---
# System prepended metadata

title: How to Print & Email Paystubs from QuickBooks Desktop
tags: [taxation, finance, payroll, accounting, business]

---

<p class="ds-markdown-paragraph"><strong>Guide to printing and securely emailing paystubs in QuickBooks Desktop. Resolve common payroll distribution issues. Need assistance? Dial +1-866-513-4656.</strong></p>
<p class="ds-markdown-paragraph">Manually distributing pay stubs wastes valuable time and introduces security risks, potentially leading to a serious&nbsp;<strong>QuickBooks payroll issue</strong>&nbsp;or confidentiality breach. If you're struggling to efficiently get pay stubs to your team&mdash;whether by print or email&mdash;you're not alone. Inefficient processes can cause employee frustration and hinder your ability to respond to audit requests, creating underlying&nbsp;<strong>QuickBooks tax problems</strong>. This definitive guide provides the exact steps to both print and securely email pay stubs directly from QuickBooks Desktop. For personalized guidance on complex setup or persistent&nbsp;<strong>QuickBooks errors</strong>, you can reach out at&nbsp;<strong>+1-866-513-4656</strong>.</p>
<p class="ds-markdown-paragraph"><strong>Learn to print &amp; email paystubs from QuickBooks Desktop. Fix payroll errors &amp; ensure secure delivery. For help, call +1-866-513-4656.</strong></p>
<h2><strong>The Critical Need for Accurate and Secure Pay Stub Distribution</strong></h2>
<p class="ds-markdown-paragraph">Pay stubs are vital legal documents that detail earnings, deductions, and year-to-date totals. Proper distribution is not just an administrative task; it's a compliance and employee relations necessity. Timely and accurate delivery ensures transparency, builds trust, and provides employees with the documents they need for loans, rentals, and tax filing. Mastering both printing and emailing within QuickBooks streamlines your operations and mitigates risks associated with manual handling.</p>
<h3><strong>Why You Might Face Pay Stub Distribution Problems?</strong></h3>
<p class="ds-markdown-paragraph">Identifying the root cause is the first step to a solution. Here are the most common reasons for distribution failures:</p>
<ol start="1">
<li>
<p class="ds-markdown-paragraph"><strong>Payroll Service Inactivity or Misconfiguration:</strong>&nbsp;An inactive Intuit Payroll subscription or incorrectly configured payroll items will prevent you from accessing the core functions needed to create and distribute stubs.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p class="ds-markdown-paragraph"><strong>Missing or Inaccurate Employee Contact Information:</strong>&nbsp;For emailing, missing or typos in employee email addresses in their contact record will cause immediate delivery failures. For printing, incorrect addresses can lead to mailed stubs getting lost.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p class="ds-markdown-paragraph"><strong>Outdated Software and Tax Tables:</strong>&nbsp;Using an older version of QuickBooks Desktop or lacking the latest payroll update can cause features to malfunction or generate incorrect tax calculations, a direct source of <a href="https://tax-form-helper--print1099nec.replit.app/blog/quickbooks-print-pdf-repair-tool">QuickBooks tax problems</a>.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p class="ds-markdown-paragraph"><strong>Printer or Email Setup Failures:</strong>&nbsp;Printing issues often stem from incorrect default printer settings or outdated drivers. Email failures are commonly due to an unconfigured or rejected SMTP (outgoing mail) server within QuickBooks.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p class="ds-markdown-paragraph"><strong>Company File Data Integrity Issues:</strong>&nbsp;Underlying data corruption, especially within payroll transactions or employee lists, can block access to historical pay stubs and prevent their distribution.</p>
</li>
</ol>
<h2><strong>Step-by-Step Solution: Printing Pay Stubs in QuickBooks Desktop</strong></h2>
<h3><strong>Method 1: Print Individual or Batch Pay Stubs from the Payroll Center</strong></h3>
<p class="ds-markdown-paragraph">This is the primary method for printing stubs from recent pay periods.</p>
<ol start="1">
<li>
