How to Enter Outsourced Payroll for Job Costing in QuickBooks for Contractors

Published 06/15/2009 |

I read your blog on the entering payroll from a service. I am still getting confused on the item lists to chart of accounts. With your example, it is a journal entry, but then how do I get the costs back to the jobs? Is that when I do a zero check entry? Also, could you confirm if my account is set up correctly? Example: Concrete 03 Concrete (this is my main item, so I do not have it as a sub of anything) Purchase Info – 53600 Subcontract COG // Sales Info 42600 Construction Income. Then I have the CSI code as a sub of that: 03050 Basic Concrete – sub-item of 03 Concrete Purchase info is 50400 Construction Material COG // Sale info construction income. Under that I put two sub items: Material Concrete this one has purchase info as 50400 construction material COG. Subcontract Concrete this one has purchase info as 53600 subcontract COG. Is this correct? Does it matter that the main item has different purchase info than its sub-items? If this is correct? Would I then add an additional sub-item, and call it labor for the work our crews do? And, if so, what purchase info would be appropriate? I would not have labor as a COG, would I?

You can use different revenue and COGS accounts on sub-items, so you’re fine. Just make sure that you use an expense account for purchases, and an income account for sales (unless you’re a homebuilder, and need to accrue your cost of sales on the balance sheet, until a home is sold).

Our outsourced payroll blog post doesn’t cover job costing, because it’s always a nightmare, which is why I highly recommend switching to QuickBooks Assisted Payroll. It is useful for showing you how to start with the gross payroll and reduce it down to the net. If you want to use a check instead, enter the DR as positive amount and the CR as a negative amount. But, remember to get the payroll into the job costing reports. You not only need to break it down by employee and job, but also job phase (so you can use Items instead of Expenses). This is what makes job costing outsourced payroll so difficult.

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Ruth Perryman - QuickBooks Specialist Written by +Ruth Perryman, CMA, CFE, CFM, MBA

Ruth is the president of The QB Specialists, Inc. and has provided QuickBooks help to thousands of businesses around the world since 1996. She is an Intuit Solutions Provider, an Advanced Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor, and a member of the Intuit Trainer/Writer Network. She is also certified in QuickBooks Point of Sale and QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions.

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