QuickBooks Online Single Touch Payroll Complete Setup

Single Touch Payroll is also known as STP. It is an initiative taken by the government to streamline the business reporting obligations for payrolls. STP requires the registered tax agent or employer to report their payments, e.g., wages, salaries, superannuation information, PAYG withholding details to the ATO directly from the payroll system. If you want to know how to set up QuickBooks Online Single Touch Payroll (STP) with detailed instructions, we will enlighten you in this blog.

The detailed discussion talks about enabling Single Touch Payroll, creating and lodging events, and more. Read the following details and get started with QuickBooks Online Single Touch Payroll set up:

How to Set Up Single Touch Payroll in QuickBooks?

Users have to make sure that they report the required details after finalizing the pay run which should not be later than the date of the employee’s payment. Each pay run finalized by you will have an option to Lodge to ATO as a Pay Event in QuickBooks Payroll. A Pay Event basically consists of Year-to-Date details regarding the pay of employees.

In addition, when the financial year ends, you will have lodged all employee earnings for an entire year. Thus, you will not have to lodge the payment details separately to the ATO. From the 1st of July 2019, all the employers should be STP compliant. For more information, you can visit the ATO website and read more about QuickBooks Single Touch Payroll setup.

To get started with the QuickBooks Single Touch Payroll setup, you just need to set up the ATO Supplier settings and then Electronic Lodgement and STP. Pursue the following series of steps to know more:

Step 1: Set the ATO Supplier Settings

First of all, you will have to go through the ATO settings where you need to mention how you want to lodge the reports.

• Click on the “Employees” option located on the left menu.
• Then, click on the “Payroll Settings” tab
• Now, from the “Business Settings, go to the “ATO Settings” option.

At this point, you will find different options for ATO Supplier settings. You can adjust the ATO Supplier setting depending on how you want to set up, e.g., as an employer, as an intermediary for several employing entities, or as a registered Tax/BAS Agent. Let’s understand what all steps you will have to follow to lodge the reports to the ATO settings for all the aforementioned purposes:

Lodge the Reports to the ATO as an Employer

While settings up the Single Touch Payroll, if you select the As an Employer option which means you want to lodge the reports to ATO settings as an employer then you are required to enter the following details:

• Name
• ABN
• Branch Number
• Address Line 1
• Address Line 2
• Phone Number
• Contact Name
• Fax Number
• Suburb
• Signatory Name (This option is required to be filled when you want to mention a name on the payment summaries that is different from the name you have specified in the Contact Name field above).
• If the employer is free from the FBA under 57A section of a FBTAA 1986 then you need to select the “Yes” button. Also, the drop-down menu appears from where you will have to choose what kind of exemption your business falls under. This setup will be crucial because this setting will be used to determine what FBT amount is taxable and exempt when you submit pay data to ATO.

Note: The items with asterisk signs are mandatory to be filled. Make sure you read the options carefully and enter the details correctly.

Lodge the Reports to the ATO as an Intermediary for Several Employing Entities

This setting is divided into two types; the Business details and the Intermediary details. Read the following details, you are supposed to enter:

• In the “Business Details” field, you will have to enter the details that you have mentioned in the “As the Employer” settings above.
• Other details require you to be filled in the “Intermediary details” which are as follows:
• Contact Name
• ABN
• Contact Email
• Phone Number

In addition, you can select one of these employing entities in order to act as an Intermediary or another entire of a business. Remember that all the fields of Intermediary are compulsory. If you miss out on any fields, you won’t be able to save the settings of ATO Supplier successfully.

Lodge the Reports to the ATO as a Registered Tax/BAS Agent

To continue with this type of ATO settings, you can perform the steps for two different sections; the Business Details and the TAX/BAS Agent Details.

• In the “Business Details” fields, you are required to add the details that you have specified in the “As the Employer” settings earlier.
• On the other hand, the “TAX/BAS Agent Details” fields require you to enter the following details:
• ABN
• Tax Agent Number
• Phone Number
• Contact Name
• Contact Email

It is important to fill in all the fields of TAX/BAS Agent otherwise you will be unable to save the settings of ATO Supplier in QuickBooks.

Important Note: ATO has also reported that the users who lodge Single Touch Payroll on the behalf of a client provide the payroll service and thus will have to be registered as a TPB agent.

Step 2: Enable Electronic Lodgement and Single Touch Payroll

Setting up the electronic lodgement, you can lodge the employee tax file declaration along with the STL lodgements online to the ATO directly. All you have to ensure is that you enable the electronic lodgement before enabling the STP. Here are the steps for QuickBooks Online Single Touch Payroll set up:

• Go to the “Employees” menu located on the left.
• Then, click on the “Payroll Settings” tab.
• Press the “ATO Settings” option.
• Now, click on the “Electronic Lodgment & STP” section.
• At this point, you can continue following the instructions given on your screen. Also, verify the information of your business.

Once done, you can connect with the ATO team and ask them to provide you the Software Provider and its ID. As you receive the details, you can enter them through the Access Manager.

What All Information ATO Requires During the Call?

• Proof of ownership record. It could be a recent ATO-generated notice, personal TFN, address, or date of birth.
• If you have registered yourself as a tax agent then you can use the Registered Agent Number, known as RAN. Otherwise, you can use the Australian Business Number, known as ABN.
• ABN (70154693955) or name (Keypay) of the software provider.
• ATO may also need a unique software ID.

Important Note: If an intermediary or a registered agent lodges Single Touch Payroll on the behalf of a business then make sure that the ATO connection is against the intermediary or registered agent (not the business record).

Update the Information through Access Manager

As we said earlier, you will have to enter the details through the Access Manager. So, first of all, you will have to sign in with the myGov login details if you are an authorized staff or eligible associate of the business. Once logged in successfully, you can follow these steps:

• Click on the “My hosted SBR software services” located on the left.
• Then, click on the “Notify the ATO of the hosted service” option.
• Now, look for the “KeyPay” in the available list.
• Here, you can click on the link of “ABN” for “KeyPay”.
• After this, you can add the “Software ID”.
• Press the “Next” button.
• Check the “Notification” and hit the “Save” button.

Once you are following these steps, you can go to the Electronic Lodgement and STP page and then do the following:

• Click on the “Enable Electronic Lodgement”.
• Then, click on the “Enable Single Touch Payroll” option.
• Press the “Confirm” button.

The last step is mandatory to follow to successfully apply the STP settings otherwise the STP lodgment will be discarded. This is how you complete the setup of QuickBooks Online Single Touch Payroll.

Final Verdict

The procedure of QuickBooks Online Single Touch Payroll requires an employer to report the payments to ATO directly from the payroll system. Here, we have shown all things you need to be aware of regarding STP. In just two simple steps, you can enable STP and lodge in QuickBooks. All you have to do is set up ATO settings, and then Electronic Lodgment & STP in QuickBooks Online.

For more details regarding QuickBooks accounts and petty cash, check out the following guides:

• How to Run a Final Paycheck in QuickBooks Online?
• How to Post Petty Cash in QuickBooks?