HCM with Guideline 401(k) – A QuickBooks Desktop 2023 Feature

Editor's Note: Intuit recently released its QuickBooks Desktop 2023 line-up. Murph has been evaluating various pre-release versions of these products for almost a year, spending hours communicating with Intuit personnel so we can help you learn about the new products. This is the third in our series of individual product articles intended to provide additional content to what can be found in our QuickBooks Desktop 2023 Product Summary.

About HCM with Guideline 401(k) for QuickBooks Desktop

Retirement plans are an excellent benefit for your employees. Intuit has partnered with Guideline to offer affordable, fully integrated 401(k) plans in QuickBooks Desktop when users have a QuickBooks Desktop Assisted Payroll₁ subscription.

Users can select a plan that works for their business and employees and set it up within QuickBooks Desktop. Once they are set up and run assisted payroll with their new contributions, the info and contributions are sent automatically to Guideline, so there are no extra steps for them to take.

• This new offering makes it easy and affordable for your business to offer your employees a 401(k) through QuickBooks Desktop Assisted Payroll_1.
• You can choose from a list of plan options that best suit the needs of your business and your employees.
• QuickBooks Desktop Assisted Payroll makes setting up the 401(k) plan contributions and deductions easy.
• Guideline administers the plan and does all the reporting, compliance and retirement plan maintenance for you.

Guideline 401(k) currently is only available to QuickBooks Desktop users with a QuickBooks Desktop Assisted Payroll₁ Subscription.

Setting up Guideline 401(k) through QuickBooks Desktop Assisted Payroll

Preparations for setting up a Guideline 401(k)

Before you select a 401(k) plan, make sure the following business information is up to date in your QuickBooks company file:

• Business legal name and address
• Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN)
• Entity type (Corporation, Sole Proprietor, etc.)
• Principal officer's first and last name and email address
• Business bank account username and password or routing and account numbers 
• Number of pay schedules you use to pay your employees
• Number of active employees on payroll

You also need to verify that the following information is contained in the employee profiles within QuickBooks Payroll:

• First and last name
• Social Security Number
• Hire date
• Birth date
• Employment status 
• Pay rate/Salary
• Email address

Sign Up for your Guideline 401(k) Plan

1. Sign in to your QuickBooks company file as the Primary Administrator.
2. Select Employees, then Payroll Center. 
3. Select the Employee Benefits tab (shown above). 
4. From the 401(k) plan card, select Learn More. You may need to sign in to your Intuit account to view the plans. 
5. Select the Build your plan button. 
6. When the Guideline website opens, enter your business information (shown below).
7. Choose the 401(k) plan that works best for you and your team. If you have questions about 401(k) plans, call a Guideline plan specialist at (888) 228-3491.
8. Follow the on-screen instructions to set up your plan. Some forms will be pre-filled with your information from QuickBooks. If any of this information is incorrect or missing, close the website and fix it in QuickBooks.

QuickBooks Assisted Payroll with Guideline 401(k)

Once a Guideline 401(k) plan has been set up and is connected to your QuickBooks Company file, you will see Guideline 401(k) payroll items on your employee profiles and in your payroll item list.

As you run payroll and it is sent to Intuit, the 401(k) info also is sent simultaneously to Guideline, and contributions will be debited from the Bank Account you set up.

The Guideline 401(k) Dashboard

You and your employees can access a 401(k) Plan Dashboard through Guideline (like the one shown below). This Dashboard is where you or your employees also will make any needed changes. 

To sync any changes made using the Guideline 401(k) Plan Dashboard:

1. Sign in to your QuickBooks Desktop company file as the primary or payroll administrator
2. Select Employees, then Employee Benefits
3. Then select Sync 401(k) data with Guideline

To learn more about this QuickBooks 2023 Desktop feature:

Please attend our September QB Talks webinar, scheduled for 2 p.m. (EST), Sept. 21, 2022. Here, Laura Madeira will bring you "A First Look at QuickBooks Desktop 2023." Laura develops this year's QuickBooks Desktop training content and exam materials for Intuit, so nobody is more knowledgeable about the new features.

Footnote(s)

₁ - QuickBooks Desktop Assisted Payroll subscriptions are in addition to any standard QuickBooks subscription unless they are part of a combination package. It may require a unique setup; contact your QuickBooks Desktop Assisted Payroll support specialist for more information.

Disclaimer

Guideline 401(k): 401(k) offerings are provided and administered by Guideline, an independent third party, and not provided by Intuit. Intuit is not a 401(k) plan administrator, fiduciary or other provider. Requires acceptance of Guideline's Client Relationship Summary and Privacy Policy. Additional 401(k) plan fees will apply. Employees may manage their contributions directly with Guideline. Admin and payroll access are required to sign up for a 401(k) plan with Guideline.

Disclosures

Materials within this feature, including graphic illustrations, were developed from various pre-release versions of QuickBooks Desktop 2023. Therefore, the final product version you may acquire may appear, act, or be functionally different from that illustrated or described herein.

Portions of this feature have been adapted from Intuit QuickBooks Desktop 2023-related content. All such source materials were adapted by Insightful Accountant solely for educational purposes.

As used herein, QuickBooks, QuickBooks ProAdvisor, QuickBooks Payroll, QuickBooks Payments, and QuickBooks Desktop (products) refer to one or more registered trademarks of Intuit Inc.; a NASDAQ publicly traded "INTU" corporation, headquartered in Mountain View, California (USA).

Any or all other trade names used herein, including any other vendor (app/software) products discussed within this article, may be registered, trademarked, or otherwise held by their respective owners and are hereby acknowledged. They have been referenced for informational and educational purposes only.

This is an editorial feature, not sponsored content. None of the vendors within this article have paid Insightful Accountant or the Author any form of remuneration to be included within this feature. This article is provided solely for informational and educational purposes.

The publication of this article does not represent any form of endorsement by either the Author or Insightful Accountant.

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