How To Make A Payroll Register On Quickbooks

Learn how to create journal entries for paychecks you create outside of QuickBooks.

If you use QuickBooks for accounting and some other service to run payroll, you still demand to keep track of those paychecks in QuickBooks. Nosotros call paychecks made exterior of QuickBooks with services like ADP or Paychex third-party paychecks.

Some payroll services allow yous import paycheck data directly into QuickBooks. If your service doesn't have this feature, we'll prove you how to manually track these payments every bit journal entries. This keeps your payroll and account data all in one place.

Of import: Manually entering payroll paychecks into QuickBooks Online tracks your payment totals. However, it doesn't create the data you'll need for your employee'southward W-2s. You'll need to work directly with your payroll service to become your year-end forms.

Keep in listen, journal entries require an understanding of debits and credits. If you have specific questions well-nigh your Chart of Accounts, reach out to your accountant or find a ProAdvisor .

Footstep 1: Create transmission tracking accounts

If y'all haven't already, follow the steps to create new accounts in your Chart of Accounts to track your payroll liabilities and expenses.

Create these expense accounts. SelectExpense as the account blazon:

Payroll Expenses: Wages
Payroll Expenses: Taxes

Create these liability accounts. SelectLiabilities as the account type:

Payroll Liabilities: Federal Taxes (941/944)
Payroll Liabilities: Federal Unemployment (940)
Payroll Liabilities: [Country] SUI/ETT
Payroll Liabilities: [State] PIT/SDI

Notation: These accounts cover most mutual payroll tax situations. You may demand to create additional accounts for taxes specific to your state or locality.

Step ii: Enter the payroll paychecks into QuickBooks Online

After you pay your employees outside of QuickBooks, create a periodical entry.

Get your employees' payroll pay stubs or a payroll report from your payroll service.
Select + New.
Select Journal Entry.
Under the Journal date, enter the paycheck date.
If you desire to runway the paycheck number, enter information technology in the Journal no. field.

Utilize the info from your payroll study to create the journal entry. If y'all paid multiple employees for the pay period, you lot tin combine all of their paycheck totals into i periodical entry. Y'all can also create separate periodical entries for each employee if y'all need to break out the details.

Add gross wages

Select Payroll Expenses: Wagesfor the account.
Enter the corporeality as a debit.

Add employer payroll taxes

Select Payroll Expenses: Taxes for the account.
Enter the amount as a debit.

Annotation: Y'all tin can combine the post-obit taxes into one debit, or add together each tax item every bit separate debits: Social Security Employer, FUTA Employer, Medicare Employer, State Task training taxes and State unemployment insurance.

Add taxes paid towards 941 or 944 taxes

Select Payroll Liabilities: Federal Taxes (941/944) for the account.
Enter the amount as a credit.

Note: You can combine the following taxes into one debit, or add each tax particular as separate debits: Federal Income taxes, Social Security Employee, Social Security for Employer, Medicare for Employee, and Medicare for Employer

Add together state unemployment insurance taxes.

Select the Payroll Liabilities: [State] SUI/ETT Liability for the business relationship.
Enter the amount every bit a credit.

Notation: You can combine the following taxes into one debit, or add each tax item as split debits: State Unemployment Insurance and Country Employment Grooming Tax

Add together land income taxes

Select Payroll Liabilities: [State] PIT/SDI for the business relationship.
Enter the amount as a credit.

Note: You can combine the post-obit taxes into one debit, or add each tax item as divide debits: State Personal Income Tax and State Disability Insurance.

Add federal unemployment taxes (FUTA).

Select Payroll Liabilities: Federal Unemployment (940) for the account.
Enter the amount as a credit.

Add net wages

Select the checking account you're paying your employees from.
Instead of combining them, enter each private paycheck on separate lines. Enter the amounts ascredits.

When you lot're done entering the debits and credits, select Salve.

Follow an instance paycheck

Here's an example of entering third-political party paychecks issued on September 1 for two employees in California.

John received a gross paycheck of $1000.00. Their net pay is $751.34.
Jane received a gross paycheck of $500.00. Their net pay is $401.35.

Their combined taxes and other calculations for both checks are:

$ 93.00 For Social Security for Employer
$ 9.00 for FUTA Employer
$ 21.75 For Medicare Employer
$ane.fifty CA ETT
$ 75.00 CA SUI
$ 171.78 for Federal Income Tax
$ 93.00 For Social Security for Employee
$ 21.75 For Medicare Employee
$ 45.78 Land Personal Income Tax
$15.00 Land Disability Insurance

To create the journal entry, you lot would enter these combined totals every bit debits:

Payroll Expenses: Wages: $1500.00
- $ 1500.00 Gross paycheck corporeality
Payroll Expenses: Taxes: $200.25
- $ 93.00 for Social Security Employer
- $ 9.00 for FUTA Employer
- $ 21.75 for Medicare Employer
- $ one.l CA ETT
- $ 75.00 CA SUI

Then you would enter these combined totals equally credits:

Payroll Liabilities: Federal Taxes (941/944): $401.28
- $ 171.78 for Federal Income Taxation
- $ 93.00 for Social Security for Employee
- $ 21.75 for Medicare Employee
- $ 93.00 for Social Security for Employer
- $ 21.75 for Medicare Employer
Payroll Liabilities: [Land] SUI/ETT: $76.l
- $ 75.00 for Land Unemployment Insurance
- $ ane.50 for Land Employment Training Tax
Payroll Liabilities: [State] PIT/SDI: $45.78
- $45.78 State Personal Income Tax
- $15.00 State Disability Insurance
Payroll Liabilities: Federal Unemployment (940): $9.00
- $ ix.00 for FUTA Employer
Then list out each net paycheck individually as credits. It'south helpful to include a clarification and name for each bank check.
John's net pay is $751.34.
Jane'southward net pay is $401.35.

Manually