--- title: "Payroll and contractor pay dashboards for small employers" description: "How to see payroll cost, tax liabilities and contractor spending in one monthly view, and how payroll software and your books should agree each month." url: "https://mcc-solutionsnj.com/bookkeeping/dashboards/payroll-and-contractor-pay-dashboards" --- Dashboards · Updated October 13, 2026 # Payroll and contractor pay dashboards for small employers Payroll cost is usually a business's biggest expense, and it is the one that shows up in two places: the payroll platform and the books. A dashboard is useful when the two agree. By [Matthew Coleman](/about), MCC Solutions [Get a bookkeeping quote](/bookkeeping/#interest)[All dashboards](/bookkeeping/dashboards) [![Intuit ProAdvisor Gold tier badge](/img/credentials/intuit-proadvisor-gold.png)](https://proadvisor.intuit.com/app/accountant/search?searchId=matthew-coleman77)Gold tier in Intuit's ProAdvisor program. [See my Intuit listing](https://proadvisor.intuit.com/app/accountant/search?searchId=matthew-coleman77) ![Matthew Coleman, founder of MCC Solutions](/img/matthew-coleman.jpg) **Matthew Coleman**, QuickBooks ProAdvisor, accounting and finance degree. Cranford, NJ. Start with a free health check of your books. You get a quote after we review your books, before any work starts. ## What the view should show Total payroll cost for the month: gross wages, employer taxes and benefits. Tax liabilities owed and the date each is due. Headcount and hours by department or job if you track them. Contractor payments listed separately from employee pay. ## Make the two systems agree Payroll software records what you paid and withheld. Your books record the same amounts as expenses and liabilities. Each month the wages, taxes withheld and employer taxes in the payroll reports should match the entries in your accounting software. A difference is a signal to investigate, such as a missed tax payment or a journal entry posted twice. ## Employees and contractors are different Employees run through payroll, with withholding and filings. Contractors are paid separately, usually without withholding, and reported on a 1099 at year end. Putting contractors through payroll or employees through accounts payable creates tax problems, so the dashboard keeps the two lists apart. The classification itself is a question for a tax professional or attorney. ## Cost per job or per location If you can assign labor to a job, a class or a location, the dashboard can show profit by line of business, which payroll totals alone hide. This only works if the time is coded when it is entered. ## State and local items Payroll tax rules, rates and filing dates vary by state and change. We do not set them from memory. We reconcile what your payroll provider filed with what the books show and flag anything that looks off for your payroll provider or tax professional. ## Common questions **Can you run payroll for me?** We reconcile and report on payroll. Payroll processing is done by your payroll software or provider, and we work with the one you use. **Why does my payroll report not match my books?** Common causes are timing differences, a tax payment not recorded, or a bonus or reimbursement entered differently in each system. A monthly reconciliation finds them. This page is general information, not tax or legal advice. Software plans and features change, so confirm current details with the provider. MCC Solutions is independent and not affiliated with the software companies named here. Software [### Gusto and payroll software Payroll software for New Jersey small employers: what to set up, how payroll flows into your books, and the NJ filings that follow every payroll. Payroll →](/bookkeeping/software/gusto-payroll)[### QuickBooks Online Monthly bookkeeping, cleanup and reconciliation in QuickBooks Online for New Jersey small businesses. Your account stays in your name. QuickBooks →](/bookkeeping/software/quickbooks-online) Related guides - [New Jersey payroll taxes and filings for small employers](/bookkeeping/guides/nj-payroll-taxes-and-filings-for-small-employers) - [1099 contractors: a checklist for New Jersey businesses](/bookkeeping/guides/1099-contractors-checklist-for-nj-businesses) More dashboards - [1099 contractor dashboard for small business](/bookkeeping/dashboards/1099-contractor-dashboard) - [QuickBooks Online dashboards and reports we set up](/bookkeeping/dashboards/quickbooks-online-dashboard) - [Xero dashboard and reporting setup for small business](/bookkeeping/dashboards/xero-dashboard) - [Reporting add-ons for QuickBooks and Xero: when they help](/bookkeeping/dashboards/reporting-add-ons-for-accounting-software) [All dashboards](/bookkeeping/dashboards) Do it yourself ### First Employee Bundle for New Jersey Hiring in New Jersey comes with registrations, postings, payroll filings and a strict test for who counts as a contractor. This lays it out before the first paycheck. [See what's inside ($59)](/toolkits/first-employee-bundle)14-day full refund ## Want this set up on clean books? Ask for a quote. [Get a Quote](/bookkeeping/#interest)[Call (908) 444-6373](tel:+19084446373)