How can I edit Wage Expense Accounts listed on the Payroll Accounting Preferences page in QBO (i.e. edit name and how dollars or hours are entered in a Payroll run)?

Happy to have you here on the Community page, @kok_treasurer.

Modifying the wage expense accounts on the Payroll Preferences can be done through the Chart of Accounts. Let me guide you on how.

1. Open your QuickBooks Online account, then click on Chart of accounts under Your Company.
2. Look for the account/s you want to edit from the Chart of Accounts window.
3. Click on the drop-down arrow under Action, then tap Edit.
4. Make the necessary changes, then save the changes.

To delete the unused accounts, click Make inactive under Action.

For additional reference about managing your chart of accounts, feel free to read the details from this article: Understand the chart of accounts in QuickBooks.

On the other hand, employees' hours and amounts depend on how you set them up in their record. I'm also adding these links to learn more about the process:

• Commonly used articles to get started with Payroll
• Process or run payroll

You can always add a comment below if you have any other questions. I'm always here to lend a helping hand. Have a good day!

Thanks for the reply, but this doesn't answer the question, because I need to change wage categories, not accounts.  The wage category I am trying to change is not an account, and the account editing page doesn't allow the type of change I'm looking to do.

The list I'm trying to edit is reached by "gear">Payroll Settings>Accounting.  On this page there is a left column heading "Wage Expense Accounts".  Next to the heading is a list of the types of pay categories that can be assigned to each employee and which account the item is associated with (paid from).  For our setup the list of wage categories is quite long.  One of the categories is 'Janitor' and it has an account assignment (which I can change).  However, I want to change the 'Janitor' category itself because it is set up improperly, but I can't find any place to create/edit/delete these categories... any additional help would be appreciated.

Thank you for clarifying your concern, @kok_treasurer.

You can edit/change the pay type or wage items under the Wage Expense Accounts but can't delete them. Let me show you  how.

1. Click on Payroll at the left pane, then select Employees.
2. Select the name of the employee.
3. Tap Edit employee.
4. Under How much do you pay. . ., select Add additional pay types.
5. To rename or change the pay type, select the edit (pencil) icon beside the pay type's name.
6. Tap Done.

You can also read this article to learn more about changing pay types in QuickBooks Online Payroll.

Let me know if you have any other questions. I'm always here to help. Have a good day!

I have a single employee that has two different jobs in my non profit business. I need to be able to set their payroll up so that about 20% of their recorded hours comes out of a restricted expense account, but the other 80% needs to be normal. On another page, I read the following statement:

 

"Wage Expense

You have three options for Wage Expense tracking. Make sure that you select the appropriate option when setting up account preferences:

• All employee wages goes to the same account.
• I use different accounts for different groups of employees.
• I use different accounts for different wages."

 

This statement leads me to believe that what I am aiming to do is a possibility. It suggests that instead of having all the employees show up in the same expense account, you can record time worked to specific types of wages, and then categorize them from there, to fall in the correct place in the COA. However, I cannot find the correct page to manage the settings it mentions, as it is not in the accounting portion of payroll settings?

 

To clarify, I would like to switch my payroll from "All employee wages goes to the same account." To the "I use different accounts for different wages." option. How do I make this change?

 

Hello there, @KBrimmer. Thanks for joining this thread.

You can manage on how you can categorize wage expenses within your QuickBooks Online account.

I'd be glad to show you where you can switch your payroll from All employee wages goes to the same account to the I use different accounts for different wages option. These options can be seen and changed from the payroll settings. First, make sure that you select the appropriate option when setting up account preferences in the Chart of Accounts (COA).

Once done, you can follow these steps:

1. Go to the Gear icon.
2. Select Payroll Settings under Your Company.
3. In the Preferences section, click Accounting Preferences.
   
4. In the Wage Expense Accounts, select I use different account for different wages. 
   
5. Scroll down. At the bottom part of the page, click OK to reflect the changes.
   

If the same thing happens (the option doesn't appear in the accounting portion of payroll settings), probably, this is a browser-related issue. You can follow the steps below:

Step 1: Use an incognito window:

It's likely a result of a browser error. This prevents your browser from storing additional cache files that maybe not letting you make some changes. It's a way to check issues caused by a full cache.
 

Step 2: Delete cache and temporary internet files:

If it works, you can clear cache and temporary internet files to optimize the browser's performance. It will also help delete the information stored in the cache. Another way is to use compatible browsers with QuickBooks Online. 

I've collected some articles for additional information about viewing and editing your current payroll preference:

• Set up Payroll account preferences.
• Payroll accounting preferences.

Keep me posted on how this goes by leaving a message in this thread. I'd be glad to help you out. Take care and have a good one!

I have some issues with such settings in Quickbooks online. I try to split the salary payments to different cost centers: accounting, chairman for example; at the same time the production labor has to be split by regular pay, OT pay, tips, sick pay, etc. I created the wage expenses for salary paid for each department. When I try to assign employee pay as salary in employee's settings, QBO shows only hourly and salary options, If I assign each employee pay to specific account, QBO does not separate wages between regular, OT, tips, sick pay,etc accounts. Are any options in QBO to have combination that gives ability to assign salary employees to specific cost center and split hourly employees pay between hourly pay options. If there are, how to setup this?

Thanks for joining the thread, @ML55. I'm here to impart some information about QuickBooks payroll accounting settings.

I can see how the ability to assign salary employees to a specific cost center and split hourly employee pay between hourly pay options could help your business. At the moment, this is unavailable in QuickBooks Online.

You can send this idea through the Feedback option so our Product Development teams can take a look and might consider this as part of the future enhancements. Here's how you do it:

1. Select the Gear icon at the top.
2. Choose Feedback.
3. Enter your comments or product suggestions.
4. Select Next to submit.

You can visit the Customer Feedback website to track your request.

I’ve added this reference to learn more about managing your payroll accounting settings: Change your accounting preferences in QuickBooks Online Payroll. It helps you track payroll transactions accurately.

Also, here’s an illuminating guide that provides tips to keep your payroll, finances, and business organized and compliant: 10 expert tips on how to stay payroll compliant.

Get back to this page if you need further assistance with your QuickBooks settings. We’ll be here to help. Keep safe always!