Single Touch Payroll reporting – we’re ready when you are!

[MichellePV]

If you have 20 or more employees, you need to start reporting payroll information using Single Touch Payroll this year.

MYOB Essentials is now STP ready. As soon as you’re ready, you can set up Single Touch Payroll reporting. Don’t stress if you’re not quite ready, if you’re using Essentials you have until 31 December 2018 to start reporting.

Connect to the ATO – report your payroll information in real-time

To start reporting your payroll information to the ATO, you need to complete all steps in the connect to ATO process.

Anyone who will be processing payroll must go through the connect to ATO steps. Agents – you should get your clients to connect before doing it yourself. Each person must log in and do the connection steps using their own login details. You can’t go through these steps on behalf of someone else.

Go Payroll, Payroll Reporting and then click Connect to ATO.

 Connect to ATO button

The connection steps have a lot of help alongside them, so make sure you read the instructions before diving in (everyone reads the instructions first, right?). You can also read this first, to get an idea of what you might need before you start, Task 2 - Connect to the ATO for Single Touch Payroll reporting.

Reporting doesn’t officially start until July 1

As soon as you connect to the ATO, reports will be sent to the ATO each time you process payroll. However, reporting doesn’t officially start until 1 July. By starting now, you can ensure these reports are correct before this date. We recommend connecting to the ATO as soon as you can.

We know EOFY can be a stressful time. If you need a bit more time, don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. Check your inbox for an email from us explaining deferral dates and numbers.

You will still need to prepare payment summaries for EOFY 2017/18, even if you start reporting now.

Online payroll reporting centre
Once Single Touch Payroll is set up, you’ll be able to view the online payroll reporting centre. Go to Payroll > Payroll Reporting. Here you’ll be able to:

• See all reports (pay runs) and their statuses
• View report errors with guidance on how to resolve them
• Get your Software ID (if required)

Processing payroll is the same as always (almost)

The big question is what does the new process payroll flow look like?

The answer is, it pretty much looks the same as it did before. Apart from a few small tweaks, mainly, there’s a declaration you have to make. Just like any other info you send to the ATO, you do need to declare the information you are sending is true and correct.

There are going to be lots of improvements happening in the next few months, so watch this space and happy payroll reporting!