The switch

Thanks for taking the time to reach out to the Community for support, Mark.

I've come to address your concern about processing QuickBooks Desktop while using a third-party processor for payroll.

If you use QuickBooks for accounting and another service to run payroll, you still need to keep track of those paychecks in QuickBooks. Some payroll services, such as ADP, let you import paycheck data directly into QuickBooks. Otherwise, you have to track those transactions manually using a Journal Entry. This is to track your expenses and taxes to balance the accounts when payments are made each month.

First, create an Expense account to track your payroll expenses. Here's how:

1. Go to the Accounting menu and select Chart of Accounts.
2. Tick the New button and choose Expenses from the Account Type section.
3. Choose Payroll Expenses in the Detail Type section.
4. From there, you can enter Payroll Expenses: Wages ADP in the Name box,
5. Click Save and close.

Once done, proceed to create a journal entry. I'll guide you through making one:

1. Get your employees' payroll pay stubs or a payroll report from ADP.
2. Click the + New button.
3. Select Journal Entry.
4. Enter the paycheck date under the Journal date.
5. Enter it in the Journal no. field to track the paycheck number easily.

However, this process requires an understanding of debits and credits. You can reach out to your accountant for further assistance. They also know the best method to handle those ADP tax payments.

I'll share this guide with you for detailed information on the process above: Manually enter payroll paychecks in QuickBooks Online.

Furthermore, you can customize a payroll report in QBO to check the details of entered expenses. Here's an article you can visit in the future: Run payroll reports.

Feel free to drop by again if you have more questions about payroll in QuickBooks Online. I'm determined to help you succeed. 

Thank you for your response.

When QB says they aren't "supporting" payroll on desktop, what does that mean, exactly?

I just prepared a manual paycheck for an employee using the QB desktop payroll system that I've been using all along, so I'm a tad confused. Or does this go into effect when our current subscription expires?

If this is only about updating the tax data and completing the filings, our processor has and does all that.

Hello Mark,

I read through the thread, and I'm here to clear things out.

For your initial question, yes, you can still use QuickBooks Desktop payroll while you have a third-party payroll processor.

Then, to record the payroll made outside QuickBooks, you'll have to write a payroll liability checks.

Additionally, since your payroll processor will complete the tax data and form filings, you may cancel your QuickBooks Desktop Payroll.

Furthermore, if you want to print checks, you can check this article as your guide: Print checks.

Keep me posted whenever you have concerns with entering checks.