Paying moving expense lump sum to employee prior to start date

Hello there, @accounting1012.

There are two ways to pay employees a lump sum for their moving expenses prior to their start date in QuickBooks Desktop (QBDT). Let me discuss each of them below.

If you want to show the lump sum amount of your employees' moving expenses on your payroll account and calculate taxes, you'll have to create a payroll item and use the appropriate expense account. Then, create their paychecks to record the transaction. To do this, here's how:

1. From the Lists menu, select Payroll Item List.
2. At the lower left side, click Payroll Item.
3. Select New.
4. Select Custom Setup.
5. Enter the necessary information.
6. In the Liability/Expense Account page, select the appropriate expense account.
7. Select Next until you can select Finish.

Once you're ready to run payroll for your new employees, select the payroll item you've created, so the moving expenses will automatically be reported to the correct account.

If there isn't a need to record the lump sum amount of your employees' moving expenses on payroll, you can create or process a check transaction. You can refer to this article for the complete guide: Create, modify, and print checks.

Also, there are a variety of reports that can help you manage payroll and keep track of employee expenses in QBDT Payroll. You may want to check out this article as your reference to guide you in customizing these reports to get the information you need: Customize payroll and employee reports.

Let me know if you have other payroll concerns or questions about managing employees and business expenses in QBDT. I'm always ready to help. Take care, and I wish you continued success, @accounting1012.