Welcome to the final stages of your launch preparation. Your hard work and dedication have brought you to this point, where most of the configuration tasks within the payroll platform have been successfully completed. As you approach the final stretch, a few crucial actions require attention to ensure a seamless and successful launch.
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Once complete, we will remove all parallel testing data. This action ensures that your live payroll environment remains pristine, organised, and ready for operation.
By attending to these essential steps, you are poised to embark on a successful journey with Employment Hero Payroll, equipped with the necessary preparations to navigate the transition confidently and efficiently.
Important
We recommend completing the following steps only after you have successfully conducted parallel testing and once you have processed your final pay run in your current software. This will ensure your transition is smooth and seamless.
Considerations for EOFY: If you are preparing to launch in the new financial year, ensure your awards are updated and your superannuation guarantee percentage is adjusted to the new rate of 12%. (2025/2026) Information on the Superannuation Guarantee updates can be found here: Annual Increases to SG.
Set up your ATO/STP settings
The payroll platform utilises your ATO settings when lodging a pay event or update event to the ATO portal. These settings specify the entity that is submitting these events for your organisation and provide the necessary information for the ATO to process your requests. You have the option to choose from three submission types, depending on how your organisation submits lodgements to the ATO.
How to Prepare/Dependencies
The ATO reporting process in Employment Hero Payroll offers three distinct options based on your organisation's structure and ATO lodgement practices. It's essential to select the appropriate option that aligns with your circumstances:
- Lodge reports to the ATO as the employer: This option is suitable if your organisation doesn't have an external TAX/BAS Agent to handle ATO lodgements and if you have only one employing entity within your organisation.
- Lodge reports to the ATO as a registered Tax/BAS Agent: If your organisation has enlisted the services of an external TAX/BAS Agent to manage ATO lodgement submissions, this option is the right choice. Even if your business has multiple employing entities, select this option if your TAX/BAS Agent handles your ATO lodgements.
- Lodge reports to the ATO as an intermediary for multiple employing entities: If your organisation is responsible for submitting all ATO reports and has multiple employing entities set up, this is the suitable selection.
Choosing the correct option guarantees accurate and compliant ATO reporting based on your organisational structure and practices.
Instructions on how to enable the ATO integration for single touch payroll are here.
Important
By clicking "Copy from Business Settings," the business fields will be automatically populated with the information previously entered on the business details screen. This feature is available regardless of the chosen ATO setting.
Set up HeroClear and superannuation settings
Default Fund
Setting up a default super fund and configuring HeroClear provides seamless management of superannuation contributions for your employees. ATO Legislation here requires that you must add default super fund. This is a preferred fund to which superannuation contributions are directed if an employee does not specify their own fund. The fund's name, ABN, and USI are automatically populated for convenience.
Please be aware if your employees fall under an Award - the Award may stipulate particular funds that are to be used as a default fund. It is important to check this. Here is an example from the Professional Services Award.
HeroClear
HeroClear is a first-of-its-kind solution designed to protect businesses from the increased admin and risk of penalties posed by Payday Super. Fully embedded into Employment Hero Payroll, HeroClear will be a frictionless super clearing and validation solution, purpose-built for Payday Super, minimising the risk of errors or non-compliance.
Avoid the manual downloads, payments and reconciliations of legacy clearing houses with HeroClear. Please refer to these articles:
- HeroClear onboarding setup guide
- Batch superannuation processing with HeroClear
- Resolving common HeroClear error codes
If your organisation is using HeroClear, employee superannuation accounts may be registered with the super fund before your first pay run. When an employee nominates the employer’s default super fund during onboarding, Employment Hero automatically sends their details to the fund so the account can be created ahead of the first contribution.
This helps reduce delays and supports Payday Super requirements. If a registration issue occurs, only the affected employee’s super contribution may be delayed while the details are corrected, and the rest of the pay run can continue as normal.
