Payroll Summary Report - Rate Column

I understand that is what happens for the report when you display each employee, but this is the report with the only column being the total.

The totals of all employees. So every column is a total of hours, total of all pay, but I can't figure out how the rate is calculated?

Hello there, StephanieA.

Thanks for getting back to us. Allow me to help and provide some insights about Payroll Summary report in QuickBooks Desktop. 

In Addition of what our Established Community Backer BRC provided, the rate shows in the Payroll Summary report is the Annual/Hourly rate you've set up to your employee's payroll info. It will also depend on the "Date Range" you select when you pull up the report. 

 For example, if you set the date to monthly, the rate will show on the paycheck you've created on the first pay period. For additional reference, you can check this article: Run a payroll summary report.

If you're referring to something else, don't hesitate to click the Reply button below. I'm always here to help you out. 

Did anyone solve this issue as to why the rate is continually incorrect?

When calling into QB, they do not seem to be able to assist. Please advise. Thank you.

Let's investigate what's causing the incorrect employee's rate showing in the Payroll Summary report, RR20.

I've check here on our end and there's no reported case about this one. Whatever the rate you set up in the employee's profile will be the default rate for the paychecks. Then, this rate will be reflected on the report based in the applied rate on paychecks.

It's possible the rate was changed in the employee's paycheck. To better isolate this issue, let's run the Audit Trail report to check who and when the rate was modified into a different one.

Here's how:

1. Click Reports on the top menu.
2. Choose Accountant & Taxes.
3. Hit Audit Trail.
4. Manually changed the date period.
5. Look in the Last modified by and Date column to trace of who and the changes was made.
6. Double-click the transaction to see the full details.

You can also run Employees Pay Adjustments History report to track the employees' pay rate changes over a period of time. Just check out this article for the steps and details: Employee Pay Adjustments History Report.

Please touch-based with me if you need a hand with running other payroll reports or any QuickBooks related. I'll be here to help.

It's the average rate that is not calculating correctly.  It is never the actual average when you divide the # hours into the Gross $ payroll.

I'd like to help with your payroll summary report, RR20.

As previously shared in the earlier replies, the amount in the Rate column is either the current rate or the rate used in the period that you selected in the report.

You'll want to run the Summarize Payroll Data in Excel report so you can manually calculate the average rate. Here's how:

1. Go to the Reports menu, scroll-down to Employees and Payroll, and then click Summarize Payroll Data in Excel.
2. Click Enable content if you're prompt to enable macros.
3. Select a date, then click Get QuickBooks Data.
4. Go to the Hours column, then click the amount in the Hourly column.
5. Check the Rate box in the left-hand side.

I'll be around if you need anything else when running payroll reports.

I appreciate the responses, however, I am looking for QB to do a simple equation and determine the rate 'average'.  It does not.  There is no rhyme or reason as to the rate it pulls; I have been told it pulls the highest rate, it pulls from the last check, etc. etc. There is no consistency in what rate it pulls.  As my owner states, this is simple math, but it appears QB is unable to determine an average payroll rate when pulling these reports.   I requested a ticket be placed into QB to see if they can assist.

Hello there, @RR20.

QuickBooks Desktop (QBDT) calculates wages and taxes based on the information you've entered, including the rate you entered in your employee's profile.

To calculate the average rate of your employee, you might want to perform the workaround provided by my colleague JenoP.

I'd also recommend getting in touch with your accountant for guidance on recording this. You can also ask your accountant for tips on how to better record this.

You might also want to check this article that can guide you on how to customize reports in QBDT. From there, you'll learn how to generate a report that shows the information you need.
 
Do post a comment below if you have other questions or concerns. That way, we'll be able to address it right away. You're always welcome here in the Community. Have a great day!

Hi, JasroV,

Thanks for the info.

I have the same problem as RR20: I could not understand what the Rate means in the Payroll Summary Report, while I tried to get the average salary rate for 2019 for a specific employee.

Could you please kindly clarify:

1. What the Rate means in the Payroll summary report? For example, if I run report for Jan 01, 2019 to Dec 31st, 2019, does the Rate mean the rate as of Dec 31st?  or anything else?

2. If I want to know the average rate of 2019, should I just do the math by dividing the total salary by the hours?

PS, I am using QB Online.

Thanks

Christina

Let me clear out the confusion for you, @christina-chen. I've got the answers to your questions about the Payroll Summary report in QuickBooks Online (QBO). 

The Rate column in the report refers to either the current rate or the rate you used within a specific period. If you run the report from 01/01/2019 - 12/31/2019, the program uses the rate as of Dec 31st. I've attached a screenshot below where you can see the same current Rate from the report and the employee's profile. The sample employee's name is Duncan Fisher. 

For your second concern, I'd suggest doing the math by dividing the total salary by the hours. It helps you determine the average employee's rate for 2019. For example, if the total salary is $2,000.00 and the total hours is 86.67, the average rate of it is $23.08. The screenshot below serves as your visual guide.

Aside from the Rate column, you can also learn more about the different parts of the report. One of them is the Employer Taxes and Contributions panel. For more details, see the Learn about the report section through this article: Create A Payroll Summary Report. 

Moreover, you can always run other payroll reports to get useful information about your business and employees. Just go to Reports from the left menu. Then, enter a report name in the Search box. To view the list of the payroll reports available in the program, visit this article: Running Payroll Reports. 

I'll be right here to help if there's anything else you need. Have a great rest of your day, @christina-chen.

SAME PROBLEM HERE!  When I run a Payroll Summary in TOTAL, the RATE column means nothing.  A call to QB told me it is the "total" of all employees rates....no.  Then she told me it is the "highest" rate used in all paychecks in that time period...no it is not.  WHERE DOES THE RATE COME FROM IN A PAYROLL SUMMARY RUN IN TOTAL???

Thanks for joining this thread, @RunningCPA.

I’m glad to assist you today and provide the information that will clear your confusion.

Payroll Summary shows the details for each paycheck you've created. The rate column on the report is the total salary you paid for the employee divided by the total of hours you’ve paid for the specific period. 

For example, if you have $4,000 total salary for that employee and 50 total hours, then the rate will $80. You can refer to my colleague's screenshot above as a reference.

Through this article, you were able to view useful information about your business and your employees: Run payroll reports.

Get back to this page if you have needed anything, I’ll be around.

What you are missing here is that I'm running the Payroll Summary in TOTAL - not by EMPLOYEE.  If it is run by Employee, then your answer works.  If it is run in TOTAL, that rate seems to be nothing at all.  Where does that number come from?  

Hi there, RunningCPA.

For QBO, the rate is based on the average rate of the of the paychecks you've made in a particular period of time.

You can also contact our Payroll Support Team. They'll be able to discuss this further with you and provide more details about how QBO generates the amounts in the report. 

Here's how:

1. Go to the Help menu and click Contact Us.
2. Let them know that you have questions about your Payroll Summary report, then click Let's talk.
3. Choose between Message an agent or Get a callback.

The Community is always here if you need anything else.