Super SAFF file pay period start and end dates are incorrect

Anthony_10861832

Hi

I have generated the "super data export" report for our quarterly super payment, however I have a concern about the "pay period start" and "pay period end" dates in the file, as they are all the same for every record (start date is 1 October, end date is 31 December).

I was expecting each line item to have the actual pay period the line item relates to (e.g. employee 1 for pay period 25/10/2021 to 07/11/2021 was $200, pay period 08/11/2021 to 21/11/2021 was $200).

Can someone please advise if I have missed a step or if there is a way of changing this?

Thanks

Anthony

Acctd4

Hi Anthony

All payroll liabilities - including Super - only generate when a Pay occurs. This means the paycheques DATED within the designated period - eg the quarter - will (correctly) be what is being reported, regardless of the pay period they actually relate to.

Anthony_10861832

Hi Shaz

Thanks for your reply. I'm not sure I follow you on this. The payroll liability was generated when the original payroll was processed each fortnight (e.g. the fortnight ended 07/11/2021). I am simply remitting the payment to the clearing house quarterly.

From the employee perspective, when they see the payment into their superfund, it is not useful to see 6 or 7 payments for the same pay period (being the quarter), it would be much more useful to see each payroll period and the amount of super they have been paid for that period.

If I run the super report for one fortnight, the start and end dates are correct, which suggests to me that the report is pulling through the date range of the report, not retrieving the date of the payroll.

Acctd4

“ … From the employee perspective, when they see the payment into their superfund, it is not useful to see 6 or 7 payments for the same pay period (being the quarter), it would be much more useful to see each payroll period and the amount of super they have been paid for that period …”

I’m not sure I’m understanding your query 🤔 The employee’s Super fund will normally show the date you have paid it into the fund grouped under the pay period it relates to.

The SAFF is just a specifically formatted report to allow the data to be electronically submitted, it doesn’t display that way in the employee’s fund.

Does that answer your question?

Anthony_10861832

"The employee’s Super fund will normally show the date you have paid it into the fund grouped under the pay period it relates to."

Yes I agree, but the pay period it relates to in the report is not correct. As the data coming out of Reckon has the same date range for each line item (being the full quarter), the superfund will group all the transactions into one line item. If each line item in the report had the correct pay period dates, then the superfund would display this on the user account. The way it currently is, the superfund doesn't know which pay period the amounts relate to, so it aggregates them all together into a lump sum with the pay period being the full quarter.

Acctd4

“… but the pay period it relates to in the report is not correct. As the data coming out of Reckon has the same date range for each line item (being the full quarter) …”

This is the date of the Paycheque, not the pay period as the liability is only generated when you PAY an employee, regardless of what the pay period dates are.

eg If an employee is paid weekly on 7th, 14th, 21st & 28th of December, THESE are the dates that will show as the “December” period in the quarterly Super report. Does that make sense?

Anthony_10861832

Well I don't agree that the liability is only generated when you pay an employee the super. The liability is generated in Reckon when I pay the employee each fortnight.

Clearly Reckon can't do what I'm looking for, and I'm surprised no one else has ever questioned this, as in my opinion this is incorrect.

Acctd4

“ … Well I don't agree that the liability is only generated when you pay an employee the super. The liability is generated in Reckon when I pay the employee each fortnight ..”

I think you’ve misunderstood as that’s exactly what I’m saying … the liability is generated in Reckon when you PAY the employee (eg each fortnightly pay date) 😊

Anthony_10861832

Well in that case, why can't I extract that data!

Acctd4

Are you actually uploading the SAFF file itself to the clearing house ? The "Super Data Export" report specifically displays in the required format in order to directly replicate the SAFF file itself.

I always use the "Super Report by Employee". This report is formatted much more logically for cross-referencing. All the reports can also be modified to include/exclude columns & other filters as required.

(You can find it - & others - under the Reports dropdown menu > Employees & Payroll):

(NOTE: This is extracted from the Sample file where the employees are paid monthly so doesn't have much detail in it. Each line is a Paycheque & the "Date" is the Paycheque date - Ideally, yours will also show each fund rather than "Super" as well as complete data in the other fields)

Anthony_10861832

Thanks for you help on this. Yes I am uploading the SAFF file, my understanding is that is the required format.