Set up and manage payroll schedules

You can create and assign payroll schedules to fit your business needs. You can set up new schedules, update existing ones, and assign them to employees in both QuickBooks Online Payroll and QuickBooks Desktop Payroll. Creating a schedule ensures your team members are paid consistently and on time.

If you want expert help with your payroll setup, consider using QuickBooks Online Payroll Premium or Elite.

QuickBooks Online Payroll Core

Set up a new pay schedule

Create one or more schedules for your team members to be paid.

Note: Once you add a pay schedule, you can’t remove it.

1. Go to All apps , then Payroll, then Employees (Take me there).
2. Select Edit payroll items.
3. Select New payroll item ▼, then select Pay schedule.
4. Select the pay frequency, next payday, and the end of the next pay period.
5. Select Save.

Update a pay schedule

You can update your pay schedule settings at any time to reflect changes in your payroll process.

1. Go to All apps , then Payroll, then Employees (Take me there).
2. Select Edit payroll items.
3. Select Pay schedules, then select the pay schedule you want to edit.
4. Make your changes and select Save.

Assign a pay schedule to a team member

Assigning a pay schedule directly to a team member ensures their pay runs on the correct cadence.

1. Go to All apps , then Payroll, then Employees (Take me there).
2. Select the team member you want to assign a schedule to.
3. In Employment details, select Edit.
4. Select a pay schedule, then select Save.

QuickBooks Desktop Payroll

Payroll schedules are optional. You may have up to 200 payroll schedules in QuickBooks Desktop.

Set up a new payroll schedule

1. Go to Employees, then select Payroll Center.
2. Select the Payroll Schedule ▼ dropdown, then New.
3. Enter a name for the schedule and choose how often you'll pay employees on the schedule.
4. Complete the remaining fields, then select OK.
5. Select Yes or No if you would like to assign the new schedule to all your employees.

Update a pay schedule

If you change the dates while creating payroll from the Enter Payroll Information window, the changes only affect the current pay period.

Note: If you use Direct Deposit or QuickBooks Desktop Payroll Assisted, the Process Payroll On date and Check date are adjusted to include transmit lead times and federal holidays.

1. Go to Employees, then select Payroll Center.
2. Under the Create Paychecks table, select the payroll schedule you want to update.
3. From the Payroll Schedules ▼ dropdown menu, select Edit Schedule.
4. Make the necessary updates in the Edit Payroll Schedule window.
5. Select OK.

Assign a pay schedule to a team member

Assign a specific payroll schedule to individual employees to ensure accurate pay periods.

1. Go to Employees, then select Employee Center.
2. Double-click the employee's name.
3. Select the Payroll Info tab.
4. From the Payroll Schedule ▼ dropdown, select a schedule.
5. Select OK to save.

Remove or deactivate a payroll schedule

When you don’t need a payroll schedule anymore, remove all employees from it and make it inactive. This lets you reactivate a schedule if you need to use it again.

Note: If you want to completely delete a payroll schedule, select Delete schedule. Deleted schedules can’t be reactivated.

1. Go to Employees, then select Employee Center.
2. Under the Create Paychecks table, select the payroll schedule you want to remove.
3. From the Payroll Schedules ▼ dropdown, select Edit Schedule.
4. Mark Schedule is inactive.
5. Select Ok.

Related links

• Find your QuickBooks Payroll service