Setup Payroll in QuickBooks Desktop

With QuickBooks Desktop Payroll, you can quickly, correctly, and on-time pay your staff. To begin going, you must finish a few chores. So without wasting time let’s go through this article and learn how to set up payroll in QuickBooks Desktop.

How to Set up New QuickBooks Desktop Payroll

Step 1: Activate your payroll subscription

After purchasing QuickBooks Desktop Payroll Basic or Enhanced Payroll, you must activate your annual subscription. Whether you bought it online, over the phone, or at a physical store will affect activation.

Please follow the instructions in your payroll service key to use QuickBooks Desktop Payroll Assisted. After the setup procedure with a QuickBooks specialist, you will activate your monthly payroll subscription.

Enter the payroll service key

A 16-digit service key will be emailed to you if you purchased QuickBooks Desktop Payroll Basic, Enhanced, or Assisted online or over the phone.  This key must be entered in QuickBooks in order to use the payroll features. Check your junk or spam folders, or use our automatic Service Key Retrieval tool, if you haven’t received your service key. You must log in with your Intuit Account credentials.

• Firstly, you have to open your QuickBooks Desktop company file.
• Then you have to choose to Enter Payroll Service Key (or Manage Payroll Service Key if you have a different payroll subscription) after choosing Employees, Payroll, and then Employees.
• In QuickBooks Desktop, you have to click Add (or Edit if a payroll service is already listed, then Remove the payroll service key before moving on).
• Then you have to enter your Service key.
• Select Finish after selecting Next.
• Then you have to select OK when the Payroll Update notification appears.
• Select OK after confirming that the status of your payroll service is Active.

Activate a subscription purchased from a retail store

• You have to open your QuickBooks Desktop company file.
• Then you have to install Payroll from Box is the third option after selecting Employees and Payroll.
• The Payroll License and Product Information page needs the information. Your license number is written in bold letters on a sticker that is attached to the folder within the box.  The directions on the folder include the product number. In step 5, you will be given a 16-digit service key to enter.
• Choose Continue.
• To complete your payroll activation, including entering your payroll service key, you have to follow the on-screen instructions.

Step 2: Complete the online application/create a Payroll PIN

You must complete this activity to use direct deposit, pay your payroll taxes, and file them.

A: Gather your business and principal officer info

• Your company’s legal name, address, and Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN). The name, home address, Social Security number, and date of birth of your principal officer (who will be the authorized signer on your company’s bank account).
• Your online business bank account For your direct deposits and payroll taxes, you can use either a username and password or the routing and account numbers of the account you want to use. (We realize entering this info can be unsettling.

B: Complete the online application

• You have to select Employees, then you have to select My Payroll Service and then you have to select Activate Assisted Payroll.
• Enter the data in the application wizard according to the on-screen prompts.
• Now you have to create your payroll PIN.  Your PIN should contain 8–12 characters, all of which must be letters and numbers—no unusual characters.

Step 3: Complete your payroll setup tasks

You will enter any paychecks and tax payments you have already made this year, as well as enroll your employees and set up your federal and state payroll taxes. We are aware that entering your payroll data into QuickBooks takes time.  As a result, the configuration is made to let you enter information whenever it’s convenient for you and save it as you go.

To complete these processes and activate your service if you use QuickBooks Desktop Payroll Assisted, you can seek help from a setup expert.

The setup tasks are as follows

• Open your QuickBooks company file.
• Then you have to select Employees, then Payroll Setup.

Add employees

If you use QuickBooks Desktop Payroll Basic or Enhanced, you will enter your employees’ information in this job and may also encourage them to enter some of their information using our free QuickBooks Workforce product.

You will need the following details for each employee:

• Completed Form W-4 and, if necessary, any state-specific equivalent forms
• Hire date
• Birth date
• Pay rate
• Any pay deductions, including those for retirement, insurance, or wage garnishments
• Information about your bank account or credit card for direct deposits, (if any)
• Accrual rates for PTO, sick leave, and vacation time, (if any).

Set up company (pay items, deductions, PTO)

You can put up client items in this task or choose from a pre-made selection of pay items, insurance benefits, and retirement deductions. You can also include paid vacation and/or sick time if you provide those benefits to your employees. After setting up your payroll items and time off, you can apply the items to several employees at once by using the Assign to Employees button.

