What do I do? I keep on getting error message " That doesn't look like the right Social Security number. Take a look and try again."

Hi there, annanderic.

Welcome back to the QuickBooks Community. Let me discuss how adding employees work in QuickBooks Online Payroll. Then, ensure you can enter their information smoothly after performing the troubleshooting steps below.

When you hire a new employee or team member, they should complete an I-9 form and provide the appropriate documentation listed on the form to verify they can work in the U.S. legally. With this, I recommend making sure that you're not entering the ITIN since it is formatted like an SSN and usually begins with "9." You can open this article to see various details the difference between SSN and ITIN and how it works: Understand the difference between a Social Security number and an Individual Taxpayer Identification....

However, if the issue continues to occur, a cache full of history and temp files might be the reason you're getting the error you've mentioned. I recommend logging in to your QuickBooks account using a private browser. Then, add your child to the QBO payroll service as an employee from there. Please know that this is to rule out the possibility of a webpage issue, and private browsing doesn't store local files or cache.

Use these keyboard shortcuts based on the browser you're using:

• For Firefox or Microsoft Edge, press Ctrl + Shift + P.
• For Chrome, press Ctrl + Shift + N.
• For Safari, hold down Command + Shift + N.

If it works in incognito, you'll have to clear the cache of your regular browser. This removes the history or log of sites so you can start with a clean slate. If the steps above didn't work, use another supported browser as an alternative.

Lastly, you may refer to this article to see details on how you can set up and invite your employees so they can see and print their own pay stubs and W-2s online: Invite your employees to QuickBooks Workforce to see pay stubs, W-2s and more if you use QuickBooks....

Please know that you can always drop your message to this thread if you still have further issues with employees' SSNs. I'm willing to provide more details, annanderic. Have a great day!

I tried incognito/ private browser, it didn't work.

I cleared the cache, still not working. What else can I do?

Hi I tried all you suggested, re-created account, re-entered the info, i continued to get the same error message. Can I reach out to QBO payroll for help? what # to call?

Thanks for getting back to us and trying the steps shared by my colleague above, annanderic. 

I'll ensure to provide more help resolving the error you've got. 

First, we'll have to ensure no similar profile has been set up before for your child. If this happens, we'll need to delete the other one and proceed with adding your child to the QBO payroll service as an employee. A duplicate employee detail can also lead us to get an error, invalidating the details we entered. 
 

1. Go to the Payroll menu.

2. In the Employees tab, enter the employee's name in the Search box.

3. If you see a duplicate name and have verified that we've added it by accident, we can delete it. 
   
4. Select the employee you want to delete.
5. From Actions in the upper-right corner, select Delete employee.
6. Select Yes.

If the issue persists, we'll need to investigate this one. And, yes, you can reach out to our Payroll Support for additional help. Our Team will examine your account in a private environment to see why the error is still showing. We can contact our Phone Support department within your QuickBooks Online account.

1. Click Help in the upper-right corner.
2. Select Contact us.
3. Or, get our contact number in this article: QuickBooks Online Support.

We can check these articles for details about generating reports that include your employee's details. The other has information on how your employee can view their paystub in QuickBooks Workforce.
 

• Run payroll reports in QuickBooks Online Payroll
• View your pay stubs, time off, and year-to-date pay in QuickBooks Workforce.
   

Comment below if you have other concerns when adding employees to your book and payroll service. We're all right here to help you anytime.