PAYG installments
PAYG installments are advance payments toward your income tax, separate from PAYG withholding (which is the tax you withhold from employees).
The ATO offers two methods:
- T7 (Commissioner's instalment amount): the ATO calculates a fixed dollar amount each quarter based on your last lodged tax return. You simply pay that figure.
- T1 × T2 (Instalment rate method): you multiply your current-quarter business income (T1) by the rate the ATO supplies (T2) and pay that figure. Better if your income is variable.
From Accounting, then PAYG Installments, choose which method you use. The page shows the four quarters of the current financial year, the amount due each quarter (calculated from your method), and a Record payment action against each.
When you record the payment, OneBookPlus posts:
- Dr PAYG Installments (current asset, sits on the balance sheet)
- Cr Bank
The installments accumulate as a prepayment of income tax. At year end your tax agent reconciles them against the actual tax bill on your annual tax return.
Super guarantee (SG)
Super is owed on the gross wages component of every pay run. The rate is 11.5% for 2024-25, rising to 12% from 1 July 2025.
From Accounting, then Super Guarantee, the page shows:
- Quarter accrual: total SG owed across all pay runs in the current quarter, derived from the gross wages on your completed pay runs in OneBookPlus. OneBookPlus does not lodge Single Touch Payroll pay events to the ATO, so this figure comes from your own pay runs rather than from anything reported on your behalf.
- Clearing house tracking: when you pay your super via a clearing house (the ATO Small Business Superannuation Clearing House, or commercial alternatives), record the payment date and reference. The page tracks payment lodgement against the due date (28 days after quarter end).
- Per-employee breakdown: gross wages × rate per employee, useful for spot-checking before payment.
The journal posted on payment:
- Dr Superannuation Payable (clearing the liability)
- Cr Bank
Missing the 28-day deadline triggers the Super Guarantee Charge (SGC): late super stops being deductible and an additional charge applies. The Super Guarantee page surfaces a red banner three weeks out from each quarter's deadline to nudge you.
Working out what to pay
The superannuation calculator works out the guarantee amount on a set of ordinary time earnings, and the PAYG calculator estimates an instalment. The rules behind both sit with the ATO: the ATO page on how much super to pay carries the current rate, and the ATO page on PAYG instalments explains who has to pay them.
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