Set up taxes

You must enter your federal and state payroll tax information in this job. You may set up to pay your payroll taxes electronically if you use QuickBooks Desktop Payroll Enhanced.

Information required:

• The number for Federal Employers in Identification (FEIN).
• State account numbers for unemployment and/or withholding: To register federal and state deposit frequencies, get in touch with your state agencies: on how frequently you must pay your taxes to the state and the IRS.
• State tax rates: Paid family leave, state disability, surcharges, and unemployment.

Enter pay history

Add the paychecks and any tax payments you have made if you have already paid employees this year.  At the end of the year, your employees’ W-2s will include this information.

You won’t need to finish this step if you haven’t paid your employees yet this year.

Information required:

• Paystubs or payroll reports for every employee you paid this year, including those who have since left your company.
• Tax liability statements, tax payment receipts, or tax liability reports.

Review and finalize

If you enter your pay history, you will enter the information for your closing quarters’ federal and state tax filings in this job.  QuickBooks will go over the details of the pay history and look for any mistakes.  This ensures that the W-2s for your employees are accurate at the end of the year.

Information required:

• For closed quarters, quarterly federal and state payroll tax forms (941, state unemployment insurance, etc.)

Step 4: Activate your payroll service and sign your payroll authorization forms

Once you have finished your setup duties, get in touch with us so that a setup specialist may inspect your setup and make sure it’s ready for you to start creating paychecks.  They will then help you in starting your service.

We will email the principal with the payroll authorization forms attached once you are active.  In order for us to file these documents and pay your taxes, the principal officer must sign them and return them to us as soon as possible.

May be helpful- Cancel QuickBooks Payroll Subscription

How to Set up Manual Payroll without a Subscription in QuickBooks Desktop

You may keep track of your payroll if you choose to do it manually in QuickBooks Desktop. Just keep in mind that you will need to fill out your tax forms and calculate and enter payroll taxes. You must enable payroll in your QuickBooks settings before you can manually process payroll in QuickBooks Desktop.

QuickBooks Desktop 2018 or later

• Preferences can be chosen from the Edit dropdown menu.
• Then you have to select Payroll and Employees, and after selecting that you have to select the Company Preferences tab.
• Select the Full Payroll and Manual Payroll checkboxes in the QuickBooks Desktop Payroll Features section.
• Now you have to choose Next in the window named Get Payday Peace of Mind before clicking Activate on the confirmation screen.
• To apply the changes you have to click OK.
• To close the preferences box you have to click OK.

Create and Run Payroll in QuickBooks Desktop

Step 1: Assign a pay schedule to your employees

To make running your regular payroll more efficient it is recommended to use pay schedules. You have to set up and add a payroll schedule for your employees if you haven’t already.

Step 2: Create paychecks and send payroll

Create your direct deposit or paper paycheques next, and then send them to us so we can process them. You can create a scheduled payroll or an unscheduled payroll if you have set up a payroll schedule.

• Scheduled payroll: Paychecks you regularly give to your staff. These paycheques can also include bonuses or other compensation. Depending on the frequency you select, you will have a regular pay month and pay date.
• Unscheduled payroll: In some cases, you may need to pay your employees’ bonuses, commissions, a final paycheck, or report fringe benefits in addition to your usual payroll schedule.

Run QuickBooks Desktop Payroll

• You can choose Employees, then choose the Payroll tab.
• Choose the Scheduled Payroll, Unscheduled Payroll, or Create Termination Cheques types of checks.
• Then you have to select the appropriate schedule, and then you have to select Start Scheduled Payroll.
• Check the Cheque Date, the Pay Period end date, and the QuickBooks Bank Account.
• Choose the workers you want to pay.
• The grid can be used to enter hours, or you can choose Open Pay Cheque Detail to view everyone’s paycheque details.
• To move on to the next employee, you have to select Save & Next, or to return to the Enter Payroll Information box, pick Save & Close.
• Choose Continue.
• Review your printing options for checks and direct deposits.
• Select Create Pay Cheques once you have checked the amounts for each employee.
• You have to select Print Pay Cheques or Print/Email Pay stubs now or later as you want.

Frequently Asked Questions