QuickBooks Online Accountant Payroll Updates for Canada 2024

In this article you'll find answers to some of the most common questions around the migration of your QuickBooks Online Payroll plan:

• The new QuickBooks Payroll lineup
• Pricing for the new QuickBooks Payroll lineup
• Frequently asked questions
• Important pricing details and product information

The new QuickBooks Payroll lineup

This is a comprehensive table outlining the features available in our Payroll plans — Core, Premium, and Elite. Whether you are looking for basic payroll processing or more advanced time tracking solutions, we have a plan that's right for you.

Terms and conditions apply **
Some features of Time tracking with QuickBooks Time are available in English only.

The main incremental benefits of the new QuickBooks Online Payroll Premium and Elite plans are related to QuickBooks Time being included, as fast as next-day direct deposit**, and prioritized product support for clients. On the Premium and Elite plans QuickBooks Time is automatically included as a feature. The other benefit is that Premium and Elite have faster direct deposit of payroll. On the new tiers, direct deposit is as fast as the next day with Premium and Elite. Core will remain at 2 business days.

Pricing for the new QuickBooks Payroll lineup

Terms and conditions apply **

* Get 30% off QuickBooks Payroll Premium or Elite base fee and 15% off employee fee for duration of subscription (with wholesale billing) or 12 months (with direct billing).

Frequently asked questions

Why are we moving existing payroll clients to the new plans?

This change will help enable feature enhancements and capabilities on the latest platform. By making this transition, we open up the capability to add new features in the future, making our Payroll offering even more versatile than it is today.

Will the movement of Payroll subscriptions to the new Payroll plans impact all of my Payroll clients?

This transition will only apply to clients who subscribed to Payroll prior to August 22, 2023. All clients who subscribed to Payroll after August 22, 2023 will already be on one of the new plans.

What QuickBooks Payroll plan will my clients be switched to?

Review the chart below to help you understand which new plan your clients will be moved to:

Note: On the transition month invoice you will see employee fees billed for the month end and for the next month. This is a one-time occurrence as the employee-fee billing is transitioned.

Is there a price change for my clients’ QuickBooks Online Payroll plan once Intuit has  transitioned them?

The base and employee fee pricing will be updated to the current market price. Pricing for the new payroll plans can be found here.

Will there be an impact to the employee fee within QuickBooks Online Payroll?

If you have clients exclusively on Payroll, there is no impact to the employee fee.

However, there will be a change to how the per-employee fee is billed once the transition takes place. On the new QuickBooks Online Payroll plans, the per-employee monthly fee will be billed based on active employees at the start of the month, as opposed to the number of employees payroll was run for during the month as it is today. In other words, on the new Payroll plans, the employee fee will be billed on active employees whether they were in the payroll run that month or not.

You or your client should update employee status for those employees who won't be in the monthly payroll run to Inactive to ensure they will not be included in the employee fee calculation. We recommend doing this on a monthly basis. Learn more about making employees inactive here. 

For example, here is how the per-employee fee worked previously:

• 6 active employees in a month
• Payroll is run on 3 of them
• The $4 per employee fee will be billed on 3 employees
• $4 per employee x 3 employees = $12 for that month

On the new Payroll plans, the employee fee will be applied to all active employees vs. only those for which payroll was run in the month.

For example:

• 6 active employees in a month
• Payroll is run on 3 of them
• The $4 per employee fee will be billed on all 6 active employees
• $4 per employee x 6 active employees = $24 for that month

Note: This only applies to clients who are new subscribers to the Payroll Core, Premium, and Elite plans (on or after August 22, 2023). These changes will impact existing Payroll clients who subscribed prior to that date.

Lastly, on the transition month invoice you will see employee fees billed for the last month end and for the upcoming month. This is a one-time occurrence as the employee fee billing is transitioned.

Per employee sample billings (calculations based on Payroll Core fees)

Sample 1 – Employees not being paid remain in Active status:

** Both April (bill after) and May (bill ahead) charges will appear on the April 30th bill.

Sample 2 - Status updated for Employees not being paid:

** Both April (bill after) and May (bill ahead) charges will appear on the April 30th bill.

How do I check which employees are active in QuickBooks Online Payroll?

