{"id":22949,"date":"2023-04-03T13:07:53","date_gmt":"2023-04-03T17:07:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.method.me\/?post_type=guide&p=22949"},"modified":"2025-12-14T11:04:35","modified_gmt":"2025-12-14T16:04:35","slug":"quickbooks-commission-tracking","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.method.me\/blog\/quickbooks-commission-tracking\/","title":{"rendered":"How to perfect your QuickBooks commission tracking process"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Paying sales commissions to your employees is the best way to incentivize them. After all, when your sales reps perform their best, your business succeeds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, tracking commission often feels like a job all on its own, especially if QuickBooks is your main accounting software. Thankfully, there are ways around this difficulty to ensure that your QuickBooks payroll always runs smoothly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this article, you\u2019ll learn how to strengthen your QuickBooks commission tracking process to save time and increase accuracy. Plus, you\u2019ll discover the sales commission tracking software<\/a> QuickBooks users can\u2019t live without. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is commission tracking and why is it important?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Commission tracking is the process of recording your employees\u2019 commission in preparation for payroll.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Commission tracking is important because it ensures that your employees get paid accurately and on time. This is especially true if your employees are paid entirely by commissions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For QuickBooks users, commission tracking can be difficult as there is no built-in QuickBooks commission calculator. However, you can still record commission in QuickBooks in a way that benefits the QuickBooks commission tracking process. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to set up QuickBooks commission tracking<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Learning how to track commissions in QuickBooks<\/a> starts with understanding how to set up commissions in QuickBooks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How you set up commission depends on which version of QuickBooks you use. To cover all of the bases, let\u2019s take a look at how to set up commission in QuickBooks Online<\/a> and QuickBooks Desktop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For QuickBooks Online users<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In QuickBooks Online, you can set up commission as an employee\u2019s salary or as additional pay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s how to start:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  1. From the \u2018Payroll\u2019 menu, go to \u2018Employees\u2019.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Select your employee.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. You should see \u2018Pay Types\u2019. Select \u2018Start\u2019 or \u2018Edit\u2019.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    For employee salary, you then select \u2018Commission only\u2019 from the \u2018Pay types\u2019 drop down menu, then hit \u2018Save\u2019. For additional pay, look for the \u2018Common pay types\u2019 section and select \u2018Commission\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    For QuickBooks Desktop users<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Learning how to track sales commission in QuickBooks Desktop<\/a> starts with setting up a commission pay item. Here\u2019s how to do that:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    1. From \u2018Lists\u2019, select \u2018Payroll Item List\u2019.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    2. Under the \u2018Payroll Item\u2019 drop-down menu, click \u2018New\u2019.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    3. Select \u2018Custom Setup\u2019, then click \u2018Next\u2019.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    4. Select \u2018Wage\u2019, then click \u2018Next\u2019.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    5. Select \u2018Commission\u2019, then click \u2018Next\u2019.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    6. Enter the name of the item, then click \u2018Next\u2019.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    7. Select the appropriate Expense account for the item, then click \u2018Next\u2019 and \u2018Finish\u2019.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

      Then, you have to add this newly created commission pay item to your employee\u2019s profile:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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      1. Under \u2018Employees\u2019, select \u2018Employee Center\u2019.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      2. Click on the appropriate employee.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      3. Select \u2018Payroll Info\u2019.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      4. In \u2018Earnings\u2019, add the payroll item that you created in Step 1, then click \u2018OK\u2019.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

        Once you have this process down, QuickBooks commission tracking becomes easier. Let\u2019s dive into some tips for tracking commission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        How to ensure accurate commission tracking in QuickBooks<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

        Without a built-in QuickBooks commission calculator, tracking commission can be a challenge. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

        That said, while ensuring that commission is properly recorded in QuickBooks, you can also extend your QuickBooks commission tracking process to include sales commission software, such as a third-party QuickBooks commission calculator. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

        There are a variety of commission calculators that integrate with QuickBooks available, such as:<\/p>\n\n\n\n