Question 1

How Can I Set Up Online Backups?

Accepted Answer

Lightning Payroll has a built-in Online Backups feature which provides a way for you to easily save your important payroll data to the cloud. 
                                These online backups are encrypted and saved securely on our servers. In emergency situations this feature can help you to retrieve your data through your subscription.
                            
                             Note: You will need a reliable internet connection, an active Lightning Payroll subscription and to
                                have registered for this service for the feature to work correctly. See below for more information. This
                                additional online backup service can be misused and needs to be used responsibly. We offer this
                                as a handy extra feature and cannot guarantee the data will always be available, nor accept liability
                                for user error or loss of your data. For this reason it is always a good idea to manage your backups
                                yourself in addition to using this online backup feature. Please see this FAQ for more info. 
                            
                            
                                To setup automatic online backups go to Tools >> Online Backups. 
                            
                                
                                If you haven't yet set up online backups you will be asked to Register and create a password before you can continue. Passwords need to be at least eight characters in length, and for security reasons this password is not the same as your website and/or password application.
                            
                                If you have already registered and need to connect another computer to your existing online backups you will be asked to Login and enter your password. If you have have forgotten your password, the Login screen contains a Forgotten Password area which can email through a password reset code to your nominated email address.
                            
                            
                                
                            
                             
                                Once you're logged in to your Online Backups you can send a backup to our secure server to save
                                the data currently in your program, or you can restore a previously created backup file to continue
                                working on it. The Computer ID field is where you can add a description of the computer you're
                                working on, or a description of the backup file you're creating. The image below shows how backups
                                might be shared between an office computer and a laptop which share the same Lightning Payroll
                                subscription. Only click Restore Backup if you wish to 'wind back the clock' and restore Lightning Payroll's data to an earlier point in time. 
            
                            
                                
                                We recommend you tick the box to Automatically Backup.    Also, do not click Logout unless you wish to disable the online backups. Just click Close.
                            
                            
                                
                   
                            
                                 Note: There is a FIVE backup limit for each active Lightning Payroll subscription. Once the limit has
                                been reached, any new backups will automatically overwrite the oldest existing backup.

Question 2

How do I Set Up and Use Web Sync Across My Devices?

Accepted Answer

There is a web synchronisation feature available in Lightning Payroll that can be used to sync your data between your Lightning Payroll installations and with the web application. (Before setting this feature up, we strongly recommend ensuring all devices are up-to-date with the same data by using our Online Backups feature, or Create/Restore Backup through the Tools menu.) To turn web synchronisation on, go to Settings >> Other Settings. In here you will see 3 options:

After ticking any one of these options, you will be asked to log in to enable the feature. The details required here are the same login details that you would use when logging into our website via the Client Login. Please note that this is separate to your application password, your subscription ID, or your Online Backups password. If you are having trouble with your password on this screen, please use the Forgotten Password? option displayed below the fields.

After logging in, you will be emailed a 6-digit two-factor authentication (2FA) code to enter into the next screen. If your account is secured with Google Authenticator, please use the 2FA code generated by the app instead. 

After entering the 2FA code, the web sync feature will now be active.
Sync Data Up To Web App?:
This option, when enabled, will detect when changes are made inside Lightning Payroll and upload them to the web application.
Sync Data Down To Desktop App?:
This option will detect when more recent changes are made online and will download and restore them into your Lightning Payroll desktop application. 
With these first 2 options, checks are done automatically every 5 minutes, and a refresh button will be displayed at the bottom right of the program. This button can be used for manual checking if you want to check in between the 5 minute interval. 

Manually control web sync uploads/downloads?:
This option will not automatically synchronise your information, giving you control over when backups are created and/or restored. Instead of the refresh button mentioned with the previous 2 options, a download and upload button is displayed down the bottom-right instead. 

These diagrams below demonstrate how the feature works between the web application and 1 installation, and how it works between the web application and 2 installations:

Question 3

How Can I Backup My Lightning Payroll Data?

Accepted Answer

Since Lightning Payroll is a desktop application, the data is safely stored on your own computer, not with us. We recommend you make yourself familiar with the backup features in the program.
Online backups are a great way to store an online, secure backup of your payroll information using the cloud storage we have for our customers - please note only you have access to this data. It is also an easy way to pass data between two Lightning Payroll systems sharing the same subscription.
To create a backup file locally, click Tools >> Create backup. This saves an entire copy of your payroll data (for all companies) into one compressed file (.LPB file extension). These files can then be restored via Tools >> Restore backup. 
Lightning Payroll can also make regular automatic backups to a designated folder under Settings >> Backups >> Backup your data automatically. 
We recommend that you regularly place a backup on an external memory device, or online somewhere, in case your local hard drive fails.

Question 4

Why Can't I Restore a Backup File?

Accepted Answer

Usually a backup (.lpb) file can be restored under the Tools menu of Lightning Payroll. If the Restore Backup option is greyed out or unavailable then you are either on a trial licence, or unlicensed (your license may have expired). The option to create and restore backups is only available to users on a paid subscription to the software.If you only want to restore the backup to view old data you can put Lightning into a read-only (unlicensed) mode. You will not be able to make any changes in this mode, but backups can be restored.To switch from trial mode to unlicensed mode you need to delete the trial licence manually while the application is closed down. This file, called license.txt, is located in the following location depending on your OS:
Windows: C:/Users/Your User's Folder/AppData/Roaming/LightningPayroll/licence.txt
Mac: ~/.LightningPayroll/licence.txt
An easy way to get to the data folder to delete the license file is to click the ? on the lower left corner of the start up screen when you open the program, then select Open Data Folder.

Question 5

How Can Restoring A Backup Delete Pay Data?

Accepted Answer

By default, Lightning Payroll opens up to look like it did when it was last closed down. If you share data between two computers (as each subscription allows) you will need to be responsible with managing your data's continuity. If your colleague does some work and you fail to restore their data before continuing, it may get lost. Please see below for a demonstration of how this problem may arise.

Question 6

How Can I Submit End of Year PSAR via EMPDUPE?

Accepted Answer

Submitting end of year using the EMPDUPE method.
Using the ATO&rsquo;s Online Services for Business by submitting an EMPDUPE/ECI file.
Here's a tutorial video demonstrating how to generate an EMPDUPE file using Lightning Payroll's  End of Year  assistant.

Question 7

Where Can I Find The Latest End Of Year Checklist?

Accepted Answer

Click here to see the latest Lightning Payroll EOFY checklist mailer. This gets emailed out to all active users each June.

Question 8

Do I Still Need To Provide Payment Summaries (PAYG Summaries) With The Transition To Single Touch Payroll?

Accepted Answer

Payment Summaries, also known as group certificates, have been an important document for employees in Australia, summarising their income and tax withheld. But with the introduction of Single Touch Payroll (STP) by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO), this is no longer the case.
STP revolutionises payroll reporting. Employers now electronically report salary, wages, and tax withheld to the ATO with each pay cycle, removing the need for traditional Payment Summaries.
Instead, employers provide employees with income statements through their final STP submission, which offer a detailed breakdown of their income information, including salary, wages, tax withheld, and superannuation contributions. These income statements serve as the essential document for employees when preparing and lodging their tax returns.
To stay informed about STP and income statements, visit the ATO website or reach out to the ATO directly.

Question 9

How Can I Tell If My Employees Are STP-Finalised or Tax Ready?

Accepted Answer

Lightning Payroll has a Single Touch report to give you quick information on which employees have been marked as finalised with the ATO for a financial year under Reports >> (General) STP Finalised Employees. This report has many other functions for gathering historical STP data. The most common use is demonstrated below. Note that the tax readiness of each employee's most recent STP submission is visible, along with some basic totals for quick reference.

Note: For more detailed information on your STP submission history (including all amounts submitted) please see the Single Touch Mailbox within the Pays screen.

Tax ready report form

Tax ready report

Question 10

Why Don't My Report Amounts Match My STP Submission?

Accepted Answer

You may notice that some amounts in the STP reports (Detailed and Summary) do not match gross totals in the Group Tax or Pay Summary reports. This is likely due to one of the following reasons:

Since STP 2.0 (released in January 2022), gross amounts are 'disaggregated' so to match the STP reports with regular reports (pay summary, group tax, etc) you should match the total (exc sacrifice) column in the STP report with the gross in a traditional report.
Missing employees? Remember that sending a new event only includes employees from that pay run. You'll need to go back around for a second STP lap, and submit an update event to finalise with everyone at the same time.
Please ensure you are running your comparison reports by processed date from 1/7/XXXX to 30/6/XXXX as STP/YTD amounts are gathered using these parameters by default. 



