How to Run Caregiver Payroll with QuickBooks
A weekly caregiver payroll process for QuickBooks: lock the period, review hours, calculate overtime and travel, approve, export, and keep the records the FLSA requires.
By Caregiver Scheduling Team ·
To run caregiver payroll in QuickBooks, close the pay period, review every caregiver’s visit hours against the schedule and check-in records, add travel time and differentials, calculate weekly overtime across all clients, approve the timesheets, and send approved hours to QuickBooks by pay item so nobody retypes them. QuickBooks handles the tax math; the hours you feed it are where most errors start.
What does the weekly payroll process look like?
Ten steps, every pay period. The first seven happen before QuickBooks.
| Step | What to check |
|---|---|
| 1. Close the period | Pay period matches your FLSA workweek |
| 2. Missing punches | Every visit has a check-in and check-out, or an approved correction |
| 3. Schedule vs. actual | Visits that ran long or short, with reasons |
| 4. Travel time | Paid drive time between clients. See travel time pay |
| 5. Differentials | Weekend, night, holiday and live-in rates |
| 6. Overtime | Weekly total across all clients over 40. See overtime rules |
| 7. Approve | Supervisor approval on each timesheet |
| 8. Export | Approved hours by pay item to QuickBooks |
| 9. Mileage | Non-taxable reimbursement at or below the IRS rate |
| 10. Lock | No edits after export without a documented correction |
Which QuickBooks Payroll plan does a home care agency need?
The lower tiers are enough if your scheduling system already produces approved hours; the top tier adds time tracking you may not need. QuickBooks sells payroll bundled with its accounting plans. Prices are as listed on quickbooks.intuit.com/payroll/pricing on October 17, 2026, before the introductory discount.
| Bundle | Base price per month | Per employee per month | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Workforce Payroll + Simple Start | $88 | $6.50 | Next-day direct deposit |
| Workforce Payroll + Essentials | $125 | $6.50 | Same-day direct deposit |
| Workforce Premium + Plus | $203 | $10 | Adds the Workforce time-tracking app |
For 20 caregivers and two office staff, the Essentials bundle is about $268 a month at list price. QuickBooks’ payroll page says time tracking comes with Workforce Premium and Elite, and its tax penalty protection pays up to $25,000.
How should you set up QuickBooks for caregiver pay?
Create one pay item for every rate you pay, and match the workweek to your scheduling system.
- Pay items for regular hours, travel hours (if paid at a different rate), each differential, overtime and mileage reimbursement.
- Workweek set to the same seven days your schedule uses, so overnight shifts land in the right week.
- Workers’ comp class codes so caregivers and office staff are rated correctly.
Travel pay and shift differentials belong in the overtime regular rate. DOL Fact Sheet 23 says the regular rate “includes all remuneration for employment” except a short list of exclusions, and neither is on it.
What payroll taxes is the agency responsible for?
You withhold the employee share of Social Security and Medicare, match it, and pay federal unemployment on top.
| Tax | Rate | Wage base | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Social Security | 6.2 percent employer, 6.2 percent employee | $184,500 for 2026 | IRS Topic 751 |
| Medicare | 1.45 percent employer, 1.45 percent employee | No limit | IRS Topic 751 |
| FUTA | 6.0 percent, less a credit of up to 5.4 percent for state unemployment tax paid | First $7,000 per employee | IRS Topic 759 |
With the full credit, FUTA is 0.6 percent, or $42 per caregiver per year. Form 941 is filed quarterly and Form 940 is due January 31 (IRS Topic 759). State unemployment and paid-leave contributions are extra. See caregiver payroll burden.
What payroll records do you have to keep?
Payroll records for three years and the time records behind them for two years. DOL Fact Sheet 21 requires, for each non-exempt employee, hours worked each day and week, the regular rate, overtime earnings, deductions and pay dates. Payroll records are kept at least three years (29 CFR 516.5) and time cards two years (29 CFR 516.6). Verified check-in records beat a spreadsheet typed up on Friday in a wage claim.
What mistakes cost agencies the most?
- Calculating overtime per client instead of per caregiver.
- Leaving travel, training or differential pay out of the regular rate.
- Overnight shifts that cross the end of the workweek assigned to the wrong week.
- Paying unapproved hours, then correcting next period.
- Paying biweekly to save effort when caregivers want weekly pay; the extra run is cheap once hours flow in.
- Paying mileage above the IRS rate (76 cents from July 1, 2026) without treating the excess as wages.
- Editing hours in QuickBooks after export, so the two systems disagree.
How Caregiver Scheduling handles this
Today, every visit has a GPS-verified check-in and check-out, and corrected times keep the original record in the audit log, so steps 2 and 3 start from real data. Timesheets built from those check-ins, with approval and a QuickBooks export by pay item, are coming soon. $199/month for up to 10 caregivers or $299/month for up to 50, free for 30 days.
FAQ
Can QuickBooks calculate caregiver overtime? QuickBooks pays the hours you give it. The weekly overtime calculation across clients, travel and differentials is best done before the hours reach QuickBooks.
Should mileage go through payroll? It can be a non-taxable reimbursement item in payroll, or paid separately. Either way, keep a mileage log and stay at or below the IRS rate.
How do I fix a payroll error after export? Record the correction with the reason and pay the difference on the next run, or sooner if your state requires it.
This article is general information, not legal or tax advice. Check your state’s wage, tax and recordkeeping rules.