Excerpt:
QuickBooks Payroll Subscription helps businesses streamline payroll by automating tax calculations, direct deposits, and tax filing. With three subscription tiers—Basic, Enhanced, and Assisted—each designed for different business needs, users can choose the level of support and features required. Whether you need basic payroll processing or comprehensive support with expert guidance, QuickBooks offers flexible solutions to simplify payroll management and ensure compliance.
Add As A PreferredLast updated: 26 Oct, 2026. Reviewed by Rajat, eBetterBooks Technical Content Manager.
Key Takeaways
A QuickBooks payroll subscription is the paid service that runs payroll inside QuickBooks Desktop, separate from the Desktop software plan. Payroll names and what is still sold changed in 2024 and again in 2026, so start by naming the subscription you have. Then pick your situation and go straight to the page that fixes it. Existing Enhanced Payroll subscribers can keep renewing.
Payroll blocked or payday close? Call 1-802-778-9005 or send the details with the no-login form on this page. Include your QuickBooks year and edition (press F2), your payroll plan if you know it, and any message word for word. Support hours: Monday through Friday, 24 hours a day.
QuickBooks payroll subscription router: name your plan, then follow one of six routes to the page or call that fits
A QuickBooks payroll subscription is a separate paid service that adds payroll to QuickBooks Desktop. It has its own 16-digit service key tied to your EIN, its own billing and its own status. Payroll needs an active Desktop subscription to work, yet canceling Desktop does not cancel payroll. Each is managed on its own.
A Desktop owner with payroll pays for two things, the software plan and the payroll subscription, each with its own renewal and status. Check which one a notice names before you pay. QuickBooks Online payroll is a separate product again.
Enterprise is the exception for some plans. Enterprise Gold and Platinum include Enhanced Payroll, and Enterprise Diamond includes Assisted Payroll, so on those plans payroll comes with the Enterprise subscription. Enterprise Silver can add Enhanced Payroll for an extra fee.
The 16-digit service key is emailed when the subscription starts and shows in your Intuit account. QuickBooks lists it under Employees, My Payroll Service, Manage Service Key (Manage Payroll Service in some older versions).
Only the primary contact, the person who owns the Intuit account that holds payroll, can change payment details. If that person has left, a Business Change Request names a new one.
This guide gives you the current name and status of every QuickBooks payroll subscription a Desktop user may meet, dated and without prices. It shows how to tell which plan you have from one menu, what to do in each situation, and what changes if you cancel or your Desktop year ends.
Prices, plan features and error fix steps are left out.
Desktop payroll now comes in two products: Enhanced Payroll and Assisted Payroll. New US sales of the Enhanced add-on for Pro Plus and Premier Plus stopped after September 30, 2024, and existing subscribers can renew. Basic and Standard are retired. QuickBooks Online payroll plans now carry Workforce names, announced in May 2026.
| Name | Sold to new US customers | Existing customers | Where to go |
|---|---|---|---|
| Enhanced Payroll added to Pro Plus or Premier Plus | No, stopped after September 30, 2024 | Can renew | Renewal: Enhanced Payroll renewal. Message in QuickBooks: payroll subscription not verified or expired |
| Enhanced Payroll inside Enterprise Gold or Platinum | Yes, with an Enterprise subscription | Comes with the Enterprise subscription; per-employee fees apply | Renew Enterprise payroll |
| Enhanced Payroll added to Enterprise Silver | Listed as an add-on for an extra fee; confirm the add-on is still offered before you buy | Confirm with Intuit how the add-on renews | Renew Enterprise payroll |
| Assisted Payroll inside Enterprise Diamond | Yes. Diamond is a monthly plan; Assisted is not available in Indiana or Wyoming | Comes with Diamond | Intuit, or the no-login form |
| Assisted Payroll with Pro or Premier | Not confirmed; confirm with Intuit | Keep it; to reactivate a canceled plan, contact Intuit | Intuit, or the form |
| Payroll Basic and Payroll Standard | No longer offered | Move to Enhanced with consent inside QuickBooks before renewal | Enhanced Payroll renewal |
| QuickBooks Online payroll: Workforce Payroll, Workforce Premium, Workforce Elite (formerly Payroll Core, Premium and Elite) | Yes, for QuickBooks Online customers in the US | Moved automatically to the matching Workforce plan | QuickBooks Online auto-renewal problem |
Checked on October 20, 2026. Names and availability change. Re-check with Intuit before you buy, renew or cancel. Mac Plus is also no longer sold to new US customers; payroll on Mac is not covered here.
