QuickBooks HelpQuickBooksHelpIntuit

Troubleshooting validation warnings for STP Events

by Intuit• Updated 2 years ago

This article lists the validation warnings we have set up that you may see once you have created a pay/update event. We have put these warnings in place to reduce the possibility of a failed or partially successful lodgement. However, please note, some errors can only be identified AFTER the event has been lodged with the ATO.

Warnings are either business related or specific to an employee. You will know whether the warning relates to a specific employee as it will include the employee's name in front of the warning.  

Employee Warnings

Note: Many of these warnings can be resolved by updating your employee’s details, to access an employees details simply select Employees from the left hand menu then select the employee you wish to update the details for.  

The list of employee validations warnings, their meaning and required fix are as follows:

The postcode must be 4 digits and an actual valid postcode. This will need to be fixed in the employee's details. Ensure both the employee's residential and postal postcodes are corrected.

The Tax File Number (TFN) must be 8 or 9 digits and match valid TFN algorithms. If the employee's TFN is invalid, you can select the

The employee quoted an invalid TFN

option from the employee's

Tax File Declaration

screen and then follow up with the employee at a later time. 

The Address Line 1 field in the employee's

Details

screen must be less than 39 characters. Ensure that Line 1 does not include the suburb and/or postcode and that Line 2 is used for multi-line addresses. Additionally, ensure the fix has been applied to both the

Residential

and

Postal

address sections.  

Address Line 1

and/or

Suburb

fields have not been completed. Both fields are compulsory so ensure these are completed in the employee's

Details

screen for both the

Residential

and

Postal

address sections.

The employee's date of birth must be less than 110 years. This needs to be rectified in the employee's

Details

screen.
Email addresses go through a standard validation process. If this message appears, it may be that the email address contains an invalid character or the

@

symbol is missing. If the email address does appear to be correct, we suggest you completely delete it and enter it again. We have picked up on instances where the email address does contain invalid characters but they are not visible on the screen so deleting and re-entering is the easiest way to fix this.

The ATO will not accept YTD allowance amounts that are negative (ie, less than $0). You will need to unlock the pay run and fix this before the employee can be added to the event.

The ATO will not accept YTD SG contribution amounts that are negative (ie, less than $0). You will need to unlock the pay run and fix this before the employee can be added to the event.
The ATO will not accept YTD salary sacrifice super contribution or employer contribution amounts that are negative (ie, less than $0). You will need to unlock the pay run and fix this before the employee can be added to the event.

The ATO will not accept YTD union fee deduction amounts that are negative (ie, less than $0). You will need to unlock the pay run and fix this before the employee can be added to the event.

Business Warnings

The list of business validations warnings, their meaning and required fix are as follows:

SBR or Electronic lodgement is not enabled. You cannot proceed without enabling both electronic lodgement and STP. Learn how to enable Single Touch Payroll.  

The user lodging the event may have an invalid email.Employer declaration signatory contains invalid characters: There are 2 possible scenarios here: (a) If an STP Pay Event Approver has been used to approve a lodgement, their email address may not be valid or (b) The user lodging the event may have an invalid email.

This means the ATO Supplier Settings have not been completed correctly or certain fields are missing data. 

Learn how to enable Single Touch Payroll.  
This warning will only appear if the business's ATO Settings are using "an intermediary for multiple Employing Entities" to lodge reports to the ATO. The issue here is that the ABN entered under the "Intermediary Details" section of the

ATO Supplier Settings

is invalid. Ensure the ABN entered is active and valid.
This warning will only appear if the business's ATO Settings are using "a registered Tax/BAS Agent" to lodge reports to the ATO. The issue here is that the ABN entered under the "Tax/BAS Agent Details" section of the

ATO Supplier Settings

is invalid. Ensure the ABN entered is active and valid.
This warning will only appear if the business's ATO Settings are using "an intermediary for multiple Employing Entities" to lodge reports to the ATO. The

Phone Number

field contained in the "Intermediary Details" section of the

ATO Supplier Settings

is empty. Ensure a phone number is entered in this field and only contains numeric characters.
This warning will only appear if the business's ATO Settings are using "an intermediary for multiple Employing Entities" to lodge reports to the ATO. The

Phone Number

field contained in the "Intermediary Details" section of the

ATO Supplier Settings

is invalid. Ensure the phone number only contains numeric characters.

If there are multiple employing entities set up in the business, the ATO Supplier Settings cannot be set as "As the Employer" lodging reports to the ATO. This setting must be one of 'As a registered Tax/BAS Agent' or 'As an intermediary for multiple Employing Entities'. You must fix these settings before you can proceed with the lodgement.

This warning will only appear if the business's ATO Settings are using "As an Employer" to lodge reports to the ATO. The issue here is that the ABN entered in the

ATO Supplier Settings

screen is invalid. Ensure the ABN entered is active and valid.

This warning will only appear if the business's ATO Settings are using "As an Employer" to lodge reports to the ATO. You will need to ensure a valid phone number is entered in all of the following areas:

  1. Business Details screen;
  2. ATO Settings screen; and
  3. Employing Entities screen (if you have employing entities set up).

This means the phone number entered is invalid. You will need to ensure a valid phone number - containing only numeric characters or spaces that must be greater than 2 and less than 16 characters - is entered in all of the following areas:

  1. Business Details screen;
  2. ATO Settings screen; and
  3. Employing Entities screen (if you have employing entities set up).

This means the Legal Name or Employing Entity name contains invalid or special characters not allowed by the ATO.  

This means the

Contact Name

field contains invalid or special characters not allowed by the ATO.
SBR or Electronic lodgement is not enabled for the specified employing entity. You cannot proceed without enabling both electronic lodgement and STP. 
QuickBooks Online Payroll Standard

Sign in now for personalized help

See articles customized for your product and join our large community of QuickBooks users.