Payroll Check being double counted in Profit/Loss Report

Welcome to the Community, @nmbibbs. I'll be glad to help you out in fixing the transactions.

If transactions are added to the same payroll account on the Banking page, it can cause some duplicate figures on your account balance.

What we can do is undo the payroll transactions from the banking section. Then, decide whether to match them to the existing transactions created in QuickBooks or exclude them. 

To undo, here's how:

1. Go to Banking or Transactions on the left panel.
2. From the Banking tab, click the Categorized or Reviewed tab.
3. Find and put a checkmark on the payroll transactions you want to remove.
4. Click the Undo button. The transaction will be added back to the For Review tab.

Please see this sample screenshot:

For matching the transactions, go to the For review section. Then, click the transaction to review the details. Here's a sample screenshot of what a transaction looks like when there's a match:

Otherwise, select the Find match radio button and find the payroll transaction created in QuickBooks.

If you decide to exclude or delete, you can follow these steps:

1. In the For review tab, select the transactions you want to remove.
2. Click the Exclude.
3. Go to the Excluded tab and you will able to delete the transactions.
    

Once done, let's check the payroll accounts to see if it shows the payroll expenses that were posted twice.

I'm adding these articles for more information: 

• Exclude downloaded bank transactions
• Categorize and match online bank transactions in QuickBooks Online

You can also visit our articles here or tutorials page to see more details about the other features in your QuickBooks Online account.

If there's anything else I can help you with, just let me know. Have a wonderful day!

Hello DebSheenD,

Thanks for the response.  So the only issue is there isn't an entry for the "payroll:wages" entry in any of the account in "Chart of Accounts". So I am unable to "match" the unreviewed bank transaction to anything.  I only see the payroll entry under the following steps:

Payroll -> Employees -> [EmployeeA] -> PayCheck list

Is there a way to "ignore" the entry?  Thanks

@ChristineJoieR Thank you so much for your help. The journal entry to transfer accounts was the fix I needed :-). I ended up changing names of an account and I think that was the culprit when payroll was done.

Hi nmbibbs,

I'm happy to know that my colleague, Christine, was able to help you with your concern about your payroll check. If you have any other concerns, you can always visit us back in the Community space, and we'll help you out. Have a good one!

I have this same issue. What would the journal entry look like to fix this? I mistakenly had the payroll routed to cash and now on my P&L, there is a double charge for the payroll. One automated by quickbooks and the other from my actual bank transactions.

I also don't understand the Journal fix for this issue described above.

I have wages showing up as expenses, as well as gross numbers (noted DD- direct deposit) in P&L breakdown. Taxes are also noted differently and duplicated... with DD amounts noting just employer contribution, while bank account expenses break out IRS vs State payments (so different amounts). I have confirmed in Payroll accounting set up that correct account is noted as source for wage payments.

Could you more specifically outline what the steps are and/or the methodology?

I'd rather see the bank expense/breakouts than the gross amounts for verification purposes.

Thank you.

I'm having the same exact issue and this hasn't helped.

My payroll expense in the P&L is basically doubled.  For every bank withdrawal for payroll there is another transaction.  See below for one example for one pay period.  That gross amount transaction should not be included.

You can't simply delete it because it doesn't exist.  If you got to Transactions the gross pay line item is nowhere to be found so I can't even fix this manually.

Also, the accepted fix post doesn't seem to match up to the current QBO settings page.  Please help.

Hello there, @TGIAccount. 

Allow me to assist you in ensuring that your Profit and Loss report is free from any duplicate payroll transactions.

The way your payroll was initially set up may be causing doubled payroll expenses to show up on your Profit and Loss report. To resolve it, I recommend reviewing how your accounts are mapped on the Payroll settings page. I'll guide you on how to access it.

1. Click the Gear icon.
2. Select Payroll settings under Your company.
3. Scroll down to the Accounting section. Then, click the pencil icon to open the Accounting preferences page.

Take note that you'll need to record direct deposit withdrawals in the Payroll Liabilities account. By doing so, all bank withdrawals for payroll will be categorized as liabilities rather than expenses.

If the issue persists, I suggest reaching out to our support team. They are equipped to thoroughly assess your account and provide you with real-time assistance in a safe and secure environment.

Here's a step-by-step guide on how to contact us:
 

1. Go to the Help menu and select the Search tab.
2. Then, click Contact Us.
3. Then, enter a brief description of your concern and select Continue.
4. Lastly, choose either Start a Chat or Get a Callback to start connecting with them.

You can check our support hours here: QuickBooks Online Support.

In case you need to change your payroll bank account, you can refer to this article to guide you on how: Change your payroll bank account.

Please let me know if you have any additional concerns about duplicate payroll transactions appearing on your reports. I'll be around to ensure you're taken care of.

To be clear on your instructions, their is no setting for " direct deposit withdrawals " as you instructed.  Are you saying that the available setting called  "Wage Expenses" should be switched from Payroll expense to Payroll Liability?

That doesnt make sense but Im happy to try it if it fixes the bug

Hi there, @TGIAccount.

Let me chime in and share some information about this matter.

In QuickBooks Online, Wage Expenses are automatically categorized as Payroll Expenses, and you don't have to switch it to Payroll Liabilities.

On the other hand, the direct deposit withdrawal shows as a Gross pay in the Profit & Loss report is the paycheck you've created in the payroll. Thus, it will show in the report you generate. The Expense you see in the report is the Net pay, which comes from your bank.

Since you're seeing duplicate expenses in the report, I recommend matching the Net pay (Expense) with its matching transactions instead of adding them. First, you'll have to undo the duplicate transaction in the Categorized tab to remove this and route it to the For Review tab. Once done you can proceed with matching the transactions. 

Here's how:

1. Go to the Banking or Transactions menu.
2. Select the tile for the account you want to review.
3. Click the For Review tab.
4. Find and select the transaction with the Match option from the Action column.
5. Select the downloaded transaction to expand the view.
6. Review the Matching records found in QuickBooks.
7. Select the link next to each match to get more details.
8. Once you've selected the correct matched transaction, click Match.

Afterward, you can pull up the Profit & Loss report to check if it's already been changed.

However, if it's not the case, I recommend contacting our Support team. They can securely review your account and investigate the reason why your Profit and Loss report shows duplicate amounts.

Furthermore, you can run a Profit & Loss Comparison Report to compare your income and expenses for a different period. You can also customize the lengths of time and dates in this report. 

Let us know if you have other questions about managing your Profit & Loss report and payroll expenses. We'll be here to lend you a hand and assist you further. Have a wonderful day!