Set up manual Workers' Compensation in QuickBooks Desktop

Learn how to set up your Workers’ Compensation in QuickBooks Desktop.

If you have a payroll service subscription, you can manage and track your Workers' Compensation premiums manually. We’ll show you how.

Get started with Workers' Compensation

You need to set up the workers' compensation before you pay your employees so your reports won’t be incorrect or incomplete.

Note: Worker's Compensation manual setup or feature is only available to QuickBooks Desktop Payroll Enhanced, and QuickBooks Desktop Payroll Assisted.

Step 1: Turn on Workers Comp

1. Go to the Edit menu, then select Preferences.
2. Select Benefits & HR, then select Company Preferences.
3. Under Workers Compensation, select the Track Workers Comp checkbox, as well as the following checkboxes:
   • Display message to assign codes to display the Workers Comp messaging in QuickBooks.
   • Exclude overtime premium from Workers Comp calculation to show overtime premium as a separate item on your report.
4. Select OK, then OK.

Step 2: Set up Workers Comp

1. Go to the Employees menu, then select Workers Compensation.
2. Select Manually Track Existing Workers’ Comp Policy.
3. Make sure you have the requirements listed in the Workers Compensation Setup Wizard window.
4. Select Next.
5. Enter the needed info of your workers’ comp insurance provider, where you pay your premium to.
6. Select Next.

Step 3: Set up and assign workers comp code to your employees

Set up Workers Comp Code

1. Go to Lists, then select Workers Comp List.
2. From the Workers Comp Code ▼ dropdown, select Add New to create a new code.
3. Enter the necessary info then select OK.

Assign Workers Comp Code to your employee

1. Go to Employees, then select Employee Center.
2. Double-click the employee’s name.
3. Select Workers’ Comp. 
4. In the Assign Workers Comp Code ▼ dropdown, select a code. If an employee is exempt from Workers' Compensation insurance, assign them the Exempt code.

Note: You can only add one code to your employee’s profile. If you need more, you can manually add the code to the paycheck when you create it.

Step 4: Add an experience modification factor

Experience Modification factor is the rates assigned by insurance companies to calculate your Workers' Compensation premiums. This is based on your company's record of Workers' Compensation claims. The better your track record, the lower your rate (or at least the fewer increases), which sometimes results in a discount on your Workers' Compensation premiums. The more claims you have, the higher your rate, which sometimes results in a higher premium.

Select the radio button if you use an experience modification factor or not.

• If you select Yes, make sure to enter the rate and date for tracking.
• If you select No, QuickBooks will set the rate to 100%.

Step 5: Consider overtime rates

1. Do you pay your employees who worked overtime?
   • If you select Yes, you need to determine if you’ll include or exclude the overtime premiums from your calculations.
   • Select No if you don’t.

     Note: Get in touch with your insurance company if you’re unsure.

2. Enter a name for your workers' compensation payroll item.
3. Review the information, then select Finish.

Record a weekly timesheet

To include the timesheet data in your paychecks, you have to create a weekly timesheet.

Add a code to the paycheck

You can manually add a code when you create a paycheck. Here’s how.

If an employee needs an additional Workers' Compensation code assigned to hours worked, you can manually add the code to the paycheck when you create it.

1. Open the Preview Paycheck window.
2. In the Earnings section, select the item you want to assign a Workers Compensation code to.
3. Select the WC Code ▼ dropdown, then select the correct code. If the code isn't set up in QuickBooks yet, select Add New to create the new code.
4. Once you applied the correct code and all payment info, select Save & Close.

Exclude overtime premium from Workers' Compensation calculations

Some insurance companies base their insurance premium calculations on your employees' base wages. This means that they don't charge you extra when an employee works overtime.

Note: You must set the overtime premium preference before you begin running your payroll. Otherwise, your Workers' Compensation reports might be inaccurate.

1. Go to the Edit menu, then select Preferences.
2. Select Benefits & HR, then the Company Preferences tab.
3. Select Workers Compensation.
4. Select the Track Workers Comp and Exclude overtime premium from Workers Comp calculation checkboxes.
5. Select OK, then OK.

Additional steps

Pay your Workers’ Compensation premiums

Now that you’re all set, you may need to pay your workers’ compensation premiums.