Our Melbourne bookkeepers explain STP reporting for micro employers

You know what it’s like to run a small business.

With operations on the top of your mind, administrative tasks on the side, and of course, bookkeeping and payroll, business owners like you have many checklists to complete day in and day out.

And with an average of working hours of 50+ hours a week, business owners are known to be the most committed and hard-working people.

Trying to do it all on your own, including bookkeeping and payroll, may save cost – but not time.

But thanks to technology, bookkeeping tools like MYOB for personal and business are now available, making your bookkeeping system process easier and a whole lot faster compared to the good old days!

The better way to manage time-consuming computation of timekeeping and labour cost is through STP or Single Touch Payroll.

Who needs Single Touch Payroll?

If you are looking for a fast and easy way of meeting your ATO obligations and reporting, then STP is for you!

Gone are the days when you have to manually compute and compile your PAYG tax and super at the end of each financial year. STP makes it easy for you to automatically update any financial information and pay runs in your accounting software straight to the ATO.

When your bookkeeping software is STP ready, you can automatically send employees’ salary and wage information every time you pay them!

This is one easy way of tracking and transitioning to STP that means:

• You can directly report super information to the ATO without hassle
• Employees can directly access payment salary information from myGov
• You only need to finalise your STP information by the end of each financial year
• The pay cycle stays the same

Do I have to use STP?

Yes.

STP reporting is not only for large businesses, but in micro or small businesses, too. Even businesses with less than four staff – often referred to as mico employers – must adopt STP, in compliance with the ATO’s requirement.

Businesses with 20+ staff made the switch in 2018, while since July 2019, all Australian businesses have been complying with STP reporting directly to the ATO.

Exemptions! Who is exempt from single touch payroll?

Some business owners may be exempt from STP reporting if they meet the following criteria:

• Low digital capability
• No reliable internet connection
• Other extenuating circumstances
• Irregular employment patterns

Do sole traders need single touch payroll?

Micro employers of 1-4 employees have some options available to transition to STP reporting.

Some micro employers will not need payroll or bookkeeping software and may have the option to choose a low to no cost STP solution.

Such options can give effective solutions to micro employers in looking for a bookkeeping solution that:

• Is affordable
• Is easy and fast to complete
• Does not require employers to maintain the software

If you’re not sure what obligations you need to fulfil, speak to a bookkeeper in Melbourne for support and the right solutions to meet your business needs.

How is STP applied for micro employers of seasonal or intermittent workers?

Intermittent and seasonal employers may be able to lodge their STP quarterly report until 30th June 2021.

Starting 1st July 2021, micro employers need to submit a quarterly reporting concession.

Such concession is eligible for employers that have:

• No employees or have 1-4 employees
• Short-term employees in 3 months or 5-19 seasonal employees
• More seasonal or short-term employees of 20 or more staff

Employers eligible for this concession must also consider the following:

• That all amounts owed to the ATO are not yet due neither subject to a payment plan
• That all lodgment obligations are not yet due or subject to deferral

Can you lodge an STP through the ATO portal?

STP reports cannot be directly lodged through the ATO portal.

You will need a registered tax agent to lodge your payroll data through STP-enabled software.

Set up an effective and time-saving payroll system with cloud bookkeeping

Make your bookkeeping in St Kilda payroll faster and easier with cloud bookkeeping solutions.

Meet your ATO requirements quickly, easily and effortlessly with a range of cloud and Xero bookkeeping services in Melbourne to choose from.

We work closely with you in meeting your payroll and bookkeeping requirements by helping your business transition to a stress-free and time-saving Single Touch Payroll or STP.

Our Melbourne bookkeepers will help you:

• Improve your payroll accounting services
• Provide you with effective payroll solutions to the highest standard
• Keep up-to-date accounts for your business to comply with Australian wage and tax regulations
• Choose the right Xero bookkeeping services or MYOB bookkeeper in Melbourne in preparation for STP

Transitioning to Single Touch Payroll?

Contact Maximum Business Solutions today!

Makeyour bookkeeping and payroll easier and faster with the help of our bookkeepers in Melbourne.

Support is always available for employers transitioning to STP reporting, especially those not currently using the software.

Maximum Business Solutions work closely with you in choosing the right cloud bookkeeping services that are right for your business. We help you meet your ATO requirements effortlessly and easily with our Single Touch Payroll for small businesses.

We work closely with you to ensure we help you meet all your bookkeeping requirements. We also provide training and implementation of cloud bookkeeping services upon your transition to STP.

In addition, Maximum Business Solutions offer these bookkeeping services in Melbourne:

• Payroll solutions
• Invoicing
• Debt collection
• Balance sheets
• Cloud software implementation

Call a bookkeeper in Melbourne on (03) 9589 0128 or get in touch with us online for all your small business bookkeeping needs.