Adding Billable Time to a Job and not go through Payroll

Hello there, ScottG-6315. Glad you've posted it here.

Still, you can utilize timesheet without using payroll in QuickBooks Desktop. Just make sure the timeactivity is billable to the customer. To create a timesheet to track hours, select a Customer: Job and Service Item and click to select the Billable? column. For more details, you can check this article: Learn how to create and print timesheets.

If you're already created a bill, create an invoice and select the customer that you entered on the bill. The Billable Time/Costs pop-up window, tick the Select the outstanding billable time and costs to add to this invoice radio button.

Also, you create a report that shows the customer name associated with the timesheet:

1. Go to the Reports menu.
2. Select Time and Mileage, then Time by Name.
3. Select Customize Report tab.
4. In the Display window, add more columns to your report by selecting one or more of the display options available. Add all the information you need. 
5. Click OK to apply your selections.
6. Then, OK on the next window to save your changes.

To personalize your invoices and get the info you need, you can customize them. Feel free to use this resource for further insights: Use and Customize form templates.

If you have additional questions about QuickBooks Desktop, let me know by commenting below. I'm here to help in any way that I can.

Hi ScottG-6315,

Hope you’re doing great. I wanted to see how everything is going about adding billable time to a Job. Was it resolved? Do you need any additional help or clarification? If you do, just let me know. I’d be happy to help you at anytime.

Looking forward to your reply. Have a pleasant day ahead!

What if you don't want to bill the customer for this time but want it to be included in the job costing reports that get exported from QuickBooks?

Is billing/invoicing the customer the only way to have the employee labor included in the job costs?

Hi dbourget,

Good day to you, and thank you for joining in on the thread.

Yes, you are correct about having to bill a customer so that the job costs from the time entries can be realized. While this is the setup in QuickBooks, I suggest finding a third-party app that can create a report with job costs using only time entry data.

On the other hand, you can also check about customizing reports so you'll be guided in filtering the data you only need.

Let me know if you have any other questions about QBO. I'm just around to help. Take care!

This thread is the closest I can find to my problem/situation.  I work for a contractor and we put our labor costs against jobs for the purpose of job-specific P&L reports. We do not directly bill customers for labor. 
I'm using QB Desktop Pro 2023.  We were using Enhanced Payroll, but we have switched to an outside payroll processor where we enter the employee hours to their website and they do everything else.  BUT I still want to track the hours worked on each job by each employee.  Using "Enter Time>> Use Weekly Timesheet" I can still input the hours by job the way I used to.  However, the hours just sit there unless I run payroll -- which we are NOT doing anymore.
I tried running a payroll as normal (but after the other payroll company did our REAL payroll).  Of course this created paychecks in my check register that I have no need for since the payroll company already paid these.  And, the total payroll dollar amount is already there since we imported General Ledger payroll dollar amounts from the processing company.
If I void the duplicate paychecks I created, that will undo the job costing data I want to keep!

As I type this, it occurred to me that maybe I should NOT import the payroll processor's General Ledger data at all, but rather use their calculations to manually create a "fake" Payroll Run. 
Does any of this make sense to anyone?  Please help if you can.

Hello,

I'm glad to see you dropping by here in the Community space. I'm here to help you track the hours worked by employees on each job in QuickBooks Desktop.

I can see there's a feature you want to use that is causing duplicate transactions. Since you need to track the hours worked, you can discontinue importing your payroll processor's GL data and create payroll within QuickBooks.

Since you're no longer using our payroll service, I recommend setting up manual payroll to continue tracking payroll data without the subscription. However, note that you need to calculate and enter payroll taxes manually.

Please refer to your outside payroll processor's data to guide you with entering the information. For now, this is the only workaround available in the Desktop version.

You need to configure your QuickBooks settings to set up manual payroll correctly. I've attached the link you can check out to learn more about the process: Set up manual payroll without a subscription in QuickBooks Desktop.

