Paying Superannuation

Super guarantee (SG) payments must be made to complying funds or retirement savings accounts (RSAs) and be received in the fund or account by the quarterly due dates, which are 28 days after the end of each quarter.

Some super funds require employers to make contributions monthly. When you register with a fund with this requirement, you are agreeing to make monthly contributions to that fund.

You need to pay and report super electronically to ensure it meets SuperStream requirements.

You can claim a tax deduction for SG payments in the financial year you make them – if you meet the SG requirements.

You may be able to use the free Small Business Superannuation Clearing House to make super contributions for your employees.

If you miss a payment or pay SG after the due date, you must pay the superannuation guarantee charge (SGC) and lodge an SGC statement to us. The SGC is not tax-deductible.

Process Automated Super Payments in Xero

Before you start

1. Go to Payroll Settings and add a regulated or self-managed super fund.
2. Go to the Employee Card, and enter the super membership details for each employee. To make sure you’ve added employee details to meet the data standards for SuperStream:
   1. Go to the Payroll menu and select Employees.
   2. Click an employee’s name to view their details.
   3. Select the Details tab and add their personal and contact details, then click Save.

Create a new payment batch

1. Go to the Payroll menu, and from the drop-down list, select Superannuation.
2. Click Add Super Payment.
3. From the payment details page, choose the lines to pay from the list of posted pay runs. You can filter this list by employee, super fund, employee group or payment due date by clicking on the column headings.
4. Once you’ve selected your accruals for inclusion in this batch, click Submit for Approval.

You will be redirected to the superannuation home screen where the batch will appear as ‘Pending Approval’.

Your nominated authoriser will receive a text from Xero with the authorisation code, which is valid for 24 hours. We’ll also send an email to let them know we’ve sent the code by SMS.

Authorise a payment batch

If you’ve received an SMS with an authorisation code to approve a super payment batch:

1. In the Payroll menu, select Superannuation.
2. Click on the batch which shows as ‘Pending Approval’.
3. Review the list of payments included in the batch. If you notice something is not right, you can delete the payment. If everything looks good, click Approve, then enter the authorisation code you received in the SMS and click Approve & Submit.

Xero will list the payment batch as ‘Approved, pending processing’. The payment will then be direct debited from your bank account and appear on your bank statement as ‘PayClear Services’.