Illinois PLAW

Hello there, Leisureman. I know a way for you to successfully set up your time-off pay policies here in QuickBooks Online (QBO). 

Since Illinois has implemented a new act called the Paid Leave for All Workers Act (PLAWA), you can set the time-off pay policy within the information about your employee that is located within the Payroll menu. 

If you're already tracking paid time off, you can just edit its Time Off Policies section. On the other hand, if you're not tracking paid time off, you can create a new time off policy. Please know that all the accrued yet unused paid leave will carry over from one 12-month period to the next. 

Here's how: 

If you're already tracking paid time off: 

1. Go to the Payroll menu located at the left navigation panel, and click Employees. 
2. Choose an employee.
3. Scroll down until you see the Time off pay policies section. 
4. Click the pencil icon to edit the Paid time off field. 
5. In the Hours per year field, ensure to enter 40. 
6. Within the Maximum allowed field, you can leave it blank.
7. Once done, click Save. 

If you're not tracking paid time off: 

1. Go to the Payroll menu located at the left navigation panel, and click Employees. 
2. Choose an employee.
3. Scroll down until you see the Time off pay policies section.
4. Click the Paid Time off dropdown and choose Add new paid time off policy.
5. Complete the provided field. 
6. Under the Hours per year box you can type 40. 
7. You can leave the Maximum allowed field blank. 
8. Once done, press Save. 

To view more information regarding the steps I've provided above, you can visit this website since it contains some important data: Set up Illinois Paid Leave. 

Furthermore, you can also export your payroll data and use it outside QBO. 

I'm still here to help in case you have further concerns regarding setting up your time-of policies. 

Thank you.  And to comply with PLAW, I should choose what under "hours are accrued"?

Let me provide some guidance on the best option to select based on the hours accumulated, Leisureman.

In compliance with the Illinois Paid Leave for All Workers Act (PLAWA), employees are entitled to accrue one hour of leave for every 40 hours worked. In your case, you have the flexibility to decide whether you want to accrue leave at the beginning of the year or on a per-pay period basis, as long as you accumulate a total of 40 hours of paid time off each year.

For more details on tracking paid time off, you may follow the steps suggested by my colleague or click this article: Set up Illinois Paid Leave.

Additionally, I'll be sharing these resources that will guide you with your employee's deductions and adding sick or vacation leave for salaried employees: 

• Enter sick pay or vacation pay hours for salaried employees
• Set up, change, or delete employee-paid payroll deductions

Feel free to leave a comment below if you have any concerns with the accrued hours of your employees or anything related to QuickBooks. We will promptly address your queries and provide you with the necessary information.

So in my case, the only fields I have when adding a PTO policy are "Description," "Hours are accrued," "Hours per year," and "Maximum allowed."

What I'm understanding you to tell me is that under "hours are accrued," I should choose "each pay period" (I do not want to give the vacation at the beginning of the year).  Under "Hours per year," I would put "40."  And under "Maximum allowed," I would leave that blank.

If all of that is correct based on what you are telling me, at what rate is QBO accumulating those hours each pay period?  Is it a set amount per pay period?

So in my case, the only fields I have when adding a PTO policy are "Description," "Hours are accrued," "Hours per year," and "Maximum allowed."

What I'm understanding you to tell me is that under "hours are accrued," I should choose "each pay period" (I do not want to give the vacation at the beginning of the year).  Under "Hours per year," I would put "40."  And under "Maximum allowed," I would leave that blank.

If all of that is correct based on what you are telling me, at what rate is QBO accumulating those hours each pay period?  Is it a set amount per pay period?

Hello there, @Leisureman. 

I appreciate your detailed explanation. Allow me to verify your concern about accumulating rates and hours per pay period in QuickBooks Online (QBO).

Regarding your first concern about adding a PTO. Indeed, you can choose to accrue hours under each pay period. Additionally, the hours per year that you can accrue may vary depending on the state you are in. If you are unsure about the maximum allowed hours, you can simply leave it blank.

Moving on to your second concern, you asked about the rate at which QBO accumulates PTO hours each pay period. Unfortunately, QBO cannot automatically detect when an employee reaches 40 hours per pay period, so it does not accumulate those hours automatically. However, you can manually check or enter the balance of each employee. Whenever an employee reaches 40 hours, you can run a payroll report and manually enter the accrued time off. Please note that this will depend on the pay schedule of the employee.

Finally, you asked about the ability to set accrued every 40 hours each pay period. Unfortunately, this feature is not currently available in QBO. However, you can always send a feature request through the Feedback section within QuickBooks.

Here's how to send Feedback:

1. Select the Gear icon, then choose Feedback.
2. Enter your comments or product suggestions.
3. Select Next to submit.

Since you cannot enter the rate as the workaround you either manually enter it every payroll or track it outside QuickBooks and use a third-party application.

You can also check this article to learn about setting up Illinois paid Leave. 

Additionally, for future use, here's an article on generating payroll reports to view essential insights about your business and employees also in case you want to create, manage, assign, or update pay schedules, you can visit this article for guidance:

• Run payroll reports.
• Set up and manage payroll schedules.

Please do return to this thread if you need further assistance with the handling of your paid time-off in QuickBooks Online. We'll be here to help you in any way we can. Keep safe.