Is there any updates for reckon accounts desktop yet because I haven't received any yet?
What kind of updates re you referring to?
The ones for the next financial year
too early, check mid June
The 2026 version was released to Partners a week or 2 ago - I believe it will be publicly available by the end of this month/early June ๐
My understanding is there should be a new field in the STP for 'qualifying earnings'.
I put up a question a few weeks ago & was told that an update would be available soon.
We are extremely disappointed with Reckon. After many years of being customers they do not seem to be keeping anyone up to date with these changes.
In addition, we have just submitted our first (manual) superannuation with Colonial First State. What a horrid experience! Particularly as CFS have said that if there is any issues they will put the money into their default fund for each staff member!!!!
We trusted Reckon on their recommendation for CFS. Should not have done so.
We are a small business & cannot afford to have this go wrong.
I am referring to desktop.
I understand your frustration @Anne G ๐๐ป๐ข
To be fair though, it isn't really Reckon at fault - Payday Super is new govt legislation & all the accounting software providers have had to spend extensive time & money in order to comply with it (just like we as business owners &/or employers are having to ๐ฉ)
Unlike their competitors though, Reckon also have an additional challenge in that the technology that Reckon Accounts uses is not online/cloud-based & they also don't own the base code for it. It's owned by Intuit with Reckon given exclusive licence to develop it for Australia & as a result, making changes & fixes is much more difficult & time-consuming than a provider-created online product ๐ฉ It is a lot easier, faster & cheaper to build & develop cloud-based solutions, as they use the latest technology & have less restriction.
As the cloud has emerged, desktop accounting software is no longer the main platform so I would imagine RA/RAH were not a top priority to the ATO in terms of providing product protocols/clarifications/compliance. Therefore, Reckon have probably not been provided with RA/RAH parameters/requirements as quickly as their competitors which has created an even tighter deadline for them to have a fully-functioning, compliant product available in time.
Reckon isn't a Super Fund or Clearing House (SuperStream Payment Platform) Instead, they've partnered with Colonial Super purely to provide their users with a free clearing house option - The original thought was that this would be helpful for those transitioning from the soon-closing free ATO SBSCH, but Reckon have negotiated for it to be free for any/all RA/RAH users.
From 01/07/26 under Payday Super, whilst employers have a strict 7-business day requirement for Super payments, the Super Funds have an even tighter deadline - of only 3 days ๐คจ - to match/transfer payments, once received. Therefore, with employers submitting contributions in greater volume AND at greater frequency, they also need to have systems in place to manage that workload within their allowed timeframe too ๐ฌ
๐ก๐ก๐ก IMPORTANT!!! ๐ก๐ก๐ก
It is NOT compulsory to โฆ
(Obviously you have to change to an alternative IF using the ATO SBSCH HOWEVER โฆ it is entirely your choice which one you use)
If you are currently logging in separately to your Super clearing house online & manually entering/submitting your employee contributions โฆ YOU CAN STILL CONTINUE TO DO THIS, IF PREFERRED!
I can tell you that - unlike the usual late June annual upgrade release - the 2026 RA/RAH versions are due to be released publicly at the end of this month/early June & do indeed have a new "Qualifying Earnings" (QE) tag, which you are able to tick/untick for each Payroll Item. This is very similar to the current "Ordinary Time Earnings" (OTE) terminology that we have now. The main difference is that OTE is the foundational payment-type whereas QE is just the updated, simplified legal framework used to calculate payroll super obligations.
Payday Super is not as scary as many people are anticipating. The main difference is the increased reporting/payment frequency (from mthly/qtrly > each pay day) - The other changes are much less major ๐
Hi Shaz, thank you so much so such a detailed response. I do not need to look at these often but I have noted you do seem to help a lot - I think you helped me a few years ago also.
I am surprised by your comments about who owns what as did not know this. It would have been so much easier if Reckon had just sent out an email! I am sure we are not the only people who are waiting on this.
Paying super on the day is not an issue - we have always done monthly & will be going to fortnightly. Perfect storm with closure of ATO & new definitions.
I have always done manual payments & will continue to do manual. Loved the simplicity of ATO payments.
Setting everything up in Colonial First State has been a nightmare; they needed more information than ATO for example. Also, the fear of making a mistake & having the first payment move to their default fund is very real. ATO just said 'error'.
We did a payment for one staff member last night as a 'trial'. Fingers crossed.
Thanks again
Excellent explanation Shaz ๐
@Anne G from what has been advised on the community a few times by the admin, the next update IS coming soon which has QE in it and I'm glad Shaz has confirmed it's not far off at all now.
In terms of CFS, they'll only setup an employee on their default fund if you haven't provided their specific super fund details. If you have, there's nothing to worry about.
Hi @Anne G
The next edition of Reckon Accounts 2026 (v35) is indeed right around the corner and this will include Qualifying Earnings (QE). This will allow you to update your relevant pay items to QE for Payday Super compliance. All things going well, we'll be looking at making this available this week, exact date TBC.
In regard to CFS, I'd like to get more of an understanding of why you thought it was a horrid experience. What aspects did you find difficult or didn't work for you?
Also, I would strongly suggest reviewing the information in our Colonial First State FAQ as it contains answers to common questions and situations including if or when an employee may be setup with a CFS default fund - Colonial First State Clearing House - Frequently Asked Questions which in a nutshell could only occur if you don't enter the employee's own super fund information.
Thanks to all who have left a comment.
I have looked at the community a number of times recently & searched for information but have not seen any postings about the introduction of the new STP file etc.
We printed & read all relevant documents regarding Colonial First State.
Firstly, the information required is much more than the ATO Clearing House needed. This meant we had to take information from both Reckon & from ATO. As we have a small number of staff, we have always entered super amounts manually & will continue to do this. The ATO was the only place that had up-to-date super information. We had to add Reckon information to this. Even to add contributions is a more complex process than the ATO.
CFS does not seem to allow us to print out what we have entered - such a handy feature. Yes, we can download & then print but that is extra steps.
We have moved from weekly to fortnightly pay (to make it a bit easier on ourselves) , a new feature (QE) and a new clearing house at the same time.
I still think my original point is still valid. How hard is it for Reckon to send out an email saying "working on this; new version coming; maybe early June"??
