How does Guideline treat “Not on Payroll” employees?
In QuickBooks Online Payroll, employers can select from a number of “Statuses” for each of their employees. Each of these statuses has a corresponding status within Guideline, as shown below:
QuickBooks Employees Status | Guideline Employee Status |
Active | Active |
Unpaid Leave of Absence | Active |
Paid Leave of Absence | Active |
Terminated | Dismissed |
Not on Payroll | Dismissed |
Because employers use the “Not on Payroll” status for a range of circumstances, it is important to note that Guideline marks these employees as dismissed. If these employees are actually active or on paid/unpaid leave - or any other status that is not an actual termination of employment - they must be updated in QuickBooks to more accurately reflect their employee status. Leaving them in the “Not on Payroll” means they will be treated as terminated and will be allowed to take a full distribution and blocked from taking a loan or hardship withdrawal. These would all be operational failures and take the plan out of compliance with governmental regulations.
If these employees are in fact terminated, they can keep the “Not on Payroll” status, though it is still strongly advised that you use the “Terminated” status for them in QuickBook instead.
If employees are not marked accurately in payroll, what issues might this create?
If an employee who should be Active in Guideline’s system (for example, an employee on Failure to update the employee status can result in missed deferral opportunities which can be costly to correct. Guideline is not responsible for any corrections related to employers’ use of the “Not on Payroll” status.
What if I use “Not On Payroll” for my seasonal employees?
If you mark seasonal employees as “Not on Payroll” during their offseason, they will be marked as “Dismissed” during that time in Guideline. Once you return them to the “Active” status, they will automatically be marked “Active” again in Guideline. However, you should not add a new start date for these employees once you mark them “Active” again. Doing this will cause their plan eligibility to be incorrectly calculated within Guideline.
If you have any questions or need specialized assistance from our team, please contact our Sponsor Support team at (888) 228-3491 or clients@guideline.com.