STP2 READY

Version 7.2 of Eclipse Payroll is available for download and is STP2 ready.

You must transition your Eclipse Payroll setup to handle and use STP2 sometime prior to 31 OCTOBER 2022.

Please contact the UBS Support Team as early as possible if you cannot transition by this date as we will need to extend STP1 support for you and you will need to request an extension to this date from the ATO.

Introduction

The ATO has released a new Single Touch Payroll Standard, called STP2. This new standard must be adopted by all Businesses submitting Payroll data to the ATO using Single Touch Payroll.

As a user of Eclipse Payroll you will be affected by this change. Your Payroll Setup must be changed for all Employees so that your data conforms to the new STP2 standard. This needs to occur before 31/10/2022.

What this means for users of Eclipse Payroll

You'll need to change your Payroll Setup so that it complies with STP2. This involves changing the setup of Allowance, Deductions, Leaves and Employees. A 7 Step Process for doing this is explained below.

WHEN YOU SHOULD TRANSITION

DO NOT begin the conversion to STP2 just before a Payrun is due!

Give your self a full Pay Cycle to perform the conversion. And try to finish the conversion within that time.

Most Eclipse customers will need between 2 and 4 hours to convert their data.

We also recommend that you do NOT transition just before the End of the 2021/2022 Financial Year. Do your EOFY processing first.

BEFORE YOU START YOUR TRANSITION

Make sure your last STP(1) Upload to the ATO has finished uploading and been accepted by the ATO before you attempt to Transition to STP2.

IMPORTANT ATO DOCUMENTATION

The ATO has prepared an extensive guide to STP2 Reporting specifically for Employers, here:

Single-Touch-Payroll-Phase-2-employer-reporting-guidelines

TIP: It helps to keep this web page open while doing the conversion to STP2 in case you need any clarification on the changes. The instructions presented below assume you understand your reporting obligations in those reporting guidelines from the ATO.

HOW TO USE THESE INSTRUCTIONS

Below on this page we have outlined the 7 Steps you need to follow to transition to STP2. Basic instructions and Training videos are provided for each step.

You may find this information is enough on its own but note that each Step has detailed instructions which you can access by selecting the heading link for each Step.

We recommend you follow the instructions and view the videos on this page, and use the detailed instructions for each Step if you need more help.

ACCESSING THIS HELP

You can access this Help documentation from within Eclipse Payroll at anytime by selecting the STP2 button in the Help Tab.

STP2 TRANSITION INSTRUCTIONS

Step 1: Show STP2

Before starting, make sure your last STP (1) Upload has finished and been accepted by the ATO.

Do not start this process just before a Payrun is due.

To start the Transition process, Set the System Option that allows STP2 features to be shown in the Eclipse Payroll user interface. This places the software in a special state whereby STP1 is still used should you run a Payrun, but the required features for STP2 are shown and can be edited. In this state, you can begin transitioning to STP2. And once this is achieved you can then activate STP2 for use within the Payrun. The video shows you how to do this. Or click on the heading for this Step to see detailed written instructions.

Please note:

With the introduction of STP2, we are disabling the ability to OVERRIDE Tax and SGC settings for Allowances and Deductions at Grade or at Employee level. Whenever this has occurred in your current setup, note that the System will automatically create and link any Employees with overridden Allowance/Deduction settings to NEW items that mirror the original but have been modified to handle the override.
For example; if you have one Allowance shared between two Employees, but the Allowance has been overridden for one of them, then the system will duplicate the overridden Allowance settings into a new Allowance setup and link the overridden Employee to that new Allowance. This provides for a simpler transition to STP2.
A setup snapshot can be produced for each Employee at this step. This snapshot captures the Employee's current Payroll configuration for future reference.
A Checklist is provided that displays the status of each area of Eclipse Payroll with non-compliant STP2 data that needs to be addressed.

Step 2: Fix Allowances

Check and change each Allowance Setup to conform to STP2 rules. You'll need to set the correct Allowance Type and making sure all other settings are correct, in particular the Subject to Tax and Subject to SGC flags.

The videos show how to do this or click on the heading for this step to access the written instructions.

Step 3: Fix Deductions

Check and change each Deduction Setup to conform to STP2 rules. This involves setting the correct Deduction Type and making sure all other settings are correct, in particular the Taxable, Subject to Tax and Subject to SGC flags.

The videos show how to do this or click on the heading for this step to access the written instructions.

Step 4: Fix Leaves

Changing each Leave Setup to conform to STP2 rules. This involves setting the Leave Class. The videos show how to do this or click on the heading for this step to access the written instructions.

Steps 5 and 6: Check Employee and Activate STP2 in Payrun

Ensuring all Employees are now setup correctly and being paid correctly. The videos show how to do this or click on the heading for this step to access the written instructions.

Once the Checklist reports no errors, activate STP2 File Processing logic. This will cause future Payruns to produce the STP file in STP2 format for submission to the ATO. The videos show how to do this or click on the heading for this step to access the written instructions.

You have finished converting to STP2. Future files sent to the ATO will be in the STP2 format.

Step 7: Finished

You have finished converting to STP2. Future files sent to the ATO will be in the STP2 format.