why enter PTO in Payroll before you enter it Time

Hello LDO! 

Thank you for stopping by the QuickBooks Community! I will be happy to help. In QuickBooks, the typical workflow is that the PTO is requested and approved in QuickBooks Time and then automatically synced to the Payroll section for processing. 

The reason the sequence is set up this way is to avoid entering PTO hours directly in payroll before they are logged on a timesheet, which can lead to inaccurate PTO balance tracking and reporting. This includes data mismatch, incorrect pay stubs, discrepancies in tax forms, and so forth, which would then have to be manually adjusted to ensure your records are correct. 

Please let me know if you have additional questions! I will be around to assist.