Time card entry for job costing report using third party payroll

I know this isn't easy for you, JZ7747.

I understand the value of keeping track of job costs to know how much money you spend and make on each job. You can use the time feature in QuickBooks Desktop to enter time without a payroll subscription. However, timesheets are non-posting transactions, they will not appear on the job costing report. You must create a bill or invoice to include it in the Job Profitability and Company Financial reports.

It's also strange that the amount changed when you attached it to a bill or invoice. Since the amount of the customer invoice is determined by the hours and rate entered into the software. Let's run the Verify and Rebuild data to ensure your company file is free from any data issues.

Here's how:

1. Go to the File menu, then click Utilities.
2. Choose Verify Data, then hit OK to close all windows. If you see “Your data has failed the integrity check” you need to rebuild your file. If there are no problems with your data, you’re done.

Rebuild data:

1. Go to the File menu, then select Utilities.
2. Click Rebuild Data, then press OK to close all windows.
3. Choose OK to backup your company file.
4. Once the rebuild's finished, hit OK.

After that, make sure the Select the outstanding billable time and cost to add to this invoice are selected when creating an invoice. Please see the image below:

I'm also adding these helpful articles for more tips about the time tracking feature in QuickBooks Desktop:

• Set up time tracking
• Create and print timesheets
• Track job costs in QuickBooks Desktop

If you have further questions about tracking job costs, let me know. I'll be here to help you.

I am having a very similar issue. We use a 3rd party company (ADP) to process our payroll and timecards. There has to be a way to put the timecard info into Quickbooks desktop for job costing reports. Quickbooks support keeps telling me I have to us QB payroll, but when I try to do that- QB wants me to cut the employee checks, etc. and then pay the liabilities from QB. There has to be a way to record this within Quickbooks and still accurately reflect the lump sums out of our bank account for wages, taxes, etc. 

I can provide you with some information that may help you add your time card information to track job costs in QuickBooks Desktop, @pmerlet.

To add your time card information in QuickBooks Desktop (QBDT), you need to set up a Customer:Job for each of your jobs, assign expenses to a job, and create appropriate invoices. When creating a weekly timesheet or a single activity entry, ensure to check the billable column to import the time to a bill or an invoice because timesheets are non-posting entries. Doing so will include it in the Job Profitability or Company Financial reports.

Here's how:

1. Go to the Employees menu and select Enter Time. 
2.  Select Use Weekly Timesheet or Time/Enter Single Activity.
3. Provide all the necessary information and then select Save & Close or Save & New. 

From here, you can create an invoice to show the revenue in the Job Profitability reports. Check the article for more information about creating an invoice in QuickBooks Desktop. 

Moreover, you can run various job reports to see how your business is doing on a job-by-job basis like Jobs, Time, & Mileage or Contractor Reports. You can check this article for more information about generating the report: Customize reports in QuickBooks Desktop. 

Check this article for more information about tracking your transactions to have an accurate record of your job costs: Track job costs in QuickBooks Desktop. 

If you need more information about adding your time card information, feel free to ask. I'm always here to help you. Have a great day!

So in lieu of using QB payroll - I'd enter the employee time and bill it to the projects by issuing invoices? 

I've been trying to avoid marking anything in Quickbooks as "billable" because our job contracts are lump sum contracts. I'm not issuing invoices to our customers based on the time spent on projects or material used on projects - we invoice based on the entire contract amount and do not break it out. 

Hello here, Pmerlet.

I appreciate you returning and asking for clarifications regarding your putting the timecard info on your QuickBooks Desktop (QBDT) for the job costing reports. 

Yes, recording their work hours and issuing an invoice or bill is needed to bill an employee for a project. Timesheets are considered non-posting entries, so importing them to an invoice or bill will help include them in Job Profitability or Company Financial Reports.

You can read more about keeping tabs on your job costs through the article: Track job costs in QuickBooks Desktop.

In addition, here's an article that entails attaching, configuring, and deleting items in your QuickBooks Desktop account: Add, edit, and delete items in QuickBooks Desktop.

Don't hesitate to comment below if you have further inquiries about adding your time card information to your QBTD. The Community is always open to answer them at any time. Have a good one!

I have used a 3rd party for payroll for many years now. Since we are a Construction Company, to get the complete picture of the Time & Cost for our jobs, I have to use a 2 step process.

First, I use Timecards. This gets the exact hours & people reflected on my Job Reports, but not the dollar amount. I also have SubAccounts set up in Items set up to reflect certain portions of our services like Labor:Ceilings or Labor:Delivery for more detailed tracking. 

Secondly, after payroll has been run, my 3rd party payroll sends me a G/L breakdown using my G/L accounts. Since I am charged each week from the payroll service for my payroll, company taxes, and service fee less reimbursements, I take the amount that will come out of my bank and enter it under the Write Checks window under Banking. My payroll service is my Vendor. I then use that G/L breakdown they give me to enter the specifics on the Expenses & the Item tab. By the time you finish your entries, you should have a check amount that matches your entries breakdown & can Save. These costs/reimbursements are now put to your G/L accounts, jobs, the overall amount is deducted from Checking, and your Vendor is showing zero due. 

Side Note - If you don't need to apply your gross labor costs to specific Items on jobs, you don't have to use the Items Tab. I also use the Items Tab to allocate tax burden to each job. I do this with an Item Labor Burden that is tied to a G/L Acct titled Burden. These Labor Burden entries are offset by a reversing entry on the Expenses tab which brings my G/L account for Labor Burden back down to zero.  The Labor Burden Item & G/L account exists only to move tax burden from overhead to the job. 

I hope this helps.