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A
acarneal2
October 23, 2023
Question

Adding labor costs to a project in QuickBooks Online if not using QuickBooks payroll

  • October 23, 2023
  • 1 reply
  • 0 views

Hi,

 

We are using projects in QuickBooks Online and I want to be able to create a project profitability.  We are not using QuickBooks payroll however.  How do we add labor costs to a project without using QuickBooks payroll?  We import time from another project management software called ClickTime.  Thank you!

    1 reply

    A
    ArielI
    October 23, 2023

    Hello, @acarneal2.

     

    I understand the importance of creating a payroll expense for your project without using QuickBooks Online Payroll. I'm here to guide you all the way.

     

    Although you're not using QuickBooks Online Payroll, you can still keep track of your labor costs by setting up your chart of accounts. Follow the steps below to create new accounts in your Chart of Accounts, to track your payroll liabilities and expenses effectively. 

     

    1. Go to Settings. 
    2. Select Chart of Accounts
    3. Select New.
    4. In the Account Type dropdown, select Expenses.
    5. Under Detail Type, choose Payroll Wage Expenses, 
    6. In the Default Tax Code dropdown, select an applicable tax code.
    7. Select Save and Close.
    8. Create new accounts for Payroll Tax Expenses and Payroll Expenses following the same steps above.

     

    In creating an expense transaction for your project, please keep in mind to choose the correct account under the Category menu in the expense sheet. 

     

    In case you haven't created a project you may read this article for a detailed information on how to create and use projects in QuickBooks Online: Create and manage projects in QuickBooks Online.

     

    I'll provide a helpful article for future reference:  Track income, costs, and profitability by project.

     

    If you have any questions regarding Projects in QBO, feel free to leave a comment. Take care!

    A
    acarneal2Author
    October 25, 2023

    Hi,

     

    We have already set up payroll expense in the chart of accounts, but we have a lot of employees and a lot of projects to track.  Too cumbersome to do a journal entry.  I have attached a screenshot of what I am trying to do.  We are running QB Plus and I have the project set up in QB as projects, but not sure why I don't see this functionality.  Thank you!

    J
    JanbonN
    October 25, 2023

    We appreciate the screenshot you sent, @acarneal2. This will greatly help us in identifying the feature you want to access.

     

    I'm here to help you utilize the project feature of QuickBooks Online (QBO).

     

    To use projects, you'll need to turn on the feature in settings first by following these steps:

     

    1. Go to the Gear icon, then select Account and settings.
    2. Choose Advance.
    3. Click on Projects, then tick the button to turn it on.
    4. Select Save.

     

    After doing this, the Projects function will show on the MENU.

     

    You can check this link on how to set up and manage projects in QuickBooks Online Plus, Advanced, and Accountant: Create and manage projects in QuickBooks Online.

     

    Additionally, (QBO) does offer the ability to assign projects to time entries created within the program, it's important to note that this may not extend to imported entries from third-party applications, like ClickTime. 

     

    QBO relies on the data provided by ClickTime, and this service may be limited in this scenario. However, we can certainly open the imported time entries and see if there's an option to assign a project to it. If it's restricted, this means that projects may not be supported for the imported time entries. You may reach out to ClickTime so their representative can further check this and provide you with alternatives.

     

    Furthermore, to track your payroll expenses, you'll need to create journal entries for paychecks you've created outside of QuickBooks. I suggest consulting your accountant if you want to explore other methods of tracking.

     

    Here are some articles that may help you in creating budgets and journal entries in QBO:

     

    Feel free to comment below if you have more questions on projects and other QBO-related concerns. 

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