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Resolve payroll error PS038

by Intuit•13• Updated 4 days ago

Error PS038 occurs when paychecks are stuck with an "Online to Send" status, which prevents payroll from running or tax tables from downloading in QuickBooks Desktop. 

You can fix this problem by doing a data rebuild. If this doesn’t work, you’ll need to toggle each stuck check.

What you'll need

  • QuickBooks Desktop updated to the latest release
  • A recent backup copy of your QuickBooks Desktop company file
  • Your payroll service PIN
  • Make sure that you can sync your current data with Intuit’s servers.
  1. Go to the Employees menu, select My Payroll Service, and then select Send Usage Data or Send Payroll Data.
  2. In the Send/Receive Payroll Data window, select Send All.
  3. If asked, enter your payroll service PIN.
  4. If the transmission is successful, try to get payroll updates again. Otherwise, contact uscontact uscontact us for help.

Identify stuck paychecks and rebuild your data

  1. Go to the Edit menu and select Find.
  2. Select the Advanced tab.
  3. In the Choose Filter section, select Detail Level from the Filter list.
  4. Select Summary Only.
  5. Return to the Filter list, scroll to select Online Status, and then select Online to Send.
  6. Select Find to view paychecks that have not been sent to Intuit. Note the oldest paycheck that hasn’t been sent.
  7. Note the Number of matches displayed in the Find window.
  8. Close the Find window.
  9. Run a verify data utility to identify errors in the file, then rebuild your data file utility to repair it.
  10. Try to download payroll updates again. If you still see error PS038, you’ll need to toggle the stuck paychecks.

Toggle stuck paychecks

Manually editing and resetting stuck paychecks forces the system to update their status. Follow these steps for each paycheck that hasn’t been sent.

  1. Open the paycheck.
  2. Select Paycheck Detail.
  3. Under the Earnings section, add the same earnings item that appears last in the list. For example, if the last item is Hourly Rate, add Hourly Rate again.
  4. When the Net Pay Locked message appears, select No.
  5. Make sure that the tax amounts and net pay haven't changed, then select OK.
  6. Select Yes if you receive a Past Transaction message.
  7. Select Save & Close.
  8. Select Yes if a Recording Transaction warning appears.
  9. Open the same paycheck again and select Paycheck Details.
  10. Delete the duplicate earnings item you just added.
  11. Make sure the tax amounts and net pay remain correct, then select OK.

Results

Once all stuck paychecks are toggled and the data is rebuilt, this error should be fixed. You can now download the latest tax table updates.

Related links

QuickBooks Desktop Payroll AssistedQuickBooks Desktop Payroll BasicQuickBooks Desktop Payroll EnhancedQuickBooks Desktop Payroll Standard