accept the earliest of the dates you send.

For all the details see Changing an employee's JobKeeper start or finish date - MYOB Business.

Is there anything I need to do at the end of the JobKeeper program?

Is there anything I need to do at the end of the JobKeeper program?

No. Now that the JobKeeper program has finished, there's nothing you need to do in MYOB. Don’t select a Final Fortnight for employees being paid JobKeeper to the end of the scheme. Just remember to complete your final monthly business declaration for March by 14 April 2021.