School payroll staff get ready for End-of-Year

The End-of-Year payroll processing screens open on Wednesday 11 October and close at 5pm on Monday 27 November, by which time all pay detail changes must be completed.

The resources to support school payroll staff with the End-of-Year payroll process are available on the Novopay website from Monday 18 September in the red ‘End-of-Year Tool Box.’ It will contain instructions, key dates and self-paced learning modules.

“We have a new tool to help schools this year,” says Martin Warr from Education Payroll.

“We have created a flow chart called the ‘End-of-Year Road Map’. It helps schools who might find the End-of-Year instructions a bit daunting by providing a clear and simple way to navigate through the process.

“It might feel like it’s a long way away but we strongly recommend getting an early start on entering your pay detail changes online for End-of-Year,” he says.

“We realise that school administrators and principals have many competing responsibilities around the summer break, but if you start gathering and entering information early you can avoid a high-pressure situation in November – remember our School Account teams are always just a phone call away.”

A good tip for busy school payroll staff, Martin says, is to dip in and out of the End-of-Year tasks online over the next few months and not leave it to the last minute.

“Once schools have completed End-of-Year, please ensure that you hit the ‘complete’ button in Novopay Online – that way we know that your school has completed your End-of-Year processing.”

“My advice is to be prepared,” emphasises Margaret Trenberth, finance administrator at St Peter’s College, Auckland.

“I gather information on my term-time-only employees and put their details into a spreadsheet. It makes it easier. I use the End–of-Year instructions on the Novopay website for information about things like fixed-term teaching staff and terminations,” she says.

Linda Jackson, finance officer at Orewa College, Auckland agrees.

“The end of the school year with teachers leaving and lots of checking needing to be done is very busy. The more you can do earlier, the easier the End-of-Year process will be,” she says.

“At Orewa College we complete our annualisations well in advance and we are as up to date as possible with our terminations. Begin as soon as you can is my advice. I also recommend people use the training modules on the Novopay website.”

For payroll staff new to End-of-Year, or those who would like a refresher, the self-paced learning modules for End-of-Year are a great online tool. It may also help to download and read through the instructions to make sure you are familiar with what needs to be done.

The modules and instructions can be found on the Novopay website www.novopay.govt.nz(external link)