QuickBooks Desktop Onboarding and Payroll

Note: QuickBooks Desktop does not currently offer a payroll integration with MarylandSaves. If your business uses QuickBooks Desktop for payroll, you can follow the instructions below to learn how to best facilitate your main program responsibilities without an integration.

Add Employees

Create Employee Report

Create an employee report (Excel or CSV file) via QuickBooks Desktop, including separate columns for:

• Full SSN
• First name
• Last name
• Date of birth
• Physical street address
• City
• State
• Zip Code

Middle name, email address, phone number, mailing address, and external payroll ID are all optional but helpful fields to include.

Note: All fields can also be input manually, but for larger rosters it is much easier to rely on a file upload.

Upload Employee Report

1. Once you have a comprehensive employee report, navigate to the “Add Employees” section of onboarding.
2. Select Upload File and choose your saved Excel or CSV file. Then, verify all headers match the required fields.
3. Cells highlighted in red will flag any errors or missing information from your employee data. Manually correct this data to continue.
4. At the bottom left-hand corner of the screen, click the Submit Employee List button. Then, select Finish Onboarding.

Your employees will now receive communications (via email or print mail) notifying them that they have been enrolled in the program and that they have a 30-day window to opt out or change their elections prior to the first payroll contributions being made. Otherwise, their contribution rate will default to 5%, the percentage indicated in Maryland's legislation. They can always opt-out or change their contribution rates later on.

Set Up Payroll

Add a New Payroll Item

Payroll setup is to be completed roughly 30 days after onboarding is completed, as employees will have ideally made their desired contribution elections by the end of this opt-out period.

1. In the QuickBooks Desktop portal, go to Lists and select Payroll Item List.
2. Select Payroll Item, then click New.
3. Select Custom Setup, then click Next.
4. Select Deduction, then click Next.
5. Enter your Maryland Auto IRA deduction code as follows: MDSAV
6. Select Next three times.
   • Make sure to select Gross Pay in the gross vs. net window, then Next.
7. Select Finish and then click OK.

Add a Retirement Item to Employees

1. Select Employees and then Employee Center.
2. Click on an employee and then select Payroll Info.
3. Expand the drop-down menu from Additions, Deductions and Company Contributions, then select your MarylandSaves deduction code.
4. Enter the amount per period to reflect their elected contribution rate. This should be listed as a percentage.
   • To view your employees’ initial elections or any changes they make moving forward, visit the "Contributions" tab on the left-hand side of the MarylandSaves portal. Select the red View X Savings Rate Changes button to view changes your employees have made to their contribution elections.
5. Select OK.
6. Repeat each step for each active employee.
7. Then, select Mark X as Complete in the MarylandSaves portal.

Note: You will also receive an email 4 days prior to your next scheduled pay date notifying you of contribution changes to be updated in the QuickBooks system before payroll. You can also find all employee contribution elections in the Employees tab of the MarylandSaves portal at any time.

Upload QuickBooks Report and Run Payroll

In order to run payroll with your employee’s desired contribution amounts, you will need to download a report via QuickBooks Desktop that you then upload to the MarylandSaves portal.

Note: You may also enter the contribution amounts directly to the MarylandSaves portal by typing them in one-by-one (which could be easier for businesses with fewer active employees), but you may find it helpful to upload a file.

1. From the Reports tab in the QuickBooks Desktop portal, select Employees & Payroll.
2. Scroll down to State Retirement Plans.
3. Adjust the Date Range as needed.
4. Then, select your state from the drop-down menu.
5. Export the report as an Excel file.
   • Select Excel.
   • Choose Create New Worksheet or Update Existing Worksheet.
   • Select Export and then Save to your desired location.
6. Visit the "Contributions" tab of the MarylandSaves portal and click Start Contributions. You will then have the option to select Upload File or input the data manually.
7. Once all of the information has been input and verified, select Send & Validate to complete your submission.