✨ What are Qualifying Earnings?
Under Payday Super, super guarantee and super payments made under collective agreements, are calculated from an employee's qualifying earnings (QE). Qualifying earnings is a new STP reporting category which includes payments from ordinary hours of work, and some other payments. QE must be reported to the ATO as part of your pay runs and other STP submissions.
Learn more about what payments are qualifying earnings.
✨ What's changed in the Reckon Payroll App?
Reporting of Qualifying Earnings
We have introduced a new Report as Qualifying Earnings checkbox when you create or edit earnings, allowances or leave pay items.
You must update your relevant pay items in the Reckon Payroll App so that they're reported as Qualifying Earnings.
Super calculations
There are no changes to how super is calculated in the Reckon Payroll App.
As you continue to indicate which earnings, allowances, and leave items include super, the Reckon Payroll App will continue to calculate super on those pay items, whether they're reported as QE or not.
In most cases, pay items that are QE will include super guarantee and super from collective agreements. You may have some employees that have super paid on earnings that aren't QE, for example overtime typically isn't qualifying earnings, and under Payday Super, wouldn't normally have super calculated on it. However, if you have an employee under an industrial obligation which specifies that you need to calculate super on overtime, you would need to calculate super on this item, even if you're not reporting it as qualifying earnings. You can do this in the Reckon Payroll App simply by leaving the 'Report as Qualifying Earnings' checkbox unticked.
✨ How do I update my pay items to Qualifying Earnings?
Updating your pay items to Qualifying Earnings is super easy and you can either choose to automatically update pay items, or manually update them.
Automatically update your pay items
The Reckon Payroll app will find all your earning, allowances and leave items that also have a super guarantee or collective agreement super pay item selected in their setup and it will be automatically ticked to 'Report as Qualifying Earnings'.
To automatically update your pay items to report as QE in the Payroll App:
- Tap the Learn More and Update option in the banner on your pay runs list screen.
- Tap on Auto-Update to start reporting
- Read the on-screen information and then tap the update and start reporting button.
- That's it! When the auto update is complete check that your pay items are setup correctly for your business and specific reporting obligations.
Manually update your pay items
If you'd like to manually update your pay items to report as qualifying earnings, you'll choose the specific pay items and select the Report as Qualifying Earnings checkbox on any relevant earnings, allowances and leave items.
To manually update your pay items to report as qualifying earnings:
- Tap the Learn More and Update option in the banner on your pay runs list screen.
- Tap the Update manually and tell us to start reporting button
- Tap on the Settings link on-screen or click the Settings button in the footer
Click on the edit button next to any earnings, allowances and leave items that need to be reported as QE
- Tick the Report as Qualifying Earnings checkbox
- Check that your Superannuation Preferences section is correct for the respective item
- Tap Done to save. Repeat for all items that require updating for QE
Once you're finished updating your items, head back to the banner and select Update Manually and tell us to start reporting. Tick the I've updated my pay items and ready to start reporting qualifying earnings checkbox and tap the Complete and start reporting button.
✨ When are Qualifying Earnings reported?
Once you have updated your pay items as QE using either of the above methods, the Reckon Payroll App will start reporting these pay items (under code Q) whenever you send an STP submission and will take effect:
- From 1 July 2026 if you've automatically or manually updated your QE items before this date.
- Immediately if you automatically or manually update after 1 July 2026
