This article should answer the majority of questions you may have on processing payments in iPayroll in regards to COVID-19. If your question is not here, please feel free to contact us.

If you are logged into iPayroll, please select the 'Contact Us' orange tab on the right hand side, and select help@ipayroll.co.nz. This will automatically add your Organisation ID and Organisation Name in the Subject field to an email.

How do we set up the government subsidy in iPayroll for a full-time employee?

Under the COVID-19 wage subsidy scheme, companies are subsidised $600.00 per employee per week for full-time employees (who worked 20 or more hours per week before COVID-19), or the employee's normal salary, whichever is the lesser.

Note: You must still undertake best endeavours to pay employees 80% of their pre-COVID salary. See I want to pay my employee 80% of their usual pay. How do I set that up in iPayroll?.

• COVID-19 FT
• COVID-19 HRS

Once these pay elements have been created, you can then add the subsidy to your employee's timesheet for a pay.

Note: If your full-time employee's normal salary is less than $600.00 per week, you can either:

• pay the subsidy to your employee as their normal salary in the same way you usually would, or
• if you'd prefer to track all full-time wage subsidies under the one pay element, use the method below and change the value of the subsidy to your employee's normal salary.

How do I process the government subsidy for a full-time employee?

1. In iPayroll, at Payroll > 2. Enter, select the employee whose timesheet you want to add the government subsidy to.
   Note: The timesheet will contain any standard payments set on your employee's timesheet template.
2. Remove any line entries from the timesheet that you don't want your employee to be paid for.
   Now you are ready to add the government subsidy.
3. In the Add a new transaction section of the timesheet, in the Quantity field, enter the quantity required, for example, 1.00 if you are paying this employee the subsidy for one week.
4. In Description, select COVID-19 FT from the dropdown list.
5. Select the +Add button.
   The payment will be added to the timesheet:
   
6. If your employee's normal salary is:
   
   • Less than $600.00, continue with step 7.
   • Equal to, or more than $600.00, continue with step 8.
7. If your employee's normal salary is less than the subsidy, change the subsidy amount to that salary:
   
   1. Select the hyperlink for the COVID-19 FT entry.
      The Transaction Entry page displays.
   2. Select Override and enter the value of your employee's normal salary.
   3. Select Save to save the value and return to the timesheet.
8. In the Add a new transaction section of the timesheet, in the Quantity field, enter the usual number of hours (or an average number of hours) your employee would normally work.
9. In Description, select COVID-19 HRS from the dropdown list.
10. Select the +Add button.
    The Transaction Entry page displays.
11. Select Save to return to the timesheet.
    The payment will be added to the timesheet:
    
12. Add any further entries to the timesheet as required.

You should now have two entries on the employee's timesheet. One for the subsidy, and one for the leave accrual:

How do we set up the government subsidy in iPayroll for a part-time employee?

Under the COVID-19 wage subsidy scheme, companies are subsidised $359.00 per employee per week for part-time employees (who worked fewer than 20 hours per week before COVID-19), or the employee's normal salary, whichever is the lesser.

Note: Where an employee is paid less than the wage subsidy because their normal salary is less than the wage subsidy, the difference should be used for the wages of other affected employees.

Note: You must still undertake best endeavours to pay employees 80% of their pre-COVID salary. See I want to pay my employee 80% of their usual pay. How do I set that up in iPayroll?.

In order to pay your employees the government subsidy, you must first set up two new pay elements.

Select the links below to view how these pay elements should be created:

• COVID-19 PT
• COVID-19 HRS

Once these pay elements have been created, you can then add the subsidy to your employee's timesheet for a pay.

Note: If your part-time employee's normal salary is less than $359.00 per week, you can either:

• pay the subsidy to your employee as their normal salary in the same way you usually would, or
• if you'd prefer to track all part-time wage subsidies under the one pay element, use the method below and change the value of the subsidy to your employee's normal salary.

How do I process the government subsidy for a part-time employee?

