Below are a collection of questions raised by users via Synergetic's STP information webinars or other channels.
Finalising Pays
Q: What happens if the incorrect BSB and or account number has been given how can we go back to before the finalise pay.
A: At any time before the Pay is submitted to the ATO, the finalise process can be Cancelled using the button, to allow for editing the posting information. Once amended, the finalise process can be initiated again.
Q: Would it be worth having a logical order to the menu in "Finalise Payroll" in the order you would normally prepare it. Better with the "View Payroll Report" before the "Commence Payroll Finalisation"?
A: The order has been set this way as it’s not strictly necessary to view the report before finalisation, however once the pay has been finalised, the view report step then shows the final set of data.
Q: So we can't finalise the pay until we get a response from the ATO?
A: From what we understand via the ATO, this is the case.
Q: Will this hold up the next pay if you have two in the same week? i.e. monthly and fortnightly
A: Potentially, we are investigating further with the ATO to understand the scenario/limitations from their perspective.
Q: Can we pay the employees and then wait to finalise the STP process?
A: Yes, noting that the submission to the ATO must occur on or before the date of the payment being received by employees.
Q: Can you have more than one pay open at a time still?
A: Yes, you can have multiple pays open in parallel, but they will need to be reported to the ATO and finalised based on their chronological order.
STP Submission
Q: Is it important to submit the STP before the Payroll process date? Can it be the same date?
A: It can be submitted on the same or prior date (noting that the ATO require the submission to be received by the date at which employees receive payment). It is worth sending in advance if possible to ensure that the ATO is able to verify the content and let you finalise by process date, to minimise any need for later amendments.
Q: Does the STP have to be sent and verified before we can process the pay through the bank?
A: We believe it's not required for the verification aspect (as employees can't be delayed from being paid), but it is safest to submit and have verification on or before the payment date, to avoid needing to make updates/amendments after the fact.
Q: Does the STP submission need to be acknowledged by the ATO before payment to the employees, or is the submission date being the same value sufficient?
A: As long as STP submission received by ATO on or before the date of payment this should be sufficient.
Q: If the process date was say 1/4/18 and the STP date was 2/4/18 does this mean the payment date can be 2/4/18 or later?
A: The date that you’re transacting into the General Ledger is the process date; the payment date can be on or after the STP date.
Q: For the STP authorising person ability, can the system allow two people to be recorded, as we have one employee managing monthly payroll and a separate person for fortnightly payroll?
A: At present the functionality allows for one person similar to PAYG handling; ability to have multiple people would need to be explored as a functionality extension.
STP Events and content
Q: How is superannuation reported to the ATO?
A: Super Guarantee and/or Ordinary Time Earnings are included in the STP Payroll Events, but existing reporting when actually making the super payments hasn't changed.
Q: How and where do we report FBT for employees?
A: The total amount will be reported by the STP pay event to the ATO, but you still need to upload the superannuation file to your clearing house for processing.
Q: For FBT, do we enter the amount into the employee file before the last pay in the financial year and will this be transmitted to the ATO with the last pay? We can’t put it in every pay because some employees may fall below the limit and may not have to be reported.
A: The FBT will be entered in the employee tax tab as the gross amount.
Q: When will reportable benefits need to be reported through the STP?
A: Reportable benefits like FBT will be entered in the tax tab as soon as you have the information and before the last STP event for the year.
Q: Will reportable benefits (like extra super) become a manual process? Instead of automatic like it is now?
A: The process will be the same as before.
Q: If we start using STP after 1 July will the initial pay event be a Year To Date notification?
A: Every STP notification sent to the ATO for an employee indicates their Year To Date figure, so the initial event if sent after 1 July will show the cumulative YTD figure.
Q: Currently ETPs are a manual process. Can you please confirm whether ETP can be reported via STP or manual?
A: The ETP date and the total amount will be reported via STP, however we haven’t made any changes in terms of handling the ETP calculation itself yet.
Q: How does STP handle employees who have no Tax File Number - ie new tax payers who originally have a 111 111 111 TFN.
A: The status that they don’t have a TFN will be transmitted to ATO as part of the STP event, and once the employee has a TFN recorded the ATO will be sent the updated TFN in the next STP event they are included in.
Q: Schools often terminate staff and then they come back, sometimes in the same financial year. Teachers retire and then can be used as emergency teachers. How will Synergetic deal with the original termination date notification to ATO?
A: As the termination date is included in the STP event content, when the employee is first marked as terminated the ATO will receive this information in the next STP event. If the employee is subsequently rehired, you would just clear out the termination date in Synergetic, and the change in that detail will again be shared with the ATO with the next STP event.
If you needed to make an unexpected extra payment to a still-terminated employee, you won’t need to remove the termination date first.
The process should be a bit simpler compared to previous PAYG scenarios where the terminated employee might request their PAYG statement earlier than the end of payroll year.
Q: Do we still need to lodge the BAS manually?
A: Continue to do as you are currently doing. The changes for STP will not impact the Synergetic BAS process.
Q: With regard to the pay lines per each employee, is all of the information sent to the ATO via STP or is only certain information sent?
A: Synergetic will only send the data the ATO has asked for inclusion within STP events. As there are some updated configuration options for Pay Codes and identifying what should be included, you should review your Pay Codes before your first STP run to confirm the STP content will be correct. There is a Discourse post listing the updated Pay Code types which will be available.
End of Year Processes
Q: Is there is need to continue doing the payment summary process?
A: Once you are using STP for a financial year then there is no ongoing need to do PAYG summaries for that year.
Q: Do we still need to update EMPDUPE file on to the ATO Portal?
A: Once you are using STP for a financial year then there is no ongoing need to update EMPDUPE files for that year.
Upgrades and timeframe
Q: Will i need to contact synergetic for software upgrade?
A: Yes, requests for upgrade bookings are made via our Service Desk portal or phone call to our support desk.
Q: If Synergetic is deferring the STP implementation, do we get an automatic deferral or do we still have to report via STP?
A: An initial draft sent on basis of change management; deferral code to clients, that they can provide to the ato under the deferral.
Q: As Synergetic will be sending STP events via an ebMS3 Messaging gateway, is this a Synergetic responsibility and we don’t have to do anything?
A: Synergetic will be responsible for the development of the transmission and for ensuring it complies with the gateway provider and ATO requirements; clients will need to ensure that the communication can get to the appropriate external destination eg configuring firewalls if required. More details on the client system requirements will be shared as part of the final release documentation.