Before you start

  • You need QuickBooks Online Essentials, Plus or Advanced.
  • The person connecting must be an admin of that QuickBooks company and have the portal permission Set up the company: EIN & business info, taxes, funding, pay schedule.
  • Right now, payrolls for 1099 contractors are sent to QuickBooks. Payrolls that include W-2 employees aren't sent yet.
  • If you don't see the Accounting: QuickBooks box, it isn't turned on for your account yet. Email Kate@TourneyDirect.com.

Connect QuickBooks

  1. Open Payroll and click the Organization tab.
  2. If you have more than one EIN, choose the EIN in the picker at the top. Each EIN connects separately, so each one can go to its own QuickBooks company.
  3. In the Accounting: QuickBooks box, click Connect QuickBooks.
  4. A new tab opens. Sign in to QuickBooks, choose your company, and approve the connection.
  5. Come back to the portal tab. The box shows "Connected to [your company]." If it doesn't, click Refresh.

Choose your accounts

Once connected, pick:

  • Bank account payroll is paid from: the bank account your payroll is withdrawn from.
  • Expense account for contractor pay: where contractor pay is recorded. Many organizations use an Expenses account named "Contractors."
  • Expense account for Tourney Direct fees: the account you use for Tourney Direct fees.

Then click Save accounts. You'll see "All set."

Don't see a contractor account? In QuickBooks, add one under Chart of accounts (an Expenses account named "Contractors"), then click refresh this list in the portal.

What gets sent

For each paid payroll, one journal entry per EIN:

  • Date: the pay date.
  • Number: TD followed by the pay date, for example TD-20261030.
  • One line per person: "Contractor pay: [name]" in your contractor expense account.
  • One line for the total out of your payroll bank account.

Tip: when the payroll withdrawal shows up in your QuickBooks bank feed, match it to this journal entry instead of adding it as a new expense. Otherwise the payroll is counted twice.

When it's sent

Automatically, once the payroll is paid, usually within a day after the pay date. You don't need to do anything.

To see where each payroll stands, go to Reports and look at the QuickBooks column:

  • In QuickBooks ✓: it's recorded.
  • Waiting for payment: it will be sent once the payroll is paid.
  • Choose accounts: finish choosing your accounts on the Organization tab.
  • Couldn't send: the reason is shown. Fix it, then click Send again.
  • Reconnect QuickBooks: the connection expired. Go to the Organization tab and click Reconnect QuickBooks.

A payroll is never recorded twice, even if you click Send again.

Payrolls from before you connected

Only payrolls paid after you connect are sent automatically. To record earlier ones, go to the Send past payrolls list in the QuickBooks box. Check the ones you want and click Send to QuickBooks.

Disconnect

In the Accounting: QuickBooks box, click Disconnect. New payrolls stop being sent until you reconnect. Entries already in QuickBooks stay there.