Where do I enter one time deduction from a payroll check in QBO?

I'd be glad to walk you through where you can enter one-time deductions from payroll checks, Joanng.

With QuickBooks Online (QBO), you can set up pre-tax or after-tax deduction items. To guide you with the steps, here's where you can enter them:

1. In your QBO account, click on Payroll from the left menu bar and select Employees.
2. Select the specific employee.
3. From the Deductions & contributions, select Start or Edit.
4. Then, click + Add deduction/contribution from the Deduction/contribution dropdown.
5. From the Deduction/contribution type, click Other Deduction.
6. From Type, select Other after tax deductions.
7. Add a Description and click how your deduction is calculated. Then, enter the amount.
8. Once done, click Save, then Done.

For more detailed information, refer to this article: Set up, change, or delete employee-paid payroll deductions.

Moreover, if you wish to set up specific deductions for your employees, you can set up garnishments, retirement plans, and insurance benefit plans to ensure they are properly tracked.

Let us know in the comments below if you require additional assistance setting up deductions in QBO. We'll always be here, willing to help. Keep safe!

I don't understand this process.   Deduction is a one time on one paycheck.  Are you saying you have to set it up on the individual employee and then delete it after you have taken that deduction ONE TIME?

Hello there, @Maria2513. 

Thanks for joining this thread. I'm here to clarify on how one-time deduction work in QuickBooks Online.

Yes, that's right. We need to set up the deduction on the individual employee's profile. As advised, we can create a deduction item under a specific employee. Still, you can follow the steps shared by my colleague. 

And if you no longer using this deduction, we'll have to delete it. Here's how:

1. Go to Payroll, then Employees.
2. Select your employee.
3. From Deductions & contributions, select Start or Edit.
4. Select the trash bin icon next to the deduction you want to remove.
5. Select Delete, then Done.

We can visit this article to see several payroll reports we can generate according to your needs. It helps us view information about business, employees, and payroll taxes: Run payroll reports in QuickBooks Online Payroll.  

Let me know if you have more questions about payroll and other details in QuickBooks. I'm here to provide additional help. Take care always. 

This process should be much simpler.... we quite often have small one off deductions for our employees, as well.

Our employees will purchase tools etc on our accounts, and ask for it to be taken off on payroll.

It should be  simple deduction -  you should be able to enter a negative amount under a reimbursement field, or something

Exactly!  Other payroll software allows one time deductions to be keyed in during payroll input.  Very simple process.

I agree.  This is one thing that is really frustrating with QBO but I'm forced to switch to online and hate that you are so limited with so many things.  You would think they would have some of this stuff worked out so it's more friendly before making everyone switch

I, too, am frustrated by the clumsiness of this process, which ought to be easy. Another issue with this is that there appears to be no way to properly assign the account to which the deducted money flows. I have a situation where an employee was reimbursed months ago for an expense that he paid from his own funds. That expense was refunded to him and so he needs to reimburse our organization. I'd like to do that with a one-time payroll deduction but can find no way to assign the returned funds to the correct expense account.

I understand the importance of ensuring the deducted funds are assigned to the correct expense account, donallen. I'm here to share insights about this.

We can create an expense transaction to help track the returned funds and associate them with the correct expense account.

Here's how:

1.  Go to +New and select Expense under Vendor.
2. Enter the employee's name in the Payee field.
3. Select the appropriate expense account. 
4. Enter the amount being reimbursed.

Additionally, you can run payroll reports in QBO to easily track your business finances, employee details, and payroll data. 

This should lead you the way to utilize your expense categories accordingly. Feel free to leave a comment below if there's anything else you need help with. Have a great day.