giving employee a rate increase - do I just change the hourly rate in the system? Is there not an effective date to add?

Yes, you can change the hourly pay rate in the Pay Types section in your QuickBooks Online (QBO) Payroll account, @user20432. While the option to add an effective date is unavailable. I'll guide you through the steps below.

To modify employee hourly rate:
 

1. Go to the Payroll menu and select Employees.
   
2. Choose the employee you need to add a rate increase.
3. Scroll down to the Pay types section, then click Edit.
   
4. Under How would you like to pay (employee name)?, edit the Rate per hour* box.
5. Select Save.
   

Additionally, check out this article for more details on changing your employee info in QuickBooks: Edit or change employee info in payroll.

On the other hand, I recommend delivering feedback to our product development team about the option to add an effective date for the employee's hourly pay change. That way, they can study this feature and consider adding it to future product updates. See the steps below:
 

1. Go to the Gear icon.
2. Choose Feedback.
3. Type in your product suggestions, then click Next to submit feedback.
    

You can visit our QuickBooks Online Feature Requests website to track the status of your submitted feedback.

For future reference on running payroll and viewing total wages, deductions, and contributions in QuickBooks, check out these articles on Payroll Summary Reports and other payroll reporting options:
 

• Create and run your payroll
• Create a payroll summary report in QuickBooks
• Run payroll reports
   

Reach out with a message for any support with increasing an employee's pay rate or other QuickBooks payroll matters. Have a great one.