You can easily pay employee super contributions directly to any registered super fund in Australia by taking advantage of the inbuilt integration with the Beam super fund clearing house.
With Beam, you do not need access to an external portal, all Beam information can be found within your payroll system, using one easy login. For all queries regarding Beam, you can contact your payroll software provider.
As long as you only make super contributions quarterly, automated super payments via Beam are free however, if you choose to make more frequent contributions this is an option, but at a cost. This additional cost can be found on the subscription page of your payroll file.
For more information on Beam's Fees and Costs please see page 8 of their PDS.
Getting Started with Automated Super Payments
- Business/company details, Business address, Contact details;
- Payment method and details;
- Default super fund(s); and
- T&Cs.
- Registering multiple employing entities (if applicable)
N.B. Please check your business details to ensure they are correct before you register, as the system will pre-fill these details in Beam.
To register your business for automated super payments you can simply follow these steps:
- Click on the Payroll Settings tab > Superannuation;
- Click on the Register with Beam option:
- You will then be redirected to the Beam user interface where there are 4 easy steps to complete the registration
NOTE: Any time you go to the Beam site to make changes you MUST progress through to the END of the Beam wizard process, accept Terms and Conditions (T&C) and click on "BACK TO PAYROLL" or else the information will not to sync correctly back to payroll.
Step 1 - Business/company details, Business address and Contact details:
Please check all the details that have been pre-filled from the Business Details page. Then click on the ‘Next’ button in the bottom right hand corner.
N.B. if you change the Family name or email address in the contact details section in your Beam settings you may have trouble accessing the transaction confirmation statement Beam will send you.
Step 2 - Payment method and details:
There are 3 ways you can pay super contributions with Beam: Direct Debit, EFT and BPAY.
The Payment method will be available to select when you submit the super payment batch.
Direct Debit payment option:
If you do not intend to use direct debit, select the ‘No’ option and click on the ‘Next’ button. (You will not have direct debit option available to select when you submit the batch.)
If you do intend to use direct debit, select the ‘Yes’ option and enter the bank account details you would like the payment to be debited to and save before clicking 'next'.
You can enter multiple bank accounts. Click on the Add Another option and enter the details of a different bank account. When you submit a batch you will select which direct debit account you would like to use.
Notes on payment methods
- Beam transactions will appear as Precision CH (clearing house) or Precision Administration Services Pty Ltd.
- Any bank account added here will also be automatically available for selection as a Refund Bank Account when submitting a super batch. You are able to add other bank accounts for refunds from the Superannuation Settings Page back in payroll.
- If you change the ABN on a payroll account (which we do not recommend - this should only ever be done after very careful consideration of the repercussions, especially re STP) then you will also need to re-enter the bank account details for direct debit.
Step 3 - Default super fund(s):
The law states that you are obliged to pay SG. Due to the super stapling rules that take effect from 1 November 2021, an employer can only assign their default fund if the employee explicitly states as such via the super choice form. Otherwise, the employer will need to seek out the employee’s stapled fund and apply that instead. You can use the default fund only if:
- your employee doesn’t choose a super fund, and
- The ATO have advised you that they don’t have a stapled super fund.
You can follow this links for further information -
Determine your employer-nominated fund (default fund).
Stapled Super Fund Details for APRA Funds
**You will need to add at least one default super fund during the Beam registration process. See here for instructions on how to add a default fund to the business, or you can use the Australian Retirement Trust ("ART") superannuation fund during the registration process.
If you would like to use ART as your default fund account, click on the 'SELECT AUSTRALIAN RETIREMENT TRUST' option:
If you choose to use ART as one of your default accounts, an ART employer account will be created for you, if you don't already have one.
If you do NOT wish to use ART as your default fund, then you can search for your own default fund by name, ABN or USI within the 'No, I'd prefer to search for a different default fund' section as shown below:
Select the default fund by clicking on the checkbox from the results section and then the default fund will appear in the default fund listing. You can add more than one default fund if you wish.
Even if you have not taken the option to use an ART default fund you can still join ART as a participating employer if you wish, you can do so by selecting the 'Please register me as an Australian Retirement Trust participating employer' checkbox (see below):
Being an Australian Retirement Trust participating employer provides you with the ability to create a member account on behalf of an employee if ever you wanted to. This is of course optional.
Notes on Default super fund(s):
- When you choose the employer nominated fund on an employee's super funds page you'll leave the member number blank - when you process the first super contributions to the fund a member account/number will be automatically created and once this has been done the system will automatically populate the member number field on the employee's record for you.
- The above point 1 only applies to employees who have an employer nominated fund selected on the super funds page, and it is the first contribution/s to be paid to the nominated fund. This applies whether the default/employer nominated fund is ART or another super fund.
- If you would like to add another default fund, you can do this by searching for the default fund by name, ABN or USI. Select the default fund by clicking on the checkbox from the results section. Once the default is selected, it will appear in the default fund list
- An employer joining ART as a participating employer is separate to selecting ART as the default fund. An employer can join ART as a participating employer, but not choose ART as their default fund but you cannot choose ART as your default fund and not become a participating employer.
Step 4 - Terms & Conditions:
There will be 3 possible Terms & Conditions (T&C) to be read, confirmed and accepted.
- Beam T&C: You will need to confirm you have read and accept the terms and conditions by clicking on the checkbox.
- Become an Australian Retirement Trust participating Employer: If you chose ART as your default fund and/or separately elected to join ART as a participating employer, you will need to read and accept the terms and conditions by clicking on the checkbox. (N.B. if you didn't do either, this T&C will not appear.
- Direct Debit T&C: If bank account details have been entered for direct debit, you will need to read and accept the Direct Debit Authority terms and conditions by clicking on the checkbox.
Once you have confirmed the required terms and conditions, click the 'Next' button to proceed. You must progress through to the end of the Beam wizard in order for the registration process to save in KeyPay.
That’s it! Congratulations! Your Beam registration is now complete. Click on ‘Back to payroll’ to go back to the Superannuation Settings page.
You will notice that the Default fund from Beam has now populated and saved into the Superannuation Settings page. You can make amendments to details by clicking on the ‘Edit Super Details’ button which will redirect you to Beam.
Registering multiple employing entities
If you have multiple employing entities set up in your payroll file, you will need to register the additional employing entities separately. Navigate to Payroll settings > Employing entities > select the required entity and then click on 'Register with Beam'. You will be required to complete the same steps detailed above:
Once you’ve registered you can make automated super payments by following these instructions.
If you have any questions or feedback please let us know via support@yourpayroll.com.au.