Quickbooks desktop 2021 payroll sick pay on paystubs

Hello there, @Susan T8.

Allow me to share some information about your concern about printing sick pay paystubs in QuickBooks Desktop Payroll.

There are multiple reasons you might have trouble printing your paystub from QuickBooks Desktop. Here are some solutions to the most common issues.

Before you start make sure:

• You update QuickBooks to the latest release. 
• Your computer is connected to the printer.
• You have the latest printer driver installed.
• There are no error messages or warning lights on your printer.

Solution 1: Print from another program.

Let’s make sure you can print from any program. In these steps, we’ll use Notepad. You can try to print from any program you have, as long as it's not QuickBooks.

1. Select Start and browse to Notepad.
2. Enter some text and go to File, then select Print.
3. Select the correct printer and select Print.

If it didn’t print, go to Solution 2.

If the other program did print successfully, go to Solution 3.

Solution 2: Test the printer setup

Use these steps to test your printer’s setup.

Step 1: Make sure the printer is set up correctly.

1. Turn off the printer, restart your computer, and then turn the printer back on.
2. Make sure you load the printer paper correctly.
3. Select Start, select Control Panel, then double-click Printers and Faxes.
4. If the printer shows Offline, right-click the printer and select Use Printer Online.
5. Double-click the printer and if there are print jobs displayed in the queue, select Printer, then Cancel All Documents.
6. Close the window.
7. Right-click the printer, select Properties, and then select Print Test Page.
8. Note: If the printer is a network printer and the test page doesn't print, network issues could be the cause.

Step 2: Make sure the printer is the right one

1. In QuickBooks, go to the File menu and select Printer Setup.
2. Select the form you want to print.
3. Make sure the printer name matches the exact name of the printer you want to use. If not, you’ll need to correct the setup within your computer’s Printer Setup first.
4. Select Help in this area for more help on these settings.

Step 3: Print to a different printer

1. In QuickBooks, go to File, then select Printer Setup.
2. Select the form you want to print.
3. Select a different printer, like the Microsoft XP printer.
4. Select Help in this area for more help with these settings.

Solution 3: Test your company file and QuickBooks installation.

Test your company file.

• Print a different form or, if you’re using customized forms or memorized reports, try a standard form or report.
• If you were printing a batch of forms in QuickBooks, try to print a single form. If successful, try to print smaller batches.
• Open one of the QuickBooks sample company files and try to print the same type of form or report. If it works, use Resolve data damage on your company file to resolve any data damage in your file and then try to print again.

If you still can’t print from a sample file, go to Solution 4.

Solution 4: Run the Print and PDF tool from the QuickBooks Tool Hub

 If you still can’t print, Re-install QuickBooks for Windows.

You can also check this article to learn how to invite your employees through QuickBooks Desktop Payroll to see and print their own pay stubs and W-2s online also, how to see and print your pay stubs online or in the Workforce mobile app. You can also see your time off balances and year-to-date pay.

• Invite your employees to QuickBooks Workforce to see pay stubs and W-2s if you use QuickBooks Deskto...
• View your pay stubs, time off, and year-to-date pay in QuickBooks Workforce

Please know that I'm here to assist you with printing your sick pay paystubs in QuickBooks Desktop Payroll. Don't hesitate to ask if you need further help. Stay safe! 

Could you please reread my question?  Your response doesn't answer what I was asking about.

Susan

It's important to include all necessary details in employees' pay stubs to maintain transparency in records, @Susan T8. I'm here to ensure you can successfully do this.

Both negative and zero balances will show when you print or preview your paystubs in QuickBooks Desktop. Since this issue occurred on your end, we can troubleshoot this. 

Firstly, you can use the steps provided by my colleague, @Shania_C, to check if this is a printing issue.

After that, if the issue persists, let's troubleshoot this matter further by following the steps I'll provide.

1.  Restart and reset your temp folder permissions.
2. Create a new template or form.
3. Update the Print Spooler service properties.
4. Reconcile window disappears or doesn't show.
5. Test, reinstall, and adjust permission for XPS Document Writer.

For more detailed instructions, please refer to this article: Fix PDF and Print problems with QuickBooks Desktop.

If you want to gain access to your business finances and information about your employees, you can visit this article for guidance: Run payroll reports.

