Processing paychecks, reviewing reports, and paying what's owed
Once your payroll setup is verified (see Catching Up on Payroll Mid-Year for the verification checklist), process regular payroll from Payroll > Process Payroll. Every paycheck recorded there:
Populates payroll reports
Tracks year-to-date wages and taxes
Feeds the Pay Liabilities window
Feeds Aatrix payroll forms (W-2, 941, etc.)
Recommended Reports
Reports > Index to Reports:
Register Detail — gross pay, net pay, and deductions/taxes for each employee
Register Summary — totals across all employees for the period
Payroll Summary — totals broken down by wage/tax/deduction category
Tax Liabilities — how much is owed per tax agency
941 Report — quarterly federal report, available via Aatrix or Index to Reports
How Entry Method Affects Reporting
Not all ways of recording money in AccountEdge populate payroll reports. This matters if you're deciding how to record a payment or wondering why something isn't showing up.
Entry Method | Populates Payroll Reports & Pay Liabilities? |
Process Payroll (paycheck) | Yes — full tax, liability, and report tracking. This is the only method that does. |
General Journal Entry | No — posts to the general ledger only (Balance Sheet, P&L). Won't appear in Pay Liabilities, payroll reports, or Aatrix forms. |
Spend Money | No — general ledger only, not tied to employee payroll records. |
Imported CSV / report data | No — AccountEdge has no payroll-history import feature of any kind. |
Always use Process Payroll to record actual paychecks and Pay Liabilities to pay what's owed.
Paying Payroll Liabilities
Payroll liabilities are the employer expenses and employee withholdings owed to a tax authority or agency — federal/state/Medicare/Social Security withholding, employer FUTA/SUI, and withheld deductions (health, 401(k), etc.). The Pay Liabilities window is populated only by paychecks processed through Payroll > Process Payroll.
To Pay a Liability
Payroll module > Pay Liabilities
In Pay from Account, select the account you're paying from
Select the liability/liabilities to pay
Click Record to create the payment
Pay Liabilities creates a Spend Money transaction — the amount is posted against the liability account and reduces the outstanding balance.
Next Steps
When it's time to file quarterly or year-end forms → Year-End Payroll Forms (W-2s, 940/941)