If the employee is filling in their personal information themselves in QuickBooks via workforce, does the employer still need a w4 and I9 filled out to keep on file?

Hello, I am also interested in having our employees fill out their own info. But it seems like if one employee doesn't have info completed, that I cant run payroll.  Have you run into that? What is the work around? Are your employees entering their own direct deposit info too? I appreciate any insight you can offer as non of our employee info transferred over from QB desktop to QB online.

Thanks for chiming in on this thread, @dbrower. I'm here to clarify things for you about how running Payroll in QuickBooks Online (QBO) works.

In QBO, you need to complete the company and employee setup before proceeding with payroll.

As a workaround, instead of having your employee fill out the forms, you can manually enter the needed info to complete the setup.

You'll want to read this article to learn more about the detailed steps involved in setting up your employees in QBO Payroll: Add your new employee to QuickBooks Payroll.

Once done setting it up, you can now process or run payroll in QBO seamlessly.

Keep us posted if you need anything else regarding Payroll in QBO. I'd be happy to lend you a hand. Have a wonderful day!

When we invite them to Workforce does it have them fill out an I-9?

Thanks for joining us here, @g-cody-weber.

I'll share some information about QuickBooks Workforce. When inviting employees to QuickBooks Workforce, they can also add their personal info. Thus, information that are needed in filing W-2s and I-9. This lets you save some time on chasing paper works and data entry.

To set up and invite a new employee:

1. Go to Payroll and then choose Employees.
2. Select Add an employee. Enter your employee's info including email address. This will automatically invite your employee to see their paystubs and W-2s. They'll get an email instructions to set up their Workforce account.
3. Click Done.

For existing employees, just click Invite to Workforce. When finished, click Send Invitations.

Want more details? Check out these guides:

•  Invite your employees to QuickBooks Workforce.
• What is an I-9 Form? Requirements and when to use it.

I'm also attaching this link about payroll. It has our general payroll topics with articles.

Let me know anytime below if you have other payroll questions or concerns. I'm more than happy to answer them for you. Have a good one.

I had my employees enter their own information via workforce. Do I still need to manually fill out a W4 and I9 for IRS purposes? Also, what about the state W4? Is this taken care of when they fill out their own information?

Hi there, @b_rush14.

Thanks for joining this thread. I'm happy to share additional information about W-4 and I-9 forms.

The Employee's Withholding Certificate (Form W-4) is vital to know how much income tax to withhold from your employees' wages. As soon as you have their new or updated W-4, you need to enter that info into your payroll product or invite them to enter their own. This way, their Federal Income Tax calculates according to their W-4. 

To view and download their Form W-4, follow these steps:

1. Head to the Payroll menu, then Employees.
2. Select your employee.
3. Go to the Documents tab.
4. Click the View link to open the form and then print the form.

The Employment Eligibility Verification (Form I-9) is used to verify the identity and employment authorization of any person hired in the United States. It is the employer’s responsibility to retain a completed copy of the form for every person who is on their payroll. You can also refer to this article for additional information and a detailed steps to fill out I-9: What is an I-9 Form?.

These forms help clue the IRS into your business’ finances and tax obligations. These serve as supporting payroll records for your employees’ tax responsibilities.

Keep in touch with me here should you have any additional questions or concerns. I'm always available to help.

the question still isn't really answered.  Can an employee complete their I-9 online, upload their documents, and then the employer review the form the documents, complete the employer side of the form via electronic signature and this be kept in Quickbooks without having to print anything?  

Good evening, @bcb4k. 

Thanks for chiming in on this thread. 

Individuals were temporarily exempt from the physical inspection of the Employment Eligibility Verification Form I-9. This temporary policy ended on July 31, 2023. A new policy has been enacted beginning on August 1, 2023.

For more details, check out this guide: Learn about recent changes for remotely verifying Form I-9. 

I hope this helps. Don't hesitate to come back if you have any other questions. 

Hello Candice, thanks for the information but this still doesn't answer my very specific process question, of whether or not they can enter the basic information on the I-9 electronically in Workforce.  I know I will still have to physically inspect the employee's ID documents; however, I just wanted to know if I could then electronically certify that I inspected them and sign off.

Thanks again,

Good day, bcb4k. I'd like to join you here and offer my help with your questions about managing employees in QBO.

Yes, employees can enter their I-9 details like name, address, etc. directly into QuickBooks Workforce for electronic completion. This allows the employee section to be filled out online.

As the employer, you can also complete the certification process digitally in QuickBooks Workforce without having to print forms. It stores completed I-9s electronically.

However, I'd still recommend maintaining hard copy I-9 records outside of QuickBooks Workforce as well. And here are some general I-9 best practices:

1. Keeping and filing all I-9 forms and making copies of all employee documentation for each employee.
2. Keeping I-9s and document copies for at least three years after the employee’s hire date or one year after the employee’s termination date.
3. Keeping I-9s and I-9 documents separate from personnel files so that you can access them easily in the event of an ICE audit.
4. Being prepared to produce all I-9 and I-9 documents within 72 hours of an ICE request.
5. Conducting an internal I-9 audit annually to find any I-9 documents that are expiring and need updating or destroying. You don’t need to keep I-9s and documentation longer than required.

While QuickBooks Workforce does allow digital I-9 completion, having traditional paper copies and following I-9 compliance best practices is advised. 

Let me also share these articles for additional resources when managing employees in QBO:

• Set Up Your Employee That Isn’t A U.S. Citizen
• Edit Or Change Employee Info In Payroll

Let me know if you need help with any other employee management tasks in QuickBooks Online, bcb4k. The Community forum is always here to assist with QBO Payroll questions.