Import your opening balances
Loading opening balances into Employment Hero Payroll is a crucial step in making sure the accuracy of your financial records and payroll calculations. Opening balances represent the existing financial positions of your employees before transitioning to the new payroll platform.
Important Info: Changing Your Payroll System
The ATO reporting process in Employment Hero Payroll offers three distinct options based on your organisation's structure and ATO lodgement practices. Below is a summary, with more details available in the article: Transition Options for STP.
It's essential to select the appropriate option that aligns with your circumstances:
- Utilise the current BMS ID from your current payroll platform:
- You'll be required to import employees' payroll IDs and Year-to-Date (YTD) figures from your present payroll platform into the employees' Opening Balances section. Before the inaugural live pay run in Employment Hero, make sure to submit an 'update event' in your existing payroll platform to report YTD totals. This task must be accomplished prior to the commencement of your new payroll platform.
- Employ the new BMS ID and refrain from transferring the YTD figures:
- Opt to 'Mark as final' for all employees while submitting the final pay event in the former platform under the initial BMS ID (this action informs the ATO that there will not be subsequent payments for these employees from the old BMS ID).
- Avoid importing YTD earnings into the new platform; you can initiate STP reporting from the initial pay run.
- During the initial financial year of transition, employees will observe two earnings lines in their income statement.
- Opt to 'Mark as final' for all employees while submitting the final pay event in the former platform under the initial BMS ID (this action informs the ATO that there will not be subsequent payments for these employees from the old BMS ID).
Instructions on how to import and export opening balances are here.
Leave Balances
If importing leave balances only, complete columns that start with LC (Leave Category).
Helpful Hint
Only the hours are required in these fields, not the dollar value of the leave liability being imported into the platform. To add manually please go here
YTD Earnings
If importing year to date earnings, all other columns will need to be completed, ensuring correct allocation per the ATO STP requirements.
- Once file is completed select Import.
- Select file and confirm upload.
Helpful Hint
You have the option to load opening balances through individual employee profiles as well. This provides a more granular approach to entering accurate year-to-date (YTD) figures directly for each employee. To do this go
Opening balances
Loading opening balances into Employment Hero Payroll is a crucial step in making sure the accuracy of your financial records and payroll calculations. Opening balances represent the existing financial positions of your employees before transitioning to the new payroll platform.
Important
Changing your Payroll System Information: The ATO reporting process in Employment Hero Payroll offers three distinct options based on your organisation's structure and ATO lodgement practices. Below is a summary, with more details available in the article: Transition Options for STP.
Scenario 2 Options Table
| Option | Existing Payroll Platform | New Employment Hero Platform | BMS ID / Payroll ID’s |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Export YTD earnings and Leave balances data. | Import YTD Earnings and Leave balances data | No ID’s required to be transferred |
| 2 | Export YTD earnings and Leave balances data | Import YTD Earnings and Leave balances data | Will require BMS ID and Payroll ID’s from current system to Employment Hero Payroll |
| 3 | Export YTD earnings and Leave balances Data - however will need to clear existing data in your current system and notify ATO | Import YTD Earnings and Leave balances data. Will be using new Employment Hero BMS ID | No ID’s required to be transferred |
| 4 | Export Leave balances Data only. You can use the “mark as final” in your pay event to the ATO so they are aware no more payments will be coming from that BMS ID. | Import Leave balances data. Will be using new Employment Hero BMS ID | No ID’s required to be transferred *Employees can access YTD figures from current system through their MyGov Account. *During the initial financial year of transition, employees will observe two earnings lines in their income statement. |
Instructions for Import/Export feature using Spreadsheet are here, or you can manually add them directly into the platform here.
YTD Earnings
If importing year to date earnings, all relevant columns will need to be completed ensuring correct allocation per the ATO STP requirements.
- Once file is completed select Import.
- Select file and confirm upload.
Leave Balances
If importing leave balances only, complete columns that start with LC (Leave Category) or you can also add these manually as well - see this article here.
Important
Only the hours are required in these fields, not the dollar value of the leave liability being imported into the platform. To add manually please go