Getting the foundation in place before you touch employee cards
This article covers the first steps of setting up AccountEdge's Payroll feature for US companies. Payroll setup has a few moving pieces, but they go in a specific order — following this sequence keeps everything lined up for your first live payroll run and year-end tax forms.
Using Payroll, you can:
Process payroll for your employees
Track, pay, and report employee accruals and entitlements
Pay accrued payroll liabilities
Print pay stubs, paychecks, and tax forms
Starting after your payroll year has already begun? AccountEdge does not import payroll history, paychecks, or payroll reports from any external source. Historical paychecks must be re-entered manually — see Catching Up on Payroll Mid-Year for how to do this.
Order of Operations
Payroll setup works best in this order:
Enter general payroll information and load tax tables (this article)
Review payroll categories and linked accounts (this article)
Set up each employee — cards, wages, taxes, deductions, and vacation/holiday pay → Setting Up Employees for US Payroll
Starting after the payroll year began? Catch up first → Catching Up on Payroll Mid-Year
Verify your setup and run a test payroll → Catching Up on Payroll Mid-Year
Run live payroll and pay liabilities → Running Payroll & Paying Liabilities
File quarterly and year-end forms → Year-End Payroll Forms (W-2s, 940/941)
1. Enter General Payroll Information
Setup (top toolbar of AE) > Payroll & 1099 Information
Verify all information here is accurate
You are responsible for keeping FUTA and SUI rates updated when they change
2. Load Tax Tables
Setup (top toolbar of AE) > Payroll Updates
Click Load Tax Tables
Payroll taxes are amounts withheld according to rules set by government taxing authorities. AccountEdge stores those calculation rules in a tax table file that loads into your company file. To keep tax tables current, you need the latest version of AccountEdge and an active Payroll Tax Service enrollment.
3. Review Your Payroll Categories
Lists > Payroll Categories
Click the category list you want to review (Wages, Deductions, etc.)
The components of an employee's pay — wages, accruals, deductions, expenses, and withholding taxes — are called payroll categories, and they're assigned on the employee's card to calculate pay. Review each one to confirm it matches how you do business.
Type | What It Controls | Example(s) |
Wages | Employee earnings | Hourly, Salary, Overtime |
Taxes | Withholdings and employer tax matches | Federal Withholding, State, Medicare |
Deductions | Amounts withheld from employee checks | Health insurance, 401(k), Child support |
Employer Expenses | Company-paid benefits or taxes | FUTA, SUI, Employer 401(k) match |
Notes on taxes and deductions
Taxes: you don't need to build these manually. AccountEdge preloads federal, state, and local tax categories, and rates auto-apply based on the Work Code and Residence Code set on the employee's card.
Deductions with different rates: AccountEdge doesn't support variable rates inside a single category. If employees have different deduction amounts, create a separate category per rate — e.g., "Health – $25" and "Health – $50." Employees on the same rate can share one category.
4. Review Linked Accounts
Go to Setup (top toolbar of AE) > Linked Accounts > Payroll Accounts to review or change where payroll posts. AccountEdge creates default liability and expense accounts automatically when you start a new company file — you can use those defaults (e.g., "Payroll Withholding") or create your own (e.g., "401(k) Liability"). Link accounts under each payroll category before processing any payroll.
Next Steps
Once your payroll information, tax tables, categories, and linked accounts are in place, you're ready to set up individual employees → Setting Up Employees for US Payroll