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kpeters4319
August 28, 2021
Question

401k account money transfer

  • August 28, 2021
  • 2 replies
  • 0 views

I have my own LLC taxed as an S Corp, so I am the employee and I use Quickbooks Payroll.

I'm not sure if I have correctly set it up to take out the Roth contribution that I decided upon. I created a sub-account of my liabilities account for this. When I ran the payroll, it correct deducted the amount and put it in that Roth sub-account of liabilities. However, this 401k withholding is not in the liabilities section in the Payroll center.

I also wish to track the 401k accounts in Quickbooks. I therefore created a bank account for the Roth and Traditional bank accounts that I have opened.

Today I transferred the liability amount that was withheld from my paycheck in Payroll and sent it to the 401k bank account. I did this on my bank account website, not through Quickbooks.

THE PROBLEM:

When I go to enter this transfer in Quickbooks, for some reason it is entering both as decrease or increase. I cannot figure out how to fix this. I tried just doing a transfer from the liabilities account to the 401k bank account. It correctly decreased the liabilities account, but it also decreased the bank account, instead of increasing it! 

What am I doing wrong? How do I make it decrease my liabilities sub-account and increase the bank account balance?

2 replies

BettyJaneB
BettyJaneB
August 28, 2021

I appreciate the complete details that you gave, @kpeters4319.

 

I'd like to ensure your account's record will be accurate in QuickBooks Desktop.

 

When setting up a Roth 401(k) after-tax deductions in QuickBooks, make sure that your set up is correct. This way, payments will be tracked properly. 

 

To give you insights about the Roth 401(k) set up, please check out tis reference: Set up Roth 401(k) and Roth 403(b), and Roth 457(b) plans.

 

Moreover, when transferring your funds, make sure that account that you've selected where the amount will be transferred to is correct. To fix this, I'd recommend reviewing the accounts used and its set up.

 

Once verified and the problem continues, I'd recommend reaching out to your accountant. They'll be able to provide you the best course of action to be taken for this situation. This is to ensure the accuracy of your books.

 

You may also seek help from our accountants through this site: Find an accountant.

 

For you reference, you can always use these resources attached to guide you in managing your payroll liabilities in QBDT:

Know that you can reach out to me here if you need further help with your payroll liabilities. I'll make sure you're all set. Have a good one!

K
kpeters4319Author
August 29, 2021

I have the accounts set up correctly. This article only covers setting up the accounts for payroll. It does not cover how the business should record the transfer of money from the liability account to the 401k bank account. Shouldn't there be an article or directions on this somewhere?  I'm not looking for accounting advice. I'm looking for Quickbooks advice on whether to record this via the "pay liabilities" or "write a check" or whatever.

K
kpeters4319Author
August 30, 2021

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JessT
JessT
August 29, 2021

Hi kpeters4319,

 

I'll be happy to guide you to pay your Roth 401(k)s correctly.

 

The roadmap is you'll want to create a payment schedule (payment frequency) for the Roth 401(k)s first, so they come up in your Pay Liabilities section. Then, you can pay them once they show up in there. You wouldn't want to create transfers.

 

Create a payment schedule/frequency:

 

  1. Click the Employees menu and choose Payroll Center.
  2. Choose the Pay Liabilities tab on the right.
  3. Click Go to schedule payments or Change Payment Method at the bottom. This will open the Payroll Setup window.
  4. Click on Benefit & Other Payments and then Schedule Payments.
  5. Click your Roth 401(k) and then Edit.
  6. Select a vendor and account # (leave blank if you don't have it yet).
  7. Choose a payment frequency and click Finish. Go back to Step 5 to create a schedule for the Roth 401(k) Co. Match if you have it.
  8. Click Finish.

 

Paying the 401(k)s:

 

After creating a schedule, you'll see the Roth 401(k)s in the Pay Liabilities section. To pay them, just select each, click View/Pay, and select the bank account where you take payments for these benefits.

 

 

Here is an article for your additional reference: Set up and pay scheduled or custom (unscheduled) liabilities.

 

Let me know if you have any other questions in mind. Take care always.

K
kpeters4319Author
August 30, 2021

Thank you for the second part of those instructions.

When I do that, it does deduct the $800 from the bank account and applies it toward the liability. So now I understand that part.

The second part of what I want to do is track the 401k trust bank accounts in Quickbooks as well. I created the Roth bank account, but there does not seem to be any way for that transaction to cause the $800 to appear in the Roth bank account. Is Quickbooks not set up to do this?  I suppose that, since the 401k trust is a separate entity, do I need to create a new "company" for it or something?

As it stands right now, I have the bank account created within this company, but if I try to create a $800 deposit, it wants to know where that $800 came from. Is there any way to link that with the $800 that left the bank account?

R
Ryan_M
August 30, 2021

Thank you for the prompt reply, @kpeters4319. Let me handle this concern of yours about payroll liabilities in QuickBooks Desktop (QBDT).

 

Following the steps provided by my peer @JessT above, you can run the Payroll Liability Balances report to track these payments. This way, QBDT can track these liability payments accurately. 

 

 

I'll show you how:

 

  1. Go to the Reports menu. 
  2. Highlight Employees & Payroll, then select Payroll Liability Balances.
  3. Set the Date to the range you want.

 

Check out this article for additional information about this report: Run payroll liability balances report. For an explanation of the paychecks included in it, scroll down to the What is the Payroll Liability Balance report? section.

 

In the future, if you need to create payroll liability adjustments, keep this article for reference: Adjust payroll liabilities in QuickBooks Desktop. 

 

Let me know in the comments below if you have other questions about payroll liabilities in QBDT. I'll be around to help you out. Enjoy the rest of the day!

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