Timeline, not to scale: Basic and Standard retire with no published date, new US Enhanced add-on sales end after September 30, 2024, and QuickBooks Online payroll plans take Workforce names in May 2026
If you already pay for Enhanced Payroll on Pro or Premier, nothing forces a change today: keep renewing on a supported QuickBooks year. First-time buyers go through Enterprise or QuickBooks Online payroll. Other pages may mix Online plan names into Desktop advice or list Basic as current, so match any name against this table. If your plan is not in it, send the exact product name with the no-login form on this page.
To find which QuickBooks payroll subscription you have, open Employees, then My Payroll Service. Account/Billing Info means Basic, Standard or Enhanced. Billing/Bank Information means Assisted. Then confirm the product name and status in your Intuit account at camps.intuit.com, under Products & Services, Details. Both checks only read information.
This check only reads information, so no backup is needed. Open the company file that runs payroll, and have the sign-in for the Intuit account that holds payroll. If you cannot sign in, send the details with the no-login form on this page.
My Payroll Service menu drawn twice: Account/Billing Info for Basic, Standard and Enhanced, and Billing/Bank Information for Assisted
In QuickBooks, open Employees and hover over My Payroll Service. Account/Billing Info (Account/Billing Information in some versions) means Basic, Standard or Enhanced. Billing/Bank Information means Assisted.
You see: one of the two labels. Write down which one.
Select Manage Service Key (Manage Payroll Service in some older versions).
You see: your payroll service and its status. Write the status down and close the window.
If the menu shows only Activate Service Key: the key is missing from this file. Do not select it here. Finish this check, then add the key with the fix on payroll subscription not verified or expired.
Select the account item you found: Account/Billing Info or Billing/Bank Information. Sign in with the Intuit account that holds payroll.
You see: an account page with the payroll product and its status.
At camps.intuit.com, open Products & Services, then Details for the payroll product. You see: the service key, EIN, subscription number and product edition.
If sign-in fails twice: stop. Ask the primary contact, the person who owns the Intuit account, to sign in, or use the form.
| What you read | What you have | Where to go |
|---|---|---|
| Account/Billing Info, product Enhanced, status Active | Enhanced Payroll, working | Nothing to fix. Renew when due |
| Billing/Bank Information | Assisted Payroll | Intuit for plan changes, or the form |
| Basic or Standard in the account | A retired plan waiting to move | What happened to QuickBooks Desktop Payroll Basic and Standard |
| Any payroll message inside QuickBooks, or only Activate Service Key, whatever the account shows | A plan QuickBooks cannot confirm | payroll subscription not verified or expired |
| Account Inactive, canceled or a failed payment, and no message in QuickBooks | A lapsed or unpaid subscription | Enhanced Payroll renewal |
| No payroll product in the account | No payroll subscription | Can you still get a QuickBooks Desktop payroll subscription |
If neither label shows and the account lists no payroll product, but you ran payroll before, stop and send the details with the form, with the last date payroll worked.
What to do about your QuickBooks payroll subscription depends on where the problem shows. Any payroll message inside QuickBooks goes to the verification fix, even if the account also reads Inactive. No message, but a renewal due, a failed payment or a canceled account, goes to the renewal page. Other cases have their own pages.
Note the exact words on the screen or in the email, and your year and edition (F2). If nothing is broken, the names table names your plan. If payday is today or tomorrow, call 1-802-778-9005 or send the details with the no-login form on this page.
If two routes seem to fit, use the tie-break: a message inside QuickBooks means start with the verification fix; a problem only in the account or an email means start with the renewal page.
A hold on your payroll bank account after a returned debit is not the subscription; contact Intuit payroll support about it. Anything else, or two failed attempts at a route: stop and send the details with the form, naming the route you tried.
Yes, but not as an add-on to Pro or Premier. New US sales of Enhanced Payroll for Pro Plus and Premier Plus stopped after September 30, 2024. New Desktop buyers get payroll through QuickBooks Enterprise, which is still sold. QuickBooks Online payroll is the other route. Existing Enhanced subscribers can keep renewing.
