Project Trust Accounts (PTA) and Retention Trust Accounts (RTA) - Overview

Overview

A head contractor on a qualifying project holds project funds and subcontractor retention in trust, with qualifying subcontractors as the beneficiaries. Jobpac supports setting up these accounts and auditing and reconciling their balances. Requirements differ by state:

• QLD — PTAs under the Building Industry Fairness (Security of Payment) framework. Projects under the older framework may continue under it.
• NSW — SC Retention held in trust, under the Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment amendments (qualifying project thresholds apply).
• WA — Project Bank Accounts (PBAs).

Trust accounts used

• General PTA — holds funds for authorised claims payable to subcontractors.
• Retention PTA / RTA — holds the retention balance owed to subcontractors.

Setting up

1. Set up a Workid to use the PTA facility for your state.

2. Set up each Qualifying Project under that facility.

3. Use the Bank Reconciliation reports and the RTA Ledger to audit and reconcile trust balances (below).

Supplement reconciliation with your own processes for payments to and from trust accounts by job, using standard Jobpac and bank transfer processing.

Key parameters (QLD facility)

Set on the Workid in System Admin > Define Companies > Maintain Parameters. Set up Master Chart of Account numbers for the PTA and the SC Retention Trust Account first, plus a single GL account per Workid for the SC Retention Trust Account.

• PBASCR — Position 1 = Y turns the whole function on; Position 2 = the GL account for the SC Retention Trust Account.
• PBASCA — Position 1 = M; Position 2 = 0.
• PBAREP — report control; recommended value NNN NYNNY (position 4 blank).
• PBASCW — refer to the Technical Reference for the setting.

Then add the menu items PBARECRPP (PTA and SC Retn Trust Rec.) and CRDPBAPRJP (Maintain Creditor PTA Opt-Ins). NSW, WA and NZ use their own parameter sets — follow the state-specific checklist.

PTA / RTA Bank Reconciliation reports

• Statement details — enter the Statement date and the Reconciled Statement value at that date to generate the PTA or RTA Bank Rec.
• Transaction matching — all transactions in the bank section of the PTA or RTA Ledgers are included, with presentation dates matching the corresponding Jobpac transactions.
• Presentation dates — for Retention Transfers and other trust journals, the Trust Journal transaction date is the presentation date, unless the new Bank Rec is used (where a different presentation date can be set).
• Trust Journal Work Centre — action all transfers on the Retention Transfer, Paid From Wrong Account, and Received To Wrong Account tabs.

RTA Ledger and reconciliation

• Sections — the report includes dedicated Bank Account and Trustee sections.
• Debit/credit signage — a negative value is a credit (increase in beneficial interest, e.g. retention held for a subcontractor); a positive/debit value is a retention release.
• Beneficial interest — retention is only accounted for as beneficial interest in the RTA Ledger once payment is made on the invoice holding the retention.
• Reconcile — review the RTA Ledger and match retention held and released for each subcontractor.

Source

Trimble — PTAs and SC Retention Trust Accounts