Payday Super Is Here: First Pay Run Checks for Physio Clinics

Payday Super has started.

The ATO says the change is now here and has shared new help for employers. Accountants Daily also reported that employers need to watch common traps, including late payments and closely held employees.

If you own a physio clinic, this is not a theory anymore. It affects your next pay run.

Your job is simple this week. Check that wages, super, and cash all line up before the first new cycle gets away from you.

Start with one pay run

Do not try to fix every payroll problem in one day.

Start with your next pay run. Open the payroll file and check each staff member.

Look at:

• full name
• tax file number
• super fund details
• ordinary time earnings
• employment type
• pay rate
• hours worked

This matters for full time staff, part time staff, casual staff, and admin staff.

A small error can stop the super payment. You may not notice until later.

Check new staff first

New staff are the easiest place to make mistakes.

For a physio clinic, that might be:

• a new receptionist
• a new graduate physio
• a casual Saturday worker
• a practitioner who has moved from contractor to employee

If the worker has not chosen a super fund, you may need to check stapled super fund rules. The ATO updated its employer page on stapled super funds this week too.

Do not leave this until the day payroll is due.

Make sure the money is there

This is the cash flow part.

Under the old habit, many businesses thought about super every quarter. That habit can hurt now.

When wages are paid, treat the super as spent too.

Do not use that cash for rent, supplies, equipment, or loan payments. It is not spare money. It belongs in the payroll cost for that pay run.

A simple way to check is to ask:

“If I pay wages today, can I also cover the super that goes with them?”

If the answer is no, your clinic has a cash flow problem to fix now.

Watch closely held employees

Some clinic owners pay family members or related people through the business.

Accountants Daily reported that closely held employees can be a trap under Payday Super.

If this applies to your clinic, do not guess. Ask your accountant how those payments should be handled.

Check that super was received

Sending the payment is not always the end of the job.

Super can fail because of wrong fund details, missing staff details, or a system issue.

After the pay run, check that the payment has gone through. If your software gives a status report, read it. If there is an error, fix it while the pay run is still fresh.

Keep one simple record

Keep a short note for the first few pay runs under the new system.

Record:

• pay date
• super amount
• payment method
• payment status
• any error found
• when the error was fixed

This does not need to be fancy. A simple spreadsheet is enough.

What to do this week

Before the next pay run, check three things.

First, make sure staff details are right.

Second, make sure the super payment process works.

Third, make sure the clinic has the cash ready.

That is the practical work. Not a long meeting. Not a huge report. Just the checks that stop a payroll mistake from turning into a bigger problem.

Sources: ATO, “Payday Super is here!”; ATO, “Stapled super funds for employers”; Accountants Daily, “Your guide to Payday Super: staying compliant and avoiding common pitfalls”.