MYOB prepares to launch $10 micro business STP solution

MYOB is ready to hit go on a $10 Single Touch Payroll (STP) solution for businesses with four employees or less, should the Federal Government’s STP legislation pass. The legislative change would mean 749,000* Australian businesses that employ 19 people or less will be legally obliged to submit their payroll data to the ATO from 1 July.

The new MYOB micro business payroll solution would allow businesses with one to four employees to be STP compliant in a simple way, while providing the added benefits of an automated cloud payroll system.

MYOB General Manager of Products, David Weickhardt, said, “We are passionate about helping businesses of all sizes succeed, and are excited to introduce a low-cost solution to help micro businesses manage their employees, with the added benefit of staying compliant with Single Touch Payroll. We’ve designed our solution to be as straightforward as possible that anyone can pick it up and use it.”

Micro businesses would make significant time savings by cutting out the need for individual payment summaries and reducing the margin for keying errors by auto populating payment and super information.

In addition to these features, MYOB’s STP solution has a ‘buffering process’ function, which means when a pay run is submitted to the ATO, MYOB keeps detailed submission logs that record all attempts. When a file can’t be received by ATO, MYOB sends the file back into the queue for processing, without additional input from the person submitting.

MYOB would also launch a Connected Ledger plus payroll package for accountants and bookkeepers, which would allow them to support small businesses with their STP compliance. The Connected Ledger and payroll product combined would carry a cost of $30 a month and would also be targeted at businesses with one to four employees.

“This low-cost solution for accountants and bookkeepers will allow them to provide a terrific end-to-end payroll service for microbusinesses,” said Mr Weickhardt.

While STP has not been compulsory for businesses with 19 and fewer employees to date, according to MYOB’s latest Business Monitor**, which surveys 1,000 Australian small businesses, businesses of this size are actively and positively looking forward to the change.

“Smaller businesses aren’t waiting for STP to be made compulsory. Our research tells us 13% of businesses with 19 employees or less have started using STP. This shows there’s already appetite for this shift,” Mr Weickhardt continued.

In addition to early adoption, MYOB’s Business Monitor survey found micro businesses understand the benefits involved in STP compliance. Thirty-eight per cent of businesses with one to four employees believe a jump to STP will save them time on payroll.

“The MYOB Essentials software is designed to make the STP compliance process as easy as possible for businesses. The owner sets up a pay run, declares, pushes a button – and that’s it,” said Mr Weickhardt.

“STP comes with many benefits, for both the business owner – less admin time, less risk of error – and employees – quick access to information about super and simpler tax returns. Combined with a fully fleshed out payroll system, we expect time savings for SMEs of up to 25%.”

While the legislation is not yet a done deal, Mr Weickhardt believes that being on the front foot is in the best interest of Australia’s small businesses.

“We want to be ready. We want to have something we can instantly take to market when the time comes, so micro businesses can have the option to hit the ground running,” he said.

If the 19 and under STP legislation goes ahead, the MYOB micro business offering will be available for purchase from April and will represent the first time MYOB launches a payroll-only product in Australia.

MYOB has fully-fledged payroll options available now, processing its 1,000,000^th STP transaction this month. Any company that needs to be STP compliant is able to submit via MYOB Essentials, MYOB AccountRight or MYOB Advanced, plus additional products. This new payroll offering would be targeted specifically at micro businesses to support them with a low-cost solution.

For further updates, please visit https://www.myob.com/au/support/single-touch-payroll.

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For further comment or other information please contact:

Collette Betts, MYOB
E: [email protected]

About MYOB
MYOB is a leading provider of online business management solutions. MYOB makes business life easier for approximately 1.2 million businesses across Australia and New Zealand by simplifying accounting, payroll, tax, practice management, CRM, job costing, inventory and more. MYOB operates across three core segments – Clients and Partners (business solutions to SMEs and Advisers); Enterprise Solutions (larger businesses) and Payment Solutions. We also provide ongoing support via many client service channels including a network of over 40,000 accountants, bookkeepers and other consultants. We are committed to ongoing innovation, particularly through our Connected Practice Strategy and through the development of the MYOB Platform. For more information visit https://www.myob.com/au/ or follow @MYOB on Twitter.

* ATO STP Small Business Pilot Report, June 2017

** MYOB Business Monitor report December 2018