There are three different types of Single Touch Payroll reporting events, Pay event, Update event, and Full File Replacement.
Whenever an you make a payment to an employee that is subject to withholding, you are required to lodge a Pay event with the ATO on or before the date the payment is made. This includes where the amount of withholding is nil (e.g. when the employees gross income is below the tax free threshhold) and where the employee has no net pay (e.g. where the employee is repaying an advance or overpayment to the employer, voluntarily foregoing their net pay).
There are some circumstances when a payment may be reported after the date it has been paid.
The Update event allows you to report changes to employee Year-To-Date amounts previously reported. This event may only be used in circumstances other than when an employee is paid (i.e. you cannot use an Update event to report new payments).
This event may be used to align the latest data in Cashbook with the last employee data reported to the ato, or to assist with EOFY processes, including finalisation and amendmets to prior finalised years.
After 30 June, any changes made to reported employee data for the prior financial year must only be done through the Update event.
A full file replacement provides the ability for you to replace the latest Pay event that was sent to the ATO in error or contains significant data corruption. You should generally only use this option if you have been directed by Practical Systems Support or the ATO.