Reconciling your MYOB Pay Superannuation
As promised in my previous blog post, here are some additional tips on how to reconcile your super.
MYOB Pay Superannuation has made it easier for businesses to pay their super contributions. Although the process has become more convenient and much more streamlined, you should still complete the background checks to ensure the correct superannuation has been calculated and paid for the period.
There are various reports in AccountRight to assist you with balancing your superannuation. Below are a few of the reports I like to use:
- Payroll Register [Summary] Report
For smaller businesses with basic payroll where superannuation is calculated under the Superannuation Guarantee of 9.5%, I like to use the Payroll Register [Summary] Report.
The ‘Expenses’ column on the far right is the superannuation accrual. This report should always match the amount you remit via the MYOB Pay Superannuation Portal.
But wait… what about salary sacrifice?
It’s important to note that Salary Sacrifice will be displayed under the ‘Deductions’ column. There could be other deductions unrelated to Superannuation in your company file. In this case, if you have employees who salary sacrifice, I would recommend using the Payroll Category Transactions [Accrual] Report.
- Payroll Category Transactions [Accrual] Report
This report is best if you have various categories set up (i.e. salary sacrifice), as it offers more detail.
To run the report:
- Select Payroll Category Transactions
- Choose the dates and click on Advanced Filters
3.Click into the drop down arrow on the Payroll Categories field
4. Select all the Superannuation Categories
5. Select ‘Run Report’
Oops, my superannuation doesn't balance!
If you find that your Pay Superannuation total for the period doesn't match the total on your reports, here are some troubleshooting tips. In these cases, it's likely a superannuation fund has not been set up correctly, or a superannuation fund has not been set up for an employee.
- Checking your Superannuation Fund list
- Go to Lists > Superannuation Funds
2. Ensure the option to “Pay directly from AccountRight” is ticked
- Checking individual employees have been set up correctly
- Go to the Card File command centre > Cards > select the Employee tab
- Ensure all employees have their correct superannuation fund details set up (*see tip #2 below). If an employee has no superannuation funds set up in the card file, it will not generate a payment through the Pay Superannuation Portal.
A few tips…
- When a new employee starts, I always select the Superannuation Guarantee category in the employee card file even if I am waiting on their superannuation details. If unticked, superannuation won't calculate when you generate a pay run, resulting in the underpayment of superannuation. This is a common error I find when reviewing files.
- *If you have a large number of employees, you can export out the employee card list into a CSV/Excel file to sort through and quickly find any missing superannuation fund details. I recently did this for a client and found the error in about 5 minutes; it was faster than running reports or checking each card file manually.
Does your superannuation reconcile with your financial statements?
- Checking your balance sheet
- Run a balance sheet report for the period
- Under Liabilities, check the balance of Superannuation Payable. This should be the amount of superannuation that has accrued for the period.
- Checking the Profit & Loss Statement
- Run a Profit and Loss report for the period
- Check the superannuation balance under Payroll Expenses. The total should also agree with the figure on your balance sheet.
- Check the Payments by Employee Report
This would, by far, have to be my favourite report.
This report gives you a paid date and payment type and is therefore helpful to show your employees if they have any queries about their superannuation payments. Perhaps your boss wants a report of what has been paid via the MYOB Pay Superannuation Portal – this report makes that easier than ever.
If these accounts do not balance, there could be various reasons for the errors. For example, it could be an out of balance from a previous period. Or perhaps your linked accounts have not been set up in AccountRight. In these situations, I would recommend you consult with a professional to assist you in identifying the error and checking your AccountRight set up.
Personally, I am still a bit old school and reconcile my superannuation liability account via the bank reconciliation screen. The bank reconciliation always comes back to zero once you offset what is accrued to what is paid and is a helpful process to identify current or past errors.
If you haven't signed up for MYOB Pay Superannuation yet, refer back to my previous blog post for information regarding the feature.
Other gurus on this forum might have some other handy tips to share as well.
Happy balancing!
Regards
Renae