<p class="ds-markdown-paragraph">Go to&nbsp;<strong>Employees &gt; Payroll Center</strong>.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p class="ds-markdown-paragraph">Select the&nbsp;<strong>"Paychecks"</strong>&nbsp;tab at the top.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p class="ds-markdown-paragraph">In the&nbsp;<strong>"Pay Period"</strong>&nbsp;list, choose the relevant period.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p class="ds-markdown-paragraph">To print a single stub: Find the employee's paycheck, click the dropdown in the&nbsp;<strong>"Action"</strong>&nbsp;column, and select&nbsp;<strong>"Print Paycheck Stub."</strong></p>
</li>
<li>
<p class="ds-markdown-paragraph">To print all stubs for that period: Click the&nbsp;<strong>"Print"</strong>&nbsp;button at the top of the paycheck list.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p class="ds-markdown-paragraph">A preview will appear. Click&nbsp;<strong>"Print"</strong>&nbsp;to send to your physical printer or choose&nbsp;<strong>"Save as PDF"</strong>&nbsp;to create a digital file.</p>
</li>
</ol>
<h3><strong>Method 2: Print Pay Stubs via Detailed Reports</strong></h3>
<p class="ds-markdown-paragraph">Use this method for custom date ranges or specific filtering needs.</p>
<ol start="1">
<li>
<p class="ds-markdown-paragraph">Navigate to&nbsp;<strong>Reports &gt; Employees &amp; Payroll &gt; Payroll Detail Review</strong>.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p class="ds-markdown-paragraph">In the report window, set the&nbsp;<strong>"Dates"</strong>&nbsp;field to the desired pay period.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p class="ds-markdown-paragraph">Click&nbsp;<strong>"Customize Report."</strong>&nbsp;Go to the&nbsp;<strong>"Filters"</strong>&nbsp;tab.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p class="ds-markdown-paragraph">Filter by&nbsp;<strong>"Employee"</strong>&nbsp;(for a specific person) or&nbsp;<strong>"Payroll Item"</strong>&nbsp;if needed.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p class="ds-markdown-paragraph">Click&nbsp;<strong>"OK"</strong>&nbsp;and then click the printer icon to print the report, which serves as a detailed pay stub.</p>
</li>
</ol>
<h2><strong>Step-by-Step Solution: Emailing Pay Stubs Securely</strong></h2>
<h3><strong>Prerequisite: Configure QuickBooks Desktop for Email</strong></h3>
<p class="ds-markdown-paragraph">Before emailing, you must set up your outgoing mail server.</p>
<ol start="1">
<li>
<p class="ds-markdown-paragraph">Go to&nbsp;<strong>Edit &gt; Preferences &gt; Send Forms</strong>.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p class="ds-markdown-paragraph">Select the&nbsp;<strong>"My Preferences"</strong>&nbsp;tab.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p class="ds-markdown-paragraph">Under&nbsp;<strong>"Send Email Using,"</strong>&nbsp;choose either&nbsp;<strong>"Web Mail"</strong>&nbsp;(for Gmail,&nbsp;<a href="https://outlook.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer">Outlook.com</a>,&nbsp;Yahoo) or&nbsp;<strong>"Outlook"</strong>&nbsp;(for Microsoft Outlook). Follow the on-screen prompts to authenticate.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p class="ds-markdown-paragraph">For SMTP (recommended for business email), select&nbsp;<strong>"SMTP Server"</strong>&nbsp;and enter your mail server details (from your email provider or IT department).</p>
</li>
<li>
<p class="ds-markdown-paragraph">Click&nbsp;<strong>"OK"</strong>&nbsp;to save.</p>
</li>
</ol>
<h3><strong>How to Email a Pay Stub Directly?</strong></h3>
<ol start="1">
<li>
<p class="ds-markdown-paragraph">Follow steps 1-4 in the&nbsp;<strong>"Print Individual Stubs"</strong>&nbsp;section above to locate the paycheck.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p class="ds-markdown-paragraph">In the&nbsp;<strong>"Action"</strong>&nbsp;dropdown, select&nbsp;<strong>"Email Paycheck Stub."</strong></p>
</li>
<li>
<p class="ds-markdown-paragraph">A window will appear with a preview. Ensure the "To:" email address is correct.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p class="ds-markdown-paragraph">You can add a subject and message. Click&nbsp;<strong>"Send Now."</strong></p>
</li>
</ol>
<h3><strong>How to Email Pay Stubs as PDF Attachments?</strong></h3>
<p class="ds-markdown-paragraph">For maximum security and professionalism, sending a PDF is often best.</p>
<ol start="1">
<li>