Ensure your pay runs are marked with the correct processed date (date of payment), as the FY should only include pays made within those dates.

Use the Set Processed/Paid Date For Pay Run tool at the bottom of the Pays screen to quickly correct any mistakes in the processed date. For more info on how Lightning manages pay dates see our FAQ here.

Question 11

How Can I Run End of Year via SBR?

Accepted Answer

Lightning Payroll no longer includes the ability to submit End of Year figures via SBR as this technology has now been replaced by Single Touch Payroll. Please see here for more information on STP and other lodgement options.

Question 12

How Can I Print Payment Summaries/Group Certificates?

Accepted Answer

Normally you'd print or email payment summaries at the same time as you lodge with the ATO, but they can be accessed separately any time of the year, and as many times as you like. Lightning Payroll doesn't 'close anything off' in the  End of Year  section. Retrieving payment summaries (group certificates) is very similar to retrieving payslips  
                            To do this, simply click End of Year, 
                            select your financial year (FY) and click next. You will then be prompted to select the employees you wish to view/print Payment summaries for, 
                            and follow the prompts. 
                            Once you are looking at the Payment Summaries screen, click the Payment Summaries button and Lightning Payroll will generate 
                            your employees PAYG summaries in a printable PDF format.

Question 13

How Do I Process EOFY and Lodge With the ATO?

Accepted Answer

Currently, the ATO allows  the following methods of lodgment  for your annual PAYG payroll activity. You must lodge the report by July 31st if using STP. The ATO's EOFY lodgement options are:

Online via Lightning Payroll using Single Touch Payroll (This is the recommended method and is available on either Windows or Mac. Requires an ATO Machine Credential). Click here to learn more about this method.
Online via the ATO Online Services for Business website using an EMPDUPE file (Available on either Windows or Mac. Requires a MyGovID). Click here to learn more about this method.
Process manually via paper/post. Only accepted on the official ATO stationary/forms. Lightning Payroll's printed payment summaries are only suitable for giving to your staff. Click here to learn more about this method.

Please select from one of the above options by entering a keyword.

Question 14

How Can I Enter an Additional RESC/Super amount for EOFY?

Accepted Answer

If you need to make a one-off topup of RESC super for the end of financial year, this can be done two different ways. The difference being whether you are ready to pay the rest of June's compulsory super  for those same employees, at the same time.
Method (A) - Paying all of June's super (guarantee and RESC together) before EOFYMethod (B) - Paying RESC only, before EOFY, and leave the normal super for later payment in the new financial year.
Method (A)
Simply edit the employee's last pay of the financial year under Pays >> Edit Pay/s.
Edit the super by clicking the Edit button beside the super total.

You can then enter additional RESC amounts by adding to the RESC amount field.
This amount will then be immediately available for payment in Super Fund Deposits and will also be reported through to the ATO in your next Single Touch Payroll lodgement.

Method (B)
If you only want to pay the RESC before EOFY you can do it as follows:

Go to the final pay run within the financial year, in Pays.
Click Create Pays.
Select the employees you need to pay super for, and untick Create Full Pay? This will generate an additional, empty ($0.00) pay for the employees within the pay run for you to add RESC only to. 
One-by-one, edit these empty pays, and like in the image above, click Edit beside Super and add the RESC amount. 
If you use Lightning Payroll's Super Fund Deposits area to pay super, please continue reading, if not, you should pay the RESC amount using your usual method.
Using the pencil at the top of the Edit Pay window you should edit the processed date of the duplicate pay so that it differs from the processed date of the other pay for that employee. This is important due to the following step. 
To pay the RESC, amount go into Super Fund Deposits and click Create Deposits. Set custom dates and aim the start and end date boxes at the edited date you entered in the previous step. Tick Use Processed Date if it is unticked. Only the RESC pays should be visible, since only they have the chosen processed date. Select all, click Create and follow the usual steps from there to Send Messages and gather payment information via the Direct Entry section.

Question 15

How Do I Change Financial Year Dates?

Accepted Answer

By default, Lightning Payroll takes care of your financial year start and end dates. These default to 1/7 -30/6 each year. Whether a pay falls into one financial year or another should typically be determined by the pay's processed date. Please see our FAQ on processed dates and how they affect financial year to date figures.
If a pay is processed on June 30th (or earlier) all of its figures will fall into the older financial year.
If a pay is processed on July 1st (or later), all of its figures will appear in the newer financial year.
If you need to split or shift financial year start and end boundary dates, this can be done under  Company >> Financial Years.
These dates act like fence posts which section off all pays within a period of time, rounding them up to be processed in the  End of Year  and Single Touch Payroll sections of Lightning Payroll.

Question 16

Why Doesn't An Allowance Appear Separately On An Employee's PAYG Figures?

Accepted Answer

If an allowance an employee has been receiving throughout the financial year is not showing up in their PAYG figures as itemised, this can be amended with the following steps:
Firstly, the allowance should be marked as Itemised under Employees >> Allowances/Deductions >> Allowances.

Then, to fix the allowances in earlier pays, go to Tools on the top left hand corner of the screen and select Retrospective Tool from the dropdown.

In the new window, set the date range for which you want to adjust pays that include allowances. In this case, we have set it to cover the whole financial year.
You can then select the employee or employees whose allowances you wish to adjust. As you can see here, we will be adjusting David's allowances retrospectively so that they are correctly itemised.

On the next screen, make sure Allowances is selected from the dropdown. Below, you will be shown all the pays within the previously set date range for the selected employee/s that include allowances.
Tick the boxes on the left to select the pays individual you'd like to adjust allowances for. If you want to edit allowances for all pays, click Select All/None.
Once you have selected the pays with allowances that you wish to adjust, hit Confirm Pay Selection.

On this screen, you will be able to select the allowances to edit and view their current settings. Firstly, select the allowance you wish to adjust from the Must be filtered by description dropdown. You will then see all instances of that allowance during the date range you originally set. You can then select the ones you wish to change and click Edit.
An Add/Edit Allowance window will now open for you to make adjustments. Tick Itemised? and then click Save. Once this is completed, you will now see that the selected allowances show True in the Itemised? column.

You can complete the previous step for any other allowances that need to be adjusted. Once you're finished adjusting the required allowance, click Close on the bottom right to finish.

Question 17

How Can I Edit Payment Summaries?

Accepted Answer

If you need to make adjustments to payment summaries, click the Advanced button on the Payment Summaries screen. You can then change the values as needed.

If you wish to undo any manual adjustments made in this screen, simply click on the Refresh button.
If you have already lodged this payment summary to the ATO, and then need to resubmit your edited version make sure to tick the Amendment? box before resubmitting.

Question 18

End of Year via Paper Form Submission

Accepted Answer

Submitting end of year  on paper (by post)
If you would like to lodge your annual payment summary report on paper, you can do so using the ATO&rsquo;s paperwork. If you haven&rsquo;t received a stationary pack from the ATO and wish to submit on paper you can  order a PAYG payment summary statement here.
Note: The ATO does not accept documents printed from Lightning Payroll. Lightning Payroll can provide printed payment summaries suitable for your staff however, through the Payment Summaries button in the End of Year section of the program.

Question 19

Where Can I See a Demo of Lightning Payroll?

Accepted Answer

Here is a demonstration of how to process a pay in Lightning Payroll. Check out more on our Youtube channel.

Question 20

What Are The Differences With Setting Up Full-Time, Part-Time, and Casual Employees?

Accepted Answer

Understanding the differences in setting up full-time, part-time, and casual employees in Lightning Payroll is important for accurate payroll management. This guide outlines the key distinctions and setup processes for each employment type.

Employment Type and Tenure
When creating a new employee profile under the Employees tab, you'll need to specify their employment type (full-time, part-time, casual) and tenure (permanent, temporary). For employees that have already been created, these settings can be viewed in Pay Settings > Pay Rates.

For situations where the default types/tenures do not fit your employees' circumstances, refer to our FAQ on setting up a custom type/tenure: How Can I Set Up a New Employment Tenure/Type?.


  
  


The employment type and tenure selections from the dropdown menus are primarily for labeling purposes on payslips and within the program, and do not get transmitted through Single Touch Payroll (STP). To ensure compliance and accurate reporting, the STP employment status selection in this area should also be configured, aligning with the official categories recognised by the Australian Taxation Office.