Intuit stopped selling new Pro Plus, Premier Plus, Mac Plus and Enhanced Payroll subscriptions to US customers. Intuit first announced July 31, 2024, then set the cutoff at September 30, 2024; some notices word it as October 1, 2024. All three describe the same stop-sell. Existing subscribers keep receiving security updates, product updates and support, and can renew.
| Your situation | Route that fits | Check first |
|---|---|---|
| You run Pro Plus or Premier Plus and want payroll inside Desktop | Enterprise with payroll included, or Enterprise Silver with the Enhanced add-on | Your plan level and your state; confirm the Silver add-on is still offered |
| You want Intuit to handle payroll filings for you | Assisted Payroll, included with Enterprise Diamond | Not available in Indiana or Wyoming; Diamond is a monthly plan |
| You want to run payroll yourself inside Desktop | Enhanced Payroll, included with Enterprise Gold or Platinum | Per-employee fees apply |
| You are willing to work in a web browser | QuickBooks Online payroll, now under Workforce names | Fees may apply; QuickBooks Online is a separate product |
| You were offered Assisted Payroll for Pro or Premier | Confirm with Intuit before you pay | Availability is not confirmed |
Enhanced Payroll is self-managed: you run payroll and file. Assisted Payroll is full-service. For prices, get a current quote from Intuit.
QuickBooks Enterprise plan levels and the payroll each carries: Silver can add Enhanced, Gold and Platinum include Enhanced, Diamond includes Assisted
An active QuickBooks Desktop subscription, a federal employer identification number (FEIN), a US billing address and an internet connection. Assisted Payroll also needs a supported Enterprise version at its latest maintenance release.
Moving from Pro or Premier to Enterprise keeps your company file; moving to QuickBooks Online payroll means setting payroll up again in a separate product. Keep the old payroll subscription until the new one is active, and ask Intuit when to cancel it so you are not billed twice.
If a purchase is refused twice, or an offer does not match this section, stop and send the offer text with the no-login form on this page.
Payroll comes with QuickBooks Enterprise by plan level. Gold and Platinum include Enhanced Payroll, and Diamond includes Assisted Payroll, which is not available in Indiana or Wyoming. Silver can add Enhanced for an extra fee. On Gold, Platinum and Diamond, payroll comes with the Enterprise subscription, so its status follows that subscription.
| Enterprise plan | Payroll | What renews it |
|---|---|---|
| Silver | No payroll included; Enhanced can be added for an extra fee | Check the account portal for a separate payroll product, and confirm with Intuit how it renews |
| Gold | Enhanced Payroll included | The Enterprise subscription |
| Platinum | Enhanced Payroll included | The Enterprise subscription |
| Diamond | Assisted Payroll included; monthly plan; not available in Indiana or Wyoming | The Enterprise subscription |
Per-employee fees apply to Enhanced Payroll, including on Gold, so an employee charge on a Gold account is not proof of a separate payroll plan. Enterprise subscriptions renew monthly or annually until canceled.
This check only reads information. Sign in at camps.intuit.com with the Intuit account that holds QuickBooks, open Products & Services, and select Details for QuickBooks Enterprise and for any payroll product listed separately. You see: the product and edition. If sign-in fails twice, stop and ask the primary contact, the person who owns the Intuit account, or send the details with the no-login form on this page.
You can name your plan level. For renewal steps, use renew Enterprise payroll. If QuickBooks shows a payroll message while Enterprise is active, go to payroll subscription not verified or expired.
If the portal lists no plan level and your purchase email does not name one, stop and send the details with the form.
QuickBooks Desktop Payroll Basic and Standard are no longer offered. Subscribers move to Enhanced Payroll by giving consent inside QuickBooks before their renewal, and the new fees apply from the next billing. Without consent, the old service can end at renewal. Read your payroll account to see which product it lists now.
Basic and Standard subscribers get a notice before the renewal date and move to Enhanced only with consent inside QuickBooks. Have the primary contact, the person who owns the Intuit account, handle the prompt; if that person has left, a Business Change Request names a new one. Intuit has not set a public effective date, so check your own account notice rather than a date quoted on other sites.
This check only reads information, so no backup is needed. In QuickBooks, open Employees, My Payroll Service, Account/Billing Info, and sign in with the Intuit account that holds payroll. Or sign in at camps.intuit.com, open Products & Services, and select Details for the payroll product.