1. In iPayroll, at Payroll > 2. Enter, select the employee whose timesheet you want to add the government subsidy to.
   Note: The timesheet will contain any standard payments set on your employee's timesheet template.
2. Remove any line entries from the timesheet that you don't want your employee to be paid for.
   Now you are ready to add the government subsidy.
3. In the Add a new transaction section of the timesheet, in the Quantity field, enter the quantity required, for example, 1.00 if you are paying this employee the subsidy for one week.
4. In Description, select COVID-19 PT from the dropdown list.
5. Select the +Add button.
   The payment will be added to the timesheet:
   
6. If your employee's normal salary is:
   
   • Less than $359.00, continue with step 7.
   • Equal to, or more than $359.00, continue with step 8.
7. If your employee's normal salary is less than the subsidy, change the subsidy amount to that salary:
   
   1. Select the hyperlink for the COVID-19 PT entry.
      The Transaction Entry page displays.
   2. Select Override and enter the value of your employee's normal salary.
   3. Select Save to save the value and return to the timesheet.
8. In the Add a new transaction section of the timesheet, in the Quantity field, enter the usual number of hours (or an average number of hours) your employee would normally work.
9. In Description, select COVID-19 HRS from the dropdown list.
10. Select the +Add button.
    The Transaction Entry page displays.
11. Select Save to return to the timesheet.
    The payment will be added to the timesheet:
    
12. Add any further entries to the timesheet as required.

You should now have two entries on the employee's timesheet. One for the subsidy, and one for the leave accrual:

I want to pay my employee 80% of their usual pay. How do I set that up in iPayroll?

Businesses accessing the wage subsidy scheme must still undertake best endeavours to pay employees 80% of their pre-COVID income. Where that is not possible – in particular where a business has no activity whatsoever due to the shutdown and workers are not working any hours, the subsidy must be passed on to the employee.

In order to pay your employees 80% of their usual pay, you must first set up a new leave balance name and leave element.

Select the link below to view how the leave balance name and leave element should be created:

• COVID-19 80

Once the leave balance name and leave element have been created, you can then add an entry for 80% of your employee's pay to your employee's timesheet. 

How do I pay my employee 80% of their usual pay?

1.  In iPayroll, at Payroll > 2. Enter, select the employee whose timesheet you want to add the pay to.
   Note: The timesheet will contain any standard payments set on your employee's timesheet template.
2. Remove any line entries from the timesheet that you don't want your employee to be paid for.
3. In the Add a new transaction section of the timesheet, in the Quantity field, enter the number of hours you are paying your employee for.
4. In Description, select COVID-19 80 from the dropdown list.
5. Select the +Add button.
   The Transaction Entry page displays.
6. Enter the start date of your employee's pay period in the From Date field.
7. Enter the end date of your employee's pay period in the To Date field.
8. Select Save to add the entry to the timesheet.
   The payment will be added to the timesheet:
   
9. Add any further entries to the timesheet as required.

I want to pay my employee their normal salary but treat it as a COVID-19 payment. How do I set that up in iPayroll?

Some businesses have expressed wanting to pay their employees 100% of their normal salary, but would like to track these salaries during the lockdown period separately from their normal salary.

In order to pay your employees 100% of their usual pay, you must first set up a new leave balance name and leave element.

Select the link below to view how the leave balance name and leave element should be created:

• COVID-19 100

Once the leave balance name and leave element have been created, you can then add an entry for the full amount of your employee's pay to your employee's timesheet, but as a COVID-19 payment.

How do I pay my employee their normal salary?

1.  In iPayroll, at Payroll > 2. Enter, select the employee whose timesheet you want to add the pay to.
   Note: The timesheet will contain any standard payments set on your employee's timesheet template.
2. Remove any line entries from the timesheet that you don't want your employee to be paid for.
3. In the Add a new transaction section of the timesheet, in the Quantity field, enter the number of hours you are paying your employee for.
4. In Description, select COVID-19 100 from the dropdown list.
5. Select the +Add button.
   The Transaction Entry page displays.
6. Enter the start date of your employee's pay period in the From Date field.
7. Enter the end date of your employee's pay period in the To Date field.
8. Select Save to add the entry to the timesheet.
   The payment will be added to the timesheet:
   
9. Add any further entries to the timesheet as required.

If my employee is working from home, what should I pay them?

Employees working from home should receive their normal pay.

Do I still take deductions from my employee's net pay?

Unless advised otherwise, deductions should still be made from your employees pay, for example, WINZ, Ministry of Justice, KiwiSaver, and so on.

Do the subsidised payments still accumulate into leave calculations?

Yes, all liable taxable payments accumulate into leave calculations.

Is the government subsidy taxable or non-taxable?

The government subsidy is taxable.