Award Hours and Days
Within an employee's profile, under Pay Settings > Pay Rates, you can set:

    The award hours for a full day
    The award days for a full week



  
  


These settings vary by the employment type and the award you are under, reflecting the typical working hours and days for full-time, part-time, and casual employees. Please note that it is the hours entered into a pay run that define the hours an employee will be paid for, not these settings; the award hours for a full week are a necessity when setting up a full time employee on leave accruals by pay period. It's important to check your employees' entitlements with Fair Work to ensure compliance with all relevant laws and regulations. For assistance in identifying the correct award, use the Find My Award feature on the Fair Work website.

Leave Accruals
Leave accrual settings are located under Employees > Leave > Leave Settings (please note these settings will not be automatically enabled when selecting full or part time employment types in Pay Settings). The options include:

    Are Leave Accruals Enabled?: Tick this box to enable leave accruals.
    Accrue leave based on actual hours paid (pro rata)?: This setting determines if leave accrues per period or per hour worked. Full-time employees typically accrue leave per period, whereas part-time and casual employees accrue based on actual hours paid.




The configuration of remaining settings and the determination of accrual rates are at your discretion, allowing you to tailor them to the specific needs and policies of your organisation and your employees' awards. For more information on how leave accruals are calculated in Lightning Payroll, please refer to the following FAQ: How Does Lightning Payroll Calculate Leave Accruals?

Correctly setting up your employees in Lightning Payroll ensures accurate pay and leave accruals. For further assistance, please contact our support team.

Question 21

Can I Export My Data To Another Payroll Program?

Accepted Answer

Exporting Lightning Payroll Data to Another Accounting Program
    At Lightning Payroll, we understand the need for seamless integration and data management across your financial systems. However, we currently do not offer a feature to directly export payroll data to competitor payroll applications. Doing so would not align with our business strategy, as we aim to provide a comprehensive and self-contained payroll solution for Australian businesses.
    
    General Ledger (GL) Data Export
    While we do not support direct payroll data export to other applications, Lightning Payroll enables the export of General Ledger (GL) data. This can be done through a CSV file, allowing you to integrate your payroll data with your accounting software. For detailed instructions on exporting GL data, please visit our FAQ on the topic.
        
    Custom Reporting for Data Management
    Lightning Payroll also offers robust custom reporting tools, including:
    
        Employee Report Builder under Reports >> Employee Report Builder, for detailed employee information.
        Pay Report Builder under Reports >> Pay Report Builder, for comprehensive pay data.
    
    These tools allow you to create custom reports and export them as CSV files. Although primarily designed for data editing and organisation in Excel, they might suit your purposes for data manipulation or analysis outside of Lightning Payroll.

    We hope this information helps. Should you have any further questions or require assistance, please do not hesitate to contact our support team.

Question 22

How Do I Cancel My Subscription?

Accepted Answer

At Lightning Payroll, we understand that your business needs can change. If you need to end your annual subscription, here's how you can do so easily and efficiently.

    Understanding Your Subscription
    Our software is accessible through an annual subscription model. You can pay for your subscription via credit card or direct bank deposit. For our customers who choose to pay by credit card and have enabled auto-renewals in their account management area on our website, the subscription will automatically renew.
    We send an email to all our users one month prior to the auto-renewal date, informing them of the upcoming renewal.

    Cancelling Your Subscription
    If you decide not to continue with your subscription, please note that we do not offer partial refunds. To cancel, you will need to:
    
        Log into your account at Account Login.
        Navigate to "Account Details" and then "Update credit card & auto renewals".
        In this section, you can disable the auto-renewals for your subscription paid via credit card.
    
    By disabling auto-renewals, your subscription will not be automatically renewed. It will expire naturally at the end of the current subscription period.

    After Your Subscription Ends
    Even after your subscription has ended, you will still have access to your program data. However, please note that this access will be in a locked/read-only state. You will be able to run reports and view old records but will not be able to edit existing data or add new information.When in this read-only state the program will still ask for valid licence information on startup. This screen can be cancelled and skipped past however.

    We hope this guide has been helpful. If you have any further questions or need assistance, please see our Terms & Conditions Page or contact our support team.

Question 23

Does Lightning Payroll Offer A Reseller/Partner Program?

Accepted Answer

Join Our Referrer/Reseller Scheme
Lightning Payroll offers a unique opportunity for businesses to benefit from promoting our leading payroll solution. By joining our Referrer/Reseller Scheme, you can enhance your service offering and enjoy the rewards of partnership with us.

Why Become a Reseller?
For accountants, bookkeepers, and accounting software providers, becoming a reseller is an excellent way to generate additional revenue through commissions on sales. It's not just about the financial gains; it's about offering a more comprehensive service package to your clients. By promoting each other's software, software providers can enjoy the mutual benefits of expanded product offerings. Additionally, our tailored development features are designed to meet the specific needs of our resellers, ensuring that you have the tools and capabilities to serve your clients effectively.

Learn More
For a detailed overview of our Referrer/Reseller Scheme, including information on how to get started, please visit our main reseller information page:
Referrer/Reseller Program Information

Question 24

I Have An Issue With Billing

Accepted Answer

If you have had an issue with the billing of your licence, please get in touch with our team on the phone as soon as possible, so that we can resolve. We are available on (07) 30 515 895 from Monday to Friday (excluding Public Holidays) between 8AM and 4:30PM QLD (AEST) time.

Question 25

How Do I Suggest Features/Feedback Or Report Bugs?

Accepted Answer

We highly value the insights and feedback from our users at Lightning Payroll. If you encounter any bugs or have suggestions for features that could improve your experience with our software, we encourage you to reach out through our standard support channels.

    Contact Us
    To report a bug or suggest a feature, please contact us via:
    
        Email: support@lightningpayroll.com.au
        Phone: (07) 3051 5895
    

    Our Approach to Feedback and Suggestions
    We appreciate every piece of feedback and every suggestion we receive. However, it's important to note that not every suggestion can be implemented. We strive to develop features that will benefit the majority of our users and align with our software's core objectives. If your suggestion is not accepted, it's not a reflection of its value but rather our current focus and resources.

    Similarly, not every issue reported as a bug is a malfunction in our software. In some cases, it may be a misunderstanding of how a particular feature is intended to function. We're here to clarify these functionalities and assist you in making the most out of Lightning Payroll.

    We look forward to hearing from you and are committed to improving your experience with Lightning Payroll.

Question 26

How Can I View A Report On Unpaid Super Liability?

Accepted Answer

This document provides instructions on how to use the Super Liability Report in Lightning Payroll to identify unpaid superannuation amounts.
    
    Accessing the Report
    To access the Super Liability Report, navigate to Super Fund Deposits >> Reports >> Super Liability within the Lightning Payroll software.
    
    Report Overview
    The Super Liability Report is designed to help you find superannuation amounts from processed pays that have not yet been assigned to a super fund deposit. This ensures that you can effectively manage and fulfil superannuation obligations for your employees.
    
    Search Modes
    The report has two distinct search modes:
    
        Pays Mode: This mode searches for pays within the selected date range that have super owing and no record of the pay's super on an existing deposit.
        Deposits Mode: This mode allows you to search for super from deposits, with the option to filter by paid or unpaid status. This search is based on the deposit date within the chosen date range.
    
    
    Running the Report
    When running the report, you can specify the following parameters:
    
        Start Date: The beginning date of your search range.
        End Date: The end date of your search range.
        Selections for including paid or unpaid deposits.
        Option to include super payments not yet in a deposit.
        Whether to show totals only or detailed entries.
        A choice to use the processed date when searching pays.
    
    
    Note
    It is important to remember that you cannot search for pays and deposits simultaneously, as they are based on different date types: pay dates for pays and deposit dates for super fund deposits.

Question 27

How Can I Access Database Recovery Tools And Other Advanced Data Folder Operations?

Accepted Answer

This guide provides instructions for advanced users to access and utilise utility tools within Lightning Payroll software. These tools are designed to help you manage your data and troubleshoot issues effectively.

    Accessing Utility Options
    Upon launching Lightning Payroll, a splash screen will appear displaying the application logo. To access advanced utilities, click the small question mark button located in the lower left corner of the splash screen. This will open a hidden dialog with several utility options.

    Folder Operations
    Advanced users can access specific folders related to Lightning Payroll operations:
    
        Open Data Folder: Access the directory containing your payroll data files.
        Open ATOMAS Folder: Access the ATO keystore folder.
        Open Installation Folder: Access the installation directory of Lightning Payroll.
    

