The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) says small businesses can cut the time spent on superannuation administration by around 70 percent via its SuperStream product.

SuperStream is the new way of making super contributions. Employers send super contributions electronically in a standard format, with linked data and payments.

On June 30 the scheme will become mandatory for small employers (those with 19 or fewer employees), but the ATO is encouraging employers to register now to accustom themselves with the system and save time.

According to the ATO, over a quarter of a million small businesses have already adopted SuperStream. Once set up, SuperStream reduces by around 70 percent the time they spend on super. Depending on the size of the business, this means saving anything from about 1.5 hours to a whole day’s effort each payment cycle.

Employees can find their fund’s USI on their super statement or by calling their fund. These details are also accessible via the ATO’s Super Fund Lookup website.