Before You Start

This guide assumes you have active QuickBooks Payroll and QuickBooks Time subscriptions, and administrator access to both.

Overview

25 min
Setup Time
Intermediate
Difficulty
Weekly
Maintenance

What You’ll Learn

  • How to set up employees and service items in TSheets
  • Integrating QuickBooks Time with QuickBooks Payroll
  • Assigning time to jobs and customers for accurate costing
  • Reviewing and approving timesheets for payroll export

1. Preparation Steps

Ensure your QuickBooks Payroll and QuickBooks Time are ready:

Required Setup

  • Active QuickBooks Payroll subscription
  • Employees set up in QuickBooks Payroll
  • Service Items defined for billable work

Optional (but recommended)

  • Customer:Job list up-to-date in QBO
  • Payroll items mapped to correct accounts
  • Employee permission levels reviewed

2. Choosing Your Time Tracking Method

QuickBooks Time (TSheets) offers flexible time entry and approval workflows.

Method A: Employee-Driven Time Entry

Employees log their own hours directly into QuickBooks Time.

Pros:
  • Empowers employees with control.
  • Reduces administrative input.
  • Suitable for remote teams.
Cons:
  • Requires employee discipline.
  • Risk of errors without review.
  • Less oversight on daily tasks.

Method B: Manager-Approved Timesheets

Managers review and approve employee timesheets before payroll.

Expert Tip: We strongly recommend implementing a robust approval process, regardless of whether employees enter their own time. This ensures accuracy and compliance before time entries hit payroll.

3. Step-by-Step: Setting Up TSheets Integration

This section outlines the high-level process to connect TSheets with QuickBooks Payroll.

Here is a sample code block to show how a time entry export might be structured.

{
  "employee_id": "EMP001",
  "job_code": "PROJ-ALPHA",
  "customer_name": "Acme Corp",
  "hours_worked": 8.5,
  "date": "2025-10-20"
}

4. Configuring TSheets for Payroll

  1. 1

    Link TSheets to QuickBooks Payroll

    From TSheets settings, initiate the connection to your QuickBooks Online account. Ensure you have payroll admin rights.

  2. 2

    Sync Employees and Service Items

    Allow TSheets to pull in your employee list and your service items from QuickBooks Payroll. Map them correctly if prompted.

  3. 3

    Set Up Projects and Customers

    If you track time by project or customer, ensure these are imported and properly configured in TSheets for accurate job costing.

  4. 4

    Configure Time Approvals

    Set up managers or administrators to review and approve timesheets before they are exported to payroll.

Common Error: Unsynced Employees

Ensure all employees are synced between QuickBooks Payroll and QuickBooks Time. Mismatched names or IDs will prevent proper payroll processing.

5. Processing Payroll with TSheets

Processing Checklist

  • Review and approve all timesheets in TSheets
  • Verify job codes and customer assignments are accurate
  • Export approved time to QuickBooks Payroll
  • Run payroll as usual in QuickBooks, ensuring time data is pulled

Need Help?

Get Support

Stuck automating your payroll or managing time entries? Our experts can streamline your TSheets and QuickBooks integration.

Contact Us