Unable to enter employee ssn. error message says "it doesn't look right" but I know it is correct. I've verified her SSN is valid.

Thank you for visiting us today, @tanja.

I'll do my best to ensure you can pay your employee today. 

Once you hire a new employee, they must fill out an I-9 form and provide the necessary documentation to prove their legal right to work in the United States. 

I want to ensure you're not entering the ITIN since it is formatted like an SSN and usually begins with "9."

You may want to know the difference between SSN and ITIN. I'll like to share this article for your reference: Understand the difference between a Social Security number and an Individual Taxpayer Identification...

On the other hand, we can try some basic troubleshooting steps to see if there's a bug preventing QuickBooks from functioning right.  

We can verify that by logging into a private browser since they don't store cache files. Then, enter the new employee and see if you still get the error. If everything looks good, we can refresh the system to the main browser and clear its cache. 

You can also use other supported browsers, such as Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, or Mozilla Firefox, to assist us in eliminating the behavior.

Please know that you can always drop your message to this thread if you still have further issues with employees' SSNs. I'm willing to provide more details. Take care.

Hello, thank you for your reply.  I actually did figure it out.  Turns out the employee had already been set up previously and had a profile in the "inactive" file, so the error message was actually because I was attempting to add her again and create a duplicate employee file.  So her social was fine all along.  The error message should have read "attempting to add duplicate employee" which would have been more clear than "social doesn't look right".  Thanks again. 

Tanja

Had the same issue.  The message should indicate that it is a duplicate employee not "it doesn't look right".  Just wasted an hour verifying thru my sbo account and trying to get the employee entered when they were a "rehired inactive employee"

OMG, thank you so much for posting this!  That's probably where I've gone wrong as well.

I also had the same problem, duplicate employee that was listed as inactive. I would not have thought to look at that if I didn't read this string. Thank you for posting.

This is Quickbooks biggest issue to fix.  Abstract and inaccurate Error Messaging.  I am having the same problem, except mine is worse because I am the Owner and can't delete myself.  So now I have 2 of me in the Employee Payroll section and can't delete them, and can't update them.  Ugh...

Hi there, @bluatwood.

I see how this become challenging on your end. And I'm here to help you clear things up.

In QuickBooks Online Payroll, you can only delete an employee's profile if you haven't processed any paychecks for them yet.

However, there's a way to remove the employee's duplicated name in the Employee payroll section even if it has an existing paycheck, without affecting your payroll.

Here's how:

1. Go to your Payroll.
2. Click the name you want to remove.
3. Tick the Actions button in the upper right corner.
4. Choose to Change status.
5. Tap the Status dropdown.
6. Pick Not on payroll, then Save.

And there, you'll no longer see the duplicated employee's name in the Employee payroll section; instead, you'll see it in the inactive employee section.

You might want to view your overall employees' information and count, feel free to read this article: Run payroll reports.

We're always in love with resolving your issue in QBO payroll, and you can always have our back if you need additional assistance. Take care, and have a blissful week!

so what was the remedy to clear the emplyee   soc sec number   clear the cache ?  i have the same problem but dont know the solution? 

so how did ou get the soc sec number to work ? what was the solution ? 

driving me crazy . wasted days on this. rehired a previous employee  . still cant get the soc sec to work . maybe the solution you just mentioned will work. i losing faith in QB  even bookeeper accountant cant figure it out  . you sould definitely add some info like what to do next  you need AI !!

I understand that experiencing unexpected issues after investing time and effort can be frustrating, @BellIsle. Allow me to provide you an update.

Currently, there's an ongoing investigation about setting up an employee's Social Security Number (SSN) in QuickBooks Online Payroll. Rest assured our dedicated team is diligently investigating the matter and taking all necessary steps to rectify the situation. We also work closely with our technical experts to identify the root cause and implement appropriate measures to prevent recurrence.

For now, it's best to contact our Payroll Support team to get your company added to the list of affected ones and stay updated on the progress. Before that, check out our support hours so you’ll receive responses quickly. Then, follow the steps below to connect with us:

1. Open your QuickBooks account.
2. Go to the Help (?) menu.
3. Enter your brief concern in the field.
4. Tap Continue.
5. Click the Chat or Callback option.

If you need to change or add other employee's information to the program, follow these guides to ensure the accurate filing of payroll tax forms containing SSNs:

• Edit or change employee info in the payroll
• Correct your employee's Social Security number

Furthermore, here are some resources you can access so your workers can view their pay stubs, time off, W-2s and track time when everything is good:

• Invite your employees to QuickBooks Workforce
• View your pay stubs, time off, and year-to-date pay in QuickBooks Workforce

If you have other payroll needs, please don’t hesitate to reach back out anytime. We’ll be here to find solutions for you.

In my case employee was a rehire,  so it was a duplicate SSN and QB would not let me enter as a new employee. I found and re-activated the employee with that SSN and updated to current information.