Intuit Quickbooks Online (API)

Since ProgramPay, powered by Vestwell, has an integration with your payroll provider, we can take a lot of work off your plate regarding the processing of your payroll files through automation. (yay!) This guide will help you with set up steps as well as help you understand your specific responsibilities for the proper submission of payroll files. Even though we offer integration with your payroll provider, Plan Sponsors have ongoing responsibilities to make sure the content is correct.  Please read this whole article to understand the steps to set up integration and to learn about your initial and ongoing responsibilities.

1. Is My Version of Quickbooks Compatible with the Integration?
2. How Does My Integration Work?
3. How Do I Initiate My Integration Set Up?
4. Are There Any Reasons Why My Plan Might Not Be Eligible for an Integration?
5. What Are My Responsibilities?
6. What Does The Integration Handle For Me?
7. Will My Payroll Provider Charge Me Fees to Set Up and/or Maintain This Payroll Integration?
8. How do I disconnect my integration?

Is My Version of Quickbooks Compatible With the Integration? 

Intuit offers several products that have similar names, but not all are covered by this integration. Below is a list of all common product/version names offered by Intuit and their compatibility with the integration.

Supported

• QuickBooks Online Payroll

Not Supported

• QuickBooks Desktop
• Intuit App Center
• Intuit Online Payroll
• QuickBooks Enterprise
• QuickBooks Payroll
• QuickBooks Paycheck
• QuickBooks Payments
• QuickBooks Time

Please keep in mind that for the integration to function properly, you will need both a Quickbooks Online Subscription and a Payroll Subscription.

According to Intuit’s pricing page, the following subscription tiers are available:

• Quickbooks Online Subscription - Simple Start, Essentials, Plus, Advanced
• Payroll Subscription - Core, Premium, Elite
  Integration works seamlessly with any subscription tier, as long as you have one for both Quickbooks Online and Payroll (2 Subscriptions Total).

Tip: You can check your subscription status by logging into QuickBooks Online, clicking the gear icon, and then selecting Billing and Subscription.

How does my integration work?

Your integration is a 360° Automated Integration. This is a two-way integration in which ProgramPay, powered by Vestwell, will automatically receive certain information about your plan and participants from your payroll system, process employee and employer contributions to the plan, and automatically send your employees’ selected deferral elections from their Voya Participant website to your payroll provider.

 How do I initiate my integration setup?

To connect your integration please follow the below instructions. 

• Complete the linked form:Payroll Integration Request Form so our team can collect the necessary details about your plan to set up a Payroll Integration.
• Once the information on your request form is verified, the ProgramPay team will let you know.  Look out for emails from voyaaba@vestwell.com
• Then you must follow the steps below to authorize your connection:
  1. Log in to the  ProgramPay portal.
  2. Navigate to the "Contributions" page.
  3. Click the gear icon.
  4. Click the Connect to Quickbooks Online button.
  5. Follow the steps to authorize your connection.

Your Required Set Up Activities

Deduction Codes

The integration will set up and maintain certain deduction/earnings codes within your payroll system.  If you have existing Pretax or Roth codes in QuickBooks Online, they will be deactivated and replaced with these.  The deduction codes will be named:

Vestwell Integration - Pretax 401k Contributions.

Vestwell Integration - Pretax 401k Catchup Contributions. (Note:  This deduction code will be applied to all employees who are 50 years of age or older)

Vestwell Integration - Roth 401k Contributions.

Vestwell Integration - Roth 401k Catchup Contributions.

Please note:  Any existing IRA codes must be deactivated by you, the employer.

You can see the deduction codes set up in Quickbooks Online by following the instructions below.

1. Log in to Quickbooks Online.

2. Navigate to "Payroll."

3. Click Employee.

4. Select Deduction & Contribution.

Deferral Rate Setup

Vestwell uses the employee deferral rates that were set by the employee in the Participant portal, and fed to ProgramPay, to establish the rates on the Vestwell-specific deferral codes within your payroll system. 

If your payroll systems was set up already with different deferral codes and employees' savings rate are linked to those codes, please know that those rates will not be copied from previously used deferral codes.  Ideally, employees should refresh their deferral rates via the Participant website prior to first integrated payroll to be sure we have the most accurate and up to date information in ProgramPay so that the integration will set up the rates on the Vestwell deferral codes.

For live plans, rates will be set by Vestwell in Quickbooks Online one business day after the integration is successfully connected. Less commonly, if the integration is set up prior to your plan's effective date, rates will be set 4 business days before your first payroll after your plan's effective date.

If you have been maintaining employees deferral rates directly within Quickbooks, we recommend that you save a copy of all the deferral rates before requesting integration, then you can set them up again, as needed, after the integration is initiated.  This is only necessary if the employee has not set their deferral rate through the Voya Participant portal. 

