Single Touch Payroll has been around for a while now, but plenty of small business owners still find it confusing. A lot of people think it is just a button inside their payroll software. That is only half the story.
STP changes when your payroll details reach the ATO, and that changes what your books need to look like on payday. Messy records show up quickly. Tidy ones make STP feel like part of the routine. This blog covers what actually changes for bookkeeping, and what to keep an eye on.
What Single Touch Payroll Means in Plain Terms
STP is the ATO’s system for payroll reporting. Each time you pay your staff, your payroll software sends the pay details to the ATO. That includes gross wages, PAYG withholding and super. You don’t fill in a separate form or post anything.
The timing is what catches people out. You need to report on or before payday, not at the end of the year. Before STP, a lot of businesses sorted out their payroll numbers in June. Now each pay run is a report, so each pay run needs to be right on the day.
Phase 2 added more detail to those reports. It started on 1 January 2022. The ATO now wants payments split into types, like overtime, allowances, bonuses and paid leave. So your payroll set up has to be a bit more careful than it used to be.
Who Needs to Report Through STP
STP covers almost every employer in Australia. The size of your team doesn’t matter. You are covered if you have:
- one or more employees, including casuals
- directors or family members on the payroll
- working holiday makers
- a sole trader business with staff
Closely held payees get some flexibility. These are people like family members, directors and shareholders. Small employers can report their pay quarterly, and the finalisation date can be different too. Check the ATO’s closely held payee page for your case, because the rules depend on how many employees you have.
How STP Changes Your Day to Day Bookkeeping
Some small businesses used to run payroll when they had time. That doesn’t really work now. Every pay run sends data to the ATO, so a mistake in your payroll file goes straight through. A wrong pay rate, a missing starter or a wrong tax setting all end up in the report.
So bookkeeping needs to keep pace with payroll. It helps to check each pay run against your bank feed and your payroll software, even if it only takes ten minutes. If you already work with a bookkeeper, ask them to check the lodgement receipt too. Regular small business bookkeeping usually includes a quick pay run check like this, because it saves a lot of fixing later. The bigger the team, the more pay runs you have, so these checks matter more. This payroll case study shows how that looks for a large team.
Before and After STP
| Area | Before STP | After STP |
|---|---|---|
| Reporting timing | Once a year | On or before each payday |
| Payment summaries | Paper or PDF to each employee | Income statements in myGov |
| Super reporting | Separate from payroll | Super liability reported with each pay run |
| Fixing errors | Often left until year end | Fixed as soon as you spot them |
| ATO visibility | Annual totals | Close to real time |
| Bookkeeping pace | Monthly or yearly | Every pay cycle |
What STP Phase 2 Added
If your software asked you for new details a few years ago, this was why. The main changes were:
- income types for each employee, like salary and wages or working holiday maker
- employment basis, such as full time, part time, casual or labour hire
- tax treatment codes
- separate reporting for overtime, bonuses, allowances and leave
- reason codes when an employee leaves
None of this is hard on its own. It just needs setting up properly. If an employee file was never updated, your reports can be wrong without you noticing.
Payroll, Super and Reconciliation
STP and super are tied together now. Your pay run report shows each employee’s super liability, which is the amount you owe. It doesn’t show what you have paid. Your books need to track both.
This matters more since payday super started on 1 July 2026. Super now needs to reach each employee’s fund within seven business days of payday, instead of once a quarter. From 1 July 2026, STP reports include qualifying earnings and super liability. The ATO can compare those figures with fund data, so late or missing payments are easier for them to spot. If super isn’t received on time, the super guarantee charge can apply. The ATO’s small business clearing house also closed on 1 July 2026, so businesses that used it need another way to pay.
In your books, the PAYG withholding and super payable accounts should drop back to zero, or close to it, after each payment. If a balance keeps growing, something is off. It could be a coding mistake, a missed payment or a timing gap. A short monthly check of these accounts catches most problems. Tidy payroll accounts also help your cash flow, because you can see what you owe the ATO and super funds before it is due.
Common STP Mistakes
Most STP problems come from small habits. These are the ones that come up the most:
- saving a pay run but never lodging it, so no report reaches the ATO
- wrong tax file numbers or dates of birth in the employee file
- reporting net pay when the report needs gross pay
- paying staff by bank transfer outside the payroll system
- coding super to the wrong account, which makes reconciling harder
- forgetting to finalise at the end of the financial year
Each one is easy to fix if you catch it early. It gets harder if the error sits there for months. A short checklist for every pay run is usually enough.
A Simple Routine for the Year
STP adds a few jobs to your calendar. They are small, but they do need to happen. A simple routine looks like this:
- Each pay run: check that the STP lodgement went through.
- Each pay run: make sure super is paid in time to reach the fund within seven business days.
- Each month: reconcile your PAYG withholding and super accounts.
- Each quarter: check the payroll figures against your BAS.
- Before 14 July: check year to date totals for every employee.
- By 14 July: lodge your STP finalisation declaration. Closely held payees may have a different date.
If you leave it all until late June, it gets stressful. Spreading the jobs out keeps it light.
Choosing Payroll Software
Your software needs to be STP enabled. Most popular cloud tools are, including Xero and MYOB as well as QuickBooks. The ATO also lists approved software on its website if you want to check yours.
What matters most is how well your payroll and accounting records connect. If you keep payroll in one place and your books in another, mistakes sneak in. A connected setup makes quarterly BAS and payroll reporting a lot smoother, and it means the numbers in your reports match the numbers in your accounts.
Get the Pay Run Right and the Rest Gets Easier
STP is not complicated, but it does leave less room for sloppy payroll. The businesses that struggle tend to treat payroll as a monthly chore. The ones that cope well do small checks on every pay run and keep their super accounts tidy.
If your payroll feels like too much on top of running the business, it may help to hand it over. Many small businesses use payroll services for this. A bookkeeper who knows STP can lodge pay runs, track super and finalise at year end, so you only deal with the people side. If you are still deciding between doing it yourself and getting help, this guide on DIY bookkeeping lays out both sides. The team at Elite Plus Bookkeeping can also look at your current setup and tell you where the gaps are.
Want help with STP and payroll bookkeeping? Contact us and we’ll go through your payroll setup with you.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to use STP if I only have one employee?
What happens if I lodge my STP report late?
Do I still need to give my employees payment summaries?
What is STP finalisation and when is it due?
Can my bookkeeper handle STP for me?
get in touch
Connect with Our Experts
Our dedicated team of accountants and bookkeepers is here to guide you toward the best financial solutions. Reach out today and speak with one of our experienced professionals to get started on the right path.
Recent Blogs
Learn how Single Touch Payroll affects bookkeeping for Australian small businesses, including payroll reporting, super, reconciliation, common mistakes and STP finalisation.
Read More
Get your small business ready for EOFY with a practical bookkeeping checklist covering bank reconciliations, BAS, payroll, super, stocktake, debts and key ATO deadlines.
Read More
Learn how better bookkeeping can improve cash flow by tracking invoices, bills, GST, payroll and upcoming expenses, helping small businesses stay prepared.
Read More