QuickBooks Payroll Error PS038: Fixing Paychecks Stuck 'Online to Send'

Error PS038 shows up when one or more paychecks are stuck in “Online to Send” status, which also prevents QuickBooks from downloading new payroll updates or tax tables until it’s resolved.

Why this happens

• A previous payroll send was interrupted partway through (network drop, QuickBooks closed mid-send)
• Damaged entries in the payroll transaction list
• A corrupted .ini file QuickBooks uses to track payroll send status

Steps to fix it

1. Open the Employees menu → My Payroll Service → Send Payroll Data and check whether any paychecks are listed with “Online to Send” status.
2. Use the Ctrl+Alt+Y (or Ctrl+Shift+Y) technical support window in QuickBooks to view and, if appropriate, remove the stuck paycheck entry — do this carefully, as it changes payroll records.
3. Run Verify Data and Rebuild Data (File → Utilities) to rule out underlying company file damage causing the stuck status.
4. Rename the QBWUser.ini and Entitlement DataStore.ecml files in your QuickBooks folder — QuickBooks regenerates them and this often clears a hung send state.
5. Retry sending payroll once the stuck status is cleared, and confirm your payroll subscription is active before resending.

When to get help

Removing or editing stuck paycheck records isn’t something to do casually — if you’re not confident about which entry is safe to clear, get help before touching payroll transactions directly, especially right before a pay run. Intuit’s official guide to resolving payroll error PS038 covers this in more depth.