How can I enter in a payroll for a previous date? I get a message that pay date could cause you to make a late tax payment and incur a penalty.

I understand the importance of tracking your payroll data accurately, leenelson. I'm here to share some details about this.

In QuickBooks Online, we can enter a previous payroll during your initial setup process with no paychecks yet created. For the detailed steps, please see this article: Add Pay History. 

If you've already entered payroll data, I recommend contacting the Payroll Support Team. They have tools to help you add the previous paychecks to the program.

Here's how:

1. Click the Help tab in the upper-right corner.
2. Go to the Assistant tab.
3. Click Get help from a human.
4. Choose Start a chat or Have us call you.

Also, I recommend checking our support hours to get assistance promptly.

Moreover, you can run various reports to view the snapshot of your payroll and employees' information. Doing so helps you track their cumulative earnings, deductions, tax information, and more.

Feel free to ask additional questions regarding recording and managing payroll data in the online version. We'll check and review your questions to ensure we address everything.