The ATO Cloud software authentication and authorisation (CAA) initiative requires businesses to register their software ID with the ATO prior to electronic lodgement. The business can then enable Electronic Lodgement within payroll their payroll software.
If electronic lodgement is not enabled, actions like STP reporting will fail and lodging a tax file declaration electronically for an employee will cause an error:
Before you enable electronic lodgement within the payroll software you will need to contact the ATO and provide them with your software provider & software ID information. Click here for detailed instructions on how to do this. The software ID is a unique number per business and so should not be shared with anyone else outside of the ATO.
In order to enable electronic lodgement, go to Payroll Settings > ATO Settings > Electronic Lodgement & STP tab. Clicking on the Enable Electronic Lodgement option here will launch the STP registration wizard. Follow these instructions to complete the wizard and enable electronic lodgement.
See here for instructions on enabling ATO integration for Single Touch Payroll.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Which ABN do I need to register? The business ABN or the supplier ABN?
A: It is the business ABN that must be registered. An authorised contact of the business must contact the ATO to register. NOTE: The Tax agent is NOT permitted to contact the ATO on behalf of the business.
Q: What if I have employing entities within my business?
A: Each Employing entity's ABN will need to be registered and then enabled within the payroll software. N.B. The software ID for each employing entity is the same - this is correct and intentional.
Q: What if I use the same (business/employing entity) ABN across multiple business records?
A: The software ID in each payroll business record is unique. The ABN will need to be registered for each different software ID.