Set up and manage payroll schedules

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

Note: You can't remove a pay schedule once added. Instead, you can name the other pay schedule differently to avoid confusion.

Set up, assign, and update a pay schedule

1. Go to Payroll, then Employees.
2. Select your employee.
3. From Employment details, select Start or Edit.
4. From the Pay schedule ▼ dropdown, select the pay schedule for the employee moving forward. Or, to create a new pay schedule, select + Add pay schedule.
5. Fill out the appropriate fields. Then select Save.
6. When you're done, select Save.

If you want to edit the pay period, you must select or enter the correct pay period ending.

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

Create a 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.

Assign a pay schedule to an employee

1. Go to Employees, then select Employee Center.
2. Double-click the employee's name.
3. Select the Payroll Info tab.
4. Select the Payroll Schedule ▼ dropdown.
5. Select the Payroll Schedule that you wish to assign to this employee.
6. Select OK to save.

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. To update all upcoming payroll schedules:

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.

Deactivate or delete a payroll schedule

Instead of deleting a payroll schedule, you can make it inactive. This way, you could always make it active again if you needed to do so without setting up a new payroll schedule. To deactivate a pay schedule:

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

If you decide you want to completely delete a payroll, there are two steps:

Step 1: Remove any employees who are on the payroll schedule you want to delete

1. Go to Employees, then select Payroll Center.
2. Double-click the employee's name.
3. Go to the Payroll Info tab.
4. Make sure the schedule in Payroll Schedule field isn't the one you need to delete. If it is, select another payroll schedule for the employee or clear the field.
5. Follow these steps to check the payroll schedule for all your employees.

Step 2: Delete the payroll schedule

1. Go to Employees, then select Payroll Center.
2. Go to the Pay Employees tab.
3. Under the Create Paychecks table, select the payroll schedule that you want to delete.
4. From the Payroll Schedules ▼ dropdown, select Delete Schedule. Note: If you get a prompt saying you can’t delete or make a payroll schedule inactive, you still have employees on it. Follow Step 1 to check all of your employees.
5. Select OK.