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Do you outsource some of your business’s operations to subcontractors? Not all workers are classified as employees. In the United States, most workers fall under the category of employee or subcontractor.

Employees are workers who are on a business’s payroll and receive wages and other employee-related benefits. Subcontractors are not on a business’s payment. They still work for other businesses, but Subcontractors have autonomy. They can choose which jobs they want to perform, and they aren’t eligible for employee-related benefits. If your business relies on the services of subcontractors, you’ll need to track their payments. Fortunately, QuickBooks makes it easy to track subcontractor payments.

Ask Subcontractors to Complete a 1099

You should ask all subcontractors who you are planning to pay at least $600 per year to complete a W-9. You can download a blank 1099 at the official Internal Revenue Service (IRS) website. This form is required for subcontractors.

Add Subcontractors as Vendors

For QuickBooks Desktop, the easiest way to track subcontractor payments is to add them as vendors. You can create a separate vendor in QuickBooks Desktop for each of your business’s subcontractors. Vendors are typically associated with manufacturers or product suppliers, but you can use them for other purposes, such as subcontractor tracking.

To add a subcontractor as a vendor in QuickBooks Desktop, click the “Vendors” menu and select “Vendor Center.” Under “New Vendor,” select “New Vendor.” Next, enter information about the subcontractor in the appropriate fields. When you are finished, click “OK” to complete the process.

Tracking Subcontractor Payments: What You Should Know

You can track subcontractor payments by going back to the “Vendor Center” and clicking “Edit” next to the subcontractor’s name. In the “Tax Settings” tab, click the box for “Vendor eligible for 1099.” You can then enter the subcontractor’s tax identification number.

QuickBooks Desktop will begin to track the subcontractor’s payments after you enter his or her tax identification number. And when it’s time to file the subcontractor’s 1099 with the IRS, you can pull these payments automatically.

A tax identification number is a unique number that the IRS uses to record revenues for subcontractors. Employees will typically have an employee identification number, whereas subcontractors will have a tax identification number. When tracking subcontractor payments, you’ll need to enter their tax identification numbers in QuickBooks Desktop.

Did this tutorial work for you? Let us know in the comments section below!