payroll manual entry

You've come to the right place for help, @ytmike.

I can offer some information so you can still enter manual payroll even if you don't have a payroll subscription.

Using the new QuickBooks version's Help option, you can manually enter payroll. Here's how to go about it:

1. Open the Help menu. Then, select QuickBooks Desktop Help.
2. From the search field, enter Manual Payroll and hit Enter.
3. Hit the Calculate payroll taxes manually (without a subscription to QuickBooks Desktop Payroll) link. 
4. From the Set your company file to use the manual payroll calculations setting section, hit the manual payroll calculations link.
5. Hit the Set my company file to use manual calculations link.

Please feel free to read this article to manage your legal information in QBDT Payroll: Update your business name and address for QuickBooks Desktop Payroll.

Comment back on this thread if you have other concerns with QuickBooks and payroll. I'm always willing to help. Have a good one!

that will not work in Premier 2022 addition.

Thanks for getting back with the Community, ytmike.
 

You can use journal entries to manually enter payroll details. First you'll want to make sure you have each of your accounts set up to track expenses.
 

Here's how:

1. In the top menu bar, go to Lists.
2. Choose Chart of Accounts.
3. Click your Account drop-down arrow.
4. Hit New.
5. Enter the accounts details.
   
6. Select Save & Close.

You can repeat these steps to create each income, deduction, contribution, and liability account.
 

Now you'll be able to create journal entries to record your payroll information. When doing so, I'd recommend working with an accounting professional. They'll be able to help you confirm it's being entered properly. If you're in need of one, there's an awesome tool on our website called Find an Accountant. All ProAdvisors listed there are QuickBooks-certified and able to provide helpful insights for driving your business's success.
 

I'll be here to help if there's any questions. Enjoy the rest of your day!

I have QB desktop pro 2021

And only have one employee 

I tried your directions for manual payroll calculations

And it doesn't show Calculate payroll taxes manually (without a subscription to QuickBooks Desktop Payroll) link. Can you help me

Thank you lisa

I tried using the info below to enter payroll manually

When I got to this part  my screen did not show this choice

I have aN desktop pro 2021

Calculate payroll taxes manually (without a subscription to QuickBooks Desktop Payroll) link. 

Any help you can give would be most appreciated

Thank you splashaadr

Let me chime in and provide some info about processing manual payroll in QuickBooks, @Splashaadr.

Before you can manually run payroll in QuickBooks Desktop, you need to enable payroll inside your company settings. In addition to that, be sure to update your version of QuickBooks so you get the latest fixes and improvements.

To set up manual payroll, here's what you need to do:

1. Go to the Edit menu, choose Preferences.
2. Select Payroll & Employees, then click the Company Preferences tab.
3. In the QuickBooks Desktop Payroll Features section, choose the Full payroll and the Manual Payroll checkboxes.
   
   
4. In the Get payday peace of mind window, click Next and then Activate in the confirmation screen.
5. Choose OK to apply the changes.
6. Lastly, select OK to exit out of the preferences window.

Once done, you can already run your payroll manually. For detailed steps, please follow the steps provided by Mich_S. 

For future reference, let me share the link to our self-help articles. These resources will guide you on how to perform any payroll activities in QuickBooks: Payroll guide.

That should do it! Please know that you're always welcome to post if you have additional questions about running manual payroll. I'm always here to help you out. Have a good one. 

Hi, I followed these steps to activate full payroll with the manual payroll box checked, but I still don't see "Calculate payroll taxes manually (without a subscription to QuickBooks Desktop Payroll)" in the Help menu under "Manual Payroll." I also tried just typing in "Calculate payroll taxes manually" but did not see any entry relating to doing that. 

Thank you for any assistance! 

Hi there, @jquinn. 

Thanks for taking the time to follow along with the thread and sharing your concerns in the QuickBooks Community. I'm happy to add additional information about activating manual payroll in QuickBooks Desktop. 

I wanted to mention that once you've activated manual payroll in the preferences, you will not need to go through the help menu. The help menu is just another way of activating it. However, before you set up manual payroll, be sure to update your version of QuickBooks so you get the latest fixes and improvements.

