Skip to main content
Submitting payroll is the moment you hand a finished pay period to your bookkeeper. Once you submit, PayPunch locks the period, generates the QuickBooks export, and notifies your bookkeeper to process it. This is the most important thing you do each period — take a minute to get it right.
Submit timesheet review screen
Submitting requires the Owner or Manager role. A Viewer can’t submit payroll.

​
Before you start

  • Every employee’s entries for the period should be Approved. If any are still pending, finish reviewing time first — the submit screen will block you until they’re cleared.
  • The period must not be locked.

​
Submit a period step by step

1

Open the submit screen

From Timesheets, click Submit on the open period (or open the period and click Submit Timesheet). The header reads Submit Timesheet — “Review and submit for [date range].”
2

Clear any pending entries

If you see a red “Cannot Submit Yet” warning — “You have N employee(s) with pending time entries. All entries must be approved before submission.” — go back and review those entries. The confirmation checkbox and submit button stay disabled until none remain.
3

Review the Submission Summary

Check the Submission Summary card: Employees, Total Hours, and Approved (shown as X/Y), plus a breakdown of Regular Hours, Overtime Hours, and Total Hours. Make sure the numbers match what you expect.
4

Add notes (optional)

Use Additional Notes (Optional) to pass any context to your bookkeeper — “Enter any notes or special instructions…”
5

Confirm accuracy

Check “I confirm that all timesheet entries are accurate and complete.” By checking it you agree the entries have been reviewed and approved for payroll processing.
6

Submit

Click Submit Timesheet. While it processes you’ll see “Submitting…”, then PayPunch returns you to the Timesheets list with the period now marked Submitted.

​
What happens when you submit

Submitting does several things at once:
  • The period’s status changes to Submitted and the period is locked so entries can’t be changed afterward.
  • A QuickBooks IIF file is generated and emailed to the payroll contact.
  • Your bookkeeper is notified that the period is ready to process.
You’ll see a confirmation that your submission was sent to your bookkeeper for processing.
Submitting locks the period. Once submitted, you can’t edit or reject entries for that period from the client portal. Review carefully before you confirm — if you catch a mistake after submitting, contact your bookkeeper.

​
If the deadline has passed

If you submit after your company’s submission deadline, PayPunch flags how late you are and gives you the option to submit anyway (a force-submit). Submitting late still works, but your bookkeeper has less time to process payroll — submit as early as you can.

​
After you submit

Your bookkeeper reviews the hours and, when ready, sends a payroll summary back to you for a final sign-off. Head to Payroll summary to approve it and close the loop.