Is there a reminder prompt in QB payroll to start direct deposit payrolls

It's nice to see you here in the Community, miketropical.

I'd be delighted to share the steps to set up a reminder for direct deposit payroll in QuickBooks Desktop.

Setting up a reminder to prompt QuickBooks to start payroll isn't currently offered in the Desktop version. However, as a workaround, you can set up a payroll schedule to serve as a reminder. Since you're using the direct deposit feature, you'll need to enter the date two days before the check date to process payroll on time.

To set up your payroll schedule:

1. Gather the necessary information to enter the scheduled payroll.
   • Your employee names.
   • The employees' pay frequency (how often you pay your employees).
2. From the Employees menu, choose Payroll Center.
3. Click the Pay Employees tab.
4. Select the Payroll Schedules drop-down menu and click New.
5. Enter a name for the payroll schedule in the What do you want to name this payroll schedule? field.
6. Click How often will you pay your employees on this schedule? drop-down arrow to specify the pay frequency for the payroll schedule.
7. Click OK.
8. Choose whether this schedule should be applied to all employees with the same pay frequency.
   • Select Yes to globally assign this payroll schedule to all employees with the same pay frequency.
   • Select No if you want to manually assign the payroll schedule to specific employees.
9. When finished, your payroll schedule will appear in the table under Create Paychecks.

For detailed information, you can check out this article: Set up, update, or delete payroll schedules in QuickBooks Desktop.

You can always get back to me if you need anything else. Have a great day!

Thank you for contributions. I understand how to set up the payrolls but i don't believe i am being prompted or reminded of the payroll dates upcoming. Maybe QB doesn't provide for that?

Thanks for coming back to the Community, miketropical.

I can point you in the right direction about setting up a prompt to run direct deposit payroll.

@Anonymous’s answer is correct. QuickBooks will automatically back up the due date for sending payroll. While @Rose-A answer is only a workaround so you’ll be reminded to run direct deposit.

We’re continuously working to provide better services and features, so you can efficiently manage the business and get your accounting done. Customers’ feedback is one way of identifying features that need to be included in a future enhancement.

I suggest letting our Product Development Team know that adding the reminder feature to run direct deposit is beneficial for your business. To send feedback, please follow these steps:

1. Go to Help at the top menu bar.
2. Choose Send Feedback Online.
3. Select Product Suggestion.
4. Enter your feedback or feature request.
5. Click on Send Feedback.

I'll do the same thing from my side, so we are hitting them through both employee and customer channels. The more request and vote a feedback has, the more likely it gets prioritized as a highly requested update.

If there's anything else that I can help you with, don't hesitate to leave a comment below. I'll be right here to assist your further.

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@miketropical wrote:

Is there a prompt that can be set up in QB payroll to remind one when to start the direct deposit payroll to make the payroll direct deposit  on time?

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There isn't a specific reminder prompt from the Payroll Center. But perhaps you can try adding a reminder manually?

So you go to Company > Reminders > Then click on the Plus icon. Choose Task as the Type. Set the priority to High. Then enter the date when you should run the payroll. Pick a time, if you'd like. And in the Details box, you can just add a short description, something like, "Run Payroll".

And to make sure your reminder pops up every time you open your company file, make sure it is turned on in the Preferences:

Edit > Preferences > Reminders > My Preferences tab > Tick the box for Show Reminders List.

This is what's working for me right now. Hope this helps. :)

Don't know if you're still looking for an answer, but here's what I did (yes, it's a workaround, but it works!):  Set a new Memorized Transaction group.  Lists > Memorized Transactions.  Create a new Group--I named mine, "Run Payroll 15th & 31st."  Select "Add to My Reminders List."  Set How Often (weekly, bi-weekly, semi-monthly, etc.), and set Next Date--this should be the first date you want to be reminded. 

This only serves as a reminder on your Reminders list, and you should make sure your reminders are set to display when you open Quickbooks.  You will still need to manually open Payroll and run your Direct Deposits, but at least the reminder to do so will show up in your Reminders list.

I would set up a new Memorized Transaction group (in the Lists menu).  You can name it something like "Make Payroll DD."  Within setup, you can add it to your Reminders, set the frequency, and the date you want it to take effect.  Just be sure to have your Reminders set to display when you open your company and also be sure that Memorized Transactions are set to be visible in the Reminders preferences.  Hope this helps!