Navigating the Washington PFML & Cares Report in QuickBooks
A guide to QuickBooks' built-in report for Washington Paid Family & Medical Leave and Cares Fund quarterly filing, covering field definitions and common pitfalls.
Every quarter, Washington employers must report employee information to the Employment Security Department for the Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) and Cares Fund programs. QuickBooks Desktop provides a dedicated report to help gather the needed data, but many users find themselves unsure about what each field means or why totals don’t match. We’ve looked at the top community questions around this report and what the accepted answers reveal.
What the Report Does
The Washington PFML and Cares Quarterly Reporting Worksheet in QuickBooks pulls payroll data from your company file and pre‑fills most of the fields required for the state’s electronic filing. The report is designed to give you a clear breakdown of gross wages, employee premiums withheld, employer premiums, and the combined totals. After reviewing and correcting any missing or mismatched information, you use the figures to file via the SecureAccess Washington portal.
For employers with more than 50 employees, the state requires a file upload rather than manual entry. QuickBooks can help prepare that data, but users should be aware that the report is only a worksheet — it does not submit anything directly to the state.
Understanding the Key Fields
Several fields in the report cause confusion, according to community discussions. The UBI number shown in QuickBooks should consist of exactly nine numerals. If the number ends with three zeros, leave those zeros off. It is important not to use the Washington ESD number here. The Federal Employer Identification Number (EIN) must be formatted as XX‑XXXXXXX.
The Washington PFML Reportable Total Gross Wages should match the total of all employee wage entries on the Employee PFML Wage Listing Detail. If there is a discrepancy, payroll entries likely need to be reviewed and corrected in QuickBooks. Similarly, the Total Employee Premiums Withheld must equal the total premiums found on that same detail report. The Total Employer Premiums field is for the employer’s share only — do not include any amounts withheld from paychecks. Finally, Total PFML Premiums adds both portions together, while Total Cares Premiums covers the separate Cares Fund contribution.
A common point of confusion is why QuickBooks does not always auto‑fill every field. The program prefills most entries, but if any company, payroll, or employee data is incomplete or missing from the file, you will need to enter that information manually. In many cases, if all data was properly set up from the start, nothing else is needed.
Tips for Getting the Totals Right
Mismatched totals are the most frequently reported issue. The verified fix is to run the Employee PFML Wage Listing Detail report alongside the worksheet and compare line by line. If the gross wages or premium totals differ, the root cause is usually an incorrect payroll item setup or a missing contribution rate. Double‑check that each employee’s PFML and Cares deduction rates match what the state requires for the quarter.
Some users also ask how to save a copy of the completed form. QuickBooks allows you to print or save the report as a PDF using the standard print function. For those who need to summarize payroll data in Microsoft Excel, the report can be exported as a spreadsheet from the QuickBooks Reports menu — though the formatting may need adjustment.
Filing Electronically
The report itself is not filed; it is a worksheet to help you file. You log into the SecureAccess Washington website using your existing SAW account (or create one if needed) and either enter the data manually or, if you have more than 50 employees, upload a file in the state‑specified format. QuickBooks does not send the data for you — it only helps you organize it.
If you run into an issue where the website will not accept your file or prevents manual entry, check the file format requirements on the state’s site. The QuickBooks report can be used as a reference to build the correct upload file, but the actual upload must follow the state’s technical specifications.
Troubleshooting Help
When a field does not appear to be filled correctly, the most reliable step is to review your payroll setup, not to manually override the number unless you are certain. For general form window problems or specific error codes, the in‑report Help button provides context‑sensitive assistance. Community discussions often point to correcting payroll item names or verifying that the Washington state tax setup is linked to the right employees.
For those dealing with file damage or conversion issues that affect payroll data, professional repair services exist — but for routine reporting, careful comparison of the worksheet against the Wage Listing Detail usually resolves the discrepancy.
We’ll continue to track user experiences with this report as new quarters roll in. If you’ve encountered a specific error not covered here, the QuickBooks user community remains a good place to search for real‑world fixes.