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ErinW98045
January 25, 2024
Question

Calculating Payroll for one employee without QB Payroll

  • January 25, 2024
  • 1 reply
  • 0 views

We are just starting and have 1 employee to run payroll 1x per month. I am planning on manually calculating the payroll/withholdings without ADP or QBpayroll until we get more revenue to keep our overall operation expenses as low as possible.  

 

1. Any tips on where to start? Do I do this in excel and just write a manual check?
2. How do I best enter this into QB?

 

Any tips or thoughts for a company just starting this process would be very appreciated!

1 reply

J
JuliaMikkaelaQ
January 25, 2024

Thanks for sharing this in the Community space, @ErinW98045. Let me guide you so you can manually generate a payroll without a payroll subscription in QuickBooks Online.

 

Since you don't have a payroll subscription, you can still run a payroll for your employee by manually entering a payroll check in the program. This way, you can track those paychecks. However, please know that this doesn't create the data you'll need for your employee's W-2 forms, and you'll need to have a payroll subscription or ADP payroll services to manage your taxes. Additionally, when manually calculating payroll or withholding taxes, you can visit the IRS Employer's Tax Guide for more details.

 

Afterward, the next step that you'll do is to create a manual tracking account in the Chart of Accounts to track your payroll liabilities and expenses. Create these expense accounts and select Expense as the account type:

  • Payroll Expenses: Wages
  • Payroll Expenses: Taxes

 

Create this liability account, then select Liabilities as the account type:

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

 

Once done, you can enter the payroll paychecks by creating a journal entry. Also, you can consult with your accountant to help you with the process. You can follow the steps below for your reference:

 

  1. Click the +New button, then select Journal Entry.
  2. Enter the paycheck date under the Journal date.
  3. Select Payroll Expenses: Wages for the account in the first line item.
  4. Enter the amount as a debit.

 

For more detailed and complete steps about entering payroll paychecks, you may refer to this article for reference: Manually enter payroll paychecks in QuickBooks Online.

 

Also, since you can't run a payroll report in the program, you can generate a Transaction Detail by Account Report to track all your payroll expenses. You can also customize this to fit your preferences. 

 

Don't hesitate to reach us if you have other questions about managing manual payroll or have any inquiries about QuickBooks that you want us to address. We've got your back and we'll be here to assist. Have a great day!

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