How to pay payroll liabilities in AcboBooks (US)

In this lesson you will

Read what you owe each agency and when it is due
Record a federal 941 deposit made through EFTPS
Check that the Payroll Liabilities account agrees

Before you start

Run payroll and review the paycheck

Pay Liabilities in AcboBooks listing Federal 941, state withholding, FUTA, SUTA and employee deductions

See what you owe

Step 1: Open Pay Liabilities

Choose Payroll → Pay Liabilities. Each row is one liability: the federal 941 deposit (income tax withheld plus both shares of Social Security and Medicare), state withholding, FUTA, SUTA, and employee deductions. Change As of to see the position on another date.

Payable to: the agency or plan.
Due date: shown in red when it has passed and money is still owed.
Balance due: accrued by paychecks, less what you have recorded as paid.
Pay… records a payment for that row.

Pay Liabilities table with numbered callouts on Payable to, Due date, Balance due and Pay

US edition: The screen shows the usual monthly-depositor due date. If you are a semiweekly depositor, or your state uses a different schedule, follow the IRS and state rules.

Record the payment

Step 2: Record a 941 deposit

Make the deposit in EFTPS first. Then click Pay… on the Federal 941 row. Check the bank account, choose the payee, confirm the amount and type the EFTPS confirmation number. Click Record Payment.

Pay from: the bank account the deposit came out of.
Payee (vendor): add the IRS as a vendor once. If its name contains Treasury, IRS or EFTPS, AcboBooks picks it for you.
Amount: starts at the balance due. Change it for a partial payment.
Ref / confirmation #: the EFTPS or state confirmation number.
Record Payment posts the payment against Payroll Liabilities.

Pay Federal 941 window with the bank account, payee, amount and confirmation number

Step 3: Check the payment history

The payment appears under Liability payments and the row's balance due drops. Void puts the amount back as owed if you recorded it by mistake. Below the table, AcboBooks compares the total due with the Payroll Liabilities account balance and warns you if a check or journal entry was posted to that account directly.

The confirmation number you typed, kept with the payment.

Liability payments list with a Federal 941 payment to the United States Treasury

Recap

You can see each payroll liability with its period and due date.
You can record a deposit made through EFTPS or a state portal.
You know why payroll taxes should be paid from Pay Liabilities, not with a plain check.

Saved in this browser only. No account needed.

Questions

Can I pay with Write Checks instead?

Use Pay Liabilities. A plain check to the Payroll Liabilities account lowers the balance but not the rows on this screen, and AcboBooks will show a mismatch.

Where do the 401(k) and health deductions go?

To the Employee deductions row. Record the payment to the plan administrator or insurer there.

Screenshots from AcboBooks 0.2.2 with the built-in sample company. Updated October 25, 2026. Your screens may differ slightly with another version or window size.

Pay payroll liabilities