To avoid duplicate deferrals, review your payroll system and ensure previous employee and employer contributions are cleared from your payroll system.

Loan Setup

Be sure to set up loan repayment deduction codes and any outstanding employee loan repayment schedules directly in your Quickbooks Online portal prior to the first integrated payroll date.  Vestwell will not set up loans in Quickbooks Online via the integration.

Follow the steps below to set up a loan in Quickbooks Online:

1. Navigate to the Payroll option from the left-hand menu, then select Employees. 

2. Select the employee's name to access their profile.

3. Scroll to the Deduction & Contributions section, then select Edit.

4. On this screen, select Add deduction/contribution. 

5. Under Deduction/contribution, select Add deduction/contribution.

6. Under Deduction/contribution type, select Other deductions.

7. Under Type, select LOAN REPAYMENT.

8. Under Description, type in exactly: Vestwell Integration - 401k Loan Repayment.

9. Under Employee deduction, put in the appropriate amount for the loan repayment.

10. Click Save.

Once Vestwell has successfully connected the integration for each of your pay groups, the integration will begin with your next pay date. If we are not able to successfully complete the connection due to mismatch or other issues with Pay Groups or Pay Frequencies, we will reach out to you via email.
 

Complete all required setup step before running your first integrated payroll date.

Be sure to continue to process contributions directly into the ProgramPay portal until your integration is connected.

Are there any reasons why my plan might not be eligible for an integration?

There are some plan design features that currently prohibit the use of payroll integration, including:

• Plans which do not have an established recurring pay schedule setup in both ProgramPay and the payroll system
• Plans which do not use the same payroll provider for all pay group(s)
• Plans which have limitations preventing each pay group from being integrated
• Plans with per pay period non-mandatory employer contributions
• Plans that allow after-tax contributions
  • Note: After-Tax and Roth contributions are not the same

If your plan has been amended or if you are considering an amendment to your original plan documents, please inform your ABA Retirement Representative to understand what actions on your part will be required to submit and process your payroll files correctly.

What are my responsibilities if my plan has an active payroll integration?

Our ability to successfully process your payroll files and administer your plan depends on you! It is your responsibility to:

• Continue to process payrolls via your payroll provider platform
  • Please be sure that the ProgramPay deferral codes and rates are present prior to processing your first integrated payroll.
• Pay Groups - Ensure that paygroups have the same name and schedule/frequency in both ProgramPay and your payroll system.
  • Note: Once your integration is active, you will no longer be able to edit pay groups in the ProgramPay portal as this can disrupt the processing of contributions. For further assistance, please contact voyaaba@vestwell.com.
• Employee Deferral Rate Management
  • ProgramPay uses the rates set by your employees via online enrollment and the participant website when initiating a new payroll integration.  Employers should review rates and encourage employees to review and update their rates in the participant website while payroll integration is being implemented.
  • For the best experience, on an ongoing basis, be sure your employees are setting and maintaining their deferral rates via Voya participant website. Rates sent via online enrollment and the participant website will flow automatically into ProgramPay, and update your payroll system.
  • Any employee deferral rates shared directly with you, not using the Voya’s participant website by eligible employees must be set by you directly in the payroll system. However, for the best outcomes, please redirect employees to set their rates in the participant website
• Employee Loans
  • If applicable to your plan, set up and maintain retirement loans within your payroll system (see instructions above)
• Discretionary and/or Profit-Sharing Contributions 
  • Submit non-mandatory employer contributions through the ProgramPay portal using an off-cycle upload.
  • Set up and maintain non-mandatory employer contributions, including fixed employer match, in your payroll system.
• Mandatory Employer Contributions
  • With an active integration, mandatory company contributions which are funded on a frequency other than per pay period will not be able to be set up within your payroll system.
    • Upload these contributions through your ProgramPay portal as an off-cycle contribution.
  • With Quickbooks, employer contribution amounts do not update automatically if an employee elects to defer in a dollar amount rather than a percentage and their gross compensation changes. You will be responsible for updating the employer contribution amount directly through Quickbooks, as needed.
  • For Safe Harbor Non-Elective plans, employers are responsible for adding and maintaining employer contribution rates within the payroll system for employees who have not elected to make contributions.
• Employee Status Changes 
  • Make updates in your payroll system when employees are hired, terminated, or re-hired.  Include a specific date when making these status changes in your payroll system.
• Employee Personal Information
  • Maintain complete, accurate, and up-to-date personal information within your payroll system - including date of birth, social security number, and email address. 
• Pay Groups/ Pay Frequency/Schedule Changes
  • Make sure any pay groups in your payroll system are also set up with us and vice versa.
  • Report any pay frequency or pay schedule changes to ProgramPay.
• Review Payroll Data
  • We rely on you to provide us with correct, updated, and complete data about your employees regardless of whether we receive that data directly from you or from your payroll provider. Regular audits and spot checks of the data provided to us will help you quickly identify and rectify any discrepancies. 
• Validation Errors on Payrolls
  • From time to time, we may receive data from your payroll company that triggers a validation error in ProgramPay and we are unable to process one or more contributions or loan payments.  When that happens, you will be alerted by email about the issue with instructions on next steps to resolve the issue.  These alerts will be sent from "ProgramPay@notices.vestwell.com". Please adjust spam or other filters in your email system to allow you to receive these important communications.  You can learn more about the contribution validations and the types of errors that can occur here.
• Miscellaneous Service & Support
  • Monitor for emails from the ProgramPay Employer Services team at VoyaABA@vestwell.com and respond to questions and outreach in a timely manner.
• Negative Contributions/Corrections
  • Negative contributions or corrections are not able to be processed through the integration. For assistance with negative contributions or corrections, please contact your ABA Retirement Funds representative.

