Paystub

Manage paycheck printing, pay stubs, and payroll corrections

We understand that keeping your payroll records accurate and properly formatted is essential. Whether you need to adjust your print settings for standard checks, reprint a lost pay stub, or correct how overtime wages are recorded, we can help you navigate these settings in QuickBooks Online.

Print paychecks on standard 3-per-page checks

If you are using pre-printed check stock (standard 3 checks per page), you must configure your print preferences to ensure the alignment is correct.

Select the Gear icon at the top right.
Select Payroll Settings.
Under the Preferences section, select Paycheck Printing.
Select the check style you are using. For standard 3-per-page stock, ensure the setting reflects that format (e.g., Voucher checks or Standard).
Save your changes.

Reprint pay stubs

If you or an employee needs a copy of a pay stub, you can print them directly from the Paycheck List.

Go to Reports on the left navigation bar.
Select All Reports and then Manage Payroll.
Select Paycheck List.
Check the boxes next to the specific paychecks you need to print.
Select Batch Actions and then click Print.

Note: If the pay stubs are not printing correctly, return to the Gear icon > Payroll Settings > Paycheck Printing to verify your alignment preferences.

Update the employer address on pay stubs

The address displayed on pay stubs is pulled from your company’s work locations. If the wrong address is appearing, you likely have multiple locations set up, and the incorrect one is selected.

Select the Gear icon at the top right.
Under Your Company, select Account and Settings (or Work Locations if visible directly in the menu).
Navigate to the Work Locations section (often found under the Business or Company tab).
Review the list of addresses.
- If you see a home address or incorrect location, select Edit to update it to your correct business address.
- If you have multiple locations, ensure the correct one is marked as primary or remove unnecessary locations if possible.
Select Save.

Correct overtime recording (Bank vs. Expense)

If overtime pay shows up as a deposit split in your bank account register rather than an expense, the payroll item mapping is likely incorrect. Overtime should record as an expense, not a deposit.

Select the Gear icon at the top right.
Select Payroll Settings.
Under Setup, select Accounting (or look for Chart of Accounts mapping).
Review the accounts associated with your wage types, specifically Overtime Pay.
Ensure the account mapped is an Expense account (typically Payroll Wages Expense), not a Bank account.
Save your changes.

Handle employee draws and advances

If you pay an employee a “draw” or advance between regular pay periods, you should not use a regular payroll check for this. Instead, write a regular check and reconcile it during the next payroll run.

Select + New and select Check.
Fill out the check to the employee for the draw amount.
In the account column (under the Category details), select the specific Asset account you use for tracking advances (e.g., Employee Advances).
When you run the next regular payroll, create a Deduction payroll item.
Link that deduction item to the same Asset account used in step 3.
Apply the deduction to the employee’s paycheck to recover the advance amount.

Pay subcontractors and 1099 vendors

QuickBooks Online handles subcontractors differently than employees. You generally do not print “pay stubs” for subcontractors in the same way.

Payments: Pay subcontractors using the regular Write Check or Pay Bills feature, not through the payroll processing screen.
Tracking: To track costs associated with subcontractors, run reports such as the Transactions List by Vendor or Expenses by Vendor.
Reporting: While older desktop versions offered specific “Job Cost Detail” reports, in QuickBooks Online you can customize your Transaction Detail by Account report to filter by specific vendors or accounts to see the detail you need.