Does QB 2015 support Manual Payroll?

Greetings, @mannyj.

Let me be the first to welcome you to the Community. I’m here to provide some insight regarding manual payroll. 

Yes, you can use manual payroll even with an outdated version of QuickBooks. The good thing about this is that it doesn’t need any internet connection to get started. 

Follow the steps shared by @QwltrActnt to set it up. 

That should answer your concern for today.

Leave a comment below if you have any other questions, I’m always here to help. Wishing you the best!
 

THIS IS NOT WORKING!!!!! WHAT TO DO NOW?

Hello there, TLY.

I can help you with setting up manual payroll. I'd like to know which part of the process isn't working or you're having a problem with. If you followed all the steps provided by my colleagues, and still not able to set up manual payroll, I'd suggest reaching out to our Customer Support team to further assist you.

Here's how to get our contact information:

1. Go to the Help menu or press F1 on your keyboard.
2. Click Contact us.
3. Give a brief description of your concern and click Continue.
4. Choose either Get a callback or Start messaging.

Feel free to post again here if you have other questions.

MaryGrace,

Do you know if this method also works with the Canadian version? (I'm using QuickBooks Desktop Pro 2019 Canadian version.) I can't see why it wouldn't, but ...

Thanks in advance,

Doreen

Dear all,

I have been trying to set up manual payroll in my QuickBooks Desktop Pro 2019 (Canadian) since finding this thread in the Community, with no success. I have tried adding the 2 lines ([SELPHELPPLUGIN] and Enabled=0) in the qbw file. I also tried adding them after changing my internet setting to Wifi Off, Airplane Mode, etc. I tried restarting my computer after adding it.

After every attempt, when looking at my Preferences > Payroll & Employees > Company Preferences, under QuickBooks Desktop Payroll Features the radio button "No payroll" is clicked. It and the "Full payroll" button are greyed out, so that I can't change the setting. 

Can anyone suggest what else I might I need to do to be able to access the radio button to turn on "Full Payroll"?

Thanks in advance.

Doreen

Hello there, @MR_3.

This happens when you have an existing service key on your company file. To completely change the settings on your QuickBooks Desktop (QBDT) company file, you may need to remove the service key on your file first. I'm here to help guide you how.

1. Click on Employees at the top menu bar.
2. Select My Payroll Service.
3. In the QuickBooks Service Keys window, go to the Service Name column and select to highlight the payroll subscription.
4. Select Remove or press Alt + 0 (zero) on your keyboard.
5. Select Yes to confirm that you are removing the service key.

In addition, you may also check our help articles for your future reference: Help Articles for QuickBooks Desktop.

As always, please don't hesitate to add a post/comment below if you have any QuickBooks or payroll concerns, I'll be always here to help you. Have a great day ahead!

Thanks for the reply.

Mine is a brand new (2 weeks) program purchase. I hadn't used QuickBooks for about 12 years previously, so I shouldn't have any existing Service Keys left. I didn't sign up for Payroll services when I installed the program.

I clicked Employees > Payroll > Enter Payroll Service Key. The Service Key field is empty. When I try Alt+0, nothing happens. The window appears to want me to call an agent and get a Service Key, which I assume would happen if I paid for Payroll Services. We have a 2-owner company with no employees, so THAT'S not happening, lol.

Could this be happening because I said that we had no employees, when I was using the Setup Wizard (I know that's not the right name, but the series of questions in the Advanced Setup). QB did accept my husband as an "employee" because I use time sheets for work he does as a contractor. 

About ready to say bad words!!

Doreen

Hello again, MR_3,

I appreciate your prompt response and for providing additional information.

To properly check and investigate this issue with setting up payroll without subscription in QuickBooks Desktop, I recommend contacting our Customer Care Team. They have additional tools to pull up your account and provide additional troubleshooting steps.

To contact us, here's how:

1. Click Help at the top menu and select QuickBooks Desktop Help.
2. In the Have a Question? window, click Contact us.
3. Enter the details of your concern and click Continue.
4. Choose how you want to reach them and enter the needed information.​

Stay in touch with me if there's anything else you need help with, I'm always here to further assist.

Just an FYI for everyone looking at this issue: the ability to turn on manual payroll DOES NOT CURRENTLY EXIST IN THE CANADIAN VERSION of QuickBooks Desktop Pro. I have just gotten off the phone with the Canadian Help Line. The lady I spoke to spoke to her supervisor, and that is the answer they came back with. The best they could do was offer me a month free payroll service, but they don't know when the techs will have the answer to letting Canadian users go with a manual payroll system.

So, if there are any Canadian users out there who have figured out how to set up the necessary steps to do their payroll manually (ie. accounts to debit and credit), I'd really appreciate hearing from you.

I am SOOO frustrated right now! 

Doreen

is there a way to do this for the online version?

Good to see you in the Community, paulh1996.

The Manual Payroll feature is only applicable in QuickBooks Desktop. As a workaround, you can manually calculate the paychecks using our Free Paycheck Calculator. 

