Answer
If you are starting part way through a financial year and need to carry over existing year-to-date amounts for employees, you have several options. The recommended option is to import employees by CSV so that personal details, tax, banking, super and YTD amounts are set up together in one pass.
Recommended: Import Employees by CSV With YTD Amounts
This is the quickest and most reliable way when changing software part way through a year. Create your employee CSV using our import guide, then include the YTD columns.
- Follow the steps in How Do I Import Employee Records Into Lightning Payroll.
- Include ytd_as_at_date for each employee when you want YTD figures imported. If ytd_as_at_date is blank, all other YTD fields in that row are ignored.
- Use the same date for all employees if your source data is taken as at a single cutover date.
- Check that dollars use a full stop for decimals (for example 1200.50) with no dollar signs or commas.
The outcome is that all employee records and their opening YTD balances are created together. This reduces manual work and keeps reporting and Single Touch Payroll consistent.
Option 2: Enter All Prior Pays for the Year
This gives the best historical detail, although it takes longer.
- Go to Pays, step back through the year using the Last Pay Run button, and recreate each past pay.
- Ensure the processed date is correct for every past pay; this is the banked or payment date. You can set the date for the whole run using Set Processed/Paid Date For Pay Run after completing a run.
The outcome is full detail on reports and employee histories. This is ideal if you need granular audit trails.
Option 3: Create a Single Catch-Up Pay per Employee
Faster than re-entering the whole year, with less detail.
- Before your first official pay in Lightning Payroll, create one pay per employee that brings totals up to date for earnings, tax and super.
- Use pay items and contribution lines to match your external YTD summary.
The outcome is reasonable accuracy with minimal data entry, suitable when you do not need line-by-line history for the earlier period.
Option 4: Legacy YTD Adjustment per Employee
Last resort — use only if the other methods are not possible. YTD adjustments can only be created in the desktop app. The online (web/mobile) app can review and remove existing adjustments but cannot add new ones.
- Go to Employees >> Year to Date >> Adjust YTD Totals and enter figures for each employee.
- Figures entered here are mainly for STP submissions and the YTD totals on payslips.
- These amounts will not appear with full detail on most reports or in other areas of the program.
The outcome is the quickest on a per-employee basis, but the least flexible for reporting and reconciliation.
Tips for a Smooth Changeover
- Choose one cutover date and apply it consistently.
- Use YYYY-MM-DD for all dates.
- Reconcile totals against your previous system's YTD reports after import or data entry.
- If using CSV with YTD columns, remember that ytd_as_at_date must be present for YTD figures to import.
