Entering in employee payroll in the QB program without using the payroll service

Critter-3 · ‎November 23, 2021

I have been using the downloaded 2017 QB account version with has a place to enter employee wages and pay payroll liabilities and it works well on my laptop. I had the reinstall the program on the comp at the office and that section is no longer there ... instead there is only the option to activate the payroll for a monthly fee which I do NOT want to pay. How can I get the old option back ? And why is that not an option on the 2022 QB version ?

Catherine_B · ‎November 23, 2021

I can show you how to set up and use payroll without a subscription, Critter-3.

If you'd like to do your payroll manually, you can track it in QuickBooks Desktop. Then, you'll need to calculate and enter payroll taxes and file your tax forms yourself.

To start, let's make sure to update your version of QuickBooks so you get the latest fixes and improvements. You can follow these steps on how to turn on manual payroll without subscription:

Click the Edit menu and select Preferences.
From the left menu, click Payroll & Employees.
Select Full Payroll and check the Manual Payroll box.
Click Next and then Activate.
Select OK to apply the changes and then OK to exit out of the preferences window.

Once done, you can now create the manual payroll. Let me walk you through the steps:

Click Help at the top, and then select QuickBooks Help (or press F1 on your keyboard).
In the Search field, type manual payroll and press Enter on your keyboard.
Select the topic Calculate payroll manually (without a subscription to QuickBooks Payroll).
Under Set your company file to use the manual payroll calculations setting, click the manual payroll calculations link.
Select Set my company file to use manual calculations link. When your company file is set up for manual payroll computation, QuickBooks inserts a zero amount for each payroll item associated with a tax.
Close and reopen QuickBooks Desktop.

You can also see this article to learn more about QuickBooks Desktop (QBDT) payroll: Get started with Payroll.

You’re always welcome to post in the Community if you have other questions about payroll in your QBDT software. Take care!

View solution in original post

Catherine_B · ‎November 23, 2021

I can show you how to set up and use payroll without a subscription, Critter-3.

If you'd like to do your payroll manually, you can track it in QuickBooks Desktop. Then, you'll need to calculate and enter payroll taxes and file your tax forms yourself.

To start, let's make sure to update your version of QuickBooks so you get the latest fixes and improvements. You can follow these steps on how to turn on manual payroll without subscription:

Click the Edit menu and select Preferences.
From the left menu, click Payroll & Employees.
Select Full Payroll and check the Manual Payroll box.
Click Next and then Activate.
Select OK to apply the changes and then OK to exit out of the preferences window.

Once done, you can now create the manual payroll. Let me walk you through the steps:

Click Help at the top, and then select QuickBooks Help (or press F1 on your keyboard).
In the Search field, type manual payroll and press Enter on your keyboard.
Select the topic Calculate payroll manually (without a subscription to QuickBooks Payroll).
Under Set your company file to use the manual payroll calculations setting, click the manual payroll calculations link.
Select Set my company file to use manual calculations link. When your company file is set up for manual payroll computation, QuickBooks inserts a zero amount for each payroll item associated with a tax.
Close and reopen QuickBooks Desktop.

You can also see this article to learn more about QuickBooks Desktop (QBDT) payroll: Get started with Payroll.

You’re always welcome to post in the Community if you have other questions about payroll in your QBDT software. Take care!

Critter-3 · ‎November 23, 2021

Thanks ... it took 7 hours and 4 people on the QB chat/phone to finally get the same bloody answer ... they don't make it easy to find. In fact they try to steer you to the paid payroll add on which I had to keep insisting I did not need or want for ATF payroll entries on client bookkeeping. Even the method you wrote took me down that path ... I found that section myself but did not get far enough to make the manual election.

Happy Holidays

cwhite1955 · ‎September 04, 2024

the quickbooks system will not allow me to mark manual taxes. Please advise.

cwhite1955 · ‎September 04, 2024

Please advise the fix for this. I am sick of Intuit ridiculous fees.

GlinetteC · ‎September 04, 2024

I appreciate you updating this conversation, cwhite. Let me offer some steps to help fix the issue.

To ensure you have the most current features and accurate calculations, please update your QuickBooks to the latest version. Additionally, ensure to update your payroll tax table to the latest version. This will help you stay compliant with the latest tax regulations and avoid potential issues.

To update QuickBooks:

Open QuickBooks and go to the Help menu.
Select Update QuickBooks Desktop.
Click on the Update Now tab.
Select Get Updates to start the download.
Once the download is complete, restart QuickBooks and install the updates.

To update the Payroll Tax Table:

Go to the Employees menu.
Select Get Payroll Updates.
Click on Download Entire Update.

Once the update is complete, we can proceed with configuring your manual payroll, enabling you to mark your taxes manually. Here's how:

From the Edit dropdown menu, select Preferences.
Pick Payroll & Employees, then tap the Company Preferences tab.
In the QuickBooks Desktop Payroll Features section, choose the Full payroll and the Manual Payroll checkboxes.
In the Get payday peace of mind window, click Next and then Activate in the confirmation screen.
Hit OK to apply the changes.
Select OK to exit out of the preferences window.

Or you could have an active payroll subscription, which is likely why the option to mark manual taxes isn't available to you.

If you have verified that there is no active payroll and the manual tax option remains unavailable, I suggest contacting our Payroll support team. They can examine your account more thoroughly and offer you an alternative solution to resolve the issue.

If you have any additional questions or concerns regarding marking your taxes manually, add them in the comments below. I'm just a few clicks away to assist.

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Entering in employee payroll in the QB program without using the payroll service