The STP Setup menu in your Attaché Online company is a feature that needs to be configured correctly in order to correctly report for Single Touch Payroll Phase 2. The configuration settings in the STP Setup menu will allow your company payroll reported figures to go into the correct columns in the Income Statements for each STP2 batch, in line with the specifications from the ATO.
For resources on the configuration of STP2 and the STP Setup menu, see also:
STP2 employer reporting guidelines from the ATO website.
STP Phase 2 reporting – Quick reference guide from the ATO website.
STP Setup menu frequently asked questions
Setup Allowances tab
Q: There are things on this checklist that don't apply to us such as bonuses, director's fees, defence leave, laundry & transport allowances etc - is it safe to leave these out?
A: Yes if they do not apply.
Setup Parental Leave Allowances tab
Q: When do you set up paid parental leave as an allowance?
A: If Paid Parental Leave is set up as an Allowance it is usually government paid parental leave or an industry award-based allowance for parental leave.
Setup Parental Leave Income Type tab
Q: When do you set up paid parental leave as an Income Type
A: If paid Parental Leave is set up as an income type, it can then be connected to a leave table to accrue Annual Leave on it, again as per some Industry based awards.
Income Types tab
Q: Sick Leave is being included in the Other Paid leave column in the Income Statement
A: Go to STP Setups. Select your company and go to the Income Types tab, for Sick Leave, Select Gross in the "Disaggregation of Gross" field, then click the Save button to save the changes.
Used Leave on Termination tab
Q. What is set up within this tab?
A: See Attaché Payroll: How do I setup Attaché to pay out unused Annual Leave on termination of an employee with STP2?
Q. Paid Normal Annual leave taken is being included in the Unused leave on Termination column in the Income Statement. How to fix this?
A: Go to STP Setups. Select your company and go to the Unused Leave on Termination tab. Untick the checkbox against Annual leave taken and click the Save button at the bottom. If you go back to the Income statement and re-download it, the figures should then be correct.
Tax Scale Codes tab
Q: I don't have any custom tax scales to my understanding. Do we need to do anything with this?
A: If you have no custom tax scales set up, there is no need to configure a Tax Treatment Mapping in this tab
STP2 General questions
Q: How can I tell if I am reporting with STP2?
A. Version field is added in the STP Batch details screen in Attaché Online. If the version displays as STP2020 then you are reporting with STP2 and if the version is STP2018 then you are reporting with STP1.
Q: I have upgraded to Attaché 21.1 (or later) however I don’t have STP Setup option in my Attaché Online.
A: Upgrading to Attaché 21.1 (or later) is one of the steps in the transition process to be able to report using STP2. As part of the Implementation process, you will need to notify the Attaché ANZ Product Team to enable the STP Setup configuration menu. This is one of the tasks detailed in the STP Implementation Checklist which can be downloaded from the Single Touch Payroll Phase 2 (STP2) resources knowledge article link above.
Q: Child Support - How often does the Protected Earnings Value change and does the system automatically update this information?
A: Child Support Deductions are subject to Protected Earnings. The government updates this rate every year in January, and this information needs to be manually updated for the Child Support Deduction code. To find the correct information, visit the Services Australia website (https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/protected-earnings-amount-when-deducting-child-support?context=23156). See also: Set up a child support deduction.
Q: Termination Payments - can I use the TERM93 income type for termination payments?
A: It is recommended to create new codes for any unused leave that is paid out on termination. This ensures it is associated to the correct Paid Leave classification. See: Pay out unused Leave on termination with Single Touch Payroll Phase 2.
If your system has an existing TERM93 income type set up, the settings for this may be incorrect. You could either update the Income Category details to reflect the information correctly or mark this as Inactive.
Q: Can you still terminate employees directly from the employee masterfile?
A: If you enter the termination details directly into the employee masterfile (e.g. for casual employees that have not worked for a while and do not have a termination pay to process), you will need to enter the required Termination Reason and Previous Employment Status with STP2 in Attaché Online via the STP Setup, Terminated Employees Setup menu. See Enter an employee termination pay and terminate an employee for the options for terminating an employee by entering a termination pay, or directly from the Employee Masterfile.
Q: I am unable to reconcile my payroll data after switching to report, is there any material available to assist with this?
A: See the STP Reconciliation report link above.