It seems that my Payroll liabilities are not being canceled out by my payments that I make to those liabilities. What do I need to do in order for them to cancel out?

I appreciate you reaching out in the Community, Ashley. Did you recently migrate from QuickBooks Desktop to QuickBooks Online, or from another accounting software? If you did, you need to pull up Reports for periods before and after the migration date so we'll know where to begin rectifying the transactions. I'll provide what needs to be pull up.

The reports that need to be reviewed to manage your payroll liabilities are the Balance Sheet to view the current balances of your payroll liability accounts, the Payroll Summary Report, and the Payroll Liability Balances Report to ensure that the amounts deducted for taxes and other withholdings are correct and correspond with what’s reported in the liability accounts, and Journal Report to identify any mistakes in the entry of payroll liabilities and payments.

Additionally, QBO copies paycheck information for the current year as lump sums. Liability refunds, adjustment transactions, and opening balance transactions affecting accounts are transferred to Journal Entries. You can have this article for reference: Learn how features and data move from QuickBooks Desktop to QuickBooks Online.

Also, please verify that the opening balances for payroll liability accounts were accurately entered during the transition to QBO.

Once this is all resolved, you can now do a payroll reconciliation to ensure the accuracy of your account.

If you are having confusion about the reports that need to be pulled up to check your payroll liabilities, please hit the Reply button to address you promptly.

We did migrate from Desktop to Online in May/June of 2024.  I felt at that time all was not right and had some things corrected.  But it really seemed that some of the people I talked to didn't understand what I was trying to convey.  And now I'm trying to complete my form 990 and it is bringing back up these same thoughts and my balance sheet is just off I think.  And I want to get it corrected so going forward my numbers make sense.  We are a very small nonprofit with just one employee.  

I do have the reports pulled up.  But I don't have the journal report.  I didn't see where to do that?  And I also don't know what I need to be looking at on the reports.  I would be happy to be able to talk to someone. 

Thanks for following up with the Community, AshleyJ. I appreciate your detailed information.

If you use journal entries to record transactions, you can generate and print a report with a journal entry.

Here's how to print a single entry:
 

1. Use the Search icon, then click Go to transactions search.
2. Choose Journal Entries from your drop-down near the Search option. Apply additional filters if necessary.
3. Hit Search and pick the desired Journal Entry.
4. Press More, then click Transaction journal.
5. If your report is opened in Classic view, use the Print icon. In your New enhanced experience, hit Export/Print, then choose Print/Save as PDF.
6. Modify the Report Print Settings if necessary.
7. Select Print.

You can also print multiple journal entries by customizing the report.

If you're unsure of what you need to do, and where mistakes are in your entry of payroll liabilities/payments, I'd recommend working with an accounting professional. If you're in need of one, there's an awesome tool on our website called Find a ProAdvisor. All ProAdvisors listed there are QuickBooks-certified and able to provide helpful insights for driving your business's success.

We also have a great service available called Live Expert Assisted. This enables you to connect with experts who can provide guidance, answer questions, and show you how to do tasks in QuickBooks so you can stay organized and be ready for tax time.

I'll be here to help if there's any additional questions. Have a great Monday!

How do I verify that the opening balances for payroll liability accounts were accurately entered during the transition to QBO

I'd be happy to discuss you checking your opening balance for payroll liabilities, @AshleyJ.

To verify, you should compare the balances in the QuickBooks (QBO) chart of accounts with the balances where you migrated by checking the Opening Balance Equity. 

After that, I suggest checking the account in the Chart of Accounts to verify that there is an Opening balance present.

Here's how:

1. Navigate to Settings.
2. Choose Chart of Accounts under Your Company.
3. Verify if an Opening Balance is listed.

To understand how features and data move from QuickBooks Desktop (QBDT) to QuickBooks Online (QBO), please refer to this article: Features and data move from QuickBooks Desktop to QuickBooks Online.

Stay connected with the Community, and let us know if you need assistance. We'll be here to offer any help you might need. Stay safe!