    Database Recovery Utilities
    Should you encounter issues with your database, these tools can assist in recovery and repair:
    
        Download Database Repair Utility: Attempts a repair of the current database.
        Download Auto Restore Utility: Initiate a standard database recovery to restore your last auto backup made prior to today's date.
        Download Latest Backup Utility: Perform a manual database recovery from a list of the most recent backups made on this computer.
    


    Caution: These utility tools are intended for advanced users. Incorrect usage may lead to data loss. Please ensure you understand the functions before proceeding.

Question 28

What Are The Main Differences Between The Lightning Payroll Desktop and Web Applications?

Accepted Answer

Web Application Only Features
Tools:

Header Search : Search for program sections, features and support documentation from anywhere in the app.
Recenty Visited : View recent history of app areas visited to conveniently navigate back to where you've just been.

Desktop Only Features (Coming later to the web app)
Settings:

User management : Allow multiple users to log in with individual access rules and privileges.

Tools:

Revert last restored backup.
Machine credential import/export (machine credentials are not necessary on the web app).
Licence Assistant.
Tax calculator.
Check STP EOFY Submissions.
Update super guarantee rates.
Set include leave loading in super.
Recalculate leave on pays.
Recalculate super on pays.
Portal payslips wizard.
Retrospective tool.
Change history.

Other:

Rosters and Timeclock : Create rosters and import shifts from the timeclock app and the online employee portal.
Leave Requests : Approve and manage leave requests made by employees.
Leave Calculators: Manually estimate leave for employees, separate to their pay history.

Shared Features (Desktop and Web Applications)
Pays:

Pays Screen : View and manage pays for employees within any weekly, fortnightly or monthly pay run.
Edit Pay Screen : Edit an individual employee's pay. This screen gives you full control over every individual pay item such as pay rates, hours worked, leave, salary sacrifices, bonuses, tax, super and more.
Payslips : Print and email payslips to your employees.
Direct Entry : Generate ABA banking files of your pay data that you can upload to your business banking.
Set Processed/Paid Date For Pay Run Tool : This tool lets you correct your pays' processed dates to fix YTD and STP issues due to incorrect dates, keeping your records accurate more easily.
Single Touch Payroll : Submit your pay data to the ATO and view your STP history in the Single Touch Mailbox.Note: Single Touch Payroll is slightly different on the web version and requires you to provide your SSID to the ATO, instead of using a machine credential - see here for more information.

Super Fund Deposits:

Create Deposits : Collect super from pays over any period of time and bundle it together into a super deposit which can be paid to any APRA fund or self-managed super fund (SMSF) you wish, using SuperStream. No need for a clearing house as Lightning Payroll includes a full SuperStream registered solution.
SuperStream Mailbox : View and manage past SuperStream messages processed on the national super network.

Employees:

Details : Edit an employee's personal details, including their name, photo, address and contact details.
Kin : Emergency contact details for an employee. Used in the event of an emergency, such as an accident at work.
Bank Accounts : View & edit an employee's bank account details. Used for the direct deposit of pay via Direct Entry file.
Departments : Assign an employee to one or more departments. Useful for reporting purposes.
Employment Dates : View & edit an employee's start date or termination date.
Email Options : Manage email settings for individual employees.
Notes : Add dated notes to an employee's record.
Online Portal : Manage an employee's access level to different online portal features within the LP website.
Pay Settings : Manage pay rates and other pay settings for individual employees.
Special User-Defined Pay Rates : Manage custom pay rates for individual employees.
Salary/Wage Sacrifice : View and edit employee salary sacrifice arrangements and super sacrifices, which get deducted from a pay before tax.
Payslip Options : Configure what should or should not be included on an employee's payslip.
Tax Rates : Manage tax settings and tax file number for individual employees.
JobKeeper/JobMaker History : View JobKeeper and JobMaker submission history.
Medicare Levy Exemption : Manage Medicare Levy Exemption settings for eligible employees.
Tax Offsets : Manage annual tax offsets for eligible employees.
Reportable Fringe Benefits : Manage employees' reportable fringe benefits tax settings.
Special Tax Rates : Manage special tax settings such as the working holiday and horticulture/shearing tax scales.
Leave : Configure leave accrual settings for each employee.
Leave Entitlement Adjustments : Manage leave balances and leave adjustments for individual employees.
Custom Leave : Create and manage custom leave types such as RDOs or TOIL for individual employees.
Advanced Pro Rate Leave Settings : Configure how pro rata leave should accrue for each system leave type.
Super : Configure superannuation settings for each employee.
Super Funds : Manage superannuation funds and member numbers for each employee.
Allowances/Deductions : Add an allowance for an employee.
Deductions : Add a deduction for an employee.
Bonuses : Add a bonus or commission item for an employee.
Year to Date : View year to date totals for an employee by financial year and income stream.
Shifts : View and manage employee shifts, including pay items for each shift and auto-rostering shift repeats.

Tools:

Create Backup : Create a backup of your complete payroll data, and download it to your computer.
Restore Backup : Restore a backup of your payroll data (.lpb file) from your computer.
Online Backups : Create and restore backups of your payroll data from our secure cloud server.

Company:

Details : View and edit your company/business details such as ABN and contact person.
Allowances : Add an allowance which can be shared between multiple employees.
Bank Accounts : Manage your company's bank accounts for paying staff and super.
Departments : Add a department or division to your company.
Awards : Add an award record to your company, which can then be linked to your employees.
Pay Rate Groups/Classifications : Share pay rates or award classification labels between multiple employees.
Pay Dates : Modify pay run date preferences for upcoming pay periods.
Leave Balances : Create a custom leave type which can then be linked to your employees.
SBR Submissions : View legacy SBR submissions made prior to Single Touch Payroll.
Shifts : Manage base shift templates and employee connections, used to create more specific employee and roster shifts.

Settings:

Super Funds : View and edit program-wide super fund provider information.
Display/Time Settings : View and edit program-wide settings.
Banks : Manage banks and bank codes used for company bank accounts.

Help:

Send Backup & Log To Support : Send a backup and log file to our support team for personalised assistance.
Login To My Account : Login to your account to manage your subscription and renewals.

Question 29

How Can I Update to the Latest Version of Lightning Payroll?

Accepted Answer

Lightning Payroll is a desktop program for Windows and Mac OSX computers. We frequently update the software with new features, performance improvements and bug fixes. These updates usually get released every two to four weeks and install themselves via an automatic program download.If a program update is available you will be greeted with a prompt asking if you would like to update the program.

Click the Check for Updates Now? at the bottom of the program to check for any newer versions.
Reinstalling or updating your software fixes most issues if they should arise.
If updating fails for some reason, you can download the latest version directly from the links below:
(your data is safe and will not be affected by reinstallation)
Download for Windows 64 bit (Windows 8.1 and above, assuming you have the latest Windows updates)
Download for Windows 32 bit (Windows 8.1 and above, assuming you have the latest Windows updates)
Download for Mac OSX (Version 10.14 (Mojave) and above)

You can disable or configure your updates, as well as find other update settings under Settings >> Updates.

Legacy Version Information (Windows 7, Mac OSX 10.12/10.13)
Legacy Versions are no longer receiving updates and should not be used after June 2024. Please update your pc to use a modern version of Lightning Payroll, or switch to using Lightning Payroll online.
We have recently updated Lightning Payroll with the very latest libraries and base software. This was done to keep up with recent Mac and Windows updates, keeping the program secure and greatly improving performance. As a result of these updates we've had to drop support for Windows 7, Mac OSX 10.12 and Mac OSX 10.13 operating systems. We understand it can take some time to upgrade or replace your computer so we have added the latest critical updates (including 2022-23 tax and super changes) into a legacy version of Lightning Payroll. These legacy versions of Lightning Payroll will be fine to use for the next financial year, but we will not be able to support them beyond this.
If you are on one of the above unsupported operating systems, download the legacy installer for your system below. Once you update your computer, Lightning Payroll will reactivate downloads and get you back onto the very latest versions automatically.

Legacy installer download for Windows 7
Legacy installer download for Mac OSX 10.12 & 10.13

Question 30

How Can I Check What Version of the Software My Computer is Running?

Accepted Answer

You can check which version of the software you're using at the bottom of the Lightning Payroll program window.

You can check if your version is the most current by clicking Check for updates now? at the bottom of your program. Click here  to find out more on how to update your software.

Question 31

How Can I Pay For My Annual Subscription?

Accepted Answer

You can pay for your annual subscription over the phone with us, or through our website via Client Login >> My Account >> View/Renew/Upgrade Subscriptions.We accept Visa or Mastercard credit card payments only.

