We pay twice a month, on the 1st and 16th. Occasionally a check will get generated with a pay date of the 31st, making three paychecks in a calendar month. Why?

Hello don105!

It seems that you have more than one payroll schedule. I'm here to assist you in fixing this.

We can verify how many payroll schedules you have. Let me show you how:

1. Go to the Gear icon and select Payroll settings.
2. Click the Pay Schedules.
3. Find the schedule that generates check on the 31st and click on Edit.
4. You can see all employees assigned to this schedule on the Employees on this schedule section.

Once done, go to the Payroll menu and select Employees. Double-click the employee's name with an incorrect schedule, then select the Pencil icon on the Pay section. From the How often do you pay [employee]? dropdown, select the twice a month schedule, then Done to save it. You'll want to do this to all affected employees.

After saving it, go back to the Payroll settings, then Pay Schedules. Click the Edit again for the incorrect schedule. You'll now see the Delete button if you want to delete it since there are no employees assigned to that schedule already.

Please check this article on how to manage your payroll schedules: Set up and manage payroll schedules.

In addition, here's the article if you need detailed steps on how to run payroll-related reports in QuickBooks Online: Run payroll reports in QuickBooks Online.

I still want to hear you out if you have other concerns regarding payroll. Let me know and I'll get back to this thread and lay down a guide. 

We have only one payroll schedule, labeled "Twice a Month". I don't know what precisely the settings are for it - it was automatically set up when we had Intuit Online Payroll and was ported over when that product ended.

If it will solve this particular issue, I'm fine with creating a new schedule and setting all our employees to that schedule.

Thanks for the update, @don105. I'm here to share insights about pay schedules in QuickBooks Online (QBO) Payroll and guide you on the actions you need to help take care of this matter.

The settings of a Payroll Schedule include the Pay Period and Pay Date. When its Pay Period is Twice a Month, you pay employees twice a month. That makes 24 payouts per year.

Based on the additional info you've provided above, I'd like to verify if you've set up and scheduled your payroll to run automatically with QBO Payroll after migrating from Intuit Online Payroll (IOP)? If so, and if you want to delete or change a pay schedule, I'd recommend contacting our Payroll Care team. They can securely pull up your account and help you in setting up a pay schedule. Here's how:

1. Sign in to your QBO company.
2. Go to the Help (?) menu.
3. Select the Search tab.
4. Click the Contact Us button.
5. Enter a brief description of your concern in the What can we help you with? field.
6. Select Continue.
7. Choose a way to connect with us (Send a message or Get a callback).

Also, to get a closer look at your business finances and employees account, you can pull up several payroll reports in QBO. For the complete list and guide on how you can customize them, I'd recommend checking out this article: Run payroll reports.

Please don't hesitate to comment below if you have other payroll concerns and questions about pay schedules in QBO Payroll. I'm always ready to help. Take care, and I wish you continued success, @don105.