We’ve made it. Single Touch Payroll is in place and implemented by almost every business across Australia, large or small.
Under STP businesses will report each pay run directly to the Australian Tax Office, streamlining information sharing and creating greater visibility of cashflow issues and outstanding pay or super liabilities for both small businesses and the ATO.
There’s a level playing field. No short-changing employees, no avoiding tax. Greater fairness for everyone.
Now that your STP processes are in place and, I hope, running smoothly for your business, I want to look at how the millions of small businesses across Australia can use Single Touch Payroll to their advantage to improve how their business runs.
The important think of STP as a tool to remind you to pay attention to the other parts of your business. There are a lot of benefits and advantages of Single Touch Payroll, but most importantly it can help put you back in the driver’s seat of your business.
Take the next step
As a small-business owner, there’s never enough time in the day to get everything done because you wear so many hats. Time is the most precious resource you have. Sure, money is good, but once time passes, it’s gone. Every minute you spend working on tasks that can be streamlined is time you’re not building the best business possible.
This is where STP comes in. To comply, all businesses were required to sign up for online accounting software. Beyond compliance, this technology has huge potential to help you streamline your payroll and bookkeeping processes.
With the payroll automation and efficient STP function available in cloud software solutions such as QuickBooks Online, STP compliance should free up more of your time to work on your business, instead of in it.
Get on top
The key is to use that same software to get and stay on top of your business. For example, each time you do a pay run and report to the ATO, check if any other business transactions need attention. This could include reviewing your debtors and chasing any outstanding payments, scheduling some payables, or running a profit and loss report.
Since STP allows your employees to go into the platform and see their pay runs and super information for themselves they can be part of the tax process, rather than it all being carried on your shoulders. Make a point of encouraging them to do this.
Using STP to your advantage is about much more than complying with the ATO. It’s a chance to run a better business, empower your staff and, ultimately, make your life easier.
Kane Munro, Director, Accountancy Online
