Top 5 year-end questions: Payroll

Are you ready for more year-end content? When we said we were giving you all the tools you need for year-end, we meant it… and our Top 5 series is no exception!

Let’s get into our Top 5 year-end payroll questions:

1. How do I modify scheduled pay periods? 

If you need to change how often your employees are paid, head over to the Payroll tab on the left menu and follow these steps: 

1. Make sure you’re in Accountant view.
2. Select Employees from the Payroll Menu. 
3. Select the Employee Name.
4. Select the Edit Pencil icon next to How often do you pay [employee name]?. 
5. Select a pay schedule from the dropdown, or choose Add new… to create a new frequency.
6. If applicable, check Use this schedule for employees you add after [employee] box. 
7. Select Save.
8. Close the Add employee window by hitting the X in the top-right corner.

Here’s a great resource for pay schedules: Set up and manage payroll schedules.

2. Are there reports I can run to check the accuracy of prior payroll that was entered?

If you've entered payroll history in QuickBooks Online, there are two reports that you can run to show you the information you need: Payroll Summary or Payroll Summary by Employee. Let’s go over the steps to retrieve them: 

1. Make sure you’re in Accountant view.
2. Go to Reports in the left-hand menu of QuickBooks Online.
3. In Find report by name at the top-right of the Reports List, type in either report.
4. You can customize what shows on the report by Date Range, Employee, Work Location, and Workers' Comp Class.
5. You can Share, Export to Excel, or Print this report if needed.

There are many other reports specific to Payroll you may find useful at some point during the year. Scroll down to the Payroll section to look at your options. 

3. How can I add a bonus cheque for an employee that already got paid and reflect the taxes? 

It’s the time of year where a lot of employers are handing out bonuses to their amazing employees. If you need to create a separate bonus paycheque, the key is to increase the net amount until it reaches the dollar amount of the bonus. If your bank account is linked to QuickBooks, you'll be able to match the check to the downloaded transaction on the Banking page. Take a look at the steps below:

1. Select Payroll from the sidebar menu.
2. Go to the Employees tab.
3. Select the Run payroll dropdown arrow, then choose Bonus only.
4. Select either Net pay or Gross pay, then select Continue.
5. Choose an employee(s), then enter the bonus amount.
   Note: If you choose Net pay, this makes sure the employee gets the full bonus amount.
   
   
6. Select Preview Payroll.

In the example screenshot below, the Employee Taxes and Deductions have been calculated. Choosing the Net Pay option makes sure John Smith gets all $500 of his bonus cheque. Your total payroll cost on this bonus is $836.18, and the net pay is $500.

If you choose Gross pay, the net pay to John Smith is $322.62, and your total payroll cost is $539.56.

Of course, we can’t move on without providing a useful article to help you with all things bonus-related: How to create a bonus paycheque.

4. What effect does making an employee inactive have on my QuickBooks account?

Even if you’ve lost some employees this year, you still need their pay information available to you. Making an employee inactive removes them from your employee list, but all the profile and pay records are nice and safe for whenever you need them. 

You can always re-activate them if that employee works for your company again. Here are the steps to do so:

1.     Go to the Payroll tab, then select Employees.
2.     From the Active Employees drop-down, select Inactive Employees.
3.     Select the inactive employee and go to Actions.
4.     Select Change Status and switch to Active.

5. I made an error and underpaid an employee for a pay period. How do I fix this?

Mistakes happen to the best of us! Sometimes with extra hours worked or other unpredictable events, your employee winds up with less money than they should. All you have to do is create an unscheduled cheque.

You can create unscheduled cheques for the current pay period all the way back to pay periods dating 6 months ago. You can't create a cheque with a date in the past. The only cheque dates that are available are dates that fall after your last cheque date and before your next payday. We do this to keep your payroll taxes error-free. 

Note: If your employee is usually paid via Direct Deposit, you'll need to turn it off first in order to create a cheque. Then, follow the steps below: 

1. Go to the Payroll menu, then select Employees.
2. Select Run payroll.
3. Find the employee you want to pay, and then select Create another cheque.
4. Enter employee compensation, including any salary adjustments, vacation or sick hours, and other pay types.
5. Double-check the pay period and cheque date.
6. Select Preview Payroll, and then select Submit payroll.
7. If creating a paper cheque, hand-write or print the cheque and give it to the employee by the cheque date.
8. Select Finish payroll.

Be sure to check out our QuickBooks Online year-end guide and checklist, and stay tuned for more great year-end content. 

Have more questions about year-end payroll? Our live social team is available to chat Monday through Friday from 9am to 8pm EST: https://quickbookshelp.ca/facebook