Set up and manage payroll schedules

Overview

Setting up and managing payroll schedules in QuickBooks Online Payroll or Desktop Payroll can be done quickly. By following these steps, you can help ensure your employees are paid accurately and on time. Keeping your payroll schedules up-to-date can help avoid any issues with payroll processing.

As a business owner, managing payroll schedules can seem like a daunting task. Fortunately, QuickBooks Online Payroll or Desktop Payroll provide an easy-to-use payroll feature that simplifies the process. This article guides you through the steps of setting up and managing payroll schedules.

In this article, you'll learn how to:

• Set up and manage payroll schedules in QuickBooks Online Payroll
  • Set up a payroll schedule
  • Create a new pay schedule
  • Update a payroll schedule
  • Delete a payroll schedule
• Set up and manage payroll schedules in QuickBooks Desktop Payroll
  • Set up a new payroll schedule
  • Assign a payroll schedule to an employee
  • Manage payroll schedules
  • Deactivate a payroll schedule

Payroll schedule options

• Weekly: Pay your employees every week on a specific, recurring day of the week. Many businesses schedule paydays every Friday, which makes 52 payouts per year.
• Every other week or Bi-weekly: Pay your employees every 2 weeks. If you schedule payday for every other Friday, you have 26 payouts per year.
• Twice a month or Semi-monthly: Pay your employees twice a month. The first pay can be in the middle of the month, and the second is at the end. The most common payouts for this schedule is every 15th and 30th of the month. That makes 24 payouts per year.
• Monthly: Pay your employees once a month on a specific recurring date. This makes 12 payouts a year.

Set up and manage payroll schedules in QuickBooks Online Payroll

Set up a payroll schedule

1. Go to Payroll and select Employees (Take me there).
2. Select the employee you wish to create a pay schedule for.
3. In the Employment details section, select Edit.
4. From the Pay schedule drop-down, you can select an existing pay schedule or create a new one.

Create a new pay schedule

1. Select + Add pay schedule.
2. Select a Pay frequency from the drop-down.
3. Select the Next payday.
4. Select the End of next pay period.
5. Enter an appropriate Pay schedule name.
6. Optional: Select the Use this pay schedule for employees you add after this one checkbox if you want to apply this pay schedule to the next employees you add.
7. Once you're done, select Save.

Note: You'll be able to change the pay period for each employee from the Employment details page.

Update a payroll schedule

1. On the Employment details page, select the edit ✎ icon next to the Pay schedule drop-down.
2. Make the required changes.
3. Select Save.

Delete a payroll schedule

1. From the Payroll Schedules menu, select the payroll schedule you want to delete.
2. Click on the Delete Schedule button.
3. Confirm that you want to delete the payroll schedule.

Good to know:

• Once a new pay schedule is created, it can be selected for existing and new employees.
• If there are multiple employees using the same pay schedule, update the new pay schedule for each employee, in case you haven't selected the Use this pay schedule for employees you add after this one checkbox.

Set up and manage payroll schedules in QuickBooks Desktop Payroll

Set up a new payroll schedule

1. Go to Employees and select Payroll Centre.
2. Select the Pay Employees tab.
3. From the Payroll Schedules drop-down menu, select New.
4. In the What do you want to name this payroll schedule? field, give a descriptive name to the schedule.
5. In the How often will you pay your employees on this schedule? field, select how often you want to pay your employees.
6. In the What is the pay period end date? field, select the time period you are paying your employees for.
7. In the What date should appear on pay cheques for this pay period? field, select the day you want the cheques to go out.
8. After you are done adding the details, select OK.

Assign a payroll schedule to an employee

1. Go to Employees and select Employee Centre.
2. Double-click the employee's name.
3. Select the Payroll Info tab.
4. Select the Payroll Schedule drop-down.
5. Select the payroll schedule that you wish to assign to this employee.

Manage payroll schedules

Note: If you change the dates from the Enter Payroll Information window, the changes only affect the current pay period. They won't affect the next upcoming pay period dates. You can see your pay schedule on the Payroll Centre's Pay Employees tab.

If you want to update all upcoming payroll schedules, edit or update it from the Edit Payroll Schedule window:

1. Go to the Employees menu, then select Payroll Centre.
2. Under the Create Pay Cheques table, select the payroll schedule you want to update.
3. From the Payroll Schedules drop-down menu, select Edit Schedule.
4. Make the necessary updates in the Edit Payroll Schedule window.
5. Select OK.

Next time you go to the Transactions tab in the Employee Centre and select Pay Cheques, you'll see the new payroll periods according to the new pay schedule. QuickBooks will adjust your employees' compensation and taxes to calculate for the new payroll period.

Deactivate a payroll schedule

Instead of deleting a payroll schedule, you can make it inactive. This way, you can always make it active again if you need to do so without setting up a new payroll schedule. To deactivate a pay schedule:

1. Go to Employees and select Payroll Centre.
2. Under the Create Paycheques table, select the payroll schedule you want to update.
3. From the Payroll Schedules drop-down, select Edit Schedule.
4. Mark Schedule is inactive, then select OK.

If you decide you want to completely delete a payroll, there are 2 steps. First, remove any employees who are on the payroll schedule you want to delete:

1. Go to the Employees and select Payroll Centre.
2. Double-click the employee's name.
3. Go to the Payroll Info tab.
4. Make sure the schedule in the Payroll Schedule field isn't the one you need to delete. If it is, select another payroll schedule for the employee, or clear the field.
5. Follow these steps to check the payroll schedule for all your employees.

Next, delete the payroll schedule.

1. Go to the Employees menu, then select Payroll Centre.
2. Go to the Pay Employees tab.
3. Under the Create Pay Cheques table, select the payroll schedule that you want to delete.
4. From the Payroll Schedules drop-down, select Delete Schedule. If you see a prompt saying you can’t delete or inactivate a schedule, you still have employees on it. Follow Step 1 to check all of your employees.
5. Select OK.