Over the past year, QuickBooks® Online Payroll’s revamped lineup has rolled out to new customers. Your current payroll clients will have access to all three products by mid 2021, but they may have questions in the meantime. It’s why we’re committed to keeping you in the loop.

QuickBooks Online Payroll Core, Premium, and Elite (our newest offering) are packed with new and improved features so you and your clients can conquer payroll with confidence. With all three products, you can run payroll automatically¹ and access a collection of HR and employee services. You can also track time with QuickBooks Time—your workers’ hours will automatically appear in QuickBooks so you can view, approve, and run payroll in minutes.³

We’re also excited to give accounting pros like you Elite at no extra cost. Elite is backed by a new guarantee⁴ and comes with our most advanced features. You can talk to an HR expert⁵ if you have questions, and we’ll even set up your payroll for you.⁶

Check out our in-depth guide to see what features are included in all 3 payroll products. Here’s a glance at just a few:

Editor’s note: Want to see why six in 10 business owners prefer to leave payroll to the pros? Go here.

Frequently asked questions

How can I learn more about the new lineup?

Stay tuned to Firm of the Future—we’ll provide updates, including in-depth descriptions of each of the new features.

When will the new lineup be available?

QuickBooks Online Payroll Core, Premium, and Elite were released to new customers in 2019-20, and to most accountants and clients in late 2020. They will be available to more customers soon.

What’s changing?

Based on feedback from our customers and accounting pros, we’re adding new  features to both existing QuickBooks Online Payroll products. We’re also releasing our newest product—QuickBooks Online Payroll Elite—and renaming our existing products. Core is a revamped QuickBooks Online Self Service Payroll and Premium is a revamped QuickBooks Online Full Service Payroll. They each include everything from the current product plus added benefits. Nothing is going away.

What is included in the new health benefits feature?

QuickBooks Online Payroll users can now offer their employees health benefits by signing up for a group health insurance plan via our partner, SimplyInsured. Health benefits are an add-on service that users can sign up for through QuickBooks Online by accessing the payroll overview screen and selecting the Benefits tab.

How much will QuickBooks Online Payroll Elite cost? Will it be available with a  wholesale discount?

Here is a breakdown of prices for each payroll product:

• Core: $45 + $4 (retail) and $22.50 + $4 (wholesale)
• Premium: $75 + $8 (retail) and $37.50 + $8 (wholesale)
• Elite: $125 +$10 (retail) and $62.50 + $10 (wholesale)

What does this mean for my clients who currently use QuickBooks Online Self Service Payroll or Full Service Payroll?

Right now, Core, Premium, and Elite will only be available for new customers. Your existing clients will gain access to these new features by mid 2021.

Do I have to be in Elite to have a guarantee? What is the guarantee included with Elite?

Core and Premium both include the same guarantee included in QuickBooks Full Service Payroll today. With QuickBooks Online Payroll Elite, you and your clients will get our new Tax Penalty Free Guarantee. If you receive a federal, state, or local payroll tax penalty from an error made while using Elite, we’ll help you resolve it and will reimburse any penalty and interest cost up to $25,000 a year. It doesn’t matter who made the error. We will make it right.

Do I have to be in QuickBooks Online Payroll Elite to have Intuit® onboard my clients?

Elite onboarding is currently a feature in QuickBooks Online Payroll Elite. Premium includes expert setup review. Stayed tuned to learn more as we work to expand our onboarding services.

What if a client wants Premium and Elite time tracking? Is there an upgrade option?

Time tracking powered by TSheets is an integrated feature within the new payroll lineup. To access Premium time tracking, clients will need to upgrade to QuickBooks Online Payroll Premium. For Elite time tracking, clients will need to upgrade to QuickBooks Online Payroll Elite.

If my client has both a TSheets and QuickBooks Online Payroll account, will there be a duplicate if time tracking is now a part of QuickBooks Online Payroll (Premium and Elite)?

Most customers with both TSheets and QuickBooks Online Payroll accounts will transition to a single Payroll account by early-to-mid 2021.

Will my clients automatically be enrolled in Auto Payroll?

If your clients’ employees are salaried and use direct deposit they can enroll in Auto Payroll across Core, Premium, and Elite. You can choose to opt-in to Auto Payroll and you will not be enrolled without notification. You can also enroll/unenroll from Auto Payroll anytime from your Payroll settings (gear icon on the right-hand side).

Will my clients automatically be enrolled in automated tax payments and form filing? Or can I manually file my client’s payroll tax forms, like I do now?

If you choose not to enroll a client in automated tax payments and form filing, you can still manually file your client’s payroll tax forms outside of QuickBooks Online Payroll.

What if my clients cannot pay their payroll taxes on a timely basis?  Will Intuit still pay the penalties for the client?

The guarantees do not cover situations when an account wasn’t in good standing—Non Sufficient Funds (NSF) holds or credit card billing holds.

If my firm starts out on Elite, am I able to downgrade at a later date to Premium or Core?

You can downgrade to Premium or Core by calling our care team.

When the new Payroll options are available to me, will I have to manually migrate my client’s data?

No, you will not have to migrate or re-enter any firm or client history. You will have access to exciting new features, but you won’t need to move to a new product in order to take advantage of them.

1. Auto Payroll: Available if setup for employees and the company are complete, all employees are salaried employees or hourly employees on default hours, all employees are set up on direct deposit, bank verification, e-services is enabled, all employees are located in the same state and the company is not a multi-state company, and the account has not been on hold in the last 6 months. 
2. HR support: Provided by experts at Mammoth, Inc. See Mammoth’s privacy policy and Terms of Use. HR support center available only to QuickBooks Online Premium and Elite subscriptions. HR Advisor support experts only available in QuickBooks Online Payroll Elite. HR support is not available to accountants who are calling on behalf of their clients.
3. Time tracking: Additional fees may apply. Time tracking is included in the QuickBooks Online Payroll Premium and Elite subscription services. Features vary.
4. Tax Penalty Free Guarantee: If you receive a tax notice and send it to us within 15-days of the tax notice we will cover the payroll tax penalty, up to $25,000. Additional conditions and restrictions apply. See more information about the guarantee. 
5. Expert review is available upon request for QuickBooks Online Payroll Premium and Elite.
6. Elite onboarding: Available to QuickBooks Online Payroll Elite users only.
7. Automated tax and forms: Payments and filing available only for state and federal taxes. Enrollment in e-services is required. Local taxes require the user to print the forms and upload it to the necessary local sites. QuickBooks Online Payroll Core does not offer local tax payments and filings. Automatic filings for state new hire paperwork available in QuickBooks Online Payroll Premium and Elite only. 
8. Health benefits for your team: Powered by SimplyInsured and requires acceptance of SimplyInsured’s privacy policy and Terms of Service. Additional fees will apply. SimplyInsured does not offer insurance in HI, VT, and DC. Insurance coverage eligibility is not guaranteed, and dependent solely on the rules of insurance carrier. The insurance carrier has sole and final discretion as to the eligibility for health insurance products.