What does ProgramPay handle for me if my plan has an active payroll integration?

• Payroll Deduction Codes
  • ProgramPay will set up and maintain certain payroll deduction codes within your payroll system.  Do not edit these codes once they are set up.
• Processing Contributions & Loan Payments
  • Process supported employee/employer contributions and applicable loan payments into your retirement plan based on what was processed in the payroll system.  Even if you process your payroll early, ProgramPay will never process the contributions file before the actual pay date. 
• Off-Cycle Submissions
  • Off-cycle contributions processed in your payroll system will come through the integration & reflect in your employer portal after the pay date, unless the off-cycle is categorized as a Wage Correction, Reversal or Tax Reconciliation.
• Per pay period Safe Harbor employer contribution
  • ProgramPay will set up and maintain mandatory employer contributions that are on a pay period basis and were reported in the Payroll Integration Request Form.
    • With Quickbooks, employer contribution amounts do not update automatically if an employee elects to defer in a dollar amount rather than a percentage and their gross compensation changes. You will be responsible for updating the employer contribution amount directly through Quickbooks, as needed. You should monitor employer contribution data for accuracy.
• Employee Deferral Management
  • ProgramPay will set employee deferral rates in your payroll system if they were set by the employee via Voya’s online enrollment and deferral management tools in the participant website prior to your first integrated pay date.
    • Please do not process your first integrated payroll before this step is completed.
  • Deferral rates set by employees directly in Voya’s participant website will be updated automatically within 2 business days.
  • NOTE: Any deferral changes shared by eligible employees directly with you, not using the Voya participant website, must be set by you directly in the payroll system.  For the best outcomes, please direct employees to set and maintain their deferral rates within the participant website.   
• Employee Status Changes 
  • When you add, rehire or terminate employees in your payroll system, the changes will be reflected in the ProgramPay portal one business day after the next pay date.

How Catch-Up Contributions Are Tracked Through the Integration

The IRS limits how much money employees can contribute to their 401(k) plan each year. Typically, contributions made towards the IRS annual limit are referred to as regular contributions. However, individuals who are 50 or older at the end of the calendar year can make additional contributions that are referred to as catch-up contributions.

Quickbooks Online does not have a feature that differentiates contributions as regular or catch-up. Therefore, in order to track the contributions, the integration accounts for employees’ ages with different outcomes based on whether contributions are made on a pre-tax or Roth (after-tax) basis:

Employees under the age of 50 are not eligible for catch-up contributions. Therefore, the catch-up contributions deduction type will be set to inactive. All contributions made, both pre-tax and Roth (after-tax), will be categorized as regular. 

Employees age 50 and older are eligible for catch-up contributions. For these employees: 

• If they deferred on a Roth basis: The catch-up contributions deduction type is set to active, while their regular Roth contribution deduction type will be set to inactive. All contributions will be categorized as catch-up.
• If they deferred on both a pre-tax and Roth basis: The pretax contributions will be categorized as catch-up, and the Roth contributions will also be categorized as catch-up.

Will my payroll provider charge me any fees to set up and/or maintain my payroll integration?

Your payroll provider may charge fees in conjunction with the integration. Please check with your payroll representative for more specific details.

ProgramPay will not charge you to facilitate this integration.

What if I Amend My Plan or Change the Frequency of My Employer Contributions? 

If your plan has been amended or if you are considering an amendment to your original plan documents, please inform your retirement plan representative to understand what actions on your part will be required to submit and process your payroll files correctly.

If you have changed the frequency of funding your employer contribution, our team will work with your payroll provider to make any necessary updates.

How do I disconnect my integration?

To deactivate your integration:

1. Log into the ProgramPay portal.
2. Navigate to the "Contributions" page.
3. Select the tools icon.
4. Click Disconnect under the integration status.
5. Follow the steps to authorize your connection.

If you change payroll providers, it is your responsibility to inform us so that we can disconnect your integration and assess whether integration with a different payroll provider is available. Please see this article and reach out to your Voya Representative for further assistance.