Hit the Reply button anytime you have additional concerns about tracking hours worked by job in QuickBooks. We'll be sure to get back as quickly as possible. Have a great day ahead.

Hi AlcaeusF!  Thanks for answering my question.  However, the "manual payroll" selection is grayed-out so I cannot choose it.  The "Full Payroll" is checked and I cannot uncheck that.  Any idea how to make the "manual payroll" option available?

  I am running QuickBooks Plus Annual Subscription Pro (latest version available).  I did have Enhanced Payroll but it expired on April 10th and we did not renew.    So I was surprised when after I ran a "fake" payroll yesterday, I got a message that my paychecks had been sent.   It should not still be doing that, right?

Thanks again

Hi there, DAC7047.

I have steps to share that can help you start using the Manual Payroll option. 

First, make sure to update your version of QuickBooks before you set up manual payroll. This is to make sure that you have the latest fixes and improvements.

Second, you can remove the existing payroll service key in your company file since you're subscription is no longer active. Here's how:

1. Go to the Employees menu and select Payroll Center.
2. Press CTRL + K on your keyboard.
3. Click the Remove button, then select Yes.

Once done, go back to the Preferences window and check if you can already check the box for Manual Payroll. 

Feel free to check out these articles for additional guidance when manually doing payroll:

• Pay and File Payroll Taxes and Forms Manually in QuickBooks Desktop Payroll
• Access State Agency Websites for Payroll

The Community is always here if you need anything else. 

Hello again,

I followed the steps - Ctrl K - then Remove.  Got an info/warning box, but clicked YES.  The next screen that comes up is a window to Send/Receive Data.  I clicked close.  But still cannot select manual payroll.

It's nice to see you back in the community thread, @DAC7047. I appreciate your troubleshooting efforts. I'll be sharing additional information about the manual payroll in QuickBooks Desktop (QBDT).

I understand how time-consuming it is to perform payroll activities when experiencing challenges in QBDT. Since you've already done the steps provided by my colleague, I recommend closing your QuickBooks Desktop. Then, reopen it as an Admin. This way, it will update the changes, and you'll now have the option for manual payroll. 

You might want to track your payroll transactions in QuickBooks Desktop. Please refer to this article: Create a payroll summary report in QuickBooks.

Feel free to get back to us if you need further assistance with any QuickBooks-related concerns. We're always here, looking forward to assisting you. Keep safe!

I have a similar situation, except I am a consultant and not a building Contractor. I want to add my hours worked on the project and bill the client the hourly rate, having my name as the employee, but since I am the owner, I pay myself differently. How do I enter this on a project/job without using payroll or it going to a labor cost account?

My situation is similar, except I want to add hours to a project, with me as the employee, since I am the owner, I do pay myself not through Payroll.  How do I add my hours to a project? Also if I am billing the client at say $100 per hour and yet I pay the employee $50 per hour, how is that entered on a timesheet or how is that accounted for?

Thanks for joining here in the thread, @vaiconsultant. I've got some information for you about adding hours to a project in QuickBooks Desktop.

While we can simply add hours to a project in QuickBooks Desktop with you as an employee, the ability to let it show on your job costing reports isn't available. Since you won't be paying yourself as you have your own way of doing it, we can't tag it as Billable when recording it, causing this activity not to be included in your reports.

I can see how you would want to achieve this in QuickBooks Desktop, however, this is the default of the program. 

On the other hand, you can consider looking for a supported third-party application that'll enable you to create job costs using time entry data only, making it not billable. You may refer to this article to find one: Apps help QuickBooks run better. I'd suggest searching for keywords to maximize the results and taking the time to read the customer's Reviews for better recommendations.

I've also added this article that can provide you with some insights in case you'd want to add, edit, and delete items: Add, edit, and delete items in QuickBooks Desktop. 

I'm still willing to provide more information if you need some with tracking hours worked by job in QuickBooks Desktop. I'll be sure to get back to you. Have a great day ahead.