How do I account for distributions in payroll?

STOP WHATEVER YOU ARE DOING and please pay attention! CANCEL PAYROLL AS QUICKLY AS YOU CAN - it is of no use to you unless you have REAL employees.

NO member (owner) of an LLC, whether single member or multi-member is ever on payroll. It is not allowed. A single member LLC with no actual employees does not have payroll. Period.

All payments to the single member owner of the LLC are Member Draw (equity) and can be considered an advance against the year end pass-through profit OR loss.  As each and every dollar and dime in an LLC - even borrowed funds) belongs to the owners - just like it is in a sole proprietorship - the owners are entitled to any and all cash as a reduction in equity.  The LLC pays ZERO taxes, no income tax, and without real employees, no employment taxes either.

The "company" can make the quarterly estimates on behalf of the owner and these would be treated on the books exactly like you treat a cash payment to the owner - owner/member draw

Thanks for the quick and forceful reply. I hear you loud and clear: QBO payroll is not for single member owner LLCs.

That makes the real question (asked part rhetorical, part pragmatic): How do I conveniently meet federal and state requirements to deposit semiweekly and have that information flow into QBO automatically?

The current payroll service comes so so close to handling this totally automated with the one exception: No easy way to pay in for estimated taxes that will apply to the pass-through income.

I want to make sure you understand this. Do not pay the owner/member of any LLC even multi member through any psyroll service. Only if the LLC elects to be taxed as a subchspter S corporation does payroll apply to the owner(s).

There is no semi weekly or monthly deposit requirement for self employment income tax,, only an annual declaration of estimated tax and quarterly payments. These payments, of federal income tax and separately any estimated state income tax are submitted outside of any payroll service by check or online payment. To pay your estimated federal income tax go to irs.gov it is free to pay online.

There are no estimated or quarterly payments required of your FICA (SS and medicare) although quarterly contributions would reduce what you owe in April each year.