Hello, I wish to create a template to help code a lump sum for payroll each month.

Or would it be better to use a recurring journal entry?

Hello there, @lkoups.

I can share some insights on how to hand lump sum amount for payroll in QuickBooks Online.

At this time, being able to create a rule for the lump sum of your payroll is not available. The ruling feature in QuickBooks Online is only applicable to the banking transactions, which allow the entries to be categorized automatically.

For more details on how bank rules work, please visit this link: How to set and use banking rules for downloaded transactions.

On the other hand, you can create an expense transaction per month to record the lump sum amount, since journal entries are not advisable. Just make sure to select the correct account when entering them.

To do that:

1. Select on the + New.
2. Choose Expense.
3. In the Payee field, specify a supplier. You can specify the name of a person or a business. If your transaction covers multiple petty cash expenses, leave this field empty.
4. Hit the Payment account to which to credit this expense.
5. Enter the date of purchase in the Payment date field and specify the Payment method for the expense.
6. Enter the amount of the purchase and any Tax paid (if applicable).
7. Select Save and close.

You may refer to this article to learn more about entering expenses in QuickBooks Online,: Enter, edit, or delete expenses in QuickBooks Online.

Lastly to help you managing your accounts in the CAO, you may scan through these references attached:

• Manage default and special accounts in your chart of accounts
• Understand the chart of accounts in QuickBooks

Let me know if you have any other questions. I'll make sure you're all good. Have a lovely day ahead!

Thank you for your help here. What happens is that the bank shows a lump sum payment out from our account. What I want to do is split the payment into different amounts that relate to different teams in the business and also split out the pension amounts. So the one payment needs to go into different cost centres rather than just one lump sum that is payroll. Does that make sense? 

Hi there, luke-koupparis.

To split the pensions and payments into different amounts that relate to different teams, I suggest creating a bank rule. And, use the Add a split option.

Here's how:

1. Click Banking at the left panel. Then select the Rules tab.
2. Choose the New Rule button.
3. Enter a name in the Rule field.
4. From the Apply this to transactions that are drop down arrow, select Money in or Money out. And, choose the bank or credit card account.
5. Set the rule conditions. Decide the transaction must meet All or Any of the conditions. You can add up to 5 conditions. 
6. In the Conditions fields, specify whether the rule applies to Bank text, Description, or Amount. Then select Contains, Doesn't contain or Is exactly to decide when how Quickbooks applies the rules.
7. Select the settings for the rule. Select the Transaction type, Payee, and the Category to apply.
8. Click the Add a split option. Then enter the percentage and category and tax rate.
9. Hit Save.

For additional information, you can refer to this article: How to set and use banking rules for downloaded transactions. This provides steps on how to review recognized transactions.

Please check this article on how to double-check your downloaded bank and credit card transactions to avoid duplicate entries: Categorise and match online bank transactions in QuickBooks Online.

Please know that you're always welcome to post if you have any other concerns. Wishing you and your business continued success.

Thank you for your help again. The slight problem is that the payment changes amount each month and is not the same. So creating a rule that works on the amount is a little difficult. Also the payment type that is recorded in the bank feed is exactly the same when we pay payroll and when we pay other suppliers so it looks exactly the same. So the rule I create will also pop up when we pay suppliers and not when it’s running payroll. I guess I could then choose not to use the rule?

Thanks for coming back for more support, @lkoups. The Bank Feed Rules would work best when all criteria set in the conditions are met.

You can create a rule based on a single condition or combine up to 5 conditions in a single rule. Let's review the conditions and restructure it to set around ANY or ALL conditions and use the Bank Text, Description, and/or Amount by following step number 7 provided by my peer @ChristieAnn above. 

This makes the transaction categorization more precise. If you're unsure how bank rules will work for you, I'd recommend working with your accountant to set up multiple rules and automation. 

For future reference, read through this article: Tips for Working in QuickBooks Online’s Bank Feed: Managing Bank Rules. It provides more detailed information and tips on how to use the Bank Rules feature. 

Feel free to message again if you have other questions. We're always here to help you some more. 

Sorry I am being a little slow here so thanks for bearing with me. So the amount is not fixed so that changes each month (due to overtime etc), the bank and description is the same but also the same as when we pay other suppliers. So how would QB know that this is the payroll payment and not the payment for the suppliers? I guess it would not know this so I would need to know how to work with a payment from the bank that sometimes has a rule and sometimes I find bills on the system to match it up with. Does that make sense?

Can I ask, if a journal is added, will the bank feed downloaded match with a journal that exists?

Hello luke-koupparis, 

Depending on the bank, transactions may include information like vendor/customer names, dates, or descriptions. You'll want to check your bank statement or expand the downloaded transaction in the bank feed to see more details. 

I've got this article for more information about the bank rules: How to set and use banking rules for downloaded transactions.

Also, when QuickBooks Online downloads transactions from the bank, it analyzes the bank data against your QuickBooks Online data. This includes journal entries and other positive or credit transactions.

Please see this link: Assign, categorise, edit, and add your downloaded banking transactions.

I'll be around it you have any additional questions or other concerns. Take care.