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Run Your First Pay Run

This is the last step of Quick Start. It pays your staff for the hours they worked and reports the pay run to the ATO.

By the end of this step you'll have:

  1. Started a pay run and checked the payslips.
  2. Paid your staff with the ABA bank file.
  3. Locked the pay run and lodged it with the ATO.

Before you run your first pay run

  • Every timesheet in the pay period is approved.
  • Each employee has a Start Date on or before the last day of the pay period.
  • If you have more than one pay cycle, each employee is in their pay cycle's Group.

Warning

With Tick Approval, shifts no manager has approved are left out of the pay run, and nothing on the payslips tells you they're missing. Approve every shift in the pay period before you start.

Start a new pay run

Navigate to Menu > Payroll > Payruns.

  1. Click the Upcoming Payruns tab. Each pay cycle shows its next Pay Period and Payment Date.
  2. Click Start on the pay cycle you're paying. The New Payrun window opens.
  3. Check the Year, Run and Payment Date. The Payment Date is the date shown on the payslips.
  4. Click Payrun.

Microkeeper works out everyone's pay and opens the pay run's payslips. To pay a period before today, choose it in Year and Run. See Processing a Payrun.

Check the payslips

Check each employee's hours, pay lines and totals before you pay anyone. Microkeeper lists anyone who needs a look at the top of the page, such as Staff Starting In This Pay Period.

If something's wrong, fix the cause first, for example approve a timesheet or change a profile. Then click Bulk Actions > Reprocess, tick I understand and click Confirm Reprocess Payrun.

Pay your staff with the ABA bank file

When the payslips are right, click Complete Payrun. It opens at 1. Pay Your Team.

  1. Under Confirm Payment Date, check the date your staff will be paid.
  2. Under Download the ABA file, click Download ABA.
  3. Upload the ABA file to your bank's online banking to pay everyone in one batch.

Lock the pay run

Locking finalises the pay run and lets your staff see their payslips online. On 1. Pay Your Team, under Lock the Payrun, click Lock & Continue.

Warning

Download the ABA file before you lock the pay run. Once it's locked, the download is replaced by Unlock for ABA.

Lodge the pay run with the ATO

Each pay run is reported to the ATO through Single Touch Payroll. In the Complete Payrun menu, click 2. Submit to ATO.

  1. The first time, open Software ID Setup and follow it to give the ATO your Software ID.
  2. Under STP Submission type, choose Normal Payrun.
  3. Click Review Data, check the details, then click I have reviewed data.
  4. Tick the declaration and click Lodge STP.

For more, see Single Touch Payroll. If you use Xero, MYOB or Reckon, send the pay run there from 3. Export: see Xero, MYOB or Reckon.

Check your first pay run is complete

On Menu > Payroll > Payruns, open the Processed tab. When your pay run shows Complete, it's locked and lodged, and you've finished Quick Start.

What to set up next

  • Super: pay your staff's super from 4. Pay Super in Complete Payrun. See Paying Super.
  • Leave: let staff request leave and have it paid in the pay run. See How Leave Works.
  • Payslips online: staff see their payslips on the Employee Console. See Employee Console.

First pay run troubleshooting

Why are some staff paid nothing?

With Tick Approval, unapproved shifts are left out. Approve them on the Timesheets page, then reprocess the pay run with Bulk Actions > Reprocess.

Why is an employee missing from the pay run?

Check their Start Date is on or before the end of the pay period, and that they're in the pay cycle's Group. Then click Bulk Actions > Add Employee and add them to the pay run.

Why can't I download the ABA file?

If it says "No Bank Account assigned to this Pay Cycle", choose a Wage Bank Account on the pay cycle in ABN and Pay Cycles. If the pay run is already locked, click Unlock for ABA first.

Why was a part-timer paid a public holiday they don't work?

Unworked public holidays are paid from each employee's contracted days. For staff who work rotating days, change Contracted Hours on their profile to Roster Calendar. See Leave and Public Holidays.

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