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J
JE4255
November 12, 2020
Question

Workers Compensation

  • November 12, 2020
  • 3 replies
  • 0 views

Does the Workers Comp feature in QB allow the employer to input and track employees hours/codes who work on multiple jobs in multiple states in a given week? Trying to decide if we want to purchase the Enhanced Payroll version. Thanks. 

3 replies

M
MadelynC
November 12, 2020

Yes, you can manage and track your Workers' Compensation manually as long as you have a payroll service subscription, @JE4255.


QuickBooks has a few tools to help you with your audit. It allows you to pull information quicker and more organized.


You’ll want to set up worker’s compensation before paying your employees to avoid incomplete and incorrect reporting. You can start by turning on the feature in the program to track them. Let me breakdown the steps for you:

 

  1. From the main menu, go to Edit > Preferences.
  2. Choose Payroll & Employees and then go to Company Preferences.
  3. Select Workers Compensation and then put a checkmark on the Track Workers Comp checkbox.
  4. Mark the following checkboxes as well:
    • Display message to assign codes to show the Workers Comp messaging in QuickBooks.
    • Exclude overtime premium from Workers Comp calculation to display overtime premium as a separate item on your report.
  5. Click on OK then OK.

Once the feature is activated, you can directly set up Workers Comp for your employees and their class codes.  QuickBooks assigns a code to the employee’s earning items automatically. So when you write a paycheck, it includes your employee’s Workers Compensation premiums for all earning items. However, if one of them is exempt, you'll need to assign an Exempt code.


Here’s an article that tackles Workers' Compensation in QuickBooks Desktop. It contains complete instructions to get started including assigning codes, adding an experience modification factor and paying the premiums.


In addition, here are the available reports for workers’ comp with their description and how you can run them in QBDT.

Should you have other questions about Workers Compensation in QuickBooks, please let me know. I’ll be happy to assist you further.

    J
    JE4255Author
    November 16, 2020

    Hi Madelyn,

    Thank you for your reply. I reviewed the info you forwarded but still have questions due to the complexity of our payroll.  I researched info about setting up codes but have found nothing to demonstrate how to set up individual codes for multiple states.   Maybe if I give a scenario you might be able to shed some more light on it. I have an employee, J. Doe, last week he worked 46 hrs. in GA, NC, SC (he rec'd 3 paychecks last week, one for each state, he receives W-2's for each state at the end of the year); John's duties are as follows last week:

    GA paycheck-  code 5478 - 3 hrs.

                             - code 5221 - 5 hrs.

    NC paycheck - code 5478 - 4 hrs.

                              -code 5221 - 6.5 hrs.

                              -code 5445 - 2 hrs.

    SC paycheck - code 5478 -  7 hrs.

                              -code 5445 - 3 hrs.

                             - code 5221 - 8 hrs.

                              -code 5474 - 7.5 hrs.

     

    Does QB allow me to set up 4-6 codes per state (GA, NC, SC) so when I process paychecks it will apply the codes and hours to those particular states?  Thanks again for your assistance. 

    IamjuViel
    IamjuViel
    November 16, 2020

    I appreciate the complete details you've shared, @JE4255.

     

    Yes, you can set up multiple workers' compensation codes in QuickBooks. Also, you can track Workers Compensation when it was a rate based on hours worked. I can guide you on how to do it.

     

    When you create paychecks, the workers’ comp calculations are automatically added to the Company Summary section of each paycheck. QuickBooks will multiply gross wages by the workers’ comp rate to accrue and job cost workers’ comp expense for this paycheck. There are two different methods of how QuickBooks calculate Workers Comp. 

    • Calculate this item based on quantity – You can use this option if your employees perform work under more than one classification/experience rate during the week.  Also, you'll have full control of the number of hours that count toward each experience rate.
    • Calculate this item based on hours – This option is applicable if each of your employees performs work under only a single classification or experience rate during the week. The system will automatically calculate the rate based on the total number of Straight and Overtime hours worked.

    Here's how to set it up:

    1. Go to the List menu.
    2. Choose the Payroll Item List.
    3. Select the Payroll Item button, then click New.
    4. Pick the Custom Setup option, then click the Next button.custom setup
    5. Mark the Company Contribution option, then click the Next button. company contribution item type
    6. Enter in the workers' comp classification code/experience rate name 
    7. Check the option to Track expenses by job, then click the Next button. classification code/experience rate
    8. Enter the Worker’s Compensation Carrier detail to complete the process.
    9. Click Finish once completed.

    You can follow the same steps in adding all the workers' comp classification you're using. 

     

    Get back to us here if you have other questions about setting up workers' compensation in QuickBooks. I'm always here to help.

    M
    MCantoran
    March 26, 2021

    Hi is there any way I can set a payroll cap on employees for workers comp? Here in Nevada we have a cap of $36,000.00. I can not seem to find where to set a cap so it does not continue to calculate workers comp after the 36k.

    A
    AbegailS_
    March 26, 2021

    Hi there, MCantoran.

     

    I'll be glad to share some information about what I know about setting up your payroll.

     

    At this time, there's no option to set a cap or limit for worker's compensation. You can read through this article to learn about the workers’ compensation report in QuickBooks Desktop.

     

    When you create a paycheck in the future, please make sure not to add the worker's compensation code. This way, QuickBooks won't calculate it."

     

     

    For additional details, you may visit this link: Manual Workers' Compensation in QuickBooks Desktop.

     

    Don't hesitate to update me as to how things go. I'll always be here. Have a good day!

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    J
    jbenson44
    June 3, 2021

    Hello - is there a way to set up workers comp codes by payroll item? I can see how to set them up per employee, but my employees each work on multiple payroll items that would be associated with separate WC codes.  Thanks - Jodie

    D
    DeeDeeI
    December 8, 2021

    HOW do I or can we pay Workers Comp & Safety Insurance thru QBO payroll? HOW do we set it up to pay or do I still need to go to WSI (Workforce Safety & Insurance) site and manually pay our monthly pymts?

    MichelleBh
    MichelleBh
    December 8, 2021

    Let me respond to that question right away, @DeeDeeI. Hopefully, you're having a wonderful day today. 

     

    Allow me to jump in and share some details about paying worker's compensation in QuickBooks Desktop (QBDT) Payroll. This way, you can pay the monthly payment without a moment's delay. 

     

    You'll need to visit the Workforce Safety & Insurance site to settle your monthly payments since QBDT Payroll account is for recording purposes only. Before proceeding, ensure that you've followed the process below to ensure you are paying the correct amount:

     

    1. Set up the worker's compensation codes correctly.
    2. Include the item in the employees' paychecks.
    3. Run the Workers Compensation Detail report to see the exact payment.

     

    Once confirmed, you may now pay the exact amount on the Workforce Safety & Insurance site as soon as you're ready to avoid any penalties. 

     

    In addition, check out these articles below on how to handle premiums worker's compensation and state agency information: 

     

     

    Do you have other questions about worker's compensation or employee paychecks? Add them in the comment section below, and we'll answer that in no time. Keep safe, DeeDeeI.

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