QB Payroll Help

General details
Includes your service level, status, and other information used by QuickBooks Payroll to identify your subscription on the system.
  • Industry
    If this field appears, it indicates the type of industry your company is in. This may be the industry type you specified when you set up your company file, or you may have selected it during direct deposit activation.
  • Service Status
    The status of your service (Active, Inactive).
    Active: You can perform all payroll activities available for your level of service.
    Inactive: Your service may be inactive for several reasons. For example, your credit card may have expired.
Billing details
The payment information (for example, credit card number or 'bank debit', depending on the payment type) associated with the renewal fee for the payroll service.

Click the Edit billing details button next to billing details to update the information.

Electronic Funds Transfer users: Please contact us if you want to do the following:
  • Update your electronic funds transfer information.
  • Switch to using a credit card to pay for your service.
Renewal Date
The next date on which you'll be billed the subscription fee to renew your payroll service. If your service status is Inactive, Renewal Date doesn't appear.
Payroll details
The ability to deposit paychecks directly into your employees' bank accounts is built into your QuickBooks payroll subscription. If you haven't done so already, activate Direct Deposit today and you can start paying your employees by next pay day using Direct Deposit.

Includes your company name and address, as well as contact information for your payroll service. Updating this information updates both your data file in QuickBooks as well as the information on Intuit's servers.
  • EIN
    The nine-digit number, also known as a Tax Identification Number (TIN), issued by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). An EIN identifies your business to the IRS and is also used by QuickBooks Payroll to validate your subscription. Your EIN may change if you change the structure of your business. For example, changing from a sole proprietorship to a corporation changes your EIN.
  • Legal Name & Address
    The legal name of your company. This is the company name to which your Federal Employer Identification Number (EIN) was issued. The government uses your legal name on all payroll tax forms and correspondence.
    QuickBooks Payroll sends payroll tax-related information to your legal address. This is the same address the government uses on all payroll tax forms and correspondence sent to you.
  • Owner/Principal
    The owner or principal of your company is usually the person who signed the Payroll Service Agreement and who is authorized to sign contracts for your company.
  • Payroll Admin
    The person who manages your company payroll and the primary contact for any payroll questions at your company, such as notification of changes, non-sufficient funds (NSFs), and other general payroll issues.
  • Subscription Number
    A unique ID that identifies your active account in the Payroll service. It only appears if your account status is Active. When calling QuickBooks Payroll support, we typically ask for your EIN, but sometimes we may ask for this ID.
  • Payroll Service Key
    The key provided when you subscribe to payroll that enables you to use QuickBooks Payroll.
  • Share Payroll Info with
    This option allows Intuit to share your workers compensation details with trusted Intuit partners.
  • Direct Deposit Status
    • Active: Direct Deposit is activated for your payroll service and you can pay your employees by directly depositing their paychecks into their bank accounts.
    • Inactive or Cancelled: In case the Direct Deposit Status is inactive, activate it from QuickBooks desktop by following the below set of steps:
      1. Go to Employees menu
      2. Click on My Payroll Service
      3. Select Activate Direct Deposit
    • Pending Verification: You've signed up for Direct Deposit but haven't yet verified your bank account (verified the two small withdrawals that Intuit makes against your bank account). Click the Verify Bank Account link to verify your account and create a PIN.
    • Terminated: The ability to use Direct Deposit has been terminated for this company file.
    • Bank Verification Failed: Verification failed for the two small withdrawals against your bank account. To re-verify, do one of the following:
      • If you just added funds to your bank account, request that your current bank account be verified again.
      • Update your bank account information to initiate two small withdrawals against a different bank account
    • On Hold: Your Direct Deposit account is on hold. For additional information, please contact us during business hours (6 a.m. - 6 p.m., Monday - Friday, pacific time).
Legal Name
How can I update my legal name?

To update your legal name, go to
QBDT>Company>My Company>Edit>Legal Information, enter your new name and select OK.
If you use Direct Deposit to pay your employees, follow these additional steps before you run your next payroll:
  • Go to the Employees menu and select Send Payroll Data
  • Make sure there are no pending payroll transactions to send
  • Select Send to send a zero amount payroll transaction


How can I update my legal address?

To update your legal address, go to
QBDT>Company>My Company>Edit>Legal Information, enter your new address and select OK.
If you use Direct Deposit to pay your employees, follow these additional steps before you run your next payroll run:
  • Go to the Employees menu and click Send Payroll Data
  • Make sure there are no pending payroll transactions to send
  • Click the Send button to send a zero amount payroll transaction
Direct Deposit Info
How can I activate Direct Deposit?

To activate Direct Deposit for Basic, Standard and Enhanced Payroll,
go to QBDT>Employees>My Payroll Service>Activate Direct Deposit, or, go to QBDT>Employees>Pay with Direct Deposit
Manage EIN
Add EIN

To add your new EIN
  • Go to File>Open or Restore Company>Open a company file and select Next
  • Browse to find the company file you want to add and click Open
  • If the company doesn’t have an existing QuickBooks Payroll subscription, go to Employees>Payroll>Use My Existing Payroll Service
  • If the company has an existing QuickBooks Payroll subscription and you want to move it to another QuickBooks Payroll subscription, then go to Employees>My Payroll Service>Change Payroll Service Options (Skip step 3) and follow the onscreen instructions to add the company to your existing subscription.


EDIT EIN

To edit an existing EIN, go to
QBDT>Help menu>QuickBooks Desktop Help and search for change Payroll EIN