Add Superannuation Items to an Employee Profile (SGC and Additional Employer Contributions) – Astute Payroll Help Centre

Overview

You will need to configure superannuation items in Config > Payroll so that they can then be assigned to each employee in their profile.

The superannuation items that are currently assigned to an employee can be viewed in Users > Employees > select employee > Pay Items, in the Superannuation section. Each item line will include the name of the superannuation item and a description underneath summarising the current calculation settings.

The summary will reflect the current superannuation settings. If you have added a new future-dated rate, the summary will update from the Start Date onwards.

Add Superannuation Items to an Employee Profile

If an employee is entitled to Superannuation Guarantee Contributions (SGC), this needs to be set up in their profile before processing their wages. If you are making Additional Employer Contributions (reportable super), this is set up in the same place.

To add a superannuation item to an employee:

Go to Users > Employees > select the employee.
Click Pay Item on the left-hand side.
Click +Add Superannuation Item.
Select the superannuation item from the drop-down list. The superannuation item line will prefill with the default values for Start Date, Finish Date and Percentage or Fixed Amount that have been set up in Config > Payroll > Superannuation for the item.
Edit the Start Date, Finish Date, and Percentage or Amount field, if custom values are required for the employee. Both the Start Date and Percentage/Fixed Amount fields are mandatory, but will use the default values if nothing is entered. The Finish Date is an optional field.
Click the disk icon at the right of the superannuation item line to save the super details.

Important: When you add or edit a superannuation item on an employee profile, you will need to ensure that you click the disk icon on the superannuation line to save any details that you have entered. Clicking the Save button at the bottom of the Pay Items screen will not save these changes.

Active and Inactive Superannuation Items

After saving, the superannuation item will appear listed under the Superannuation heading on the Pay Item page of the employee profile. A summary of the current rate will appear underneath the item name.

Please note that only Active items will appear on the Pay Item screen. When a new item is added, it will be set to Active by default. You can inactivate an item by deselecting the ‘Active’ checkbox.

To view inactive superannuation items that have been assigned to an employee, click Show Inactive. To remove them from the display, click Hide Inactive.

Edit a Superannuation Rate

You can edit a superannuation item that has been assigned on an employee profile by clicking the pencil icon to the right of the item details. The fields that are active for editing will depend on whether the super item has been added to an employee pay (regardless of whether the pay is in a pay run or not).

If the super item is included in a pay, the Start Date and Percentage or Fixed Amount fields will be read only.

Once you have edited the required fields, click the disk icon to save your changes. Clicking the Save button at the bottom of the page will not save changes to super items.

The Delete icon will appear for superannuation items that have not been used in a pay run or added to an employee’s YTD balances.

You can view historical changes to employee superannuation rates in Reports > System History > User Updates.

Bulk Updates of Superannuation Rates

Employees who have been assigned a superannuation item and are using the prefilled default values will be updated when a rate update is made to the superannuation item in Config > Payroll > Superannuation.

For example, an item for Superannuation Guarantee has been set up in Config with a percentage of 11.5%. This item is assigned to an employee with the default value intact (ie 11.5%).

A new rate is added to the Superannuation Guarantee item in Config, to apply a percentage of 12% with a Start Date of 01.07.2025. The new rate will flow through to the employee profile and will be effective for pays for that employee with a Pay Date on or after 01.07.2025.

Custom Employee Rates and Bulk Updates

If custom rates are entered manually on an employee's profile for a superannuation item that has been assigned to the employee, any updates in Config will not be applied. The custom value will be retained. If this has been done in error, you will need to manually correct the error.

For example, an item for Superannuation Guarantee is set up in Config with a percentage of 12%. This item is assigned to an employee but the percentage value is manually entered as 11.5% in the Pay Items tab of their profile.

A new rate of 12% is added to the Superannuation Guarantee item in Config, with a Start Date of 01.07.2025. The new rate will not flow through to the employee profile. The custom percentage of 11.5% will be retained.

How do changes to Superannuation Rates Impact Pays?

If changes are made to the Active status of a superannuation item, or the superannuation rate, you will need to ensure that the changes have flowed through to any existing pays before processing a pay run.

Change to Superannuation Rate or Item	Impact on Pays
An active superannuation item is set to Inactive AND a pay for an employee is already in Process Payroll but not added to a pay run.	The pay will automatically recalculate and remove the calculated super for the Inactive item.
An inactive superannuation item is set to Active AND A pay for an employee is already in Process Payroll but not yet added to a pay run AND The Pay Date falls within the Start Date and Finish Date range for the item	The pay will automatically recalculate and include the amount calculated for the Active item.
A new rate is added to a superannuation item in Config AND The employee profile uses the default values for that superannuation item AND A pay for an employee is already in Process Payroll but not added to a pay run	The new rate will automatically reflect in the employee’s profile and the system will recalculate any pays with the new rate.
A new rate is added to a superannuation item in Config AND The employee profile uses the default values for that superannuation item AND A pay is included in a pay run	The employee’s profile will update with the new rate, however the super in the pay will not automatically recalculate the pay. You will need to remove the pay from the pay run and recalculate the super if needed.
A pay is included in a pay run	Superannuation will not recalculate. You will need to remove the pay from the pay run and recalculate the super if needed.

Assign Superannuation to an ABN Contractor

If you need to assign a superannuation item to an ABN contractor, you will first need to enable superannuation for suppliers. Go to Config > Company Management > select the entity > Payroll > tick the 'Enable Superannuation for Suppliers' checkbox > Save.