This article describes how to resolve several of the common issues when getting started with Single Touch Payroll. Errors are either business related or employee specific. You will know whether an error is employee specific as it will include the employee name in the front of the error, for example:

We have separated these issues between the two types to provide an easier breakdown of the solution.

Business Errors

Error: CMN.ATO.PAYEVNT.EM92172, We were unable to process your submission because we already have a submission with this submission ID

This message usually appears where a business has multiple employing entities set up and the identical ABN is used for two or more of these entities. The ATO deems this as a duplicate lodgement and will hence cause the lodgement to fail. To resolve this, you will need to ensure all affected employees are transferred over to the one common employing entity. This is done via the employee's Tax File Declaration screen. Refer here for detailed instructions on changing an employee's employing entity.

 

Error: CMN.ATO.GEN.200001, An unexpected error has occurred. Please contact the Tax Office

When the error CMN.ATO.GEN.200001 is received, it usually means one of two things.

• EITHER the employer has not enabled KeyPay as a hosted SBR software service within Access Manager
• OR The employer is using a tax agent and has not appointed the tax agent within Access Manager

Firstly, it's worth noting under Payroll Settings > ATO Settings whether electronic lodgement is occurring as the Employer or the Tax Agent.

Additionally, note your software ID under 'Electronic Lodgement & STP'

 

Lodging as the Employer

If you are lodging as the employer and receive a CMN.ATO.GEN.200001 error, you should ensure that KeyPay is set up as the software sending provider on the ATO Access Manager site. To do this:

• Log into Access Manager https://am.ato.gov.au/
• Click on "My hosted SBR software services"

• Ensure that KeyPay is listed under "My hosted SBR services":
• If it is not listed, click 'Notify the ATO of your hosted service" and then search for KeyPay
• Click on the ABN and then check whether your software ID is listed: 
• If it is not listed, enter the software ID into the 'Add Software IDs' text box and click 'Next' 
• On the final page, click 'Save' 

Now, please try re-lodging your Pay Event.

Lodging as a Tax/BAS Agent

A business with a registered tax agent will be required to log into the ATO Business Portal and grant the tax agent permission to manage Single Touch Payroll for the business. To do this:

• Log into the the ATO Business portal with your AUSkey
• Go to ‘Access Manager’, login, click on ‘who has access to my business’, then in the blue band near the top ‘Appoint New Business’
• Enter the registered agent

• There is then a step to choose the access level. Under the heading ATO Transactions you will need to choose “Payroll event form” for “Lodge & View” as shown below

 

Error: CMN.ATO.GEN.XML03, The value specified for an item does not match the item type (value = "[specific value detailed here]", item type = String, uniqueID = http://www.sbr.gov.au/ato/payevnt:TelephoneMinimalN) Hint: The Pattern constraint failed.

This error relates to an invalid value entered in the Contact Phone Number/Phone Number field. 

Only numbers can be entered in this field. You will need to ensure the issue is fixed 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).

NB. This error may also relate to invalid or too much text in other fields on the business' Details page, under the business settings heading on the payroll settings tab.

For example... Error: CMN.ATO.GEN.XML03, A field contains invalid data (such as letters in numeric or date field).. The value specified for an item does not match the item type (value = "First Floor, Sunny Days Every Day Resort", item type = String, uniqueID = http://www.sbr.gov.au/ato/payevnt:Line1T) Hint: The actual length is greater than the MaxLength value.

 

Error: CMN.ATO.GEN.XML04, The element “AddressDetailsPostal” in namespace ‘http://www.sbr.gov.au/ato/payevnt’ has invalid child element ‘CountryC’ in namespace ‘http://www.sbr.gov.au/ato/payevnt’. List of possible elements expected: ‘Line 1T’ in namespace ‘http://www.sbr.gov.au/ato/payevnt’. Hint: while processing parent element [AddressDetailsPostal] child mandatory element [Line 1T] was expected but not found.

If you get this error it means that the company address has not been completed. N.B. The "Address Line 1" and "Suburb" fields are compulsory.

You will need to ensure the issue is fixed 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).

 

Error: CMN.ATO.GEN.XML04, The element 'OrganisationName' in namespace ‘http://www.sbr.gov.au/ato/payevnt’ has invalid child element 'PersonUnstructuredNameFullNameT' in namespace ‘http://www.sbr.gov.au/ato/payevnt’. List of possible elements expected: ‘DetailsOrganisationalNameT’ in namespace ‘http://www.sbr.gov.au/ato/payevnt’. Hint: while processing parent element [OrganisationName] child mandatory element [DetailsOrganisationalNameT] was expected but not found.

If you get this error it means that the company name field has not been completed. N.B. This field is compulsory.

You will need to ensure the issue is fixed in all of the following areas:

1. The Legal Name field in the Business Details screen;
2. The Name field in the ATO Settings screen; and
3. The Name field in the Employing Entities screen (if you have employing entities set up).