You see: the payroll product name and its status. If sign-in fails twice: stop and send the details with the no-login form on this page.
| The account lists | What it means | Next step |
|---|---|---|
| Enhanced, Active | The move is done | Nothing to change. If QuickBooks shows a payroll message, use payroll subscription not verified or expired |
| Basic or Standard, renewal ahead | The move is still open | The primary contact accepts the move inside QuickBooks before the renewal |
| Basic or Standard, ended | The service ended without the move | Contact Intuit or use the form; whether a lapsed Basic or Standard subscriber can still move to Enhanced is not confirmed |
| No payroll product | No active payroll | Can you still get a QuickBooks Desktop payroll subscription |
If no consent prompt appears before the renewal, or the account shows an unknown product name, stop and send that name with the form.
When you cancel a QuickBooks payroll subscription, payroll support, updates, tax form processing and printing, direct deposit, e-file and e-pay stop. Payroll data stays accessible, but past tax forms cannot be recreated afterward, so save them first. Canceling QuickBooks Desktop does not cancel payroll; each is canceled on its own.
An annual plan can be canceled at any time; the cancellation takes effect the day after the paid period ends, with no refund for the unused part. Back up on the computer that holds the company file, as the Admin user, with nobody else in the file. If any step fails twice, stop and send the details with the no-login form on this page.
Canceling payroll: what stops (support, updates, tax forms, direct deposit, e-file, e-pay) and what stays for Enhanced (payroll data)
Save or print every payroll tax form you may need later, because past tax forms cannot be recreated. Then back up the company file so the payroll history is kept as it stands today.
You see: a confirmation message, and a backup file that ends in .qbb. If the backup fails twice, stop and use the form. Do not cancel without a backup.
File menu with Back up Company and Create Local Backup highlighted, then three backup windows
For Basic, Standard or Enhanced, the cancel option is on the payroll account page: Employees, My Payroll Service, Account/Billing Info, then Cancel Service. Intuit reviews the request and confirms it by email. Assisted Payroll customers confirm the route with Intuit.
To end the Desktop software plan instead, see QuickBooks subscription ended, canceled or payment failed; payroll stays billed until you cancel it separately.
You see: a confirmation email from Intuit. Until it arrives, treat payroll as active.
If no confirmation arrives, or the account page shows no cancel option, stop after two attempts and contact Intuit or send the details with the form.
When your QuickBooks Desktop year is discontinued, payroll features stop on it; what stops depends on your plan. Payroll tax calculation stops for every plan, Standard and Enhanced also lose direct deposit and e-file and e-pay, and Assisted filing stops. Desktop 2023 lost in-product payroll after May 31, 2026. On 2023 or older, upgrade before the next payroll run.
Press F2 in QuickBooks and note the year and edition. This check only reads information, so no backup is needed. If unsure, send the details with the no-login form on this page.
| Payroll plan | What stops |
|---|---|
| Basic | Payroll tax calculation |
| Standard and Enhanced | Payroll tax calculation, direct deposit, E-File and Pay (e-file and e-pay) |
| Assisted | Payroll tax calculation and Assisted filing |
Checked on October 20, 2026.
You see: F2 shows a supported year, and Employees, My Payroll Service, Manage Service Key shows payroll as Active.
If the menu shows only Activate Service Key, or QuickBooks shows a payroll message after the upgrade, go to payroll subscription not verified or expired. If the upgrade fails twice, stop and send the details with the form.
A QuickBooks payroll specialist can sort out your payroll subscription when the fix pages do not match your case, the primary contact is gone, you want to move payroll to Enterprise or QuickBooks Online, or payday is close. After two failed attempts at any step, stop and send the details.
Specialists use a secure, industry-standard remote desktop application to diagnose and work on the problem directly on your computer.
Get help with my payroll subscription. Call 1-802-778-9005 or send the details with the no-login form on this page: year and edition (F2), payroll plan, what the account and Manage Service Key show, any message word for word, and what you tried. Never send card numbers, passwords or Social Security numbers. Support hours: Monday through Friday, 24 hours a day.
Allow remote access only to a provider you contacted yourself. More help is on the QuickBooks Desktop payroll support page and the QuickBooks Desktop subscription support page.
Users ask these ten follow-up questions once they know which payroll subscription they have. Each answer ends with a narrowing question and what each reply means. If your case does not fit, send the details with the no-login form on this page and say which answer came closest.