Question 32

Where I Can Access Early Releases of an Upcoming Lightning Payroll Version?

Accepted Answer

Occasionally we provide users with early beta access to upcoming versions of Lightning Payroll. These future releases can be downloaded from the following links:
Windows Prerelease Download (64 bit)
Windows Prerelease Download (32 bit)
Mac Prerelease Download

Question 33

What History Tracking Tools Are Available In Lightning Payroll?

Accepted Answer

Did you know that there are several tools in Lightning Payroll to help you track changes made to your data and files? Below are some of the main ones:
Change History (Under the upper Tools menu)
The Change History tool records the creation, deletion and modification of many data classes throughout the program. You can track when the program is opened and when an employee's settings are changed. Simply enter the date range of the data change, choose a category, click Print Report and off you go. The change history can be manually deleted/flushed if you wish, since it can take up a fair chunk of your database size which sometimes affects performance.

Direct Entry Entry Saved File Report
This report lets you track information about direct entry files made for payment of wages or super. You can see when and where files were saved, and what payment information (account details, reference numbers, etc.) was in the file.
Machine Credential Information Report
This report scans both the standard ATO keystore directory, and the LP data directory for any valid M2M machine credential keystore (.xml) files, to show all credentials in each file and their metadata.
Backup History Report
The backup history report gives info on all backups created and restored giving a history of database file changes.
Emails Sent Report
This report gives detailed information about emails sent from the program and what settings were used. It can be very useful for troubleshooting your outgoing mail server issues and tracking what emails (payslips, reports, rosters, etc) have been sent, when, and to who.

Question 34

What Are the System Requirements and/or Limitations of Lightning Payroll?

Accepted Answer

Compatible Operating Systems
Lightning Payroll is a desktop application compatible with Windows 8.1 (and above) and Mac OSX 10.14 (Mojave) and above. We only support these operating systems.The software is not designed for or tested on server-based operating systems, nor is it able to be installed on mobile devices (E.g. IOS, Android, etc).
System
Minimum system requirements for using Lightning Payroll are:

Intel Core i5 (sixth generation or newer) or equivalent
8 GB RAM
500 GB internal storage drive

Screen/Monitor Size
Lightning Payroll is not recommended for screen sizes below 15 inches as some screens will be squished or very hard to use. For ultra hi-res and 4k monitors you may need to configure these for clarity in the program.
Pay Run Schedules
Lightning Payroll accomodates the following pay schedules:

Weekly
Fortnightly
Monthly

You can use any combination of these three pay schedules on any of the business entities within the software, however only one schedule of a type per company is possible (I.e. you cannot run two simultaneous weekly schedules ending on different days of the week).
Approved Income Streams
Lightning Payroll is certified by the ATO for the following Single Touch Payroll (Phase 2) income streams:

Salary and Wages
Working Holiday Maker
Closely Held Payee
Voluntary Agreement

Support Team Boundaries
Lightning Payroll support is free to our subscribers, however certain topics are outside of what our team may assist you with:

Teamviewer/Remote access - Our support team do not 'remote in' to customer's systems. This is not necessary when helping solve issues as backup sharing with support is built-in to the software.
Email configuration and troubleshooting - Lightning Payroll includes a basic SMTP server settings search feature under the Company >> Email tab which finds common email settings. This uses a third-party API to obtain settings. Beyond this you'd have to contact your email account provider for gaining those settings, our support team are unable to provide settings for email providers.
ATO machine credentials and websites - Our support team are unable to provide support for the ATO's software or websites. For ATO technical support please contact their Technical Helpdesk on 1300 139 373.

Question 35

What are the Different Employment States?

Accepted Answer

Employees can have different states or statuses in Lightning Payroll. These states are 'Active', 'Inactive', 'Terminated' and 'Deleted'. These are explained in detail below.
Active: an active employee is one who is currently working and being included in pays. This is the default states when you add an employee and is indicated by the 'Active pay recipient' box for that employee being ticked in Employees >> Pay Settings >> Pay Rates.
Inactive: an inactive employee has not been terminated but is not currently working or being included in pays. This is indicated by the 'Active pay recipient' box for that employee being unticked in Employees >> Pay Settings >> Pay Rates.
Terminated: a terminated employee has been officially terminated in the program. This is done during the employee's final pay in the Edit Pay screen by pressing the Terminate Employee button. Terminated employees show up in red in the Employees list when you tick the box 'show terminated employees'. Please click here for more information on terminating employees.
Deleted: A deleted employee has been completed removed from Lightning Payroll. If you delete an employee using the 'Actions' button in the Employees section, all their past and present data will be removed.
NOTE: Deleting employees is not recommended. If an employee has left your company, you should terminate them through the Pays screen instead.

Question 36

Can I Install The Program On Multiple Computers?

Accepted Answer

A Lightning Payroll subscription allows you to download the program onto two separate computers. However, the two installations do not talk to each other automatically, and do not allow simultaneous use. Keeping in mind that Lightning Payroll is a desktop based application, not an Online application.

Question 37

What Options Are Available When Emailing Employees?

Accepted Answer

Lightning Payrolls also allows you to configure additional preferences for emailing employees.
To view this options, go to Employees > Details > Email Options.
In this menu, you have the following options:

Alternate email: Entering another email here specifically to send payslips to
Email Payslips?: This tickbox lets you choose whether you want the employee to receive payslips by email or not
Email payment summaries: This tickbox will also allow you to email PAYG/group certificates directly to employees at the end of financial year.

Question 38

Can I Purchase Lighting Payroll For Less Than A Year?

Accepted Answer

Lightning Payroll is only available as an annual subscription. There is no option for a subscription term less than one year.

Question 39

Will I Lose The Data I've Entered When My Trial Expires?

Accepted Answer

As Lightning Payroll is a desktop-based application, the data you enter into your free trial will be saved on the computer you've been working on, even after your free trial expires. This means that if you decide to purchase the program after the free trial expires, you will be able to pick up where you left off and continue entering data without losing what's already been done.
The trial version of the program you've been using will be unlocked and able to be used as the full version once payment has been made and your Subscription ID is entered into said trial version.

Question 40

How Can I Set Birthday Reminders?

Accepted Answer

If you would like to create a birthday reminder for an active employee go to Settings >> Reminders. Click on the box next to Birthday Reminders On, which is located at the bottom left of this screen. Select how many days notice you wish to have. Then click on Create Birthday Reminders For Active Employees.
You can edit each reminder by clicking on the pencil icon and saving those changes. When entering into Lightning Payroll, that is when you will be notified of the birthday reminder.

Question 41

How Can I Import Data Into Lightning Payroll?

Accepted Answer

Lightning Payroll is not able to import data from any other software. All data will have to be entered into the program manually.

Question 42

Where Can I View Order History and Tax Invoices for Licence Payments?

Accepted Answer

You can view your licence order history, as well as print and download .pdf copies of your tax invoice/s for licence payment via our website. You will need to login to Client Login on our website, then click on My Account, then click View Your Order History. From here you can see the list of your orders under this account, and click View on the order you'd like to see.
To print or download a .pdf copy of the tax invoice for your chosen order, click on Show Tax Invoice, then select either Print This Invoice or Download A PDF Copy from the buttons on the top right-hand corner of the page.

Question 43

How Can I Purchase Lightning Payroll?

Accepted Answer

To purchase an annual Lightning Payroll subscription it just involves going to the 'Buy Now' page of our website, choosing a licence to suit your needs from the options available, registering an account and making payment. Once your payment has been confirmed you will receive an email with a subscription ID number which needs to be entered into the program when you open it for the first time.
Please Note - When using a trial version you have not yet registered an account with Lightning Payroll.

Question 44

How Can I Monitor Actual LSL Entitlements Depending On Milestones, Rather Than Full Balance?

Accepted Answer

Lightning Payroll has a mechanism for monitoring and estimating employee LSL entitlements as at key milestone dates - such as their anniversary date - depending on their state.
You can enable/disable this option under Settings >> System Leave >> Show a warning when employees exceed state-defined long service leave entitlements? . With this option enabled, the software will do a basic scan of the employee's LSL history each time a pay gets saved. The app then provides a generic estimation of how much leave the employee is entitled to, which may not be the same as the live leave balance you'd see in the Pays or Employees screens.
Below is an example of why this warning might appear, and how it performs its estimation. 
Please Note: This warning is purely an estimation and cannot be 100% accurate due to external variables the software is not aware of. Please disregard or disable the warning if it is not accurate enough for your purposes.

