Wow what a trying time it's been for us admins, bookkeepers and accountants with employers finally given the incentive to jump on board willingly and go the extra length that was required to be compliant with STP reporting even though it was passed as a law.
Hopefully the authorities have learnt from this, the powers of positive reinforcement rather than the punitive approach we seem to be led with. I would imagine that this has also been the most timely BAS quarter ever and hopefully all Superannuation is caught up with and getting paid up for all.
So you have successfully set up JobKeeper and are now wondering how to record the payment you received into your nominated bank account?
If you haven't already set up JobKeeper see: JobKeeper Timeline - What's Next. You still have till the 31 May to register for April and May for eligible employees.
The JobKeeper Payment of $1,500 per fortnight before tax is paid to employers for each eligible employee to assist with their continued employment, commencing from May 2020 for a maximum of six (6) months, with payments backdated from 30 March 2020.
It has been extremely rewarding to see the first monthly instalment of payments come into our clients bank accounts and now ready to process those to reflect the correct tax implications.
Its an easy two-step process that can be applied to any accounting package.
Set up an Other Income account named JobKeeper Payment
Add the payment to the JobKeeper Payment Account when it comes into your bank feed or manually for those still without bank feeds.
To set up an Other Income account for JobKeeper Payments
This income is made to assist employers with payments already made to employees and has already included PAYG Witholdings.
Select Accounting and then Chart of Accounts from the left-hand menu
Select New
Select the Account Type Other Income and the Detail Type of Other miscellaneous income
Enter the Name as JobKeeper Payment
Select Save and Close
To add payments to the JobKeeper Payment account once they are received
Once the money has been received, add it to the JobKeeper payment account you've just created.
In Banking (or Transactions);
Select the JobKeeper payment received;
Write a Cheque or Deposit from ATO as Supplier;
At Category and choose the JobKeeper Payment account you have just opened;
Select the drop down for Tax Code and choose Out of Scope or GST Free
Use the Memo field to add detail such as month the payment was for. For example "JobKeeper Payment for April payroll"
Add
Your payment has now been recorded in QuickBooks Online.
Please note that this is not a set thing. With monthly reporting, extra lines in payruns to communicate with the ATO which changes based on eligibility of employees and of the business itself. There are 3 variations to informing the ATO of JobKeeper payments, including:
Topping up employee gross earnings to $1500 per fortnight ("top-up");
Notifying the ATO when an eligible employee commenced being paid JobKeeper payments ("fortnight start");
Notifying the ATO when an employee is no longer eligible for JobKeeper ("fortnight finish").
Further instructions on how to process specific payruns can be found at: Processing JobKeeper payments in the pay run.
If you need any help with ensuring you are getting what you are entitled to by setting up your Intuit QuickBooks Online Accounting Package correctly, please so not hesitate to get in touch. We are set up with Zoom to share screen shots and help you get every step right. Click here to register your interest.
References:
Intuit QuickBooks Community: https://quickbooks.intuit.com/learn-support/en-au/help-articles/how-to-record-jobkeeper-payments-once-they-are-received/00/545902
From Quickbooks:
Keep up to date on changing legislation and managing COVID-19 related processes in KeyPay via ourCOVID-19 hub.
You can now assess employee eligibility much easier by using our JobKeeper Eligibility Report.
Want to know how to set up the JobKeeper payment in payroll? Refer here for instructions.
For more information on the government's JobKeeper Program, refer to our blog.
If you’re an eligible employer, register for the JobKeeper scheme here, as soon as possible.
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