No. Pro Plus 2024 supports payroll but does not include it, and payroll needs its own Desktop payroll subscription. The Enhanced add-on is no longer sold to new US customers, so a first-time payroll buyer on Pro Plus looks at Enterprise or QuickBooks Online payroll instead.
To narrow it down: did you already pay for Enhanced Payroll? If yes, enter that service key in the new install and renew as usual. If no, compare Enterprise and QuickBooks Online before you buy.
It can be. The genuine move from Basic or Standard asks for consent inside QuickBooks. Users have also reported notices that may concern a move to an online product. Read any notice inside QuickBooks or your Intuit account, never through an email link, before you accept anything.
Before you click: did your account list Basic or Standard? If yes, open the notice inside QuickBooks and follow the renewal page for the consent. If no, contact Intuit through QuickBooks before you accept, because the notice may concern a different change.
Not for existing subscribers. New sales of the Enhanced add-on stopped, but existing subscribers can renew and keep receiving updates and support. Payroll also depends on your Desktop year staying supported, and each year has its own end date. Enterprise still includes payroll on Gold, Platinum and Diamond.
Your answer decides the next step: is your QuickBooks year 2023 or older? If yes, upgrade before the next payroll run. If no, keep renewing as usual.
Enhanced Payroll is self-managed: you run payroll and file through QuickBooks. Assisted Payroll is the full-service product. Assisted comes with Enterprise Diamond and is not available in Indiana or Wyoming. Whether Assisted is still sold for Pro or Premier is not confirmed.
To choose a route: is the business in Indiana or Wyoming? If yes, stay with Enhanced or look at QuickBooks Online payroll. If no and you want full service, ask Intuit for Diamond with Assisted.
Not always. A service key is tied to one EIN, and each subscription covers a set number of EINs under its terms. Look at the payroll Details in the account portal to see which EINs your subscription covers, then compare them with each business before you buy anything.
To narrow it down: does the portal list both EINs under your payroll product? If yes, enter the matching service key in each company file. If no, ask Intuit whether your plan can add the second EIN before you buy another subscription
Only the names. QuickBooks Online payroll plans are now called Workforce Payroll, Workforce Premium and Workforce Elite, formerly Payroll Core, Premium and Elite. Existing subscribers are moved automatically to the matching Workforce plan. Desktop service keys, Enhanced and Assisted do not apply to QuickBooks Online.
Worth checking first: do you sign in to QuickBooks through a web browser? If yes, use the QuickBooks Online billing page. If no, confirm with Intuit how a Workforce plan connects to Desktop before you cancel Enhanced.
Yes for Enhanced, if you are on a supported Desktop year. The primary contact can resubscribe from the payroll account page or the Intuit account, but it can mean choosing a different payroll product. Assisted Payroll cannot be reactivated on your own; it goes through Intuit.
Your answer decides the next step: was the canceled plan Enhanced? If yes, follow the Enhanced Payroll renewal page to resubscribe. If no, contact Intuit to reactivate Assisted, or use the form if you are unsure which plan you had.
Possibly. Refunds on a discontinued Desktop year apply to Basic, Standard and Enhanced, not to Assisted. The terms are set by Intuit, so ask before you cancel. Separately, a canceled annual plan runs to the end of its paid period with no refund for the unused part.
Before you go further: is your plan Assisted? If yes, plan the upgrade or a move instead. If no, ask Intuit about a refund for the discontinued year before you cancel.
Not if your Enhanced subscription is active on a supported year: existing subscribers can keep renewing. Enterprise makes sense when you need payroll for the first time, your year has ended, or you want Assisted. Gold and Platinum include Enhanced, and Diamond includes Assisted.
To pinpoint it: is your Enhanced Payroll active on QuickBooks 2024 or Enterprise 24.0? If yes, renew Enhanced and skip the purchase. If no, compare Enterprise with payroll included against QuickBooks Online payroll before your next payroll run.
Not by that name for Desktop. Desktop payroll is sold as Enhanced or Assisted, and Assisted is the full-service product. Some third-party pages use other names, so match any offer against the current Intuit names before you pay, and buy only through Intuit or a seller you can verify.
Before you pay: does the offer name Enhanced or Assisted and come from Intuit or a seller you can verify? If yes, check it against the names table. If no, do not pay until the seller names the Intuit product.
