How to create a bonus paycheque

If you'd like to pay bonuses to your employees, you can either add bonus pay to an existing paycheque or create a separate bonus paycheque. See Vacation pay for bonuses to learn how vacation pay applies.

Add bonus pay to a regular paycheque

You can add a bonus pay type when you first set an employee up in QuickBooks Online Payroll, or later, when you edit their employee records. If you set up an employee with a bonus pay type, the Bonus column appears when creating paycheques. Here's how to add bonus pay to a regular paycheque:

1. Go to Payroll and select Employees (Take me there).
2. Select the employee's name, then select Edit employee.
3. Under How much do you pay this employee? select Add additional pay types if you haven't selected any other pay types, or select the Edit ✏️ icon if you have.
4. Check Bonus.
5. Select Done.

Create a separate bonus cheque

Employee 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:

1. Go to Payroll and select Employees (Take me there).
2. Select the Run payroll drop-down arrow and choose Bonus only.
3. 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.
4. Select Continue.
5. Enter the pay date.
6. Select the checkbox next to each employee to include in this bonus run.
7. 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, check the options you want, and select Apply. Payroll options include only options relevant to this bonus run.
8. Select Preview payroll and review the payroll.
9. Select Submit payroll.
   • (Optional) Select Print cheques or Print pay stubs. (The cheques or pay stubs open in a separate page.)
10. Once your payroll is all set, select Finish payroll.