To record this on QuickBooks, you can use the journal entry. Refer to this article as your guide: Record payroll transactions manually.

I'm always here if you need additional help about payroll. Have a great one!

Thank you. I found this and am trying to follow the process with our Canadian source deductions.

Hello mistygilbert,

Let's follow the steps provided by my colleague @SophiaAnnL so you'll be able to run manual payroll. Make sure that your computer is not connected to the internet before setting up.

Here's how:

1. Click Edit, then Preferences.
2. Click Payroll & Employees, then Company Preferences tab.
3. Click the Full payroll radio-button under QuickBooks Desktop Payroll Features.
4. Click OK.

Once done, you'll want to set up your company file to use the manual payroll calculations.

1. Click Help, then QuickBooks Desktop Help (F1).
2. Type "manual payroll" in the Search field, then hit Enter on your keyboard.
3. Select the Calculate payroll taxes manually (without a subscription to QuickBooks Payroll) topic.
4. Click the manual payroll calculations link under Set your company file to use the manual payroll calculations setting.
5. Click the Set my company file to use manual calculations link.
6. Click OK when prompted.
7. Close and re-open QuickBooks Desktop.

I've also added this article for future reference: Customize payroll and employee reports.

Please know that you can always post anytime if you have additional questions. Feel free to swing by anytime.

Hi,

The option for full payroll is greyed out. No Payroll is selected but also greyed out. I am using Desktop premier 2019.

Thanks

Good day, @lori12.

For Full Payroll subscriptions, you need to update QuickBooks Desktop, revalidate the service key, and enable it under Preferences. 

Outdated QuickBooks software is most likely the reason behind the grayed out option. Let’s download the most recent release by following the steps below:

1. Go to Help and choose Update QuickBooks.
2. In the Update QuickBooks window, click the Update Now tab. 
3. Select the Reset Updates checkbox before clicking the Get Updates button.
4. Hit OK to confirm the reset, then restart QuickBooks.

When the Update Service message appears, click the Install Now button. The update should install successfully. 

Right after, revalidate the service key. Here’s how:

1. From the Employees menu, select My Payroll Service.
2. Select Manage Service Key.
3. Click the Edit button and verify your Payroll Service Key.
4. Choose Next and remove the check-mark for Open Payroll Setup – I want to start right.
5. Hit Finish. Wait for QuickBooks to finish downloading the latest tax table.

Now, go to the Preferences menu and select Edit. Choose Payroll & Employees from the left navigation, and click the Company Preferences tab, then select Full payroll. Save the setting by hitting OK.

Check out this article for more information: Set Preferences for Payroll.

Please let me know if you have any other questions or need more assistance. I’m always here to help. Take care!

I do not have a subscription for payroll with QuickBooks. And the question originally asked was for how to set up manual payroll. How do I do that? Is that not available in 2019?

I've read your original post, lori12.

The manual payroll feature is available in QuickBooks Desktop 2019. However, we have an ongoing issue about this and our engineers are working on a permanent fix.

I recommend reaching out to our Payroll Support Team so you'll be added to the list of affected users. Know that I'll also update you once this issue is resolved.

Here's how to reach them:

1. Open QuickBooks Desktop.
2. Go Help and choose Support.
3. Under Additional resources, click on Contact us.
4. Select either Get Phone Number or Start a Message.

Just in case, I'm linking some of our great resources to be more familiar with payroll in QuickBooks Desktop:

• Payroll 101
• How QuickBooks calculates payroll taxes
• Find wage bases and limits (2015-2019)

Let me know if you have any other concerns. I'll be here to help. Have a great day.

Well I spoke to the payroll support and apparently its not available in Canada, only the US.  That makes me angry.

HI,

We have the premier contractor edition, but we are not able to change the settings under the Company Preferences. Any ideas?

Good day, PedroYYC.

You'll want to perform the steps shared in this thread to resolve this. We can edit your QBW.ini file to turn on the manual payroll in QuickBooks Desktop. These are the steps to follow:

1. Close first your QuickBooks Desktop.
2. Locate the QBW.ini file in this folder location: ProgramData/Intuit/QuickBooks[version].
3. Double-click it to open. 
4. Scroll down to the bottom and add this entry:
   • [SELFHELPPLUGIN]
     Enabled=0
5. Save and close it. Open your QuickBooks and enable manual payroll again.
6. Close your QuickBooks and edit the QBW.ini file again to remove those codes.
7. Save it and open your QuickBooks.

Once done, let's check if you can now use the manual payroll feature. 

In addition, we can ask an additional assistance from our Customer Support Team if the same thing happens. You'll be added on the list of affected users which will help our developers resolve this issue as soon as possible.

1. Go to Help menu and select QuickBooks Desktop Help.
2. Click on Contact us. Enter Manual Payroll in the description field.
3. Choose either Start a message or Get a callback.

You know where to go if you have more questions. Have a great day!