 

Error: CMN.ATO.GEN.XML04, The element 'ElectronicContact' in namespace 'http://www.sbr.gov.au/ato/payevnt' has incomplete content. List of possible elements expected: 'TelephoneMinimalN' in namespace 'http://www.sbr.gov.au/ato/payevnt'. Hint: while processing parent element [ElectronicContact] child mandatory element [TelephoneMinimalN] was not found.

If you get this error it means that the company phone number has not been completed. N.B. This field is compulsory.

You will need to ensure the issue is fixed in all of the following areas:

1. The Contact Phone Number field in the Business Details screen;
2. The Phone Number field in the ATO Settings screen; and
3. The Contact Phone Number field in the Employing Entities screen (if you have employing entities set up).

 

Error: CMN.ATO.AUTH.008, You are not authorised to submit this lodgement on behalf of the client. Link this client to your australian business number to create a business appointment or see your Auskey administrator. If the business appointment exists, your Auskey may not have access to this client.

If you are a registered tax/BAS Agent:

The error is basically stating that the tax/BAS agent is not 'connected' with the business. This cannot be rectified within the payroll system - rather it requires logging into Access Manager or the Tax/BAS Agent Portal to ensure the business is listed as a client and the agent has the sufficient permissions for that business to undertake the lodgement of STP. The ATO prescribe several methods of rectifying this are:

• Link the business to your registered agent number, using the client update service or the portal. In some instances, it may take overnight to process your request.
• If the link already exists, the business may be restricted in Access Manager. Contact your AUSkey Administrator to allow 'view all restricted clients' or to have the restriction for this client overridden.
• If the business is appearing on your client list and is not a restricted client, you may need to remove and re-add the business and try to lodge again.
• Your agent number must also be linked to the correct agent ABN in Access Manager. Ask your AUSkey Administrator to make any necessary changes.

If you are an intermediary for multiple employing entities:

The error is basically stating that the entity acting as the intermediary does not have the required authorisation to be the intermediary. This cannot be rectified within the payroll system - rather it requires logging into Access Manager to ensure the business is listed as a 'client' per se and the intermediary has the sufficient permissions for that business to undertake the lodgement of STP. To do this:

• Log into the the ATO Business portal with your AUSkey
• Log in to the employing entities that are NOT the intermediary entity
• Go to ‘Access Manager’, login, click on ‘who has access to my business’, then in the blue band near the top ‘Appoint New Business’
• Enter the intermediary entity's details

• There is then a step to choose the access level. Under the heading ATO Transactions you will need to choose “Payroll event form” for “Lodge & View” as shown below 

Please take note of the following:

• In some instances, the linking to other businesses may take overnight to process your request.
• If the link already exists, the business may be restricted in Access Manager. Contact your AUSkey Administrator to allow 'view all restricted clients' or to have the restriction for this client overridden.
• If the business is appearing on your client list and is not a restricted client, you may need to remove and re-add the business and try to lodge again.

 

Error: SBR.GEN.AUTH.008, Your nomination with the software provider may not contain the correct Software ID in Access Manager. To resolve, please log on to Access Manager (AUSkey required), select ?my nominated software provider? and update the nomination, or call the ATO. You will need provide the following details: ? Software provider name and/or their ABN ? Software ID

This error should only occur if the ATO supplier settings are configured so that a registered tax/BAS agent is lodging to the ATO on behalf of the business. This relates to the correct process of enabling electronic lodgement not being completed properly. It is essential that the ATO is contacted (either by calling them or using Access Manager) to link the software ID to each ABN. To fixing this issue via Access Manager, refer to the instructions provided above for "Error: CMN.ATO.GEN.200001". 

 

Error: CMN.ATO.AUTH.011, A link between your client and your agent number does not exist for the selected task. Check that you have added this client to your registered agent number. You may also need to check if you have entered the correct client identifier and that you are using the correct registered agent number and try again. If the issue persists, contact the ATO quoting this error code to resolve any issues.

This error should only occur if the ATO supplier settings are configured so that a registered tax/BAS agent is lodging to the ATO on behalf of the business. Log into your Tax Agent/BAS Agent Portal and ensure the business is listed and/or is set up with the correct access. Otherwise, you will need to contact the ATO directly as this error has nothing to do with the payroll system.

 

Error: SBR.GEN.AUTH.005, Inform your software provider that the eb:PartyInfo/From/PartyID details does not match the entity details for this submission.

This error relates to the AUSkey not being linked to the registered agent number in Access Manager. Alternatively, your AUSkey Administrator may need to authorise your agent number for this AUSkey. If it is linked, ensure the permissions and business details are set up correctly in Access Manager.

