Hours

Troubleshooting time tracking and payroll issues

We know how important it is to make sure your employees are paid correctly and on time. If you are experiencing issues where time data isn’t transferring to payroll or paycheck calculations seem incorrect, we’re here to help.

This guide covers common issues with timesheets, payroll calculations, and job costing.

Timesheets not transferring to payroll

If you have entered time sheets in QuickBooks Online but the hours are not appearing when you run payroll, we are aware of an issue affecting some customers. Our team is actively working to diagnose and resolve this.

Workaround: Until the issue is resolved, we advise manually entering employee hours when creating paychecks.

Paycheck hours changing after saving

We have identified an issue affecting a small percentage of QuickBooks Online Payroll users. If you create paychecks using multiple pay types (such as Regular, Overtime, and Other Earnings) and select Save for Later, you may find that the Regular hours increase when you return to approve the paycheck, while other pay types retain their original values.

In the meantime, please review the paycheck details carefully before finalizing them and adjust the Regular hours manually if they have changed.

Taxes not calculating on paychecks

If you have entered hours and tips but QuickBooks is not calculating taxes for the paycheck, your payroll tax table may need to be updated.

To update your payroll tax table:

1. Select the Settings gear icon.
2. Select Payroll Settings.
3. Under the Taxes and forms section, look for the option to check for updates or ensure your service is active.
4. If prompted, download the latest update.

Note: In QuickBooks Online, updates are often applied automatically, but ensuring your browser is cleared of cache or trying an incognito window can also help display the most current data.

Viewing transactions and registers in the Chart of Accounts

If you click on an account in the Chart of Accounts and see an “Account QuickReport” with no data, or you cannot find a register, it is likely due to the account type.

• Registers: Only Balance Sheet accounts (Bank, Asset, Credit Card, Loan) have registers because they carry a running balance.
• Income and Expense accounts: These accounts (including Cost of Goods Sold) do not have registers. To see activity, run a QuickReport and ensure the date range is set to All. If the report is blank, check the dates on the transactions to ensure they fall within the selected period.

Job Estimates vs. Actuals and time tracking

You can use the Job Estimates vs. Actuals summary report even if you do not use QuickBooks for payroll, provided you are tracking costs correctly.

• Timesheets: Entering time in the Weekly Timesheet tracks tasks but is not considered a “Cost” until the payroll is run or the time is billed.
• Actual Costs: To populate the Actual Cost column, you must have actual expenditures (purchases) or billable time that has been invoiced. Simply entering hours does not create a cost until a financial transaction (like a paycheck or invoice) occurs.

Creating invoices before time is tracked

If you need to send an invoice to a customer before work has begun (for example, for a deposit or expected amount), you can create the invoice immediately.

1. Create the invoice for the expected service amount or enter the deposit.
2. Send the invoice to the customer.
3. Once the work is completed and hours are entered in the time tracking feature, return to the original invoice.
4. Modify the invoice to add the actual time activities and adjust the total as needed.

Importing payroll data from third-party software

If you are looking to import data (like hours worked or bonuses) from external Point of Sale (POS) software into QuickBooks:

• Time Data: You can often import time records using specific file formats (such as IIF or CSV) depending on your third-party tools.
• Bonuses and Pay Data: Most payroll data, including bonus amounts, generally cannot be imported directly into QuickBooks Online via file upload for payroll processing. These typically need to be entered manually during the payroll run.