The paycheck list sorts by Employee Name. Is there a way to make it sort by Employee Last Name?

Hello accounting717,

To sort employee’s names by their last name can be done by changing the Employee display in the preferences.

Here's how:

1. Click Edit
2. Select Preference
3. Go to Payroll and Employee
4. Hit Company Preferences
5. Choose the Last Name, in the Display Employee List.
6. Select Ok to save.
   
   

I have here the articles that cover basic information about customizing reports and a paycheck layout in QuickBooks Desktop.
 

• Customize payroll and employee reports
• Customize a paycheck layout or pay stub

@BigRedConsulting
I appreciate it, thank you!

I'll be always around to help if you need anything.

@MadelynC 

You can sort the employee list as requested. This has been a QB feature for more than 25 years.

@accounting717 

Yes, resorting the employee list in QuickBooks is easy.  There's a preference for this.

Start at Edit | Preferences | Payroll & Employees | Company Preferences and then pick  Last Name for the "Display Employee List by:" option.

Does it work also for Quickbooks online?

Hi there, @maxine-landicho.

In QuickBooks Online (QBO), the paycheck list is sorted out by last name and first name of the employee. You can check it by going through your employee's paycheck list. Let me show you how in your QBO.

1. Go to the Workers menu.
2. Select the Employees tab.
3. Choose your employee name.
4. Select the Paycheck list tab. 

Additionally, I've added some of our great resources that you can use for reference. These articles provide detailed information on how you can print and invite your employees to view their pay stubs:

• Print pay stubs in QuickBooks Online
• Invite employees to see pay stubs and W-2s online

You're always welcome to post in the Community whenever you have other questions. I'm more than happy to work with you. Keep safe and stay healthy!

This does not solve it in the system, just for the paychecks.  Is there a way to make employees show up by last name first instead of first name first in QBO?

Glad to see you on this thread, frustrateduser2.

I appreciate you for looking into the answers shared by my colleagues and letting us know the result.

In QBO, the Employee and Paycheck lists are arranged according to the last name and then the first name of the workers. If your Employee list is not classified accordingly, open each for the worker’s profile, and review the setup.

Here’s how:

1. Go to the Payroll menu on the left panel and choose Employees.
2. On the Employees list page, click on the worker’s name to open its profile.
3. Select the Employee details tab and hit the Pencil icon for Pay.
4. In the Personal info section, make sure the fields have the correct information. The employee’s name should be written in the First name box.
5. If the incorrect information is entered, make sure to type in the correct one.
6. Click Done to keep the changes.

If you’re running the Employee Details and Employee Directory Reports, the workers’ information is arranged by their first and last names. You can export them to Excel and manually update the setup correctly (last and first names).

1. Tap the Reports menu on the left panel.
2. Type Employee Details/ Employee Directory in the search field.
3. Click the Share drop-down in the upper right to choose Export to Excel.

For more insights into this process, see the following guide: View and print payroll reports.

Additionally, I’m adding an article that contains resources that will guide you on how to perform any payroll tasks in QBO: Get started.

Please let me know if there's any other way I can be of assistance. As always, I'm just a few clicks away for help. Have a great day ahead.

exporting to Excel and changing to the last name first is not helpful if you are trying to sort.  I still cannot get a payroll summary report to alphabetize by employee last name.  You cannot do a data sort that will keep all of their respective columns together.

Thank you for joining the thread, FH4.

At the moment, only QuickBooks Online shows the employees list by the last name on the Payroll Summary report. In QuickBooks Desktop, our option is really to export the report to Excel. I'll take note of your feedback on this.

If you have other questions about payroll reports, please let me know. You can also find more references by clicking on Help and searching for the topics you like.

Have a good one!

When I run the Payroll Summary by Employee in QBO, the names are all over the map (not alphabetical, not clear why).  First employee shown has initials U.N., so either way, it is not alphabetizing by first or last name.

Hi there, FH4.

It's nice to see you back here in Community. I'll share information about how the details on reports work in QuickBooks Online.

When you run the Payroll Summary by Employee in QBO, the arrangement of the employee would not be in alphabetical order. This is because the report's details are based on when you add them or the time you create the paycheck. That's the reason the employee with the UN initial appears first on the list.

However, you can run and and export the report to Excel and manually update the setup correctly or in alphabetical arrangement.

Here's how:

1. Tap the Reports menu on the left panel.
2. Choose Payroll Summary by Employee.
3. Click the Share drop-down in the upper right to choose Export to Excel.

You can refer to this article to see steps on how you can customize reports and focus on the details that you want to view: Customize reports in QuickBooks Online.

Please click this article to view several payroll reports that you can use to view useful information about your business and employees: Run payroll reports.

Feel free to place a comment below if you have more questions. I'm always here to lend you a hand. Take care!

I did export the payroll summary to excel, which is how I know that there is no way to alphabetize the report (except for manually, which is painstaking).  You can only sort alphabetically by the name, but there is no way to keep the associated columns together (eg: hours worked).  And the report customization only appears to work with non-payroll related reports.

I don't understand why, after all this time, QBO cannot be more user friendly and simply useful.  It takes an incredible amount of time to find or extract information in QBO.  Why can't it be set up the same way as QB Desktop?  If I didn't have clients who insist on using QBO, I would never use it.