You can learn additional information about activating manual payroll in Set up manual payroll without a subscription in QuickBooks Desktop. 

If you're continuing to have issues, please know that you can reach out to our Support Team at anytime. This way, an agent can use their tools to securely screen share with you, and help get your manual payroll activated. 

Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns. Take care! 

I am trying to follow the steps, but the help bottom won’t give me anything

There could be an issue with your display settings in QuickBooks, Lucky404020.

That's why the Help button won't work. To fix this, you can change the display and view preferences in QuickBooks.

Change display settings in QuickBooks:

1. Close QuickBooks Desktop.
2. Open the Windows Start menu.
3. Type "QuickBooks" into the search. Then, right-click the QuickBooks icon and select Open file location.
4. From the folder, right-click the QuickBooks.exe file and select Properties.
5. Go to the Compatibility tab.
6. Select the Disable display scaling on high DPI settings checkbox. You can also select Change high DPI settings and then Override high DPI scaling behavior.
7. Click Apply and then OK.
8. Open QuickBooks and look for display issues.

Adjust your view preferences in QuickBooks:

1. In QuickBooks, go to the Edit menu and select Preferences.
2. Select Desktop View from the list and then the My Preferences tab.
3. In the View section, select the One Window option, then click OK.

You can also change the display settings on your Windows. Check out this link for the steps: Learn what to do if you see font, sizing, or other display issues.

If you're still unable to contact us through Help, I recommend initiating a call. Please browse this link, Contact QuickBooks Desktop support, then go to the Need help getting in touch? section to get the phone number.

Let me know if you need additional concerns about this by commenting below. I'll be right here to provide the information that you need.

This is a very simple setup process to do your payroll manually with the new versions of Quickbooks online.

1. Go to Edit
2. Go to Payroll
3. Go to Company Preferences
4. Click "Manual Payroll" button
5. Hit okay and you are done.

Now, when you go to payroll, the section 'pay employees' goes right to where you need to enter the calculations you have done manually. Just click on the 'details' and you are ready to go.

Sorry, I had not seen your reply before I wrote my quick steps for manual payroll setup. Nice job on your post! :-) 

I am trying to do the manual payroll using the above listed steps but I have not seen an edit button anywhere.  Where is it?   I  have the Quickbooks Online Version.

Thanks

Your confusion ends here, @SSUD.

Allow me to fill you in on everything you need to know about processing manual payroll in QuickBooks Online (QBO).

The steps provided by my colleagues above are for the QuickBooks Desktop (QBDT) version. Please know that QBO and QBDT are separate programs with different functionality. Thus, the manual payroll feature is only available in QBDT. In QBO, you'll have to create a journal entry to record manual payroll. For more guidance, feel free to check out this article: Manually enter payroll paychecks in QuickBooks Online.

Moreover, you might want to subscribe to QuickBooks Online Payroll. This will help you process payroll without creating journal entries. Once you're ready, you can read this article to learn how to set it up: Get started with QuickBooks Online Payroll.

Our doors are always open to help you again if you have any other concerns or follow-up questions about processing payroll in QBO. Wishing you all the best, @SSUD.

I noticed that step 1 states to choose Quickbooks Desktop Help.  Do you have any instructions on how to do manual payroll in Quickbooks Online?  I thought that was the original question.

The help menu isnt working now. It just gives you a box apologizing for not being there to help. Actually I'd rather just have a help guide attached to the program. QB help might be the worst on the internet.

I have QB Pro 2020.  Will this procedure work for me to enter paycheck information (already processed checks in another program) so that all payroll data can be transferred to our accountant?

Hi Dee1301,

Yes, the Manual Payroll can also be done in QuickBooks Pro, assuming you don't have a QuickBooks Payroll subscription. If you have, you'll want to enter their prior payroll information within the Payroll section.

As for sharing your data with your accountant, you can create an accountant's copy of your company file and send it to them. They'll open the file using their accountant version of QuickBooks Desktop so they can have their review or changes. Once done, they can send the file back to you and you can import the changes.

