IPA advises SMEs to get ready for STP

With legislation passing through Parliament on Tuesday, employers with 19 or fewer employees will have to report under the Single Touch Payroll (STP) regime by 1 July 2019. Employers with 20 or more employees came under these reporting requirements as from 1 July 2018.

The IPA chief executive, Andrew Conway, revealed that some 30 per cent of small businesses are still not on a digital platform and while cost may be a factor, some may well be missing out on many efficiency and productivity benefits that could help their business grow.

"STP has been in the pipeline for a long time. For those seeking a digital solution, the IPA partnered with Reckon to establish IPA Books+ which provides a low cost STP solution and is readily available to all members of the IPA Group," said Mr Conway.

For a cost as little as $8 per month IPA Books+ provides a digital base to monitor the cash book, view budgets, process payments, GST, manage pay runs, leave, super and STP for an unlimited number of employees.

"We acknowledge that for some micro businesses, a non-digital option may be a better fit to manage STP requirements, in the short term.

"With such tools available, accountants are encouraged to contact us today to become Cloud Advisers to assist their clients transition. Public Accountants are in the best position to help their small business clients transition to the digital world," said Mr Conway.