Should there be a zero balance in Vacation Payable Expense at year end if all employees are paid salary?

Hi shelleyquarles.

Making sure your vacation pay is set up correctly for your employees is imperative to keep your accounts correct. I'd be happy to help point you in the right direction for this.

To see what is the best way to calculate the vacation pay for employees on salary I recommend reaching out to your accountant as they are trained in how to track this information. If you wish to have vacation pay tracking disabled for pay per cheque or accumulated you'll need to contact our support team to turn it off. You can reach them by using one of the following methods:

Schedule a Callback or start a Chat: click (?)Help in the upper right in QuickBooks Online > type and enter "Contact support" into the QB Assistant > click Contact Us > explain your situation > click Let's Talk > choose Get a callback or Start a Chat.
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Have a great day!

The only way to achieve a Zero $ balance in your Vacation Payable Expense account is if every cent of Vacation Pay was paid out by your yearend. Vacation pay accrues at a prescribed % rate for every dollar of income earned - regardless of whether it is hourly or salary. That is a CRA regulation!