You can always visit us back if you need more help with your employee's historical payroll.

I am running QuickBooks Pro 2020.  We process payroll through another company and only need to enter the data for our accountant in QuickBooks.  When I try to check the "Manual Payroll" box (which is gray not black) nothing happens.  It is foolish for us to pay for QuickBooks Payroll subscription when we don't process it through QuickBooks.  What am I doing wrong here?

Thank you for bringing your payroll concern to the Community, Dee1301.

We'll have to update your QuickBooks Desktop (QBDT) to the most recent release. This troubleshooting will apply critical fixes and resolve common errors or issues you may be experiencing while working in the program.

Here's how:

1. In your company file, go to the Help menu at the top bar and choose Update QuickBooks Desktop.
2. Choose the Update Now tab and tick the Reset Update box to remove previously downloaded releases.
3. Click the Get Updates button and press OK to continue.
4. Next, close and reopen your QuickBooks to kick off the installation.

Let's go back to the Payroll & Employees preferences to enable Manual Payroll. If you continue to receive the same result, I recommend that you contact our Payroll Support Team (QuickBooks Desktop section) Payroll) for further investigation. Then, provide the case number from your previous chat or phone call so that our specialists can review the notes. From there, they'll continue performing the troubleshooting steps where they left off.

To learn about the payroll process in the program and other features, click here for more information. In addition, the following checklist will guide you through the tasks you'll need to complete for year-end filings: QuickBooks Desktop.

Don't hesitate to visit the Community if you have additional questions about payroll or other QuickBooks concerns. I'll get back to help you the best that I can, Dee1301.

Sorry to hijack this thread, but I will be moving to manual payroll as well since I don't want to pay $549 a year for QBD 2023 Pro nor move to QBO and pay $1100 a year (cheapest option regular price with payroll).  

My question is what will I be missing if I do that? I know I'll have to manually calculate the tax deductions which for us is no big deal but what happens with the 941 forms? Will I have to manually get the forms from the IRS and fill them out or can I still print the forms through Quickbooks?  Also what about the W2/W3 forms? Are those still there and can be be submitted through quickbooks or is it all by mail now?

Let me help share some insights regarding the payroll function, Photoguy.

Yes, you must obtain the tax forms from the IRS, manually fill out Forms 941, W-2, or W-3, and mail them to the agency. That said, you'll need a payroll subscription to generate these automatically and email them to the IRS or SSA.

When you have a payroll subscription, you'll be able to use the following features: Direct deposit, E-file and E-pay, payroll updates, and simplified tax forms, to name a few.

For additional information, check out this article: Services and Features. It includes a list of the features offered in each payroll version as well as an explanation of how they operate.

To learn more about manual payroll, including how to set it up, click here. I want to make sure that you complete all of your year-end tasks, including filing your taxes and forms on time. That's why I've included the following resources to guide you through the steps on how to accomplish them:

• Checklist for QuickBooks Desktop Payroll
• Year-end guide for QuickBooks Desktop

Reach out to me again if you have other payroll-related concerns or questions about the product. I'm always ready to assist you further, Photoguy.

Thanks for the info. I have begrudgingly paid the $650 plus tax (or there of) for a enhanced payroll for the last few years. That already seemed outrageous given that we only had a handful of employees and used to pay $350 and going back to 2004, was included free or a whole year with th base QBD. 

Now QuickBooks wants me to pay $549 A YEAR extra for QB 2023 in addition to the $650(at least that's what we paid last year I'm sure it's more this year) for payroll subscription and that is just ask me too much of a small business. QuickBooks online with payroll is only a couple of hundred dollars cheaper and we would pay from the other end because we have another side business that will need its own account. 

As such manual payroll it is. QuickBooks may be great software but the marketing people have gone amock. 

Hi,

I tried to follow the directions for setting up manual payroll in Quickbooks Desktop Pro 2020, however underneath the "Full payroll" button, the checkbox for "Manual Payroll" is greyed out and so cannot be checked.

I should mention that I was using QB Payroll, but due to the increased cost, I am no longer paying for Payroll, but would like to be able to manually enter paycheck information into Quickbooks.