FAQ

Q1. Why was EMPDUPE Maker developed?

While there are many products out there that create payment summaries and EMPDUPE files, most of them come as part of an accounting or payroll package. EMPDUPE Maker is not part of an accounting or payroll package. It can be used to:

Create Electronic Payment Summaries - If you do not have an accounting or payroll program, however you want to create electronic payment summaries and lodge your Annual PAYG return electronically, use EMPDUPE Maker. You can enter the data directly from your manual records or by importing from a spreadsheet. Using PDF payment summaries and reports is convenient, and changes can be made easily without having to re-write everything.

Amend Records - Many program allows you to create original payment summaries and EMPDUPE file, but make a mistake, and you are on your own. With EMPDUPE Maker you can create amended payment summaries and lodge an amended EMPDUPE file. Load the data directly from you original EMPDUPE file, make the changes required, then generate the files.

Upgrade records - Some users have accounting or payroll programs that generate payment summaries and EMPDUPE files that are no longer compliant. Rather than spend $100's or even $1000's of dollars upgrading your program, you can use EMPDUPE Maker to open the EMPDUPE file generated by your program and upgrade your payment summaries and EMPDUPE file.

Q2. My anti-virus program will not allow me to download the demo file.

The demo file is a setup executable file which will install all the required software on your system. Some anti-virus programs have a default setting where any executable file cannot be saved to your harddrive unless the anti-virus program is familiar with the executable. As EMPDUPE Maker is a new product, this file does not yet have a "reputation". Your anti-virus program may therefore delete it as soon as it is downloaded.

Note that the anti-virus program is not detecting a virus, it is simply saying it doesn't know this file therefore it can't trust it.

The file is completely safe. However your anti-virus software cannot tell it is safe until is scans the file. What you can do is either temporarily disable the anti-virus program, download the file and then get the anti-virus software to scan the file.

Alternatively, when downloading, save the file as EMPDUPE-Demo-setup.xxx instead of EMPDUPE-Demo-setup.exe. Once downloaded, scan the file, then rename it as an exe and run it. Contact us if you continue to experience difficulties downloading.

Q3. Can I prepare payment summaries and EMPDUPE files for all my clients with this program?

Our licence is based on a user Registration which comes with one Payer ABN code. Additional Payer ABN codes can be purchased from our Purchase page. EMPDUPE Maker will allow you to save your details as Supplier, so you do not have to keep entering these details for each Report. Payer details are saved in a Payer List. For each Report, you simply select the Payer you want to use from the Payer List.

Q4. How can I tell if the EMPDUPE file I have generated using EMPDUPE Maker is correct?

A unique feature of our program is that it can load data from an existing EMPDUPE file, allowing you to see what is inside. After you have generated an EMPDUPE file, you can use EMPDUPE Maker to load the data from that file and view the details inside. You can also generate a plain text file summarising all the details in the EMPDUPE file for reference purposes.

To test the validity of the EMPDUPE file, you can connect to the ATO via the ATO's Online Services for Business, Business or Agent's Portals and upload your file as a Test file. This will enable you to test that the file conforms with the ATO specifications, even if you are not ready to lodge yet. You will receive a report from the ATO advising if there are any errors. Note that if using EMPDUPE Maker in Demo mode, the test file function will report ABN and TFN errors - this is expected behaviour for Demo mode.

Q5. Will EMPDUPE Maker be updated as the ATO makes changes to payment summaries etc?

Yes. The current version, (Release 6) is based on the ATO's v13.0.1 specifications. It is fully compliant for the 2019 financial year (as well earlier years). Your current version of EMPDUPE Maker can continue to be used until the ATO advises they will no longer accept that version of EMPDUPE file. Unless there is a substantial change in specifications, the ATO will continue to accept these specifications for several years.

Q6. I use MYOB® Account Right Premier version 19.7. I make one off payroll bona fide redundancy payments. MYOB's empdupe file does not include wage payments comprising only Label D payments where no tax ($0.00) is deducted. Will your program include these PAYG payment summaries in the empdupe file?

A Lump Sum D amount is not assessable to the payee and no tax should be deducted. If the only amount paid to the payee is the Lump Sum D amount, the ATO will not process this payment summary and will not accept an EMPDUPE file that has a payee with only a Lump Sum D amount.

EMPDUPE Maker will include in the EMPDUPE file the payment summaries where there is a Lump Sum D amount, provided there is another reportable amount for this payee, such as gross wages, RESC etc, even where no tax was deducted.

Q7. Do I need to uninstall EMPDUPE Maker before installing a new version? Will uninstalling affect my preferences, Payer ABN Codes or existing data?

There is a difference between and 'update' and an 'upgrade'. An 'update' essentially means going from v2.0.0.1 to v2.0.0.2 or similar. It is a minor change to a current Release to fix bugs and other minor changes. An 'upgrade' on the other hand refers to a new Release such as going from a Release 1 (v1.3) to a Release 2 (v2.0.0.1) product. An 'upgrade' version will generally include new features and/or new ATO specifications.

When 'updating', you do not generally need to un-install as the downloaded setup file should take care of that. You will not lose your data or settings, including ABN codes. You will be able to open any files created with the earlier version.

When 'upgrading', the downloaded setup file will not delete your earlier version or any data files or settings. You can leave the earlier version on your computer or un-install it if it is no longer required. Due to the differences between an upgraded version and its predecessor, you will not be able to open Report or Project files saved in the older version. The upgraded version may require you to enter new settings and new Registration details that come with the new purchase.

Q8. When I try to download EMPDUPE Setup.exe, I get a message saying this file may not be safe. Should I download it?

Every Browser treats executable files differently. Our file is completely safe, however the browser does not know that and so it may issue a warning message. You should first save the file to your harddrive and you can then check it with your anti-virus or anti-malware software before you run the setup file. Some examples of messages are listed below:

• IE - 'Security Warning - Do you want to run or save this file?' Choose Save.
• IE - 'The publisher could not be verified' Choose Save.
• Chrome - 'EMPDUPESetup.exe is not commonly downloaded and could be dangerous.' Click dropdown arrow to the right of the Discard button and select Keep.
• Opera - 'It is not known whether this file is safe. Are you sure you want to download it?' Choose Save.
• Firefox - 'You have chosen to open xyx.exe file which is a binary file. Would you like to save this file?' Choose Save

Q9. We use MYOB® Account Right Plus version 19.7. For the 2013 financial year we have 8 employees including one who received an Eligible Termination Payment (ETP). I am aware that due to changes to the ETP Payment Summary the ATO will not accept an EMPDUPE file from this version which includes an ETP. I would like to use the MYOB® EMPDUPE file for the normal (INB) Payment Summaries and do the ETP one manually, however MYOB® will not allow me to exclude that ETP from the EMPDUPE file. What can we do? I do not want to do all 9 Payment Summaries manually.

As you have found MYOB® will not allow you to exclude an employee from the Payment Summary process and the ETP Payment Summary that will be generated for that employee will be non-compliant (as will the EMPDUPE file).

You can use EMPDUPE Maker to load the data from the MYOB® generated EMPDUPE file. You may need to add some data (for example if an employee received an allowance, the total received is recorded in the EMPDUPE file, but not what the allowance was for, as required for the Payment Summary - this data will need to be added). EMPDUPE Maker will then generate all the Payment Summaries and EMPDUPE file (including the now complying ETP Payment Summary).

The only other option is to complete all the Payment Summaries and annual report on paper forms.

Q10. How do I resolve the ‘side-by-side configuration is incorrect’ error?

See side-by-side configuration is incorrect