I have the same employee listed twice in the payroll setup. How can I delete one of them?

Hey JBJIC!

Thank you for visiting the Community! Could you share which desktop payroll product you are using? In the meantime, did you try these steps below and if so could you share the error message you got?

1. Go to Employees, and select Employee Center.
2. Right-click the name of the employee. If the employee isn't on the list, select All employees from the Active Employees dropdown.
3. Select Delete Employee.
4. Select OK.

Looking forward to your response! See you soon. 

When I do what you advised, it tells me: Quickbooks cannot delete this name because it has a balance or has been used in at least one transaction.

I can't imagine that it would have a balance. And how can I tell what transaction it has been used in?? Is there a way?

I forgot to answer your first question. I am using Enhanced Payroll

Hi there, @JBJIC.

Thank you for responding promptly. I'm grateful for your efforts in following the recommended steps that my colleague provided. Additionally, I appreciate you sharing the error message you encountered and the details of your desktop payroll product. Your input has been valuable in helping us narrow down the cause of the issue you are facing.

To find the transaction link to the employee, please follow the below steps:

1. Go to Employees, then choose Employee Center.
2. Click on the employee.
3. In the Transactions section, choose All Transactions in the SHOW dropdown and All in the DATE dropdown. 
4. Double-click the transaction to open it, then delete it. Note that this is a permanent action that can affect your financial records.
5. After deleting the transactions, proceed to delete the employee's profile suggested by my colleague above.

Additionally, you can go to this article about managing your reports: Customize reports in QuickBooks Desktop.

Please let me know if you have any further concerns regarding your employees. I'm always here to help you. Have a great day!

After reviewing your answer again, I went back in and I found the right page and tried to delete the items listed but they will not delete. What Can I do next? I can't issue a W-2 Form for this individual because the wrong name enters each time I try to do the W-2. Please help!!

Additionally, can you tell me how to get back to the page where I first listed my question?

I just can not find it.

I don't know if you're receiving my answers. Here is what I did: I went to Employees, then chose Employee Center. I clicked on the employee. In the transaction section I chose all Transactions and in the in the show dropdown and ALL in the date dropdown. I double clicked on each transaction to open it, but it would not allow me to delete it.

I can not issue a W-2 until this is fixed because the wrong name keeps inserting itself when I try. Please help!!

I see all the efforts you've put in, @JBJIC. Let's resolve this together so you can delete the transaction and the duplicate employee. 

To delete employee transactions, here's a step-by-step guide:

1. Go to Employees, then choose Employee Center.
2. Click on the Employee.
3. In the Transactions section, choose All Transactions in the SHOW dropdown and All in the DATE dropdown. 
4. Delete the transactions from latest to oldest, double-click the transaction to open it, then click Delete. This action is permanent and may impact your financial records.

After deleting the transactions, let's delete the employee's profile. 

1. Go to Employees and select Employee Center.
2. Right-click the name of the employee. Select All employees from the Active Employees dropdown if the Employee isn't on the list.
3. Select Delete Employee, then click OK.

On the other hand, if you're unable to delete the transactions, I recommend contacting our payroll support team for assistance in deleting the duplicate employee. 

Moreover, I'll add this article for reference in filing your W2: File your W-2 forms. 

 Moreover, it's essential to maintain accurate and up-to-date employee records. To ensure this, you can edit their information in case of changes such as a name change, updated bank account details, alterations to W-4 filing information, or when the employee moves to a place.  

I'm here to support you further if you require assistance managing your duplicate employees. Just click the reply button below to enter your queries. 

Thank you ShyMae, for your answer. But, when I try to delete the duplicate employee, it says I can't because it is used in at least one transaction. I can see that the transaction was just made when I filled out my state quarterly taxes. How can I go in and fix this?

We appreciate you getting back here in the thread, @JBJIC.

Since you've mentioned you've tried deleting the customer inside your QuickBooks Desktop (QBDT) company, can you tell us the message prompt you received? Also, we'd like to know your current user role inside the company file. This way, we can provide the necessary steps to help you delete the duplicate employee on your list.

Feel free to visit us here in the Community space or comment below. We'll make sure to get back to you as soon as possible. Keep safe.

There are three entries and they are all from the state quarterly report. I must have used that wrong name to fill out the report. I don't know how to go back and fix it.

Transaction type: Liability adjust   Date: 9/30/23   Account: Opening balance equity    Amount: 0

The others are the same except for date: 6/30/23 and 3/31/23

I forgot to answer your question. I am both administrator and main user of the account. We are a very tiny company that we run from our home.

The prompt I get when I try to delete the name is as follows: Although this list name is inactive Quickbooks cannot delete it because it is used in at least one transaction.

Solution: Hide inactive names so that they don't appear on the list. If you need to use the name at a later time, you can reset the list so that it shows the inactive names again.