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Set up your company payroll for direct deposit

SOLVED•by QuickBooks•1045•Updated September 25, 2023

Learn how to set up direct deposit to pay your employees and contractors  in QuickBooks Online Payroll and QuickBooks Desktop Payroll.

Direct deposit is a convenient way to pay your employees and contractors. You don’t have to worry about handwriting or printing paychecks each payday. To pay your employees or contractors with direct deposit, you’ll need a U.S. bank account that’s set up for ACH transactions.  

There are fees to use direct deposit. Check your payroll subscription.

Follow the steps below for your payroll product to set up direct deposit.

Note: Not sure which payroll service you have? Here's how to find your payroll service.

Step 1: Gather your business, bank, and principal officer info

To set up direct deposit for your company, you’ll need the following info:

  • Business name, address, and EIN
  • Principal officer’s Social Security number, birth date, and home address
  • Online bank credentials, or your company’s bank routing and account numbers
  • Employees’ or contractors’ bank account info 

Step 2: Connect your bank account

You may be able to connect your bank account instantly through Instant Bank Verification and use direct deposit for your team right away.

If you're new to payroll:

  1. Go to Payroll, then Overview.
  2. From Connect your bank select Let’s go.
  3. Select Get started.
  4. From Business, select Edit. 
  5. Add any missing info including your federal tax ID number. Select Next.
  6. Add the Principal Officer name, address, date of birth and Social Security number. Select Next.
  7. Select Add new bank account.
  8. Search your bank name. You may be asked to enter your online banking user ID and password. Otherwise, select Enter bank info manually. Enter your routing and account number, then select Save.
  9. Select Accept and Submit.

If you need to change your existing payroll bank account, check out Change your payroll bank account.

Note: When you update your bank info, you may need to enter a code sent to your phone number to save your changes.

  1. Open QuickBooks and sign in with the QuickBooks admin username and password.
  2. Select Employees, My Payroll Service, then Activate Direct Deposit.
  3. Select Get Started. If you don’t see Get Started:
    1. Select I’m the admin, and I’m the primary person who can… and enter the admin’s email address or user ID.
    2. Select Continue.
    3. Enter the email or user ID and password for your Intuit Account, then select Sign In. If you do not have an Intuit Account, select the Create an account link. Note: If you’ve already signed into your Intuit Account somewhere else in QuickBooks you won’t see this screen.
    4. Select Get Started.
  4. From the Business tab, select Start. Fill in the info. Select Next.
  5. Fill in the Principal officer info. Select Next.
  6. Select Add new bank account.
  7. Enter the name of your bank and your online bank credentials, or your bank routing and account numbers.
  8. Create a PIN. You’ll use this when sending your payroll to us each time. Confirm your PIN twice, then select Submit.
  9. Select Next, then Accept and Submit.
  10. If prompted, confirm the Principal officer’s full Social Security number. Select Submit.

You’ll see one of the following messages:

  • Your bank account is connected. This means you are ready to pay your employees by direct deposit right away. See Step 4: Set up your employees’ bank account info
  • Thank you for signing up for QuickBooks Direct Deposit. What’s next to activate Direct Deposit? This means you have a few more steps to connect your bank account. See Step 3: Verify your bank account.

Step 3: Verify your bank account (if you couldn’t connect instantly)

If you weren't able to connect your bank account instantly, we ping your account with a test debit of less than $1.00. You'll enter that amount to authorize your account for payroll transactions. It can take up to 2 days before you see that debit.

Learn how to verify your bank account.

Step 4: Set up your employees’ direct deposit

See Set up direct deposit for employees. 

Need to pay contractors? Set up and manage direct deposit for your contractors.

Now you’re ready to pay your employees and contractors with direct deposit. 

FAQ

Do direct deposits have limits?

Yes.  There are two limits.  A company total limit, and a per employee limit.  This is to protect you against fraud.  

If you use QuickBooks Online Payroll, you can see your direct deposit limit in your Payroll Settings, Direct deposit. 

You can request a direct deposit limit increase if your payroll is higher than your limits, or you need to pay out bonuses. 

Can I pay anything else with direct deposit?

You can only use Intuit’s direct deposit services to pay your employees or contractors. To pay any other company expenses, you will need to use another method of payment.

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