Single Touch Payroll (STP) has been passed by parliament. This means that all employers, including many strata companies, will need to report payroll information electronically to the ATO every time they pay employees.
Who This Affects: Any businesses who engage employees - including strata companies.
Parliament has recently passed legislation to extend Single Touch Payroll (STP) reporting to all employers. This means that all employers, including many strata companies, will be required to report payments such as salaries and wages, pay as you go (PAYG) withholding and superannuation information to the ATO directly from their payroll software at the same time they pay their employees.
The key takeaway here is that manually calculating these amounts via Excel or desktop based accounting software (such as old copies of MYOB) will no longer suffice. In the event that your business still uses such non-cloud systems to administer payroll obligations, you will need to update to a new system in order to comply with these new regulations.
For our clients, you need not fear. Ascend has thoroughly tested a fantastic browser based payroll solution in preparation for this change. We have purchased bulk subscriptions and will be providing unlimited access for our Strata Manager Partners. This will allow our partnering strata managers to set up (and potentially charge for) unlimited strata company employer files within a secure, online environment as part of your existing monthly subscription. We will be in touch with you (if we haven't already done so) to assist with setup and conversion of your managements in the coming months. Our team will also be available to guide you through training and entering of the information into your strata accounting system.
For those of you not on our partner program, be aware that there is no need to panic at this point. Mandatory STP only comes into effect for smaller employers (less than 20 employees) from 1 July 2019. Over the next four months however, you will need to explore options and make changes if you are not already using STP compliant software for payroll.
For more information, please refer to our Single Touch Payroll FAQs article from earlier this year. Alternatively, please contact the Ascend office should you wish to discuss options for your business and hte properties you manage .
The above content is of a general nature and should not be relied upon as professional advice. Ascend encourages readers to seek advice from suitably qualified professionals in relation to their specific circumstances and not to rely solely on the information provided above. Please contact our office for more information.
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