In the above example you can see that in the context of a 2024 pay, the employee is eligible to use their LSL accrued as at 2022 (since they started work in 2012) but they are not eligible for any accruals after their ten year anniversary until they hit their 15 year milestone. This example is for NSW but the program will adjust for each other state.The 329.3346 hours accrued as at the 10 year anniversary is a very rough calculation made using the same default parameters used under Employees >> Leave >> Leave Entitlement Adjustments >> LSL Balance Calculator (see below). Again, this estimate is not as intelligent or accurate as a pro rata accrual and should be taken as a helpful hint only, not strict truth. If an employee has had periods of unpaid leave or has changed their employment load from part-time to full time (among other reasons), then this estimation will likely be incorrect. If so, please disregard, or disable and instead manually monitor your employees' leave amounts and when they can be taken.

The image above shows the ten years accrual for an employee who started on Jan 5th 2012. Their ten year anniversary is Jan 5th 2022. Assuming their current award hours per week (38) at 8.67 weeks accrued every ten years, they should be entitled to 329 hours and 36 minutes LSL (after taking leave taken into account). Their current LSL balance will have accrued beyond this amount, of course, but they are not eligible to use that excess (post 2022) accrual until their 15 year milestone, hence the alert.

Question 45

How Do I Add Additional or Custom Leave Types?

Accepted Answer

You can set up custom leave types in the program for things like RDOs and Time Off in Lieu by going to Company >> Leave Balance >> Create Leave Balance and creating the leave type here. Once the leave type exists in this area, you will need to go to Employees >> Leave >> Leave Accruals and use the green plus symbol to add the recently created leave type to each employee who requires it.

Question 46

How Do I Enter Existing Leave Balances?

Accepted Answer

If you are new to Lightning Payroll and setting up an employee with existing leave balances, you can enter your these amounts in their first pay. Once you have gone into the Edit Pay screen for an employee, you will see the Leave Balances  Edit  button on the left hand side of the screen. Here is where you will be able to enter your initial balances. Previous amounts need to be added to the system generated accruals from the current pay run.
For example:
Let's say that the employee&rsquo;s leave balance on their most recent payslip shows 45 hours and 30 minutes of annual leave (45.5 hours). When you click  Edit Pay >> Edit Leave Balances  you will notice a small amount of leave has accrued. For example, our employee works 38 hours a week, and so they will accrue 2 hours and 55 minutes of annual leave (2.92 hours). You will need to add this amount to their leave balance as of last week. So for this example we would add 2 hours and 55 minutes to our original balance of 45 hours and 30 minutes, which will result in a total 48 hours and 25 minutes (48.42 hours). This is the updated leave balance as at the end of their first pay period inside of Lightning Payroll.

Question 47

When An Employee Attends Jury Duty How Can I Handle Make Up Pay?

Accepted Answer

When an employee attends Jury Duty, they are usually paid by the court. In many circumstances, they are eligible for make-up pay. Fair Work Australia describes eligibility and make-up pay here.
The image below is an example they provide:

 Make up pay should be entered as leave taken in this pay under the leave type 'Ancillary'.In their STP Phase 2 Disaggregation of gross position paper, the ATO writes: 
"Employers may offer paid or unpaid absences for all these types of leave. All paid absences,including &ldquo;make-up pay&rdquo; for ancillary and defence leave are to be reported as Paid LeaveType&ndash;A (Ancillary and Defence Leave). These types of absences are not ordinary timeearnings or salary or wages for superannuation guarantee purposes.Any other types of paid absences that are not OTE are to be reported under this category."

Question 48

How Do I Set Up Paid Family and Domestic Violence Leave in Lightning Payroll?

Accepted Answer

A recent federal law now requires employers to provide Paid Family and Domestic Violence leave, which amounts to 10 days in a 12-month period.  You can read more about this legislation here.
The new leave entitlement will be available from:

1 February 2023, for employees of non-small business employers (employers with 15 or more employees on 1 February 2023).
1 August 2023, for employees of small business employer (employers with less than 15 employees on 1 February 2023).

This leave renews every year on each employee’s work anniversary, and does not accumulate from year to year if it isn’t used.
According to Fair Work regulations, there are specific guidelines that dictate the reporting of information on pay slips, including what should not be disclosed. These rules are designed to minimize the potential risk to employees' safety while taking advantage of paid family and domestic violence leave:
“Employers need to keep a record of leave balances and any leave taken by employees. However, pay slips must not mention paid family and domestic violence leave, including any leave taken and leave balances.
From 4 February 2023, an amount paid to an employee for taking paid family and domestic violence leave has to be recorded on a pay slip as:

 ordinary hours of work, or
 another kind of payment for performing work, such as an allowance, bonus or overtime payment.

However, if an employee requests it, their employer can record time taken as paid family and domestic violence leave as another type of leave on their pay slip (for example, annual leave).
If an employee has taken a period of paid family and domestic violence leave, it is best practice for their employer to record this on their pay slip in a way that makes the pay slip look as close as possible to how it would have looked if the employee had not taken the leave.”

If your employee has opted to utilize a leave type, instead of having it displayed as outlined earlier, you can use these steps to configure it. This new leave type does not have a special STP Phase 2 code, and therefore will need to be set up as a custom leave type:

Navigate to Company >> Leave Balance and press the green plus symbol to create a new company leave balance.
Set a name for the company leave balance; the name must not mention family and domestic violence, as such wording cannot show on employee payslips. We suggest using the name ‘Special Leave’ for this leave type. 
Make sure both the Default Amount and Leave Loading amount is set to 0, and tick No Balance/Accrual Required. Leave all other boxes unticked. After this, press Save. 

Next, navigate to Employees >> Leave >> Custom Leave Accrual and press the green plus symbol to add this leave type to each employee who needs it. Select the ‘Special Leave’ that you just created from the dropdown list, then press Save.

This employee now has the new leave type set up, which will not accrue any balance. If an employee needs to use this new leave type, this can be taken like other leave in the program, via Pays >> Edit Pay >> Leave Taken In This Pay >> Special Leave type selected.
Please be aware that you'll need to manually monitor the DV leave taken by your employees. To keep a record, you can add to the employees' notes found under Employees >> Details >> Notes. Additionally, to view the total DV leave taken during the year, you can use the Leave Taken report in the Reports tab and include 'Custom Leave' in your criteria.

Question 49

How Do I Enter Paid Parental Leave, Unpaid Leave or Worker's Compensation Payments?

Accepted Answer

If an employee is on paid parental leave (commonly known as maternity leave), unpaid leave or on leave whilst receiving workers compensation, there are  paid parental, unpaid and worker's compensation leave types that can be selected when processing pays.
You can select any of these options in the Leave taken in this pay section as shown below.

Once you have selected paid parental, unpaid or workers compensation, you can set the duration and the hourly rate for the leave.
For paid parental leave and workers compensation, if you only have a daily or weekly rate, you can calculate the hourly rate by dividing the dollar figure by the number of hours the employee normally works in a day or week respectively.
For example:
If you need to pay $1000 per week and the employee typically works 38 hours per week, the hourly rate would be $1000 / 38, or $26.32.
If you need to pay $150 per day and the employee typically works 8 hours per day, the hourly rate would be $150/ 8, or $18.75.
Lightning Payroll will remember this hourly amount (since it is unlikely to match their normal hourly rate), and save it automatically under Employees >> Leave >> Advanced pro rata leave settings, for the next time they receive this special leave type.
 Clicking Save will add the leave to the pay.
 
Super and Leave Accrual Settings
Paid parental leave, unpaid leave and workers compensation may or may not attract leave accruals and superannuation depending on your state legislation or industry awards.
If you need to adjust whether leave or superannuation accrues on paid parental leave or workers compensation, you can do this under Employees >> Leave >> Advanced Pro Rata Leave Settings.

Note: If you're not able to select any of the advanced settings, it means the employee has not been set to accrue leave on a per hour paid (pro-rata) basis. You can turn this on under Employees >> Leave >> Leave Settings.

Question 50

How Can I Setup Leave Requests?

Accepted Answer

Before your employees can make leave requests through our online employee portal you must have activated their online portal settings under Employees >> Details >> Online Portal. The two main settings you will need for leave requests are Activate This Employee's Online Portal and Allow Employee to Create Leave Requests.
Note: Online portal settings can be configured for multiple employees simultaneously under Tools >> Multiple Employee Portal Settings.

You can configure other settings as you wish, particularly the standard working days and leave request types to the right of the screen.

