Top 5 Questions: Payroll

Hello QuickBooks Community! Welcome back to another Top 5! This week we’re going to cover some of the most popular questions regarding Payroll. You can probably agree that Payroll is one of those tasks that you don’t think about much until you have to do it, which in turn can bring about some last-minute issue or question. So let’s go ahead and get some of the most pressing questions answered! 

Let’s get started! 

#1 - How do you cancel the payroll that you already ran? 

If you’re using a manual paycheck, you can either delete or void this. Make sure to pay attention to your processing time and payroll service as this dictates whether you’re able to cancel the transaction. 

For direct deposits, you’ll need to make sure to void this transaction before 5:00 PM PST, otherwise, your payroll will be processed and you won’t be able to cancel.

Let’s take a look at the paycheck list for QuickBooks Online Payroll Core, Premium, and Elite, and go over the steps to void or delete a transaction:

1. Go to the Payroll menu.
2. Choose the Employees tab and go to the Paycheck list. Then go ahead and set the date range.
   
   
   
   
3. Select the paycheck(s) you'd like to delete or void, then select Delete or Void.
   
   
   
4. Click Yes to confirm

A few things to keep in mind: 

• If your direct deposit is already offloaded for ACH, we’re unable to stop the process
• Processing depends on the funding time setup for your account 
• You can wait for the money to settle in your employee’s bank account and then agree to return the amount or request a reversal.
• Take a peek at this article for more information: Reverse a direct deposit.

#2 - What is the payroll direct deposit lag time?   

If you need a little more clarification on what the cutoff time for submitting a payroll for direct deposit is and how long after the cutoff time the deposit is made into the employee’s account, then you’re in the right place! 

The cutoff time for submitting a payroll is 5PM PST at least two banking days before the paycheck date. If you submit your paychecks after the cut-off time, they will be processed on the next banking day and paid two banking days after that.

If you’re looking for more in-depth details on direct deposit scheduling and how this can be affected by federal holidays, check out this article: How do federal holidays affect my direct deposit? 

#3 - Payroll is not taking taxes out of checks. I am active. Why is this happening? 

If your payroll taxes are not calculating in your checks within your QuickBooks Desktop Payroll account, then the following reasons could be the culprit of this: 

1. The total annual salary exceeds the salary limit.
2. The gross wages of the employee's last payroll are too low.
3. Ensure to run the latest payroll update to keep your taxes updated.

It is so important that your QuickBooks program and tax table are updated to their latest version. Take some time if needed and get these up to date! 

Once you’re done making the updates, you’ll then want to revert your employee’s paycheck to help refresh the payroll information. 

Here are the steps:

1. First open your employee’s payroll information
2. Go ahead and then right-click the name of your employee which is highlighted in yellow
3.  Lastly, select Revert Paycheck. 

You should now be good to go!

If you feel like you still need more resources on this topic or are still having issues, please refer to the following articles:

• Payroll items on a paycheck are not calculating or are calculating incorrectly
• QuickBooks Desktop calculates wages and/or payroll taxes incorrectly

#4 - Can I run payroll multiple times in a pay period? I have 1 employee that is likely to be paid early ... 

Yes! You can certainly run multiple payrolls in a pay period in QuickBooks Online. To keep your payroll taxes error-free, the system will let you choose your check dates that fall after your last check date and before your next payday. This will allow you to create your employee’s unscheduled checks for the current period. 

 Let’s walk through this together: 

1. Go to the Payroll menu.
2. Select Employees.
3. Click Run payroll.
4. Find the employee you want to pay, and then select Create another check.
5. Enter employee compensation, including any salary adjustments, vacation or sick hours, and other pay types.
6. Confirm the Pay period and Pay date.
7. Select Preview Payroll, and then select Submit payroll.
8. If creating a paper check, handwrite or print the check and give it to the employee by the check date.
9. Select Finish payroll.

You’ve done it! To make sure all the info you entered is correct, you can run the Payroll Details report. You can find this report by going to the Payroll section from the Reports menu’s Standard tab.

#5 - How do I resend an employee invitation to Workforce?

 
You can resend your employee’s invitation to Workforce super quickly and easily. You'll just need to cancel the access and resend the invitation to the new email address. Let’s take a look!

Cancel and resend the invite:

1. Sign in to your QuickBooks Online (QBO) account.
2. Click Payroll from the left menu, then select Employees.
3. Choose the employee you need to resend the invitation to.
4. Go to the Personal Info section.
5. Next to We’ve invited [employee] to view their pay stubs and W-2s online with QuickBooks Workforce section, select Revoke Access.
6. Then, edit the employee’s email address and select Resend Invite.
7. Click Done.

Great job! Now that you’ve followed the steps to resend the invite, your employee should have received the new invitation.

That’s it for Payroll Top 5! I know this topic can be pretty extensive, but I hope this helps answer some of your questions. If you’re still needing some more help in this area, feel free to check out all the other awesome resources we have in the Community!