Payroll Processing and STP Reporting
Running the pay cycle properly — pay runs, payslips, PAYG withholding, Single Touch Payroll reporting and superannuation guarantee — on time, every period.
Payroll is the one area of compliance where an error has a face attached to it. A miscalculated pay run does not sit quietly in a ledger until June; it affects someone’s mortgage payment this week, and it has to be corrected in a way that satisfies both the employee and the ATO. That combination of visibility and deadline pressure is why payroll gets outsourced more often than any other accounting function.
Under Single Touch Payroll, employers report payroll information to the ATO each time employees are paid, rather than in an annual summary. That changes the discipline required: a coding error is transmitted immediately and has to be corrected through the same channel. Alongside that sits superannuation guarantee — calculating what is owed for each eligible employee, and paying it correctly and on time.
What payroll processing covers
- Pay run processingRegular pay runs calculated from approved hours and rates, including leave, allowances, deductions and termination payments.
- Payslips and recordsCompliant payslips issued each period, with the underlying payroll records retained in a form that can be reviewed later.
- PAYG withholdingWithholding calculated and reported correctly, and reconciled to what is reported on activity statements.
- Single Touch PayrollSTP reporting submitted to the ATO for each pay event, with errors corrected through the proper channel rather than left to accumulate.
- Superannuation guaranteeCalculating super for eligible employees, preparing the payment run, and keeping the record of what was paid and when.
- Leave balancesAnnual leave, personal leave and long service accruals tracked so balances on the payslip match balances in the accounts.
Who this suits
Employers taking on their first staff. Where the obligations are new and getting the framework right from the first pay run avoids expensive corrections later.
Small and medium employers. Where payroll currently lands on an office manager or the owner, and the deadline pressure each period is disproportionate to the headcount.
Employers with variable pay. Casual hours, overtime, allowances or commissions, where every period is a fresh calculation rather than a repeat of the last one.
The pay cycle
Setup and verification
Employee records, rates, super fund details and entitlements are confirmed before the first pay run, not discovered during it.
Process the run
Each period we process the pay run from the approved inputs and provide it for approval before anything is finalised.
Report and pay
Payslips issued, STP submitted to the ATO for the pay event, and the superannuation payment run prepared.
Reconcile
Payroll totals are reconciled to the general ledger and to activity statement reporting, so discrepancies surface immediately.
We handle the processing and the reporting. Employment terms, award interpretation and industrial relations questions sit with an employment law adviser, not an accountant. Once a pay run is complete, the wages, withholding and superannuation post back into the business’s bookkeeping and financial reporting, and any fringe benefits provided to employees are dealt with separately under fringe benefits tax.
Works well with
Common questions
What actually is Single Touch Payroll?
How much superannuation do we have to pay?
Can you advise on awards and employment agreements?
Speak to a chartered accountant
Tell us what you need and we’ll let you know whether we can help, what it involves and what it costs — before you commit to anything.