Entering Payroll Provider Transactions using Spreadsheet Sync
Entering transactions from Payroll providers, outside of QuickBooks Online, requires special transaction entry to correctly post and process payroll. Your payroll provider is responsible to make direct deposits to your employees or otherwise issue checks to the employees on behalf of your business, as well as meet due dates for all payroll liabilities on behalf of the business. The financial statements of your business need to reflect all movements of funds to and from the business. Payroll is an accrual transaction for most businesses.
Using spreadsheet sync requires QuickBooks Online Advanced. If you have QuickBooks Online Plus, request that your payroll provider import transactions to a Bill rather than Journal Entries, or otherwise hand enter the information from your provider to a Bill (with discounts for doing so). Use a plus (+) for payroll expense and a minus (-) for payroll liabilities to distribute the transactions to either the Profit and Loss or the Balance Sheet, as described below.
Start by opening Excel and sign in to Spreadsheet Sync. Choose the option to add and edit data, then select template, invoices and bills, Add new records to QuickBooks. Input the necessary details such as Post? Bill Date, Due Date, Bill Number, Transaction Type (Bill), Vendor (payroll provider), Description (employee name and pay period for Net Pay), and Category (or Item for Payroll Expenses if set up in product and services as billable). Remaining information can be used by the business owner once the transaction is on a Bill in QuickBooks Online for Invoicing purposes and GAAP accounting practices.
Then, enter the amount owed for the payroll services provided. If there are any additional notes or reference numbers related to the bill, include them for easy tracking. Double-check all the information for accuracy before saving or submitting the bill for sync to QuickBooks Online. Finally, ensure that the bill is approved according to your company's internal procedures before proceeding with payment.
The Payroll Provider will process payroll according to the business owners' instructions for hours, salary, bonus, overtime, et.... and employee W4.
Using the Bills Template in Spreadsheet sync, enter payroll as follows and send to the business owner for approval at least 2-3 days prior to payroll processing ensuring funds are available. (-) numbers Credit Payroll Liabilities and (+) numbers Debit Payroll Expenses on the Bill *Be sure the employee's name and workdays are noted in the description*
Below is an example of the Bill for one employee: Joe Blow, just entered to QuickBooks Online from the Spreadsheet sync Bill Template. As you can see this Bill transaction is easily utilized by the business owner to field the expense to a customer, mark as billable to a specific job, or attribute to a specific class or location. A separate bill should be completed for each employee, using a separate bill number and synced to QuickBooks Online. This ensures that only 'billable' employees are represented on an invoice.
A transaction journal is available by selecting the feature at the bottom of the Bill. This transaction journal shows the balance sheet payroll liability distribution account, and the profit and loss payroll expense distribution of the Bill. A payroll liability payment should not be withdrawn from your bank account sooner than necessary and the liabilities reduced (debited) as funds are withdrawn from your bank account and appear in the bank feed. While this transaction Journal appears to be a Journal entry, it is not. It will appear on the Journal report rather than the Adjusting Journal report.
As you can see the payroll processors fee is an A/P credit and should be paid when all payroll liability accounts have been processed through the bank feed. If you are a quarterly filer, each pay period will show as due to the payroll provider until all net paychecks and quarterly payroll liabilities have been satisfied.
Following this process will create a profit and loss statement with payroll costs, for all employees in a payroll run posted to the correct period and can be matched to the invoice for services.
and the Balance Sheet will reflect appropriate payroll liabilities for all employees in a payroll run, and subsequent payment history, reflecting correct accounting procedure while also maintaining historical transactions, by employee. Wages payable and any garnishments is the immediate cash requirement. Each Direct Deposit, Check or Payment, to, each employee, will match to the spend transaction in the bank feed, ensuring your employees have been paid. (checking is credited and the Wages Payable and Garnishments debited) All other liabilities will be reduced based on your payroll tax filing frequency. When paid and withdrawn from your bank account, apply the spend transaction from the bank feed to the appropriate liabilities. (checking is credited and the liability is debited).
Your payroll provider should upload a report to your custom forwarding email in QBO where you will be able to attach each transaction to the correct employee bill for payroll. Use the totals report of all employees in a payroll run to reconcile all liability accounts monthly and match gross wages and taxes data to the profit and loss statement of gross wages and taxes.
Comments