QuickBooks accounting software| How to block the user from accessing the payroll detail?

Software: Intuit QuickBooks accounting software

The added on Payroll feature in Intuit QuickBooks accounting software is unavailable to Singapore user.

If your payroll is simple, you may consider using the Write Cheque feature, or General Journal to record the payroll in QuickBooks accounting software.

However, for those users who has an assistant, who has the access to the Accounts Receivable, Accounts Payable and Write Cheque feature in QuickBooks, helping you recording the daily transactions; but you do not want him/her accessing the payroll detail of the individual staff which you had recorded in the QuickBooks may consider setting up the assistant with no access to:

  • Payroll and Employees
  • Sensitive Accounting Activities
  • Sensitive Financial Reporting

QuickBooks - Access

Assume that you have two employees, Employee ONE and Employee TWO, whom you need to track the payroll detail in QuickBooks.

The Pay packages for Employee ONE:

Earning:

Salary: 2500
CPF Employer (16%): 400

Deduction:

CPF Employer (16%): 400
CPF Employee (20%): 500
CDAC: 1

Total deduction: 901

Net pay: 1999

The Pay packages for Employee TWO:

Earnings:

Salary: 3000
CPF Employer (16%): 480

Deduction:

CPF Employer (16%): 480
CPF Employee (20%): 600
CDAC: 1

Total deduction: 1081

Net pay: 2399

Your assistant, who can access to the Write Cheque function in QuickBooks, may record the monthly net payroll expenses (the net amount paid to the staffs) in QuickBooks via a Write Cheque transaction.

Since you are not going to let the assistant know the employee name, you may simply use “Payroll” as a payee, which can be an Other Name type, and use the Payroll expense account under the expenses tab.

QuickBooks - Write Cheque

The double entry for the Write Cheque transaction:

Debit Payroll Expenses 4398.00

Credit Bank 4398.00

As an administrator, you can use a General Journal to reclassify the payroll expenses into:

Credit Payroll Expenses 4398

Debit Salary 2500 – Employee ONE
Debit CPF Employer 400 – Employee ONE

Credit Payroll Liability 400 (Employer) – Employee ONE
Credit Payroll Liability 500 (Employee) – Employee ONE
Credit Payroll Liability 1 (CDAC) – Employee ONE

Debit Salary 3000 – Employee TWO
Debit CPF Employer 480 – Employee TWO

Credit Payroll Liability 480 (Employer) – Employee TWO
Credit Payroll Liability 600 (Employee) – Employee TWO
Credit Payroll Liability 1 (CDAC) – Employee TWO

 QuickBooks - General Journal

Since there is no access given, when your assistant try to access the payroll account or general journal, a warning message will be prompted.

QuickBooks - Warning

You can use the transaction detail by account report to view the payroll information of the individual employee.

QuickBooks - Report

The CPF payable for the month has already accrued to the Payroll Liability account, you can pass a journal to debit the Payroll Liability (1982) and credit Bank when the payment is made to the CPF Board.