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Change your primary principal, payroll admin, or other payroll contact

by Intuit•175• Updated about 17 hours ago

Learn about the different types of payroll contacts and how to update them in QuickBooks Online Payroll and QuickBooks Desktop Payroll.

Payroll is a big part of running a business, and it's important to keep your payroll contacts up-to-date.

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

QuickBooks Online Payroll

Here are the different types of payroll contacts and their role in QuickBooks Online Payroll.

User roles for Payroll productsRole in your businessProvides authorizationDiscuss/make changes to account Access to payroll reports
Principal officerOwner/authorized signer on payroll bank account and auth formsYesYesYes
Primary admin**Can do everythingYesYesYes
Company adminCan run payroll, add users, and manage payroll info)NoYesYes
Standard userLimited*NoLimited*Yes
Reports onlyAll reports, except the ones with payroll or contact infoNoNoNo
Payroll ContactReceives emails and reminders for payrollNoNoNo

*Depending on the user settings, this user can or can’t manage users, company info, and subscriptions.

**Primary admin is a role in QuickBooks Online for the main payroll contact. Should there be any changes with the payroll contact, this role must be updated or transferred to someone else.

Important: Only the Primary Admin and Company Admin can update the Principal Officer's info. They must provide the one-time password sent to the phone number on file. If the phone number is no longer available and the current Principal Officer has left the company, or is unable to contact Intuit to authorize a change (including if they are dead), you'll need to create a new account to set up a new Principal Officer. No exceptions can be made.

  1. Go to Settings ⚙, then Payroll settings.
  2. From Bank accounts, select Manage payroll principal officer information.
  3. Select Edit ✎ to change your principal officer info.
  4. From the dropdown ▼, choose the reason for the change.
  5. Update your principal officer info, then select Save.

We’ll send you a verification code to double-check the principal changes. Once verified, your changes are applied immediately to your account. We may contact you if we need additional info. 

Note: We'll only apply the change to your payroll account. If you need a new principal for your QuickBooks Payments account, you may need a new Quickbooks Payments account. 

If you want to update the admin’s personal info and sign in credentials

  1. Select the icon of your name’s initial at the top right.
  2. Select Manage your Intuit Account.
  3. You’ll be directed to accounts.intuit.com page.
  4. From there, you can update your personal info. 

If you want to update the admin’s personal info only

  1. Go to Settings ⚙, then Manage user.
  2. In the ACTION column, select Edit. Or select the ▼ dropdown to remove a user.
  3. You can update the name, email, and user type, and other user settings.
  4. Select Save. 

If you want to transfer the Primary admin role to another payroll contact

If you’re looking to transfer the primary admin rights to another payroll contact, check out Change the primary admin user in QuickBooks Online.

  1. Go to Settings ⚙, then Manage user.
  2. In the ACTION column, select Edit.
  3. You can update the name, email, and user type, and other user settings.
  4. Select Save.
  1. Go to Settings ⚙, then Payroll settings.
  2. From Contact Information select Edit ✎.
  3. Update your payroll contact info.
  4. Select Save then Done.

QuickBooks Desktop Payroll

Here are the different types of payroll contacts and their role in QuickBooks Desktop Payroll.

User roles for Payroll productsRole in your businessProvides authorizationDiscuss/make changes to account Access to payroll report
Primary principal or Principal officerOwner/authorized signer on payroll bank account, auth formsYesYesYes
Secondary PrincipalOwner/authorized signer on payroll bank account, auth formsYesYesYes
Payroll administrator or Primary payroll contactPrimary contact for payrollYesYesYes
Other payroll contactAsk general questions about QuickBooksNoNoNo

Select the role you would like to change or update:

  1. Complete the Assisted Primary Principal change form.
  2. Upload your completed and signed packet to Intuit. Follow the on-screen instructions.

Your request will be completed within 2 banking days from the time we received the documents. We’ll contact you if we need additional info. 

  1. Complete the Primary Principal change form.
  2. Have the current and the new principals sign the request letter. If the current principal isn't available to sign, indicate the name on the letter. Explain the reason for the change.
  3. Get a photocopy of the new principal's government-issued ID.
  4. Contact QuickBooks Desktop payroll support to submit the form, request letter, and ID via Intuit File Exchange.

If you’d like to add a secondary principal:

  1. Complete the Primary Principal change form.
  2. Have the primary and secondary principals sign the request letter. On the letter, state that they’ll add another principal.
  3. Get a photocopy of both primary and secondary principals' government-issued ID.
  4. Contact QuickBooks Desktop payroll support to submit the form, request letter, and ID via Intuit File Exchange.

The principal change takes 3–5 banking days from the date we receive the documents. You’ll get a status email from us.

  1. Go to Employees, select My Payroll Service, then Billing/Bank Information.
  2. In the Company Information section, select the Payroll Admin tab.
  3. Select the Edit link.
  4. Enter your PIN and select Continue.
  5. Follow the on-screen instructions.
  6. Select Update. A processing request screen appears until the update is finished.
  7. Verify the updated Payroll Admin info and close the window.

If you don’t have access to QuickBooks Account Maintenance pages, you can download and fax the form:

  1. Complete the Account Changes form.
    Note: The Primary Principal on your payroll account must authorize this change.
  2. Upload your completed and signed form to Intuit. Follow the on-screen instructions.
  1. Go to Employees, select My Payroll Service, then Account/Billing Information.
  2. Sign in using your Intuit Account login. 
  3. Go to Payroll Details. Make sure it shows the EIN for the company you want to make Payroll Admin changes. 
  4. Select Edit next to the Payroll Admin heading.
  5. If you’ve signed up for direct deposit, enter your PIN and select Continue.
    Change the contact details of the Payroll Admin:
    • First name
    • Last name
    • Phone number
    • Email
  6. Select Update. Wait for confirmation then select Close.
  7. Review the updated contacts info then close.
  1. Complete the Contact Changes form. 
    Note: The primary principal on your payroll account must authorize this change.
  2. Upload the completed form to the Quickbooks Desktop Payroll Assisted Document Portal.

Note: There’s no limit to the number of contacts you can have on your account.

QuickBooks Desktop Payroll AssistedQuickBooks Desktop Payroll BasicQuickBooks Desktop Payroll EnhancedQuickBooks Desktop Payroll StandardQuickBooks Online Payroll CoreQuickBooks Online Payroll EliteQuickBooks Online Payroll Premium

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