Set up your QuickBooks Time account in QuickBooks Online or QuickBooks Payroll

Learn how to set up QuickBooks Time with your QuickBooks Online or QuickBooks Payroll account.

With QuickBooks Online Plus, Essentials, or Advanced, and QuickBooks Payroll, your employees can track time with QuickBooks Time. Then, that time flows into QuickBooks for payroll, invoicing, and more.

Step 1: Launch your QuickBooks Time account

Note: QuickBooks Online Payroll Premium and Elite includes QuickBooks Time.

If you don’t have QuickBooks Time yet: 

1. In QuickBooks Online, go to Settings ⚙.
2. Go to Account and settings, then Billing and subscriptions.
3. Find QuickBooks Time, and select Learn more. 
4. Choose if you’d like QuickBooks Time Premium or Elite, then add it to your subscription now, or start a 30-day free trial.

Then, you can begin the setup:

1. Go to the Time tab, and then Launch QuickBooks Time.

Information from QuickBooks Online automatically transfers to your QuickBooks Time account. There are only a few pieces of information you need to set up manually.

Not seeing this option? You can either upgrade your Payroll account or give our support team a call to help integrate your existing QuickBooks Time account. 

Step 2: Set up pay period and overtime settings

In the following steps, make sure the information you enter in QuickBooks Time matches what is in QuickBooks Online. 

Set up pay periods

1. In QuickBooks Time, go to Company settings.
2. Select Payroll & Overtime, then Pay Schedule.
3. Select your pay period schedule and Save.

Set up overtime tracking

1. In QuickBooks Time, go to Company settings.
2. Select Payroll & Overtime, then Overtime.
3. Make your selections and Save.
4. If you need more detailed overtime policies, select Use Pay Rate Engine to configure more advanced overtime settings.

Note: If you have QuickBooks Online Payroll and your employee tracks overtime in QuickBooks Time, they need to have the overtime pay type set up in Payroll. Otherwise, their tracked overtime will not be exported accurately.

Step 3: Review payroll item and time mapping

Note: this option is only available if you have an active payroll subscription. 

The payroll items you assign to each employee in QuickBooks automatically map to the matching time type in QuickBooks Time. For example: if you assign a “holiday” payroll item to an employee in QuickBooks, it will map to the “holiday” time type in QuickBooks Time.

If you want your employees to track unpaid time off, you need to set up unpaid time off as a payroll item in QuickBooks. Your time off codes, rules and balances will import into QuickBooks Time from QuickBooks.

Double-check the automatic mapping and make adjustments as needed, so time will transfer to payroll linked to the correct pay rates.

1. In QuickBooks Time, select the QuickBooks Payroll menu, then Preferences.
2. Under Other Options, select Payroll Item Mapping Tool.
3. On the Map Employees tab, choose an employee's name.
4. In each hour type column, select one payroll item. Selections are saved automatically.

Note: More detailed mapping options can be done by mapping payroll items to service items or class types.

Step 4: Adding your team and time tracking options

Note: additions and changes in QuickBooks Online will automatically import into QuickBooks Time. The sync log will display (Auto) next to the automatic imports. A manual import can still be performed, if needed: in QuickBooks Time, select the QuickBooks dropdown, then Import.

Add new people to track time

When you add new employees or contractors to QuickBooks Online, they’re automatically added to QuickBooks Time. You can find them in My Team in QuickBooks Time. 

Add other tracking options into QuickBooks Time

You can add additional options for your team members to track time against like Service Items, Billable Items, or Classes.

1. In QuickBooks Time, select the QuickBooks menu, then Preferences.
2. Make your selections:
   • Customers & sub-customers: a customer selection is required on timesheets. You can assign these customers later. Note: Customers can be added or edited in either QuickBooks Online or QuickBooks Time and the change will reflect in both places.
   • Service Items: a service item selection is required on timesheets. 
   • Billable yes/no choice: mark timesheets as billable or not billable. Billable timesheets can be used when invoicing in QuickBooks.
     • Require billable yes/no choice: the billable choice is required before clock-out. 
   • Class: a class selection is required on timesheets.
3. Selections are saved automatically. Depending on which options you select, those items will import automatically from QuickBooks Online to QuickBooks Time.

For more information, see about QuickBooks integration preferences. 

Step 5: Track time in QuickBooks Time

There are many ways for you and your team members to track and manage their time with QuickBooks Time. Find out more about tracking and managing time in QuickBooks Time to see what works best for your company.