How Do Employees View or Create Leave Requests?
Employees can login to their personal portal here and click on the Leave tab.
In the Leave section, they can view their current leave balances (if enabled within their online portal settings), along with any current or previous leave requests.
Employees can search and filter through their past leave requests using the dropdown and date boxes. They can also delete pending requests and cancel any other request if need be. Editing from an employee's perspective is limited to the adding of notes.

To request leave, the employee would need to click on the Request Leave button. They will then see the following form where they can enter the start and end dates for the leave, and the type of leave they wish to take.
The Daily Duration section shows how many hours will be applied to each date within the leave request.
If the selected leave type's balance is permitted a forecast table will be shown at the bottom.
For multi-date leave requests the app will rely on the employee's Standard Working Days (default is Mon-Fri), skipping any days which are not normally worked. An employee's standard working days are configured in their Online Portal settings described above.

How Do I Manage and Approve Leave Requests in Lightning Payroll?
Once a leave request has been saved a notification email will be sent to the approver via the registered company email address (under Company >> Details within Lightning Payroll).

You will also receive a prompt when you next enter the Pays screen within Lightning Payroll.

Saying yes will show you the leave request management window, otherwise accessible via Pays >> Timeclock/Portal Sync >> Manage Leave Requests.

To view, edit or approve a leave request, click the edit pencil button beside the request you wish to edit. You will be able to modify dates, leave types, status and notes within any leave request.

If you forget to change the status a reminder message will appear.

When you change the status of a leave request, or when you add a note to a leave request, a notification email will be sent to the employee to inform them of the change.

How Do I Make A New Leave Request On An Employee's Behalf?
To add a new leave request click the green plus button in the main leave requests management window. You will then be able to press the green plus in the next window to add specific dates to the request. Keep in mind a leave request may consist of multiple leave types if necessary (E.g. Annual leave and Public Holiday) 

Once you have added one or more days to the request you will see them listed like the following example. Notice how if the program detects any public holidays within the leave request's dates it will make a mention. If you would like to change the leave type of any dates to public holiday (or any other leave type you might need), click the edit pencil beside the date in question.

Any approved leave will then automatically add itself to pending pays, so long as the pay run start and end date contain the date of the approved leave request.

Question 51

How Do I Correct or Adjust Leave Totals?

Accepted Answer

If one or more of an employee's leave balances have accrued incorrectly, or have been set up incorrectly, they can be corrected in a number of ways.
We would recommend using our new Recalculate Leave on Pays Tool which can be found in the Tools menu on the top left of Lightning Payroll.
This tool gives you the ability to retroactively apply an employee's corrected leave settings to old pays. Please ensure you have reviewed and/or corrected their leave settings under Employees >> Leave >> Leave Settings prior to using the tool.

This tool allows you to recalculate leave for an employee and automatically set the new balances.
In the following example, David Cattermole's leave has not been calculating correctly since the beginning of January.
As leave is calculated on a per pay basis, the first thing we will do when using the tool is to select the date range for the pays we wish to recalculate leave on. In this case, we have chosen the 1st of January up until the 6th of February (the end date of the most recently completed pay run).

Once we've set the dates, we can proceed to the next screen and select David from the list as we wish to recalculate his leave.

The next screen will show us the pays for David within the date range we set. We wish to recalculate leave on all the pays for the entire date range so we will select all (you will typically want to select all pays in most scenarios).

The next window will ask us to select the leave type we wish to recalculate for David. In this example, we want to recalculate his holiday, sick and long service leave as we think they all may be incorrect for the period.

The final page will display the leave recalculations for David. As you can see in the green square, the tool is displaying David's current holiday accrual in the left column and the recalculated accrual in green in the right column.
The blue underline shows that for the pay ending the 6th of February, David's holiday accrual was correct as it matches the recalculated accrual.

You can generate a printable report by clicking the Print/Preview button on the bottom left. To apply the recalculated amounts, simple click the Finish button on the bottom right.
Alternative methods for adjusting leave balances
Leave balances as at the most recent completed pay can be amended under Employees >> Leave >> Leave Entitlement Adjustments. If you know the correct balance already, simply overwrite the incorrect balance with the correct one.
If the total you wish to enter is from another period of time than the most recent completed pay, you can go to Pays >> Last Pay Run >> Edit Pay >> Edit Leave Balances and adjust the balance from whichever period you like.
If you don&rsquo;t know the total and need to recalculate, you can use Lightning Payroll's leave calculators, seen to the right-hand side of the Leave Entitlement Adjustments screen. Alternatively, you can also utilise Fairwork's online leave calculator here.

Question 52

How Do I Pay Leave?

Accepted Answer

To process leave for an employee, go into the Pays section of the program and then click the Edit Pay button for the employee taking leave. In the Leave tab you can use the green plus button to add a new leave item, or the pencil icon to edit an existing leave entry. Simply select the type of leave you will be paying and alter the other values as necessary. The employee's ordinary time hours will be reduced by the amount of leave taken, to help prevent accidental overpayment.

Paying out leave in advance  If an employee is going on leave, and you would like to pay them for all of that leave in the one pay period, tax calculations will need to be advised within the program. This can be done at the bottom of the the main Edit Pay window by spreading the tax calculations over multiple pay periods.

For example, if you pay weekly and you intend to pay the employee for two weeks leave that they'll be taking, in addition to the week they have just worked, the amount of pay periods you would need to enter would be 3.00 .
Employee is cashing out their leave  If an employee wants to be paid out some of their annual leave, or long service leave, without actually taking it, you can tick the 'Cash out' option when entering the leave in their pay. Do NOT spread tax for leave that is being cashed out.

Question 53

How Does Lightning Payroll Calculate Leave Accruals?

Accepted Answer

Leave accruals in Lightning Payroll can be controlled by configuring an individual employee's settings under Employees >> Leave >> Leave Settings. Accruals can be made to occur by the pay period or by the hours worked (pro rata).
Note: Lightning Payroll applies the most common accrual settings when a new employee is created, based on the given STP employment status. Leave settings should be carefully considered to suit your employee's state and award. Each state has different LSL rules and each award can have its own particular requirements such as annual leave loading or differing entitlement days per year. While LP can assist in LSL payouts, LSL amounts often need to be calculated manually. An example of a complex difference in LSL can be seen here.
Accrue by Pay Period
A typical full-time employee's settings might look like this. In this example the employee does not get annual leave loading.

This employee accrues 20 days holiday leave and 10 days sick/personal leave as per the Fair Work National Employment Standards.
How many hours per day this calculates is based on the employee's award hours for a full day. These are configured under Employees >> Pay Settings.

The formula used by Lightning Payroll to calculate accruals for one pay run in this scenario would be:
days of leave entitlements per year x award hours per day / pays per year
E.g. A weekly full-time employee would accrue:
Annual - 20 days X 7.6 hrs / 52 weeks = 2.92307 hours p/wk
Personal - 10 days X 7.6 hrs / 52 weeks = 1.46153 hours p/wk 
Long Service Leave is slightly different as it is usually required to accrue by weeks per 10 or 15 years. In this case it would calculate:
(8.6667 weeks p/yr X 38 hours p/wk) / 10 yrs / 52 weeks = 0.6333 hours p/wk
Accrue by Hours Paid
A typical part-timer with pro-rata annual leave accruals would look like this:

Their pro rata leave accruals are controlled based on the Hours leave accrued, for each hour paid fields.
This decimal value would accrue the same result as above if someone worked 38 hours per week. For example:
Annual leave - 38 hrs X 0.076923 = 2.92307 hrs
Personal/Sick leave - 38 hrs X 0.038461 = 1.46153 hrs
Long Service - 38 hrs X 0.016673 = 0.633574 hrs

Question 54

How Is Leave Affected by JobKeeper?

