Navigating QuickBooks Online Core Payroll

Learn more about QuickBooks Online Core Payroll.

Here’s our handy guide to help navigate you through some of the key features of QuickBooks Online Core Payroll including: 

• Adding employees
• Pay types
• Pay schedules
• HMRC credentials 
• Workplace pensions 
• Account mapping
• Running payroll
• Submitting RTI 
• Distributing new and historical payslips
• Payroll reports

Before you get started, watch our short introduction to Core payroll video.

Add an employee

Before you add an employee to your payroll, make sure you have ‌all the information for that employee ready.

1. Go to Payroll, then select Employees 
2. Select Add an employee 
3. Enter your employee’s name, and hire date
4. Select Add employee.

After adding an employee in QuickBooks, you can enter further information such as their personal information, employment details, and tax information.

5. Select Start or Edit to any section to add the remaining employee info. 
6. When you’re done, select Save.

Note: It’s important once you have added all your employees, that you invite them to QuickBooks Workforce. QuickBooks Workforce is an application that allows employees to access their payslips as and when they need them.

Pay types

Pay types are additional pay items on top of your employee’s regular salary or hourly rate. You can add or change pay types like bonus, commission, overtime, benefits, and more. 

Learn how to add and change pay types.

Set up pay schedules

The date you pay your employees will determine which tax period and year it’s in, even if the pay schedule is different. 

You can set up multiple schedules for payroll in QuickBooks Online Core Payroll. 

There are 2 types of pay schedules: 

• Weekly: Pay your employees every week on a certain day 
• Monthly: Pay your employees once a month on a specific, recurring date

To set up a pay schedule: 

1. Go to Payroll and select Employees.
2. Select your employee.
3. From the Employment details section, select Edit.
4. From the Pay schedule ▼ dropdown, select + Add pay schedule.
5. Select a Pay frequency, Next payday, and End of next pay period.
6. Enter a Pay schedule name.
7. Select Save.

Learn more about how to set up and manage your pay schedules. 

Set up HMRC credentials

After you complete a pay run you'll need to submit your real-time information to HMRC. To do this:

1. Select the gear icon, then select Payroll settings
2. Navigate to Workplace pensions, select the pencil ✏️ icon
3. Enter the relevant HMRC credentials and payroll information
4. Select Done

Set up workplace pensions

Before you set up a work-place pension, make sure you have ‌the relevant information ready.

1. Select the gear icon, then select Payroll settings.
2. Navigate to Workplace pensions, select the pencil ✏️ icon.
3. Select the calendar icon to choose your duties start date.
4. If you'd like to choose your own re-enrolment date, select Do you want to re-enrol your employees automatically and enter the date.
5. Select Save, and then Done.

Once your workplace pension is set up, you can set up a pension scheme, add employees to your pension scheme, and more. 

Follow our step-by-step guide on how to set-up a workplace pension in QuickBooks Online Core Payroll.

Account mapping

Once you have completed a pay run QuickBooks Online Core Payroll will generate journal entries and post them to your Chart of Accounts.

You can map and update the accounts using the steps below:

1. Select the gear icon, then select Payroll settings.
2. Navigate to Accounting, select the pencil ✏️ icon.
3. Select the dropdown and choose the account you want to use for each category. This will determine where the values are posted.
4. Select Done.

Run Payroll

When you are ready to run payroll, follow the steps below:

1. Select Payroll, then Run payroll.
2. Ensure to select the active Pay period and appropriate Pay date.
3. Select Preview payroll.
4. Select Submit payroll.

Note: The pay date is the date the journal entry posts. Ensure you've selected the correct date you paid your employees. Make edits to any additional Pay Types if required. 

This will generate payslips, update reports, and submit real-time information to HMRC about your payroll activity. 

If you have Salaried employees without pensions or statutory payments, you can run payroll automatically. Learn more.

Submit real-time information

Follow the steps based on the experience relevant to you.

Normal pay run

Once you have successfully completed a pay run you'll need to inform HMRC of your employees payments and tax liabilities by submitting a Full Payment Submission (FPS).

If any of your employees are claiming Statutory payments (SSP, SMP, SPP) you will also need to submit an Employer Payment summary (EPS).

To do this:

1. Open the Payroll tax centre.
2. Find the FPS or EPS you wish to submit for the period.
3. Select File.

Nil pay run

If you haven't paid any employees for a pay period and need to submit an EPS to inform HMRC of the nil payment, no action is required on your part. The EPS will be generated automatically on the 6th of the month and can be submitted before the 19th.

Distributing new and historical payslips

Once you have run payroll, employees can access their payslips via the Workforce application. 

Note: It isn't possible to email a payslip to an employee

To access a historical payslip:

1. Go to Payroll and select Employees.
2. Select your employee.
3. Select the Payroll payment list tab.
4. Select Print.

Payroll reports

Payroll reports can be found in the Reports section of the left navigation. To run a report:

1. Go to Reports.
2. Use Find report by name search bar to search for reports by name. You can also browse the list in the Payroll report section.
3. Select the report to open it .