SBR 2 (AS 2025) – Streamlining ATO Activity Statements & STP

SBR2-AS2025

SapphireOne is preparing for the Australian Taxation Office’s next major iteration of Standard Business Reporting (SBR), introduced under AS 2025. Building on our long history delivering SBR and Single Touch Payroll (STP) solutions since 1986 – and our earlier SBR implementations in 2000 and 2009 – SapphireOne is expanding end‑to‑end electronic reporting, auditability, and controls so your organisation can lodge Activity Statements (AS) and payroll events with confidence.

What’s changing with SBR 2 (AS 2025)

AS 2025 standardises and modernises electronic reporting flows to the ATO. In SapphireOne, this means:

  • Company‑specific Activity Statement management with historical submissions retained per company and clearly indicated as printed/locked once finalised.
  • Support for the ATO’s SBR interaction services – list, pre‑fill, pre‑lodgement validation, and lodgement – to streamline and validate end‑to‑end submissions prior to official lodgement.
  • Enhanced traceability across every transaction included in an Activity Statement.
  • End‑to‑end Activity Statement lifecycle in SapphireOne

SapphireOne’s Activity Statement workflow is designed for accuracy, auditability, and operational control:

  • Retrieve obligations – SapphireOne can list current and historical Activity Statement obligations and retrieve the specific statement required for a period.
  • Pre‑fill and review – SapphireOne pre‑fills the Activity Statement using your General Ledger, GST configuration, and Payroll/HR data—grouped into GST on sales/purchases, PAYG withholding and instalments, FBT instalments, and more. You review and, where permitted, adjust.
  • Pre‑lodgement – Validate against ATO channel and processing rules without locking the statement. Iterate until clean.
  • Lodgement – Lodge electronically to the ATO. SapphireOne date‑ and time‑stamps lodgements, and you receive an ATO confirmation of submission and processing.
  • Print and lock – Once printed, the submission is locked to protect historical integrity while remaining visible in your per‑company Activity Statement history.

Automatic Activity Statement identifiers at transaction level

Since 2000, every unique SapphireOne transaction that is added to an Activity Statement is automatically stamped with that statement’s document number (DIN/AS document number). This includes:

  • Payables (e.g., Vendor Invoices and related vendor‑based transactions)
  • Receivables (client/revenue transactions)
  • Any transaction incurring GST within Australia

These identifiers remain within your data file for its lifetime, enabling:

  • Complete back‑to‑source traceability
  • On‑demand reporting of all transactions included in any given Activity Statement (exportable to CSV/spreadsheet and printable)
  • Thorough pre‑submission review of inclusions before lodgement

Submission controls, auditing, and reconciliation

SapphireOne provides both operational and audit views to verify submissions, including:

  • Recalculate to re‑derive totals after any permissible edits (prior to locking)
  • Quick Report, Print Audit, Export Audit, and Reconciliation outputs to assist balancing and review
  • GST Audit extracts to help compare default Client/Vendor tax GL, included items, and any exceptions

Company ‑ specific separation and integrity safeguards

  • Each Activity Statement is assigned to its company; do not use Master login for cross‑company recalculations.
  • Printed submissions are locked and cannot be modified, preventing drift in historical records.

STP parity with SBR 2 (AS 2025)

The same methodology that underpins Activity Statements is mirrored in STP 2025:

  • Relevant payroll/HR transactions for the Australian regime automatically appear in each pay run’s STP package.
  • On finalisation, SapphireOne date‑ and time‑stamps the STP submission, sends it electronically to the ATO, and provides acknowledgements for submission and processing.
  • Historical STP records are retained for the life of the data file.

Practical benefits for your organisation

  • Confidence – Pre‑fill and pre‑lodgement help you detect issues before lodgement.
  • Traceability – Statement identifiers on each transaction provide full lineage.
  • Integrity – Print‑and‑lock preserves historical accuracy.
  • Efficiency – End‑to‑end electronic cycle reduces manual handling and duplication.
  • Preparedness – Built‑in reporting and exports accelerate reconciliation and audits.

Getting ready – A short checklist

  1. Confirm your Activity Statement settings and SBR credentials in SapphireOne.
  2. Review GST, GL mapping, and Payroll/HR configuration.
  3. Test the pre‑fill and pre‑lodgement steps prior to your next cycle.
  4. Adopt a standard internal review workflow – pre‑fill > review > pre‑lodgement > final checks > lodge > print/lock.
  5. Ensure your team understands how transaction‑level identifiers support traceability and audits.

Explore how SapphireOne can streamline your ATO SBR 2 (AS 2025) and STP processes end‑to‑end. Read our Knowledge Base article – Activity Statement – and talk to us about readiness steps tailored to your organisation.

More posts