How do I categorize fees paid to a payroll processing company? I recently hired 1st employee but CoA doesn't seem to include categories for any payroll processing.

Glad to have you here in the Community, @useramanda3.

The system automatically creates payroll accounts, and it's mapped by default to your payroll accounting preferences. To categorize fees paid to a payroll processing company depends on the setup of your account preferences in QuickBooks Online (QBO).

However, if you're unsure of the account to use, I'd recommend seeking assistance from your accountant. This way you'll be guided to choose the right account.

You can also check this link for reference: Payroll accounting preferences.

Let me know if you have other questions by leaving a comment below. I'm always here to help. Take care.

Right now QBO has nothing listed in CoA for payroll. So I don't know where to put wages either. Sounds like I need to solve that first and then all these individual issues will be resolved. However, when I click on the payroll accounting preferences link you shared it says go to settings, payroll settings, but those options do not appear. Do I need to be in accountant view to see them? In my business view when I click on the gear icon, under my company it has account and settings, but next page doesn't list payroll anywhere so I am at a lost as to how to create these account preferences.

Hello @useramanda3!

Thanks for the reply. I'm here to assist you in categorizing your payroll transactions.

When setting up the account, QuickBooks Online automatically customizes your Chart of Accounts based on your industry. It also creates payroll-related categories on your Chart of Accounts if you subscribed to our payroll service. Also, you're not seeing the Payroll settings since you don't have a payroll subscription with Intuit.

QuickBooks Online allows you to add accounts on your Chart of Accounts. That means you can set up the categories needed for your payroll entries. Please follow these steps:

1. Go to the Accounting menu and select Chart of Accounts.
2. Click the New button. Select an Account Type, Detail Type, and enter a Name.
3. Tap Save and close.

For your reference in setting up your Chart of Accounts, you can check this article: Learn about the chart of accounts in QuickBooks.

Once done, you can now use them in categorizing your payroll entries. If you're unsure how to set up the Chart of Accounts, it's best to seek some help from your accountant. They can assist you with it to ensure accuracy and organize data.

You can check this link: Manually enter payroll paychecks in QuickBooks Online. This will show you how to enter the payroll entries from another payroll provider into QuickBooks Online.

Leave a comment again if you have other concerns. I'll help you!