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Set Up Your ABN and Pay Cycles

This is step 2 of Quick Start. It sets up how often you pay your staff and the bank account wages are paid from.

By the end of this step you'll have:

  1. Chosen your pay period.
  2. Added the bank account your wages are paid from.
  3. Added your ABN and first pay cycle.

Before you set up your pay cycle

You'll need:

  • How often you pay staff, and how many days after the pay period ends you pay them.
  • The account name, BSB and account number of the bank account wages are paid from.
  • Your APCA code, sometimes called a User ID, which your bank supplies for paying with an ABA file.

Choose your pay period in Global Settings

Navigate to Menu > Settings > General > Global, then click Payroll Settings.

  1. Choose your Pay Period: Weekly, Fortnightly, Semimonthly or Monthly.
  2. Choose Payment Days in Arrears: how many days after the pay period ends you pay your staff. For example, if your week runs Monday to Sunday and you pay the following Monday, choose 1.

Each setting saves as soon as you change it, and Saved appears.

Add the bank account wages are paid from

Microkeeper pays your staff with an ABA file you upload to your bank, so it needs the account the wages come out of.

Navigate to Menu > Settings > General > Bank Details.

  1. Click Add Bank Account, then choose Withdrawal.
  2. Enter a Nickname, the Account Name, BSB and Account Number.
  3. Enter your APCA code, and choose your bank in Bank Code.
  4. In Group, choose All.
  5. Enter a Reference of 12 characters or fewer, for example "WAGES". It appears on your bank statement.
  6. Click Add Bank Account.

Warning

The Reference field accepts more than 12 characters, but the ABA file won't generate with a longer reference.

Add your ABN and first pay cycle

Navigate to Menu > Payroll > Payruns. A new account has no pay cycle yet, so ABN and Pay Cycles opens instead, with your ABN from Global Settings already filled in.

  1. Check the ABN, and click Add ABN / Branch Code. Microkeeper checks it with the ATO and adds a card for it, with your business contact details from Global Settings.
  2. Add Pay Cycle opens next, filled in from your Global Settings. Change the Title from its pay period, for example "Weekly", to a name your payroll team will recognise, such as "Melbourne Weekly".
  3. Check Wage Bank Account shows your wages account. Because you added an account with the Group All, it's already chosen.
  4. Click Add Pay Cycle.

To come back to this page later, navigate to Menu > Settings > General > Global, then click ABN and Pay Cycles.

More than one ABN or pay cycle

Most businesses need one ABN and one pay cycle to start. If you need more, add them on ABN and Pay Cycles:

  • Another company that employs staff: click Add ABN. Microkeeper looks the ABN up with the ATO, so it must be registered there. Then click the pencil next to its name and add its phone, email and address, which Single Touch Payroll needs.
  • Staff paid on a different schedule: click Add Pay Cycle on the ABN's card, and choose its Wage Bank Account.

Warning

With two or more pay cycles, each one gets its own Group, and a pay run only pays the staff in its pay cycle's Group. The new Groups start empty, so put every employee in one pay cycle when you add your staff.

Check your pay cycle is ready

On ABN and Pay Cycles, your pay cycle shows your bank account in the Wages column. Navigate to Menu > Payroll > Payruns: under Upcoming Payruns, your pay cycle's next pay run is listed.

Next step: add your Locations

Continue with Add Your Locations to name the places your staff work.

Pay cycle troubleshooting

Why can't I download the ABA file?

If the message says "No Bank Account assigned to this Pay Cycle", open the pay cycle with its pencil button on ABN and Pay Cycles, choose a Wage Bank Account and click Update Pay Cycle. If the file won't generate, check the bank account's Reference is 12 characters or fewer.

Why can't I add my other company's ABN?

Add ABN looks the ABN up with the ATO, and there's no way to enter one by hand. If you see "ATO could not find ABN", check the number on the ATO's ABN Lookup website, then try again.

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