How do you record Payroll & Print Checks in Quickbooks Desktop Pro 2020?

I've got you covered, @tdcli.

In QuickBooks Desktop (QBDT), you can record your payroll manually without a payroll service subscription. I'd be happy to guide you through the steps on how to set it up. 

To start, please make sure that your internet connection is offline or not connected to your computer. Then, proceed with the steps below to set up your company preferences for payroll:

1. Go to the Edit menu, then select Preferences.
2. Select Payroll & Employees from the left menu, then go to the Company Preferences tab.
3. In the QuickBooks Desktop Payroll Features section, select the Full Payroll radio button.
4. Click OK.

Once it's set, you can now create the manual payroll in QBDT. Here's how:

1. Go to the Help menu, then select QuickBooks Help.
2. Search for manual payroll and press Enter on your keyboard.
3. Select the topic Calculate payroll manually (without a subscription to QuickBooks Payroll).
4. Under Set your company file to use the manual payroll calculations setting, click the manual payroll calculations link.
5. 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.
6. Close and reopen QuickBooks Desktop.

With the steps, you don't have to write a check. Thus it's already included in the process.

Most importantly, I recommend seeking help from your accountant for more guidance on creating payroll manually in QBDT. If you don't have an accountant, you can find one using this link.

The Community forum is always open to help you again if you need further assistance creating manual payroll in QBDT. Have a good one.

Thank you for your help! May I ask if you have to set up manual payroll to record a payroll check in Quickbooks? Right now I have a separate excel spreadsheet with all the deductions, but I'd like to record payroll checks issued before I took over the position. Thanks again for your help!

You can record historical paychecks with or without manual payroll setup but you might end up with duplicate deduction categories.

When you write a payroll check either concurrent with payroll or as a historical transaction you are recording just a net check payment. Behind the scenes you must post Gross Payroll and Employee deductions for taxes.   Running payroll will also post the Employer liabilities that are due so that you can be timely in submitting these

Thank you for you help!

Why do you have to disconnect your internet service when doing manual payroll.

Why do you need to disconnect you internet for manual payroll.

Welcome to the Community page, @PS2022. I’ll share some insights on why the internet connection should be turned off while doing manual payroll.

For some reason, in QuickBooks Desktop, when you record your payroll manually or if you don’t have a payroll service subscription. You’ll have to disconnect the internet connection for the option to function seamlessly.

Disconnecting your internet connection while manually recording is fine, as you won't need to enter a Direct Deposit. Otherwise, if you're using an online feature that requires internet access. Then, you'll have to connect your internet connection again. 

Also, if you have a payroll that wants to enter manually, you can follow the steps provided by my colleague above, Mark_R. That should enable you to track it in QuickBooks Desktop (QBDT).

In addition, when doing your payroll manually. Just a reminder that you'll calculate, enter payroll taxes, and file your tax forms yourself.

You might want to check out this article about QuickBooks Desktop system requirements for the best experience: System requirements for QuickBooks Desktop 2022

If you have further questions regarding payroll, don't hesitate to get back and post that here on the page. Stay safe!