Payroll YTD setup and STP Questions

Hawk
Hawk Member Posts: 65
edited July 2018 in Reckon One
Hi! I'm a new user on Reckon One. I have been using MS Excel to do my payroll in the past. Now, I'm trying to setup my payroll for STP reporting. I have a few questions hope someone can answer them.

I have some casual workers on my payroll who left the job few days ago. Now, I am entering their details into Reckon One but they have no more payroll.


Qn1: Should I put a termination date and mark them as inactive? (What is the difference between these two btw)
Qn2: How does STP pick up their payment information when I start reporting STP for the first time as they are not in the payrun?
Qn3: Do I add up all the gross earnings, tax and super and enter them into YTD setup for these workers so that it will include them in the STP reporting and also payment summary at the end of FY?

Will be good someone can help me and give me a sequence of the steps to do it. I have read up a lot information on Reckon Knowledgebase, this forum, Training guide and watch Reckon Tutorials. Maybe I read too much that why I feel confused. TIA          

Comments

  • Rav
    Rav Administrator, Reckon Staff Posts: 15,305 Community Manager Community Manager
    edited July 2018
    Hi Hawk, welcome to the Reckon Community
    Good to hear that you've been going through the help content, I know it can be pretty overwhelming and there are a lot of new elements to get your heard around with STP.

    Should I put a termination date and mark them as inactive? (What is the difference between these two btw)
    If you wish to put these former employees into Single Touch Payroll, then yes you will need to add a termination date. The difference between termination and inactive is that terminating an employee then makes termination processes available to them, whereas marking as inactive removes their visibility from your list. 

    Do I add up all the gross earnings, tax and super and enter them into YTD setup for these workers so that it will include them in the STP reporting and also payment summary at the end of FY?
    Yes you will and this also covers the second question of how it picks up payment information. 


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  • Hawk
    Hawk Member Posts: 65
    edited July 2018
    Hi Rav, thanks for your reply. Your answers help me a lot!

    Sorry, I have questions about the termination date.
    (This question relates to former workers)
    Should I put the date that my former casual workers left the job or the date of their last payrun? (Their last payrun date would be the following week).
    (This question relates to current workers)
    Saw on the training video about processing the Termination. The steps are put a termination date and select a reason then follow by processing a termination payrun. Just wondering for my case which my workers are casual and do not have any leave or other payments calculation for termination payment, can I do their last payrun as per normal first then I put a termination date and select a reason without having to proceed to do a termination payrun?


  • John G
    John G Reckon Staff Posts: 1,570 Reckon Staff
    edited July 2018
    To answer your further questions Hawk,

    Payroll utilizes two dates - the Pay End Date, the date they are paid to, and the Date Paid, the latter date used by the ATO to determine when the pay was earned.    For termination date in Reckon One payroll you should use the later of the two dates.

    The termination process will open the way to apply payroll items that can only be used at termination of employment, specifically to use ETP payroll items and producing an ETP payment summary.  If a terminated employee returns to work you need to go through a rehire process - in Reckon One its just to enter a rehire date.  The nature of Casual workers suggest no ETP payments will be required - but you should follow your Accountant's advice here.  If you do give a casual a special payment for terminating employment, and if that payment is an ETP payment, then you will need to formally terminate them to get the ETP payment summary.


    Hope this helps,

    regards,
    John.
  • Hawk
    Hawk Member Posts: 65
    edited July 2018
    Thanks John, it really helps! I did a test run for STP by putting YTD Pay, SG, Tax and Payment Summary amounts in the setting beforehand for all current and previous employees. Then I ran a payrun for current employees. But I only see current employees in the STP report. Those ex-employees not included in it. Is it normal? I also tried another method adding all current and previous employees into the payrun. Leaving all amounts as zero for previous employees, hoping this would pick up thier YTD amounts and included in STP report. Unfortunately, the STP report shows the total number of employees but when clicked in, only current employees with pay amount are available. Are previous employees data still included in the report but in the background? As Rav said above, put a termination date will let STP pick up these ex-employees. I am figuring out to include these few ex-employees on my first STP so I don’t have to do a separate paper payment summary at the of FY for these employees. Thanks.
  • Simon Hutchinson_8164484
    Simon Hutchinson_8164484 Alumni Posts: 135
    edited July 2018
    Hi Hawk,

    The way single touch payroll works is that from the date that you start paying employees and then reporting STP is the date you begin picking up employees.

    if for example you had some employees in the first week of July but first reported STP at the end of july in a 2nd pay run after those employees had left, it is ok that those original employees are not included as you had not commenced single touch payroll. This does mean however you will need to give those employees a regular payment summary as they would not be in the STP system.

    If you do not want to do a specific payment summary for those employees, its likely best that you run the payruns in the application to capture the data required for STP and then submit those transmissions to the ATO via our system. Although it would be in arrears the ATO is being flexible this year because they realise this is a big change for everyone.

    I hope that helps

    Cheers

    Simon


  • Hawk
    Hawk Member Posts: 65
    edited July 2018
    Thanks Simon for your explanation. It clears up a lot now! In that case, I will remove those ex-employees' YTD amount in the setting (leaving the current employees' YTD untouched) and do a payrun with the total amount they were paid from July 1st to they left and send off to STP.   
  • Hawk
    Hawk Member Posts: 65
    edited July 2018
    Hi Simon, John or Rav, I have casual employees that we do not know when their Final Pay Event will be as they may come and go throughout the year. I’m wondering if I could just leave them without marking Final Pay Event or putting a termination date for STP, for the whole FY? Is it compulsory to mark Final Pay Event when an employee left? If I did not mark them as Final Pay Event, am I right to say I would not be able to do it again if they do not have any payrun in future or at the end of FY? Any advice on all these? Thanks. PS: I’m very close to my first STP reporting next week.
  • Simon Hutchinson_8164484
    Simon Hutchinson_8164484 Alumni Posts: 135
    edited July 2018
    Hi hawk According to the ATO in this situation where you know they will come back during the financial year you can leave them as employed for the period. Cheers
  • Hawk
    Hawk Member Posts: 65
    edited July 2018
    Thanks!
  • Hawk
    Hawk Member Posts: 65
    edited July 2018
    Can anyone help me? I just done my first payrun and trying to do STP now. I realise the YTD Gross and Tax amounts on Single Touch Payroll on left hand side menu do not take into the ones I entered at YTD Tax and Payment Summery settings. It only showing the YTD amounts of current pay. Please advise.