Add or change pay types

For a better experience, open this article in QuickBooks Online. Launch side-by-side view

Add or edit employee's base pay

Add or edit your employee's compensation type or amount.

1. Go to Payroll, then Employees.
2. Select your employee.
3. From Base pay, select Start or Edit.
4. Add or edit your employee’s base pay info:
   • Compensation type(Salary, Hourly, or Commission only)
   • Pay frequency and Salary amount(for Salary base pay)
   • Rate per hour(for Hourly base pay)
   • Default working hours (for Salary and Hourly base pay)
5. Select Save.

Add additional pay types

You can assign an additional pay type to your employees such as additional pay rate, reimbursement, overtime pay, or tips.

1. Go to Payroll, then Employees.
2. Select your employee.
3. From Additional pay types, select Add.
4. Select a pay type category from the Pay type ▼ dropdown.
5. From the Name▼ dropdown, select an existing pay type or type in the name of the brand new pay type you’d like to create.
6. Fill out fields Rate or Recurring amount if applicable. 
7. Select Save.

Edit additional pay types

To edit your employee’s additional pay types:

1. Go to Payroll, then Employees.
2. Select your employee.
3. From Additional pay types, select Edit next to the existing pay type under Actions.
4. Edit fields like Name(as shown on paycheck), Rate, or Recurring amount if applicable.
5. Select Save.

Step 1. Set up the item

1. Select Lists, then Payroll Item List.
2. Select the Payroll Item ▼ dropdown, then New.
3. Select Custom Setup, then Next.
4. Select Wage, then Next.
5. Select the appropriate wage type.
   • Hourly Wages, then Next. Select the appropriate pay type (regular, overtime, sick, or vacation pay).
   • Annual Salary, then Next. Select the appropriate pay type (regular, sick, or vacation pay)
   • Commission
   • Bonus
6. Select Next. 
7. Enter a name for the pay item, then Next.
8. Select the Expense account where you want to track wages.
   • For Bonus pay item, leave the Default rate field blank. You can add the rate when you add the item to the employee profile.
9. Select Finish.

Note: If you have Workers' Compensation and you want to exclude bonus from the calculation. You’ll need to create the bonus payroll item as an Addition with a tax tracking type of Compensation.

Step 2. Add the item to the employee’s profile

1. Go to Employees, and then select Employee Center.
2. Double-click the employee’s name.
3. Select Payroll Info.
4. In the Earnings section, add the payroll item you created.
5. Select OK.

For a better experience, open this article in QuickBooks Online. Launch side-by-side view

You can’t delete pay types you’ve used previously, but you can hide or remove them when not in use.

There are 2 ways for you to hide unused pay types:

• Hide the pay types from the Run payroll page
  1. In the Run payroll page, select Customize table.
  2. Select the pay types you don’t use.

• Uncheck the pay types from the Employee profile page
  1. Go to Payroll, then Employees.
  2. Select your employee.
  3. From Additional pay types, find the pay type you want to hide or remove.
  4. Select the ▼ dropdown next to Edit, then select Unassign.
  5. Select Unassign.

Hide or make the payroll item inactive

1. Go to Lists, then select Payroll Item List.
2. Right-click the item and select Make Payroll Item Inactive.

Remove the payroll item from the employee’s profile

1. Select Employees menu, then Employee Center.
2. Double-click your employee’s name. 
3. Select Payroll Info.
4. In the Earnings section, select the rate (if there's any), and the item name, then press Delete on your keyboard.
5. Select OK.

For a better experience, open this article in QuickBooks Online. Launch side-by-side view

You can't make regular pay types like salary, hourly, or commission inactive. But, you can make any other hourly or commission pay type inactive if no employees are assigned to it.

Multiple employees: See Manage your payroll items in QuickBooks Online Payroll to learn how to manage payroll items for multiple employees at once.

Make pay type inactive

1. Go to Payroll, then Employees.
2. Select Edit payroll items, then Pay types.
3. First, you need to unassign any employees currently assigned to this pay type before making it inactive. Select all the employees assigned to this pay type, then select Unassign.
4. Select Make inactive.

Make inactive pay type active

1. Go to Payroll, then Employees.
2. Select Edit payroll items, then Pay types.
3. Select the Inactive radio button.
4. Select the pay type you want to make active again.
5. Select Make active.
6. Select Assign employee(s), then assign employees for this pay type.
7. Select Next, then add the amount or other applicable settings to this pay type.
8. Select Save.

1. Go to Lists, then select Payroll Item List.
2. Right-click the item and select Make Payroll Item Inactive or Make Payroll Item Active.
   • If you don’t see the option to Make Payroll Item Active make sure Include inactive is checked at the bottom of the list.