Accepted Answer

For detailed information on accruing and taking leave when receiving JobKeeper payments please see the Fair Work Australia website. Common scenarios they reference are below.
Requesting employees to take annual leave
If an employer asks their employee to take annual leave, the employee has to consider the request. They can&rsquo;t unreasonably refuse it.
Employees who are on annual leave continue to accrue their usual leave entitlements while they're on leave, and the period of leave counts as service. 
Taking annual leave at half pay
Employees who make an agreement to take annual leave at half pay continue to accrue leave entitlements (such as annual and sick and carer&rsquo;s leave) as if they were taking annual leave at full pay.
If an employee takes leave at half pay, redundancy pay and payment in lieu of notice of termination are also calculated as if the agreement hadn&rsquo;t been made.
Taking paid leave instead of minimum JobKeeper payment
If an employee is given a JobKeeper enabling stand down direction, the employee will be entitled to be paid at least the amount of the JobKeeper payment for a fortnight ($1500 before tax). This amount may be less than the employee would have received if they had worked their usual hours during that fortnight.
If an eligible employee has been given a JobKeeper enabling stand down direction to work less hours than usual (or no hours), but wants to be paid their normal pay, they can agree with their employer to use their paid leave entitlements to top up the amount they&rsquo;re being paid. If that happens, for the time they&rsquo;re on paid leave, they&rsquo;re not on a JobKeeper enabling stand down.
An employee and their employer can agree for the employee to take leave (such as annual leave or long service leave), including taking annual leave at half-pay. In any relevant fortnight, the employee must be paid the greater of either the amount of the JobKeeper payment or their usual pay for work performed, including leave payments.
An employer can&rsquo;t unreasonably refuse an employee&rsquo;s request to take annual leave.
Employees subject to a JobKeeper enabling stand down direction still accrue their usual leave entitlements for the period the direction applies (as if the direction hadn't been given to them).

Question 55

How Can I Renew, or Upgrade My Subscription?

Accepted Answer

To renew your annual subscription, you will first need to login using your email and account password.
                            If you are unable to login, you should reset your password. 
                            
                            
                            Once you have logged in to the  My Account section, simply click  View/Renew/Upgrade Subscriptions.

Question 56

How Can I Check When My Subscription Expires?

Accepted Answer

When your annual subscription is within 60 days from expiration Lightning Payroll will remind you whenever you open the program through a simple pop up. (This reminder will not pop up if you have license auto-renewal enabled with valid card details.) An invoice for renewal is sent out 30 days from expiry to your registered email address with us.
Note that if you renew your subscription earlier than the expiry date, you will not miss out of any days on your current subscription, and will still have a full 12 months on your new subscription.
To manually check the expiration date on your Lightning Payroll subscription or to view your other subscription details, open the program and click  Tools >> Licence Details.
To find out how to renew, or upgrade your subscription to allow more employees click here.

You can also view your subscription expiry information by logging into your account under Login >> Client Login on the top right of our website.

Question 57

I Am Selling My Business. Can I Transfer My Subscription To The New Owner?

Accepted Answer

Yes, licenses can be transferred. The current license holder must send a written email request from their registered email to support@lightningpayroll.com.au, specifying the new email and contact person to assign the license to. The ability to transfer is at the original license holder's discretion.


What is the preferred method for a new owner to get started?
We recommend that new owners set up a fresh account for a clean start. This approach avoids complications that may arise from accessing the former owner's data history.


What should be done if there are concerns about data privacy?
If there are privacy concerns, the new owner should be advised to create a new license. The previous owner can export a redacted version of the database by taking the following steps:

Backup the database under Tools >> Create Backup. This backup file should go with the original owner for their records to be restored on their own computer.
Create a new entity in Lightning Payroll under Entities >> Add new company.
Switch back to the original company under Entities >> Select company.
Go to Employees >> Actions >> Copy Employee to transfer relevant employee details to the new entity without pay history. You'll need to manually setup super fund details and other relevant pay items such as allowances, salary sacrifices, etc.
Delete the old company from the system under Entities >> Delete company and deleting the old company.

You'll now have a fresh company profile for the new owner with employees and no pay history.

Question 58

What Do I Do If I Need More Employees Throughout The Year?

Accepted Answer

Your number of employees may increase throughout the year. If you are within the first ten months of your annual subscription and need to increase your allowed employees you can upgrade your subscription to the next level. If you are in the last two months of your subscription you can simply renew to the higher level.To upgrade your subscription, login to your account and click View/Renew/Upgrade Subscriptions >> Highlight the subscription you wish to upgrade, then click Upgrade. If you wish to renew, click on Renew within this same screen.
Our upgrade system begins a new twelve month licence from today's date, but instead of paying the full price you pay the full price less the original subscription's value.For example:If you have a small subscription ($249 per year) and halfway (six months) through you need to go to a medium subscription ($449 per year) you would pay $324.50, I.e. $449 - $124.50 (half of $249).

Question 59

How Can I Disable Auto-Renewals?

Accepted Answer

If you would like to disable the Auto-Renewal feature for your subscription, you are able to do so by logging in to the Client Portal on our website. From here, click on the Update Credit Card & Auto Renewals option.

On this page, you can untick Renew subscription automatically on the expiry date? to disable the Auto Renewal feature.


Please be aware that you will have to make your payments manually to ensure your subscription doesn’t expire.

Question 60

Why Is Lightning Payroll Asking Me For My Licence Details?

Accepted Answer

After opening Lightning Payroll, you may occasionally be prompted to enter your licence details. This will occur if your subscription has expired, but it can also occur from time to time for security reasons, and to ensure that you're running the latest version of Lightning Payroll.

If this occurs, please enter your registered email address and subscription ID number. Your subscription ID is always a six-digit number. This number gets emailed through when you renew your subscription each year, and it can also be seen by logging in to your account here on our web page (shown below).
If you are unable to login, you can reset your password here.

Licence Errors
If you encounter a Signature Invalid for Licence error (shown below) when entering your licence details, please see here. 


If you encounter an error saying The number of registered systems has reached the maximum allowed by this licence (shown below) then your subscription ID has already been used on two separate computers since renewal.

You'll need to remove your licence from one of the two other computers under Tools >> Licence Details >> Remove System before it can be re-used once again.


If you encounter a Local Licence Install screen (shown below) when entering your licence it may mean that you're on an older version of Lightning Payroll. Click here for help updating Lightning Payroll to the latest version.
It can also mean that Lightning Payroll is unable to connect to the internet. Please check your internet connection, and if that fails try disabling third-party antivirus/firewall software, as they may need to have an exception created.

Question 61

What Is The Difference Between Full Paid Licence, Trial Licence and Read-Only (Unlicenced) Modes?

Accepted Answer

Lightning Payroll can operate in three different licensing modes:

Full/Paid (Full access within the limits of allowed total employees for the chosen pricing tier)
Trial (Cannot restore backups or use online features, but fully editable)
Unlicenced (Can restore backups and view data but cannot edit)

The diagram below gives an idea of how the three modes work.
To find out how to renew, or upgrade your subscription click here.

Question 62

How Many Computers Can Use An Annual Subscription?

Accepted Answer

Each Lightning Payroll annual subscription is able to be used by two computers (Windows or Mac) at any one time. The data is not automatically shared though, as Lightning Payroll is a desktop application, but it can be easily transferred via the numerous backup methods, such as our Online Backups feature.
If you have a pc which will only be viewing the payroll data, and not editing, a licence seat is not required. See here for more information about the three licence 'modes' of the software.If you need more than two systems using the payroll at any one time, you can simply purchase additional annual subscriptions under your account, and each will provide you with two more seats/installs.
Please see here to learn about moving seats/installs between pcs.

Question 63

How Can I Remove My Subscription From Existing Lightning Payroll Installations So That It Can Be Installed On A New Computer?

Accepted Answer

Any annual Lightning Payroll subscription allows you to unlock and use the program on two computers at any one time.
If Lightning Payroll is giving you either of the following errors you will need to clear one or both of your two allowed seats from the current licence/subscription.
Older Versions Max-Seats-Error

Newer Versions Max-Seats-Error

Note: Removing the licence from Lightning Payroll does not affect your pay data or your program installation at all. It will simply lock your application soon after removal, putting Lightning Payroll into a read only state until an active licence is again provided.
There are three ways to fix this error:

Removing the installed licence from an existing Lightning Payroll installation at the top of the program under Tools >> Licence Details >> Remove System. 
Sometimes the old system has crashed and you cannot open the program. In this case you should log into your client account here on our website and go into your subscriptions. Here you can release the seats for any of your subscriptions. This will free up both seats of your subscription for you to then reenter as needed. 
Contact our support team and we can reset your seats for you.

Question 64

Why is the Trial Version Asking for Licence Details?

Accepted Answer

If you have downloaded the free trial and you are being prompted enter licence details, it is likely you have already used the trial previously on the same computer.
The trial lasts for 30 days from the first time you run the trial version. If your trial has now expired, we also offer a 30 day money back guarantee for first time subscribers to Lightning Payroll.
However, if you are certain you have never used the trial before but it is still asking you to enter details, please contact our support team.

How Can I Tell If My Employees Are STP-Finalised or Tax Ready?

Answer