how to pay employee by the piece instead of by the hour on QuickBooks desktop

Yes, you can, @gpi1995. We can create a commission pay type to enter into your employee's paychecks to pay them by piece.

To begin, let's create a pay type and use it when paying your employees the piece they've sold under your business. I'll show you how.

1. Go to the List menu and select Payroll Item List.
2. Click the Payroll Item dropdown, and choose to create New.
3. Choose Custom Setup, then hit Next. After that, select Wage and click Next.
4. Select Commission, then Next.
5. Enter the item name to identify it when adding to the paycheck easily.
6. Choose Expense account to track the item, and hit Next. Then click Finish.

If you regularly pay your employees with this item, we can add this to their profile by following the steps below.

1. Navigate to the Employees menu and select Employee Center. 
2. Tap the employee's name twice and select Payroll Info.
3. In the Earnings section, add the payroll item and select OK.

After that, we can run a payroll to settle up with your workers. You can follow Step 2: Pay your employees a commission from this article for complete guidelines: Pay your employees a commission.

Furthermore, QuickBooks provides various payroll reports that offer detailed information about employee gross pay, deductions, and tax data. To learn more about accessing these reports, you can refer to a specific article: Run payroll reports. 

Please know that the Community always has your back whenever you need assistance with managing payroll. Take care!