Answer
This article explains how to handle a change of ABN within Lightning Payroll.
Finalising for the Old ABN
Before changing details over to the new company, make sure Single Touch Payroll and super payments have been sent off for the previous entity.
To finalise STP, submit the final pay run to be paid from the previous ABN and, when doing so, tick the box indicating it is the final pay for the current financial year.
It is also recommended to finalise and pay any super owed from the old entity now, since sending super after updating the company details and ABN would result in the super coming from the wrong (new) entity.
Splitting and Restarting Financial Year YTD Amounts
If the company is changing ABN and/or ownership part way through a financial year, but all or most employees are staying, split the financial year using the processed date of the final pay run made from the old company.
For example:
- Company A's last pay is processed on 10 November (pay run start and end dates do not matter).
- Company B's first pay is processed one week later, on 17 November.
- You would split the financial year in Lightning Payroll to break on the 10th/11th.
- Originally there is one financial year (1/7 to 30/6). After splitting, there are two (1/7 to 10/11 and 11/11 to 30/6).
To split the financial year and create two distinct YTD boundaries (one per company), go to Company >> Financial Years. Click the pencil button to edit the current financial year, change the end date to match the final pay processed date of the old company, and click Save. Then click the green plus button to add a second copy of the financial year, setting its start date to the day after the block you just edited ends.
If the company is changing ABN and/or ownership at the beginning of a financial year, and all or most employees are staying, finalise the pays, Single Touch Payroll and super under the current company, then update the business details under Company >> Details.
In either scenario, keep in mind you will need to add a new machine credential to your existing keystore file so you can send STP for the new ABN as well as the old one, in case you need to fix or resubmit any older data.
Updating ABN and Other New Entity Details
Finally, update the Company >> Details section with the new company details and ABN.
Please also report the new ABN to our support team so we can register it for SuperStream messaging with our gateway provider. Once registered, you can see the ABNs on your subscription by logging into your Lightning Payroll website account and looking under View registered ABNs on the My Account page. Do not remove the old ABN if possible, as you may need to make a follow-up super payment later. Our support team will add the new ABN alongside the old one.