 

Error: SBR.GEN.AUTH.006, You have not nominated this software provider to secure transmissions made through online (cloud based) software. To resolve, please log on to Access Manager (AUSkey required) and select ?my nominated software provider? and follow the instructions to nominate a provider, or call the ATO. You will need provide the following details: ? Software provider name and/or their ABN ? Software ID

This error means the correct process of enabling electronic lodgement has not been completed properly. It is essential that the ATO is contacted (either by calling them or using Access Manager) to link the software ID to each ABN. To fix this issue via Access Manager, refer to the instructions provided above for "Error: CMN.ATO.GEN.200001". To contact the ATO via phone, follow the instructions provided here.

 

Error: SBR.GEN.AUTH.002, Mandatory information provided in the transmission is invalid. Contact your software provider.. Inform your software provider that the PartyId, PartyId Type and/or Role supplied in the transmission is not valid.

Are you trying to lodge a pay event for a business that has a WPN (in place of an ABN)?  If so, at present WPN holders are unable to lodge STP events. STP reporting can only be undertaken by businesses that possess an ABN. It is suggested WPN holders use a registered Tax/BAS Agent to lodge STP events.

 

Error: CMN.ATO.PAYEVNT.EM92168, Your submission was not processed - We were unable to process your submission because you have not reported using Single Touch Payroll for that financial year

Clearly you're seeing this error because the finalisation event is your first attempt at STP in this financial year - don't worry, we can work around that. 

The obvious solution is to lodge one pay event, you can just lodge your last pay run - to do this

• go back to your pay run and click on the "Lodge pay run with ATO" button to create the pay event
• on the Single Touch Payroll page delete the failed Finalisation event
• then lodge your pay event
• once the pay event is successfully lodged start your finalisation process again 

If you've only entered opening balances, ie. there are no pay runs to lodge, you have two options:
1. finalise the payroll by ticking the Is Final box in an update event (instead of a finalisation event) - Creating and Lodging an Update Event 

OR

2. create and lodge an empty pay run first, then finalise again - to do this

• create your pay run with a period end and paid date on or before 30/6 (create an empty pay run is an option in the create pay run dialogue box - Creating a new pay run)
• add a short note to the Notes field in each employee's pay run record to record "activity" - you need to do this because the pay run will drop any employees it thinks there is no activity for when you finalise it,  click on each employee's name to expand the record and add your note, eg... "first STP event" (remember, this pay run is for admin purposes only, the employees won't be getting pay slips for it)
• finalise your pay run, no need to publish pay slips but do choose the option to Lodge pay run now
• you'll notice the opening balances show up as YTD totals in the pay event created
• lodge the pay event
• can go ahead and start your finalisation process again... STP: Processing finalisation events using the EOFY wizard

FYI - the only reason you'd take option two is if you want to take advantage of the "send notifications" feature in the finalisation event -marking an employee as Is Final in a pay, update or finalisation event achieves exactly the same result at the ATO.

NB. Obviously you should reconcile the data in your final event before you lodge it (via either option) to ensure all employees and earnings are captured, this article will assist you to do that... End of Year Reconciliation - Single Touch Payroll

 

Employee Errors

Error: CMN.ATO.GEN.XML03, The value specified for an item does not match the item type (value = "[specific value detailed here]", item type = String, uniqueID = http://www.sbr.gov.au/ato/payevntemp:TelephoneMinimalN) Hint: The Pattern constraint failed.

This error relates to an invalid value entered in the employee's Home Phone field. Only numbers can be entered in this field. If the employee's phone number looks to be valid, we suggest deleting the number and entering it again.

 

CMN.ATO.GEN.XML03, The value specified for an item does not match the item type (value = "[specific value detailed here]", item type = String, uniqueID = http://www.sbr.gov.au/ato/payevntemp:Line1T) Hint: The actual length is greater than the MaxLength value.

This error will appear if the employee's postal address (Line 1) is in excess of 38 characters. To fix this ensure:

• the suburb and postcode is not entered in Address Line 1; 
• Address Line 2 is also used to for multi-line addresses.

 

Error: CMN.ATO.GEN.XML03, The value specified for an item does not match the item type (value = "[specific value detailed here]", item type = String, uniqueID = http://www.sbr.gov.au/ato/payevntemp:TelephoneMinimalN) Hint: The actual length is greater than the MaxLength value.

This error will appear if the employee's home number is in excess of 16 characters. To fix this ensure the number entered in the employee's Home Phone field is less than 16 characters. If the employee's phone number is within the required character limit, make sure there are no spaces after the last digit. Otherwise, we suggest deleting the number and entering it again.

 

Error: CMN.ATO.GEN.500026, or CMN.ATO.GEN.500029 - A text character must be one of the following: A to Z a to z 0 to 9 ! @ $ % & * ( ) - _ = [ ] ; : ' " , . ? / or a space character.

This error will appear if the employee's email or residential address is invalid. Check the employee's Email and/or residential Address field/s and make the required correction. If the addresses do seem valid, ensure there are no spaces after the last character.  Otherwise, we suggest re-entering the email and/or residential address again.