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Krisabitz
October 26, 2021
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Tracking labor costs

  • October 26, 2021
  • 1 reply
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Hello - 

I would like to be able to track employee labor to a specific project.  However, I have employees who get paid different rates based on what they are doing on the particular day.  For example, on the same day, one employee might be doing welding at $30 per hour for 3 hours and then operating equipment for 6 hours at $25 per hour.  I know how to enter this in the weekly timesheet section assigning the hours to the correct project and payroll is working fine.  When I go into the 'project' I would like to know the cost of labor for the specific project.  I have read other posts that explain how to enter a 'hourly cost rate' for each employee...but this doesn't work if they have different pay rates depending on what they are doing?  Why can't the project just pull in the information from the payroll system when I have assigned every hour to the correct project??? Please advise!  Thanks!!! 

Best answer by Archie_B

Thanks.  How do I run the 'payroll expense by project' report that you mentioned?


Hey there, Krisabitz.

 

Let me guide you on how to run the Payroll Expense by project report in QuickBooks Online.

 

To run Payroll Expense by project report:

 

  1. Go to Projects, and select the project to see more details.
  2. Choose Project Reports tab.
  3. Select Project profitability.
  4. Click on the amount for Total Payroll Expense.

 

You can check out this link with the video tutorial on how to use project profitability report in QuickBooks Online.

 

I'm also adding this article to learn how you can personalize your report: Customize reports in QuickBooks Online.

 

Let me know if you still have other concerns about project reports. I'll be here to answer them. Have a wonderful day!

1 reply

R
RCV
October 27, 2021

Thanks for providing us with in-depth details of your concern, Krisabitz. 

 

We'll need to enter hourly cost rates for each employee. If you use QuickBooks Online (QBO) Payroll, you can just use your payroll expenses to see your labor costs. However, you won't see the costs in projects until after payroll is processed. If you want to estimate your labor costs between payroll runs or if you don’t have payroll, just use estimated hourly costs.

 

To estimate your fully-burdened hourly cost for each employee, enter employee wages, and other costs like taxes and workers' comp insurance, as an hourly cost rate. Then apply these rates to estimate your labor costs. Here’s how to set up hourly costs:

  1. Tap the Projects menu.
  2. Select Hourly cost rate. This opens the hourly cost rate window.
  3. Find the employee and select Add or edit an employee's rate, then tap the pencil icon.
  4. Select the calculator icon to open the hourly cost rate calculator.
  5. Add your employee's hourly wage and employer taxes. If your employee is hourly, QuickBooks fills in their hourly wage and employer taxes for you. If your employee is salaried, enter an hourly rate by dividing their annual wage (including employer taxes) by the number of weeks in a year. Then divide by the average hours worked per week.
  6. Enter any additional employer taxes, workers' comp, or overhead for even more accurate hourly costs.
  7. Tick Add to close the calculator.
  8. Press Save to save the hourly cost rate for the employee.
  9. Repeat for each employee. Then select Done to close the hourly cost rates window.

 

To view your labor costs, just switch between viewing payroll expenses or hourly costs. Let me show you how: 

  1. Go to the Projects menu.
  2. Find and select the project you want to view.
  3. Select the Payroll Expenses or Hourly Costs drop down.
  4. Choose the one you want to view. Changing this setting in one project will affect all projects.

 

If time charges aren't calculating as you expect in your project, check this switch to see if you're using your preferred type of labor cost (hourly costs or payroll expenses). To learn more about Projects, check out these articles:

 

I'd like to know how you get on after trying the steps as I want to ensure this is resolved for you. Just reply to this post and I'll get back to you. Have a great day ahead. 

K
KrisabitzAuthor
October 27, 2021

Hi - Thank you for your time.  I do not need to estimate labor costs.   I would just like to see the labor costs associated with a project after I have run payroll each week.  When I am in my specific project I am using 'Payroll Expenses' instead of 'Hourly Costs', however I still can't find my labor costs anywhere?  Here is a screen shot

 

 

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