To change the status of an employee to active or inactive, follow the steps found here.

Is an ROE created once an employee if marked inactive?

When an employee is made inactive you will see a pop up message asking if you want to create an ROE. You will also have the option to select do it later. To create the ROE at a later time you can follow the steps here.

Will there be pricing benefits once my clients transition to the new plans?

Clients who have combined employee fees (Payroll + QuickBooks Time) will benefit from a price reduction once they are on the new payroll plans. Additionally these customers could get faster direct deposit and prioritized support.

Will there be any impact to my QuickBooks Online Payroll invoice?

All existing Payroll customers will be moved to the new employee fee billing outlined above. When this happens, you will see 2 payroll charges for the employee fees only on the monthly billing statement in which the transition takes place: 

• 1 for the prior month (same as current billing method) and,
• 1 for the month ahead (new employee fees billed in advance model). 

Prior to the billing period when you're moved to your new plan, we recommend that you or your client review the payment method to ensure it will accommodate the combined billing for that one month. 

Moving forward, the per month employee fees billing will remain on the billed-in-advance model.

What will the invoice look like?

Review this example of what your invoice will look like after your account has been migrated over to the new Payroll plan.

Will there be an impact to auto payroll if any of my clients have it enabled?

All customers that rely on auto payroll will not see an impact to this feature unless there are insufficient funds to cover the combined payrolls. If there are not enough funds, auto payroll will be disabled and employees will be unpaid.

My client has purchased QuickBooks Online Payroll prior to August 22, 2023, when will they be transitioned to the new payroll plans?

This transition will be taking place in 2 phases this year:

• Direct-billed clients will begin transitioning starting in April 2024
• All wholesale-billed clients will be transitioned starting in July 2024

More information will be shared in advance of each transition period to ensure a smooth switchover.

Can I choose a different QuickBooks Online Payroll plan for my client to transition to?

Yes, once your clients are switched over, you’re free to move them between the various plans.  Learn more about our new Payroll plans here.

Can I have a mix of clients on the existing payroll product and on the new payroll plans?

Yes, you will be able to have a mix of clients on the current payroll plan and on one of the new plans (Core, Premium or Elite) until all clients are transitioned to one of the new plans.

Will we be able to generate T4s/RL1s for inactive employees?

Yes, any employee paid within the tax year and eligible for a T4/RL-1 will get the tax slip even when inactive.

What offers are available for ProAdvisors?

A wholesale billing discount of 30% off the base fee and 15% off the employee fee will be available to ProAdvisors on the Payroll Premium and Elite plans. There will not be any discounts on the Core plan, similar to today on the current Payroll offering.

Terms and conditions apply**

Will I have the top plan (Elite) as the default Payroll offering in QuickBooks Online Accountant?

All new QuickBooks Online Accountant users on or after August 22, 2023, have access to Elite as their default plan within QuickBooks Online Accountant. Any existing QuickBooks Online Accountant user before August 22, 2023, will continue to have access to their current Payroll plan until the migration of existing payroll clients begins in 2024. At that time all QuickBooks Online Accountant users will automatically have access to Payroll Elite.

What is the definition of as fast as next-day direct deposit?

As fast as next day indicates that payroll will be deposited to the employee as soon as the next day if it is submitted up to 5:00 PM (PT) the business day before payday. For a small segment of bank branches it could take up to 2 days to process the payment as per the requirements of that individual branch.

Important pricing details and product information

**Fast payroll direct deposit: Available to QuickBooks Online Payroll Premium and Elite users only. Payroll submitted before 5:00 PM PT will be processed the same business day (excluding weekends and holidays) and deposited into the recipient’s bank account next day, or in 2-business days depending on the recipient’s bank (i.e. a small percentage of bank branches require 2-business days for direct deposit). Requires setup of direct deposit and bank verification. May be subject to eligibility criteria. Deposit delays may vary because of third party delays, risk reviews, or issues beyond Intuit’s control. Available only for employees, not available for contractors or tax payments.

**QuickBooks Time: Time tracking included in the QuickBooks Online Payroll Premium and Elite subscription services. Features vary and may be available in English only.

Terms, conditions, pricing, special features, and service and support options subject to change without notice.