It's that wonderful time of year again – time for 1099s.  Luckily QuickBooks offers a 1099 wizard that makes this process very easy.  However, like so many other QuickBooks features if you skip a step there's no telling what sort of results you'll end up with. 

Now that we've only got 7 days to go – tick tock, tick tock – I thought this would be the perfect time for a blog post describing how to properly print your 1099s using QuickBooks. 

Start by going to Vendors > Print 1099s/1096 to open the four-step wizard.  As tempting as it might be to skip a step, DON'T.  Every one of the steps serves a critical purpose in making sure your 1099s are prepared correctly.  If you don't see Print 1099s/1096 in your Vendor menu, go to Edit > Preferences > Tax: 1099 > Company Preferences and select Yes. 

So, here are the steps:

1. Review your 1099 Vendors

Make sure that all your 1099 vendors are marked with a "Yes" under the Eligible for 1099 column. If not, go to the vendor record and check the box next to "Vendor eligible for 1099" in the Additional Info tab.  This report also lets you know if you're missing any Tax ID's.  If you're missing one, get it from the vendor's W-9 form.  You are requiring all your vendors to complete a W-9 before you pay them, right?

2. Setup your 1099 Account Mapping

Make sure you've mapped all the accounts you use to pay your 1099 recipients here.  Map your rent expense account(s) to Box 1, your independent contractor account(s) to Box 7, and your legal fee account(s) to Box 14. You can select multiple accounts at the very top of each list, and the accounts selected don't have to be expense accounts.  For instance, subcontractors are often charged to asset accounts, like leasehold improvements.  If you pay your independent contractors for reimbursements or products, which don't have to be included on their 1099, make sure to create separate expense accounts for these payments.  It might look something like this:

Subcontractors
     Services
     Other

Don't change the thresholds, rents and nonemployee compensation should be $600 and there is no threshold for attorney's fees (meaning you report all payments). 

3. Run a Summary Report to Review your 1099 Data

Check to make sure that the amounts shown under each Box column is subject to 1099 reporting and that none of the Uncategorized income is.  If the Total column is correct but the breakdown between the columns isn't, you've got a problem with your account mapping.  Go back to Step 2.

4. Print your 1099s and 1096 Summary

If the alignment isn't accurate, select the Align button on the print screen. 

QuickBooks does not current support 1099 efile but Intuit Online Payroll does at a very reasonable price.  Even better, it allows you to pay your contractors through direct deposit.  Sound interesting?  Visit our Quickbooks Payroll page or give us a call at 800-707-0940 for more information.

Written by +Ruth Perryman, CMA, CFE, CFM, MBA

Ruth 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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