Hi Nancyvv,
It's great to hear that you're starting a retirement savings plan for your employees and I appreciate the details you've given me. The program makes it easy to set up the payroll items you need, including deductions and company contributions such as these. Because there will be a deduction for the employees and then a match from the company, you'll be setting up two payroll items: a deduction and company contribution.
Going through the steps of both payroll item setups, you'll come to a screen called Tax tracking type, which allows you to choose which box the item will hit on a T4. If unsure which box you need to hit, I recommend speaking with the CRA or an accountant to learn more. You can also choose whether it's calculated on Net or Gross pay. The Default rate and limit window is where you can enter the percentage for each paycheque. Once you have all those settings in place, the program will calculate the rest when the items are added to your employees' profiles or in the payroll screen.
To set up the items, go to Lists in the top menu bar and choose Payroll Item List. Click Payroll Item at the bottom and then New.
To learn more about the process and the differences between payroll items, click Help from the top menu and then QuickBooks Desktop Help (the F1 key is also a great shortcut). Navigate to the Help tab and click Search to enter keywords such as "payroll item" to find helpful articles.
I'm here if you have more questions. Take care. :)
