So I contacted a “Sending Service Provider” to see if I could make my own file for STP. Their response might help to put the STP requirements in perspective.
"The ATO has insisted that all STP data is prepared by whitelisted payroll software providers. We are a Sending Service Provider and we work only with these whitelisted providers - see our Partners Page on our website. The process to become whitelisted is onerous and shouldn’t be considered unless you have technical expertise and a bit of time and money. The best solution would be to contact one of the Micro STP suppliers that the ATO is promoting and check their products for suitability and cost. two of our providers (Cloud Payroll and ClockOn) provide low cost solutions for Micro businesses - see their details on our website.
Unfortunately the days of exporting a flat file or data and uploading it to the ATO are now gone. You can read more on the ATO website for confirmation."
What that means for the ability of Manager to support STP I do not know but al least I can stop trying to make my own.
At this point, Manager has data to submit STP. There is no free STP provider we can use though.
https://singletouch.com.au costs $7.50 + GST and can accept CSV files. So what we are going to do is make Manager able to export CSV file in format singletouch.com.au accepts.
There are multiple entities promising free STP so once there is free alternative, we will definitely switch to recommend it. But until then, you will probably have to pay monthly fee.
Also, if you are small employer (1-4 employees) you can use registered tax or BAS agent to report quarterly for the first two years or requests additional time to start STP reporting (ATO claims to grant deferral to everyone who applies for it)
@lubos it looks like Westpac is offering a STP solution. Would this be able to work with Manager?
From Westpac website:
Single touch payroll will use the same transfer protocol used in SuperStream (ebMS) to report to the ATO. Through Westpac’s SuperStream client base, Westpac has proven ebMS capability and can provide similar services to payroll solution providers, where:
The payroll solution provider can:
Create the data in the format as specified by the ATO, or optionally provide the data in a custom format which Westpac can transform to the ATO standard; or
Send the data to Westpac in a simpler method of choice (such as SFTP, SOAP, HTTPS).
Westpac will then:
Package the data and send it to the ATO via ebMS, including processing retries if the ATO service is unavailable; and
Collect response messages from the ATO once available
Payroll software providers can retrieve response messages from Westpac using a similar method that is used to send the original data message.
Single touch have 3 products.
STP lite: $7.50 + GST per month, 30 employees included then 25c per employee, upload CSV (ie the above offer).
STP data: $5 + GST per month, 50 employees included then 10c per employee, upload data file (CSV or XML) via portal or API. Manager needs to have an ATO product id, which I think means it needs to be registered with with the ATO.
The later looks better to me and listing Manager on the ATO site is likely to be good marketing exposure for Manager.
For reference, looking through the other current options GovReports IAM STP Reporting Module up to 20 employees $8.25 inc GST ($99 pa), has CSV upload to web interface. Cost increases if other forms are supported. OB Secure Messaging ZeroCloud 1-4 free, 5-9 $10, 10-19 $15, CSV upload however I’m not sure it is currently available. Clockon Single touch payroll only package 1-5 free, 6-10 $18/m, 11-20 $36/m, OZEDI submission interface Clockon payroll $2 per employee per month Freepay 1-2 free, 3-4 $5, 4-15 $25, 16-30 $45. Payroll system Basoff <5 $8.33, 6-10 $25, 11-20 $50 per month paid per annum in advance. Payroll system.
@lubos
I have found a free STP software with unlimited employees that integrates with MYOB and Xero and a super clearing house. Not sure if this is something that may work with Manager. The software is Payroller. https://payroller.com.au.
The latest version of Manager supports Single Touch Payroll.
The feature is delivered as “Single Touch Payroll Worksheet” report which can be exported to CSV file which can be then imported to www.singletouch.com.au website.
Yes, but none of this stuff is hard-coded into the program. So what has been done for Australia can be (and should be) done eventually for all countries.
Love you work, using the desktop version
I have edited the employees and updated the software. I get a Liquid error: Index was outside the bounds of the array at the top left and for the from until dates.
When exported both employees have the same W1 and W2 totals.
Have I missed some detail somewhere?
Kate
@KateG the report is not doing much error checking yet but make sure to set it so it has two periods:
Period 1: Pay period (e.g. 9/07/2019 - 9/07/2019) - single day is fine
Period 2: YTD period (e.g. 01/07/2019 - 9/07/2019)
The reason for the report to be set this way is because on business level, ATO wants figures for pay period but on employee level, ATO wants figures for YTD.
I’ve been researching various options, most of which say they are free but all seem to then have some charge for the download process, at least. “Clockon” however, appear to provide a fee process for payroll of no more than 5 employees. (Clockon is a payroll app) They have various rates for larger numbers of employees. They use a submitting group called: OZEDI, that must be prepared to provide free ATO submission for small organizations?? So it seems that you (Lubos?) may be able to negotiate a similar deal for Manager??? That would then provide a more direct process for us Manager users?
For payroll its $2 per employee per month Single touch payroll only package 1-5 free, 6-10 $18/m, 11-20 $36/m
So similar price to other payroll systems
OB secure messaging probably has better pricing (similar micro payroll option)
Registering Manager with the ATO to get better pricing from the existing STP setup would probably be better use of time given the marketing value.
Edit: @brc Thanks for the find, added Clockon information to the earlier post
Why do I get this error and nothing in the report?I have set up as per instructions but I am confused when lubos says to configure the YTD I am not sure where to do that is it on the payslip when you tick year to date totals . I have version 19.17.10