<p class="ds-markdown-paragraph">When printing (Step 6 of the Print method), choose&nbsp;<strong>"Save as PDF"</strong>&nbsp;instead of a physical printer.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p class="ds-markdown-paragraph">Save the PDF to a known location on your computer.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p class="ds-markdown-paragraph">Use your regular, secure business email client to compose a new message. Attach the PDF and send it directly. This method ensures encryption if your email provider supports it.</p>
</li>
</ol>
<h2><strong>Prevention Tips for Flawless Pay Stub Distribution</strong></h2>
<ul>
<li class="ds-markdown-paragraph"><strong>Verify Payroll Service Status Monthly:</strong>&nbsp;Confirm your Intuit Payroll subscription is active and updates are installed automatically to prevent a&nbsp;<strong>QuickBooks payroll issue</strong>.</li>
<li class="ds-markdown-paragraph"><strong>Maintain a Clean Employee List:</strong>&nbsp;Routinely audit the Employee Center to verify accurate email addresses and contact information for every employee.</li>
<li class="ds-markdown-paragraph"><strong>Standardize Your Distribution Method:</strong>&nbsp;Create a company policy (e.g., "All pay stubs are distributed via encrypted PDF email on payday") and train your team on the consistent process within QuickBooks.</li>
<li class="ds-markdown-paragraph"><strong>Perform Regular Data Health Checks:</strong>&nbsp;Use&nbsp;<strong>File &gt; Utilities &gt; Verify Data</strong>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<strong>Rebuild Data</strong>&nbsp;periodically to prevent file corruption that leads to distribution&nbsp;<a href="https://tax-form-helper--print1099nec.replit.app/blog/quickbooks-print-pdf-repair-tool"><strong>QuickBooks errors</strong>.</a></li>
<li class="ds-markdown-paragraph"><strong>Test Email Setup Quarterly:</strong>&nbsp;Send a test email from within QuickBooks (<strong>Edit &gt; Preferences &gt; Send Forms</strong>) to ensure your configuration remains active and functional.</li>
</ul>
<h2><strong>Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)</strong></h2>
<p class="ds-markdown-paragraph"><strong>Q1: Can I email pay stubs to all employees at once?</strong><br />A: While you cannot directly "batch email" from the Payroll Center action list, you can save all stubs for a period as individual PDFs and then use your email client's batch sending feature, or use a dedicated secure portal service.</p>
<p class="ds-markdown-paragraph"><strong>Q2: Is it legally compliant to email pay stubs?</strong><br />A: Yes, in most jurisdictions, electronic distribution is compliant as long as employees have consented to it and can reasonably access and print the documents. It's advisable to have an electronic consent form on file.</p>
<p class="ds-markdown-paragraph"><strong>Q3: Why does my emailed pay stub look blank or scrambled?</strong><br />A: This is typically a&nbsp;<strong>QuickBooks error</strong>&nbsp;related to your default printer driver or a corrupted PDF generator. Set a different system default printer (like "Microsoft Print to PDF") and update your printer drivers.</p>
<p class="ds-markdown-paragraph"><strong>Q4: An employee didn't receive their emailed stub. What should I do?</strong><br />A: First, check the employee's email address in the Employee Center for typos. Then, verify your QuickBooks email setup by sending a test email. Finally, check your "Sent Items" folder to confirm QuickBooks attempted the send.</p>
<p class="ds-markdown-paragraph"><strong>Q5: How can I ensure emailed pay stubs are secure?</strong><br />A: Use the PDF method and send via a company email with TLS encryption. For highly sensitive data, consider using a secure document portal where employees log in to retrieve stubs, rather than direct email attachment.</p>
<h3><strong>Need Expert Help with Payroll Distribution?</strong></h3>
<p class="ds-markdown-paragraph">If you continue to face challenges printing or emailing pay stubs, or if you suspect your&nbsp;<strong>QuickBooks tax problem</strong>&nbsp;is rooted in incorrect payroll data, deeper intervention may be required. Our specialists can help you diagnose and resolve these technical and procedural hurdles.</p>
<p class="ds-markdown-paragraph"><strong>For direct, expert assistance, call: +1-866-513-4656</strong></p>