Hi rml,
QuickBooks is a great program for processing cheques and I'll be happy to show you how to process a bonus pay on your account.
Based on what you've described, I recommend running a bonus pay cheque. Bonus cheques are not always tied to payroll runs, so you can cut separate bonus cheques any time. If you're creating a bonus cheque separately from a regular paycheque (for example, in an off-cycle or a bonus run), you don't need to set up a bonus pay type. Here's how to create a separate bonus cheque:
- Go to Employees or Payroll menu.
- Select the Run payroll drop-down arrow and choose Bonus only.
- On the Run Payroll: Bonus Only page, select an option:
- As net pay — take-home pay or what's left AFTER payroll withholdings are taken out.
- As gross pay — total pay or what you make BEFORE payroll withholdings and applicable deductions are taken out.
- Select Continue.
- Enter the pay date.
- Select the checkbox next to each employee to include in this bonus run.
- Enter the bonus amount for each employee.
- (Optional) Enter a message to appear in the Memo box of the cheque or pay stub.
- (Optional) Select Edit ✏️ next to Payroll options, then check the options you want, and select Apply. Payroll options include only options relevant to this bonus run.
- Select Preview payroll and review the payroll.
- Select Submit payroll.
- (Optional) Select Print cheques or Print pay stubs. (The cheques or pay stubs open in a separate page.)
- Once your payroll is all set, select Finish payroll.
To ensure accuracy, I recommend contacting an accountant professional for advice. If you're not in contact with one, I encourage you to search for one on our website using this link here. Doing this will help prevent any discrepancies on your account. I'll also leave this post here in the Community so that accounting professionals can chime in on this.
In the meantime, feel free to ask other questions by leaving a comment below. I'm here to help. :)
