Available for the following Payroll Plan: Standard, Premium
Available for the following User Access levels: Admin
The payroll platform is optimised for managing employees but can also be adapted to handle contractor payments with a few custom settings. This article provides steps for setting up contractors in the payroll platform, allowing you to track their payments and superannuation while maintaining separation from employee records.
Warning
The payroll platform currently does not support payments directly to an ABN. Contractors must be set up as "employees" on the platform.
Tips for setting up a contractor
Consider using a separate Employing Entity for contractors. This helps differentiate them from regular employees, especially for Single Touch Payroll (STP) purposes. Contractors do not need to be reported to the ATO as employees, so keeping them in a distinct entity is ideal.
For more information on adding and managing employing entities, see this article.
For contractors without a TFN, the system defaults to taxing at 47% after 28 days. If you have contractors working under Labour Hire or similar agreements, use a designated Special Tax File Number to manage their tax information properly.
Refer to Updating Employee Tax File Declarations for specific TFN setup.
For more information about using Special Tax FIle Numbers, see this article.
Setting up a unique Pay Schedule for contractors allows you to process superannuation contributions without making an actual wage payment.
Finalise the pay without submitting it to the ATO to manage super contributions effectively.
See Pay Schedules for guidance on creating new schedules.
Use Pay Categories to distinguish contractor payments. For contractors, you’ll want to:
- Select PAYG Exempt to avoid PAYG deductions.
- Ensure Leave Accrual is disabled by not ticking this option.
- Use hourly unit-based pay categories to handle hourly contractor payments.
For further details, visit Pay Categories - Creating & Managing.
If contractors are entering timesheets, create dedicated Work Types for them. This ensures that timesheets map accurately to the correct pay categories, keeping their payments organised and aligned with your payroll processes.
- More details on configuring work types can be found in Work Types for Use in Timesheets.
Set up a Location (Cost Centre) to allocate contractor costs separately from employees. This makes it easier to filter contractor expenses in reports and track spending.
Visit Locations for guidance on creating locations.
While leave is generally not applicable for contractors, you may want to create a Leave Allowance Template without any leave categories to keep contractor records complete and organised.
More information can be found in Leave Allowance Templates.