The realities of payday filing

PayDay filing will be compulsory from April this year. There have been a number of scare stories about the expense and inconvenience it will create. ​ Is it really going to be that bad?

Yesterday I went to a presentation by MYOB, hosted at the BNZ offices in Wellington all about PayDay filing. A number of other finance professionals and business advisors were in attendance. The presentation covered the legislation, but the more interesting information was around the practical ways to cope with the new rules.

The first thing to note is that online processing is going to be the easiest. If your payroll deductions bill (including PAYE, ESCT, WHT etc) are under $50,000 pa, you can still file on paper but you must ensure that it reaches the IRD within 10 days of the relevant payday.  If you miss your filing deadlines three times in a row, you will draw the attention of the IRD.

The second thing to note is which software system you use will determine how simple the process will be.
​
I did hear from another attendee that Xero had only just finalised their software. Given that payday filing has been voluntarily for some time, I was surprised to hear that it wasn't already in place.

Of MYOB's suite of payroll products, only one provides an end-to-end process - i.e. where a link direct to the IRD is created and submission of forms is automated. The others will create the file and then the user is required to upload it to the IRD website (much like currently).

Software suppliers or payroll bureaus who have end-to-end processes will make payday filing a simple process. If you have software or processes that require manual upload of information to the IRD, then being organised is key.