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Key Points
Run the Final STP Report to see the totals for each wage category that will be submitted for each employee in the Final STP file.
To see the complete breakdown of figures that will be submitted (for example, to see each individual allowance type or leave type) click the "Select Employees/Edit Values" button from the Final STP screen.
Background
Prior to Single Touch Payroll (STP), Employers were required to provide their Employees with a Payment Summary at the end of each Financial Year, as well as complete the Payment Summary Statement for their business.
These forms are no longer required with STP.
Instead, all you need to do now is lodge the FY20xx Final STP File and the ATO will update their systems accordingly and use this information to pre-populate your employee's personal tax returns.
Things to note before submitting the FY20xx Final STP File
Prior to submitting the Final STP for FY20xx, we suggest that you ensure
- You have completed all of your employee's payslips for the financial year
- You may also want to double-check the annual YTD figures for each employee (which you can see by running the Final STP Report available in Easy Payslip > Reports) so you can confirm the amounts you are reporting to the ATO for FY20xx are correct.
- If you have included a number of Taxable Allowances in the employee's Payslips during the Financial Year you will have the chance to amend the values, but not their Descriptions.
- If you want to amend the Descriptions you will need to do this in a payslip prior to lodging that employee's initial FY20xx Final STP File.
In addition to the above, it is important to understand the following:
- If you need to change the values after you have submitted the FY20xx Final STP File, you can do so. This can be achieved by resubmitting another FY20xx Final STP File with updated values.
- If you have already submitted an FY20xx Final STP File and decide to create another payslip for a particular employee, you will need to lodge another FY20xx Final STP File for that employee.
- However, you will need to manually enter the revised values in the subsequent FY20xx Final STP Files
- If you are unsure about this process we suggest you go through the process without lodging the actual STP file as this will give you the opportunity to familiarise yourself with what will be reported and for you to review the values prior to actually lodging them
How to Complete the FY20xx Final STP File
When you are satisfied that you have reconciled the payslip YTD values for your staff then you can complete the process as outlined below:
1) Go to STP, press the 3 vertical dots '⋮' & press 'FY Final STP'
2) Press 'FY 20xx' & press 'Confirm'
3) Read the information noted on this screen and ensure you are ready to proceed.
When you are ready, press 'Continue'
3a) You may see the screen below at this point, if you have created payslips which you have not lodged STP for. The totals pre-populated into the Final STP lodgement will be the payslip YTD values for the employees listed. It is generally best-practice to lodge any outstanding payslip STP files first before completing Final STP, but it is not technically a requirement.
4) You will then be presented with a 'Pre Lodgement Report' that displays a summary of the information we have recorded for each employee.
At this point, you have the option to 'Lodge STP File' or 'Select Employee / Edit Values'. If you choose 'Lodge STP File' please go to Step 8 below.
Note: It's a good idea to run the Final STP Report at this point which will give you a more detailed summary for each employee. Click on the green banner to run the Final STP Report.
5) If you choose to 'Edit Amounts', then you will see the screen below that will list all of your employees that have had a Payslip processed for them during FY20xx, which can include both Active & Inactive Employees.
You then have the option to select the employee(s) you want to include in the FY20xx Final STP File and click the 'Continue' button.
Note: It is generally expected you will select all of your employees for the first time you do this, but you may need to make adjustments later, or you may not have completed an employees pay details when you go to lodge the first time, so you are able to choose the employees you want to include.
6) The employees you have selected will then be individually displayed so that you can Review and Edit any values previously included in their payslips. This will allow you to make any corrections you deem necessary, prior to lodgement with the ATO.
Note: You are able to edit any values in the grey fields. The '$' values will be taken from the YTD values from the employee's most recent Payslip.
When you are happy with the values displayed, press 'Save and Next' to bring up the next Employee.
7) When you have reviewed all of your Employees, an updated 'Pre Lodgement Report' will be displayed to reflect the Employees you have just reviewed and the values you have Reviewed and/or Updated.
If you are happy with these values, you should click the 'Lodge File' button. If you need to make amendments, you can start the review process again by selecting the 'Edit Amounts' button.
8) After clicking the 'Lodge File' button, you will need to complete the standard STP File Declaration by entering your name in the Signature field below:
9) This will then Lodge the FY20xx Final STP File with the ATO and take you to the main STP Screen, where the file will have a status of which means pending ATO approval.
Note: This should turn to - Successful lodgement of STP file meaning the ATO has validated the file and updated their systems accordingly
Frequently Asked Questions
Q - Is there a good way to see the totals for each reporting category for each employee?
A - Yes, you can run the Final STP Report which is available in Easy Payslip > Reports (and Easy Reports > Payroll Reports). This will give you a full breakdown of the YTD payslip values for that financial year.
To see a complete breakdown of every single figure that will be lodged, for example, to see every individual allowance type or leave type, click the "Select Employees/Edit Values" button from the Final STP screen.
Q - Can I lodge an FY20xx Final STP file for specific employees who have already finished employment and will not be getting any more payslips?
A - Yes, you can lodge an FY20xx Final STP file for a specific employee(s) who have already finished working with you, you do not need to wait until 30 June 20xx to do this.
Q - What do I do if I have already lodged an FY20xx Final STP File and then decide to re-employ the staff member and make subsequent payslips in the financial year?
A - You can always make subsequent payments to your employees after you have lodged an FY20xx Final STP File, using the standard Process Payroll functionality. When you do this, the information in the STP file for the subsequent payslip updates the ATO systems to inform them that the employee is now working for you again. You will then have to lodge another FY20xx Final STP File for that employee at the end of the financial year so that the ATO will then know they have received all of their pay for FY20xx and can use that information to enable the employee to complete their tax return.
Please refer to the help guide Rehiring an Employee for more details!