MYOB · Single Touch Payroll

How to Fix MYOB STP Error

A Single Touch Payroll report is rejected by the ATO, will not send, sits stuck as pending, or year to date figures do not match what you have actually paid.

At QuickFix Bookkeeping, the point that catches most businesses: STP reports year to date figures, not the individual pay run. Every submission restates the totals for the year. This means a rejected report does not lose data, the next successful submission corrects everything. It also means a single wrong figure propagates until you fix the underlying record.

What Causes This

ABN or branch mismatch

The ABN or branch number in MYOB does not match ATO records, so the submission is rejected outright.

Employee details invalid

A missing tax file number, date of birth, or address fails ATO validation for that employee.

ATO connection not authorised

The link between MYOB and the ATO was never completed or has lapsed.

Category not assigned

A pay item with no ATO reporting category assigned blocks the whole submission.

How to Fix It

METHOD 1Read the ATO Rejection MessageReport rejected
1

Open the rejected submission in MYOB and read the ATO response. Unlike most error messages, ATO rejections usually name the exact field and the exact employee at fault.

2

Fix the underlying record rather than the submission. If an employee has an invalid tax file number, correct it on the employee card.

3

Then send the next pay run as normal. Because STP reports year to date totals, the corrected figures flow through automatically. You do not need to resend the rejected one.

METHOD 2Check the Business DetailsEvery submission rejected
1

If every submission fails rather than one, the fault is at business level, not employee level.

2

Confirm the ABN and branch number in MYOB exactly match what the ATO holds. A branch number of 001 entered as 1 is enough to fail.

3

Confirm the business name and address match ATO records too.

METHOD 3Reauthorise the ATO ConnectionStuck as pending
1

A submission that sits pending indefinitely usually means the ATO connection has lapsed rather than that the ATO is slow.

2

Check the ATO connection status in MYOB and reauthorise if needed. This may require the business owner or an authorised contact rather than a bookkeeper.

3

If you use a registered agent, confirm the agent authorisation is still current with the ATO.

METHOD 4Assign ATO Reporting CategoriesSubmission blocked before sending
1

Every wage, deduction, and superannuation pay item must have an ATO reporting category assigned. One unassigned item blocks the entire submission.

2

Review your pay items and assign a category to each. Do this once, properly, before the end of the financial year rather than discovering it at finalisation.

Fix It Before Finalisation

STP errors are inconvenient during the year and expensive at the end of it. Employees cannot lodge their tax returns until you finalise, and a year of wrong reporting categories has to be unpicked before you can. Reconcile your STP year to date figures against your payroll reports every quarter, not in July.

Related Guides

STP Rejected and the Deadline Approaching?

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ATO rejections compound quietly and surface at finalisation when your employees need their figures. We correct the underlying records and get your submissions accepted.

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