Employees with identical names

Hello there, Upasini. I appreciate you taking the time to perform some workarounds to have your new employee added to QuickBooks Online (QBO) Payroll. 

As I have replicated here on my end, I was able to add the same employee name. However, to ensure you won't get the error message when adding an identical name, I suggest making sure they have different middle initials. See the images below for visual reference:









Moreover, adding a number to your employee's name could also be a workaround. If you don't want to have the number included in their printed paycheck, you can have their personal information edited before running their payroll. Here's how:
 

1. In your QBO account, go to the Payroll tab, then select Employees.
2. Locate and select the employee you want to edit.
3. On the Employee List page, click on the Edit button in the Personal info section.
   
   
    
4. Remove the number in their name. 
5. Once ready, click on Save.
   
   

For detailed steps, kindly visit: Edit or change employee info in payroll.
 

On the other hand, if you're still unable to add your new employee and get the same error, I recommend using a different browser or opening a private window. 

If you can finally add your employee with the added name extension, it's safe to say that the browser has caused it. This can be fixed by clearing your cache and cookies. This helps refresh website preferences that might be causing problems when you use QuickBooks.

Additionally, I'll share this article with you to learn how to set up and schedule your payroll to run automatically in QuickBooks: Set up and manage your Auto Payroll in QuickBooks Online Payroll.
 

Don't hesitate to leave a reply if you require further assistance with adding your employees to QuickBooks. I'm always here to help anytime. Have a good one!

Thanks for this workaround. I felt that its not practical to change the employee name every time we run payroll. So I preferred the other solution offered by a community member i.e. to add a full stop after the last name. That should not be an issue when we print a check, and requires no further intervention. You do have to look a little carefully while choosing the name but it works. I just ran a payroll with that workaround

Thanks again for the detailed response. I learnt a lot from it.

Warm regards

Upasini

Thanks Lori, this was a super helpful workaround!

Hello Lori,

I have reviewed the workaround you’ve shared and it's correct and accurate. Thank you for sharing your inputs to help address the issue.

We love to see members supporting one another! Have a great day.