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nomij
May 1, 2020
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Can I add an "Employee Advance" payroll payment type to a commission only employee?

  • May 1, 2020
  • 1 reply
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I was able to create a payroll payment type called "Advance" an set it as a Reimbursement type so that it was not included as taxable income on the T4. But, in they payroll settings section, I can only assign expense type GL accounts to the reimbursement type, and the advance goes onto the P&L. When in fact, the advance needs to go to the Balance sheet.
Best answer by Rochelley

Hello @nomij 

 

This process is slightly convoluted.  The only way to give your employee a non-taxable advance is to use the Reimbursement item.  But because this item was designed to actually reimburse an employee for expenses they paid out of pocket, it tracks to an expense account and only lands on the P & L.

 

When an employee pays back an advance, you can create an advance item on the Deductions side of things.  This tracks to a current asset account.  Unfortunately, you cannot enter a negative amount in here, which would solve this whole issue if you could.

 

The only way to marry the two, is that you have to use a JE to CR the initial advance (that was a Reimbursement type) from the expense account it was debited to, and DR the Advance account that the payback was posted to.

 

Did I mention this is convoluted? :)

 

Good luck!

1 reply

R
RochelleyAnswer
May 6, 2020

Hello @nomij 

 

This process is slightly convoluted.  The only way to give your employee a non-taxable advance is to use the Reimbursement item.  But because this item was designed to actually reimburse an employee for expenses they paid out of pocket, it tracks to an expense account and only lands on the P & L.

 

When an employee pays back an advance, you can create an advance item on the Deductions side of things.  This tracks to a current asset account.  Unfortunately, you cannot enter a negative amount in here, which would solve this whole issue if you could.

 

The only way to marry the two, is that you have to use a JE to CR the initial advance (that was a Reimbursement type) from the expense account it was debited to, and DR the Advance account that the payback was posted to.

 

Did I mention this is convoluted? :)

 

Good luck!

    N
    nomijAuthor
    May 7, 2020

    Thank you for your reply!  It is very helpful!

    QBO is great, until you get to the Payroll module.  So, it's hard to know if I just don't know how to do something correctly, or if it just is created incorrectly.  A simple "advance" should be standard, no adjusting JE should be necessary.  

    QBO also does not believe commissions should have vacation pay calculated on them.  They probably should check with CRA on that one. 

    The vacation pay is scary to me how much it is incorrect.  

    And you cannot use the ROE that QBO produces with ROEWeb.  Related to the PP that vacation pay earned vs paid, when I asked QBO about it, they replied that ROEWeb is incorrect. 

    I'm at the point of advising people to not use QBO payroll until it's properly redesigned.  Unfortunately, I am now stuck with it for about half of my clients before I realized it was so poorly designed.  (I had used QBD Payroll for years and assumed QBO payroll would be similarly competent.)

    But that QBO bank feed... LOVE IT.  Best bank feed in the industry.  QBO is still the best imo!  C'mon payroll dept, re-do the payroll module already!!

    Thanks again for your help!  And sorry for the rant.  I am a QBO fan.  I just feel let down by the payroll module.

      AddieC
      AddieC
      May 7, 2020

      Hi there,

       

      Thanks for continuing the discussion and sharing your thoughts about QuickBooks Online. I'm so glad you're a fan of QBO, and that you're loving the bank feed! The way the bank feed has been designed is so helpful for your business, especially during reconciliation time. I also love the ability to add transactions from the feed, saving tons of time with data entry.

       

      In regards to the Payroll module, I can assure you that we work closely with experts to align our systems with CRA guidelines. It's our goal to continuously improve and offer amazing payroll capabilities. I'd encourage you to submit your feedback about Payroll directly to our engineering department by clicking the Gear icon > Feedback. 

       

      These messages are read daily, and your suggestions are so important to us. 

      If you have any other questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to reach out to our tech support team. 


      Enjoy your day!

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