Thanks for getting back with the Community, kmayerkmayer. I appreciate your detailed information.

To obtain an Employment Security (ES) number, I'd recommend continuing to get in touch with the Washington State Employment Security Department who issues them. Let them know your books show that you're required to have one for setting up your automated taxes.

If they continue to advise you don't need one, I'd recommend continuing to request more information about why that is, since QuickBooks displays that you indeed need it for setting up taxes properly.

I've also included a detailed resource about working with taxes which may come in handy moving forward: Set up Washington Cares Fund payroll tax

Please don't hesitate to send a reply if there's any questions. Have a wonderful day!