If you have any additional inquiries regarding why employees with zero or negative balances do not appear on their printed paystubs, please don't hesitate to reach out to us by leaving a comment below. The Community space is always available to assist you.

Were you ever able to get this issue resolved? We are experiencing the exact same problem, and I’m getting nowhere with QuickBooks support. This is a wage‑statement violation, so it needs to be corrected as soon as possible. I’m hoping you might know what the fix was on your end.

Hello @MarBi2026. To ensure we provide the most effective troubleshooting for your paystub printing issue in QuickBooks Desktop, we would like to ask a few clarifying questions.

First, could you tell us which version of QuickBooks Desktop you are using? Also, have you already attempted the troubleshooting steps previously suggested by my colleagues?

If you are using version 2023 or older, please note that these versions are now discontinued. As a result, they no longer receive the updates or security patches required to fix current printing errors or software bugs. For more details, please refer to this article: QuickBooks Desktop service discontinuation policy.

Moreover, you'll want to verify the Sick/Vacation setup in the employee’s profile. If the accrual logic is partially disabled or hitting a reset trigger, QuickBooks may hide the balance from the stub to clean up the document.

To check this, go to the Edit and then Preference, select Payroll & Employees, and then Sick & Vacation. Ensure the Do not accrue sick/vacation box is unchecked. If this box is selected, QuickBooks considers the benefit inactive and suppresses the entire line on the paystub.

Re-trigger the Show available sick time on paystub option in the Sick/Vacation window. This refreshes the employee's metadata and forces the paystub generator to recognize the requirement for the next check.

Refreshing this toggle transitions you from a failing global setting to a verified, per-employee configuration. This ensures payroll transparency and maintains compliance with labor laws that require sick pay to be visible on every stub.

If the issue persists, we recommend reaching out to our Support Team. For support availability, please see this page: Get help with QuickBooks products and services.

Feel free to click the Reply button if you have other questions about the program.

Hi Kurt, thanks for your message. We’re using QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise Diamond. We’ve called in several times about this issue, and each support rep has walked through our setup to confirm everything is configured correctly.

We don’t use an accrual method since we front‑load the full 40 hours at the beginning of each year. In the Employee Center under Payroll Info and then Sick/Vacation, we do not have a checkbox for “Do not accrue sick/vacation.” The only place we see that option is under Edit, Preferences, Payroll & Employees, Sick & Vacation, where it states, “Do not accrue employee sick and vacation hours for sick and vacation hours paid.”

This is where I’m a little confused. Since we don’t want hours to accrue (because we front‑load them), I’m not sure why we would need to make sure the “Do not accrue” box is unchecked. Our intention is specifically to prevent accrual.

I did go ahead and re‑trigger the “Show available sick time on paystub” option as you suggested. We’ll see if that refresh helps once we run our next payroll, since there’s no way to confirm until then.

Just so you know, this is how we have our sick setup under Employee Center, Sick/Vacation: Hours available: 40.00 Accrual period: Beginning of year Hours accrued at the beginning of year: 40.00 Reset hours each new year: Checked Reset date: January 1

Hi Kurt, thanks for your message. We’re using QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise Diamond. We’ve called in several times about this issue, and each support rep has walked through our setup to confirm everything is configured correctly.

We don’t use an accrual method since we front‑load the full 40 hours at the beginning of each year. In the Employee Center under Payroll Info and then Sick/Vacation, we do not have a checkbox for “Do not accrue sick/vacation.” The only place we see that option is under Edit, Preferences, Payroll & Employees, Sick & Vacation, where it states, “Do not accrue employee sick and vacation hours for sick and vacation hours paid.”

This is where I’m a little confused. Since we don’t want hours to accrue (because we front‑load them), I’m not sure why we would need to make sure the “Do not accrue” box is unchecked. Our intention is specifically to prevent accrual.

I did go ahead and re‑trigger the “Show available sick time on paystub” option as you suggested. We’ll see if that refresh helps once we run our next payroll, since there’s no way to confirm until then.

Just so you know, this is how we have our sick setup under Employee Center, Sick/Vacation: Hours available: 40.00 Accrual period: Beginning of year Hours accrued at the beginning of year: 40.00 Reset hours each new year: Checked Reset date: January 1