What Is QuickBooks Workforce?

QuickBooks Workforce has changed a lot from its early days as a simple pay stub and W-2 portal. Today, it’s tied more closely to QuickBooks’ broader payroll, HR, time tracking, and employee management tools.

This guide explains what QuickBooks Workforce does now and how employers and employees can get started.

What Is QuickBooks Workforce?

QuickBooks Workforce is Intuit’s workforce management platform for employers and employees. Depending on your QuickBooks plan and services, Workforce may include payroll, employee self-service, time tracking, HR tools, benefits administration, employee records, and document management.

In other words, QuickBooks Workforce is no longer just where employees go to view pay stubs and W-2s. Those self-service tools still exist, but they are now part of a broader payroll and workforce management system.

What Is The QuickBooks Workforce Mobile App?

The QuickBooks Workforce mobile app gives employees mobile access to their pay information and, if enabled by their employer, time tracking tools. Intuit launched the app in 2023 after renaming the QuickBooks Time mobile app as QuickBooks Workforce.

Through the app, employees may be able to view pay stubs and tax documents, check earnings and deductions, review time off details, clock in and out, switch jobs or customers, edit timesheets, track breaks, and manage time. Available features depend on the employer’s QuickBooks products, plan, and settings.

How Does QuickBooks Workforce Work?

QuickBooks Workforce works by connecting employer-side payroll and workforce tools with employee self-service access. Employers use QuickBooks to manage payroll, employee records, tax setup, direct deposit, HR, benefits, and time tracking, depending on their plan.

Employees access Workforce after being invited by their employer. Once logged in, they can view available pay and tax information, update certain personal details, and use time tracking features if those tools are enabled.

Exact features vary by product, plan, and employer settings.

How Much Does QuickBooks Workforce Cost?

Employee access to pay details through QuickBooks Workforce is available at no additional cost with QuickBooks Workforce plans. Employees can use Workforce to view pay stubs, W-2s, total earnings, time off, year-to-date pay, deductions, withholdings, and tax details.

However, QuickBooks Workforce as a payroll and workforce management platform is not free. Payroll, time tracking, HR tools, benefits, and other workforce management features require a paid QuickBooks Workforce plan. Pricing is as follows:

How To Set Up QuickBooks Workforce In QuickBooks Online

To set up QuickBooks Workforce in QuickBooks Online Payroll, employers need to add employees to QuickBooks and invite them to access Workforce. Employees must be invited before they can view their pay stubs, W-2s, and other payroll information online.

Start by adding the employee’s basic information, including their name, email address, and hire date. QuickBooks can then send the employee an email invitation with instructions for setting up their Workforce account. Employers may also be able to let new employees enter some of their own personal information during setup.

After the invitation is sent, employees can accept the invite, create or sign in to an Intuit account, and begin using QuickBooks Workforce. Employers can monitor invitation status in QuickBooks and resend invitations if needed.

If your business also uses QuickBooks Time or eligible time tracking features, you can set up employee time tracking access separately so employees can use the QuickBooks Workforce app to clock in, submit time, or manage timesheets. Available time tracking options depend on your QuickBooks plan and settings.

How To Set Up QuickBooks Workforce In QuickBooks Desktop

QuickBooks Desktop Payroll users can still invite employees to QuickBooks Workforce so they can view and print their pay stubs and W-2s online. Before getting started, make sure QuickBooks Desktop and your payroll updates are current. If you don’t see the Workforce option, QuickBooks says to update QuickBooks first.

To turn on Workforce, go to Employees, then Manage Payroll Cloud Services. Under QuickBooks Workforce, switch the status to On, then select Invite Employees. You’ll need to sign in with the Intuit account tied to the QuickBooks Payroll license.

From there, select the employees you want to invite, confirm or add their email addresses, and send the invitations. Employees will receive an email with instructions to create or sign in to their Intuit account and access QuickBooks Workforce.

After each payroll run, you may need to send payroll data to Intuit so employees can access their latest pay stubs in Workforce. QuickBooks says current paychecks can be sent from the payroll confirmation screen or through Employees > Send Payroll Data. W-2 availability depends on your Desktop Payroll service; for example, Assisted Payroll W-2s are automatically available after January 15, while Basic and Enhanced users can choose online W-2 access during W-2 submission.

For prior paychecks, QuickBooks says paychecks from January 2021 forward upload automatically as you run regular payroll. Older paychecks may need to be uploaded manually, and Intuit recommends uploading only current-year paychecks in batches of 100 to 200 to reduce errors.

Employees can use QuickBooks Workforce to view available payroll information online or through the QuickBooks Workforce mobile app. Depending on what your employer has enabled, you may be able to access pay stubs, W-2s, year-to-date pay, tax details, deductions, withholdings, time off information, and time tracking tools.

To get started, you’ll need an invitation from your employer. The invitation email will include instructions for creating an Intuit account or signing in with an existing one. Once your account is set up, you can log in to QuickBooks Workforce to view your available payroll records.

From Workforce, employees can typically view, download, and print pay stubs. W-2 access may also be available once your employer has processed and made those forms available.

Employees can also download the QuickBooks Workforce mobile app for access on the go. If your employer uses QuickBooks Time or eligible time tracking features, you may be able to use the app to clock in and out, submit time, manage breaks, or review timesheets.