Troubleshoot blocked payroll

Every Gusto account undergoes checks to keep your business safe and to protect the platform. This helps us keep your business secure and compliant. If we need more details about your business to make sure our records are accurate, we ask that you send the information as soon as you can so we can review it.

1. Sign in to Gusto.
2. On your Home page, click the Provide More Info to Run Payroll On Time notification.
3. Follow the on-screen steps to upload the requested documents.

If you're having trouble uploading documents, try the tips below before contacting us:

• Use Google Chrome for the best experience with Gusto.
• Make sure your browser is up-to-date (instructions below):
  • Chrome
  • Edge
  • Firefox
  • Safari
• Clear your browser's cache.
  • You can find steps in your browser's Help menu, or search the internet for browser-specific instructions.

If you have a to-do on your Home page about an oustanding balance, the team was paid as planned, but our debit(s) failed due to insufficient funds.

As a result, there’s an account balance that must be paid before running payroll again

• Related bank error codes: R01 and R09.

Admins can sign in to Gusto and get details about the failed transactions and pay the balance.

Debit failure fees

You’ll see a $100 fee on your Gusto invoice for each day we receive a failed debit from your bank. See our Terms of Service.

Pay an outstanding balance in Gusto (for insufficient funds errors)

1. Sign in to your admin profile in Gusto.
2. From the Home page, click the to-do Payroll is blocked: Pay outstanding balance. 
   • You can also pay outstanding balances from your Pay section.
3. View the transactions that failed. 
   • If there’s more than one, you can pay them together or individually—make sure there are sufficient funds to cover the payments. 
4. Tell us how you want to pay the balance, you’ll usually have a few options:
   • ACH debit
     • Takes a few business days
   • Wire transfer
     • Quickest way to unblock payroll
5. For ACH debit, choose which verified bank you want to pay the balance from, and click Continue.
6. For Wire transfers, click Continue and read the important info. You’ll need to send the wire ASAP. Gusto’s fee is $5 per wire—bank fees vary. 
   • We cannot do anything on our end until the wire is received. Usually wires are instant, but there’s no guarantee we’ll receive it the same day you send it.
   • We’ll provide the info for you to give to your bank. Here are our wire requirements:
     • The total amount you send must match the amount in the instructions
     • The originating bank account must be based in the US
     • You must be authorized to use the bank account on behalf of [company name]
7. Click Download PDF to save and give your bank the wire transfer details from Gusto. 
8. Confirm the details of the wire, and Submit. It may take time to get from your bank to ours—check the status in Pay history.

In these instances, the team is typically* paid as planned, but our debit(s) failed because we are not authorized to debit the bank.

• Related bank error codes: R05, R06, R07, R08, R10, R16, R29, R31, and R74.

As a result, the bank account cannot be used and there’s an account balance that must be paid. Banking and balance issues must be resolved before running payroll again. Admins can sign in to Gusto and get details about the failed transactions, next steps, and pay the balance.

Debit failure fees

You’ll see a $100 fee on your Gusto invoice for each day we receive a failed debit from your bank. See our Terms of Service.

Resolve bank issues and pay outstanding balances (Gusto was not authorized to debit)

Gusto isn’t authorized to debit the account, so the bank rejected the transaction. To fix it:

1. Sign in to your admin profile in Gusto.
2. From the Home page, click the to-do Payroll is blocked: Resolve banking issues.
   • You can also pay outstanding balances from your Pay section.
3. View the transactions that failed.
   • If there’s more than one, you can pay them together or individually—make sure there are sufficient funds to cover the payments.
4. Let us know if you want to continue to use the bank account in Gusto:
   • Yes
     1. We’ll need to verify that we’re authorized to debit before it can be used again.
   • No
     • You’ll need to add a new bank account.
     • If the existing account is the default bank account in Gusto, you’ll need to choose or set up a new default account
5. Click Continue. Next steps are different based on your answer.
   • Use the existing bank account
     • Contact your bank to make sure Gusto is authorized to debit the account. If your bank requires authorization codes, you can provide the list of codes in Gusto.
     • Check the box to let us know when you’ve authorized Gusto to debit the account. 
       • We’ll send test debits to verify that the authorization has been granted—they’ll take a couple of business days to clear. Make sure to have $2 in your account to avoid overdraft fees.
     • Pay the outstanding balance with a wire transfer. The bank account won’t be verified until the tests clear, which means you can’t use it to pay your balance right now
   • Add a new bank account
     • Choose how you want to verify your new bank account:
       • Connect bank account with Plaid (instantly)
         • Once verified, you’ll have the option to pay the outstanding balance by ACH debit or wire transfer (quickest option).
     • Verify manually with test transactions (takes ~2-3 business days)
       • Enter your account details and we’ll make two small transactions. Once they reach your bank account, come back and confirm the amounts to finish this step.
       • Pay the outstanding balance with a wire transfer. The bank account won’t be verified until the tests clear, which means you can’t use it to pay your balance right now

*Check your email for specific info about your bank error and the steps required to fix it.

In some cases, we may let you know:

• For employees
  • Payrolls have been canceled. Once the bank issue is resolved, re-run them if your team still needs to get paid. 
• For contractor payments
  • The payment methods have been converted to check, so the contractors won’t get their pay by direct deposit but you can still pay them on time by delivering physical checks

In these cases, you’ll need to:

• Review the details of the failed transaction(s)
• Clarify your company funding methods moving forward
• Re-run team payments if needed

In these instances, the team was paid as planned, but our debits failed. Usually it’s because the account is closed, the account details are wrong, or something changed with the bank itself.

• Related bank error codes: R02, R03, R04, R12, R13, R15, R20, and R34.

As a result, we’ve deactivated the bank account in Gusto and there’s an account balance that must be paid. Banking and balance issues must be resolved before running payroll again.

Admins can sign in to Gusto and get details about the failed transactions, next steps, and pay any outstanding balances.

Debit failure fees

You’ll see a $100 fee on your Gusto invoice for each day we receive a failed debit from your bank. See our Terms of Service.

Resolve banking issues—accounts were deactivated

1. Sign in to your admin profile in Gusto.
2. From the Home page, click the to-do Payroll is blocked: Resolve banking issues. 
   • You can also pay outstanding balances from your Pay section.
3. View the transactions that failed—the account had been deactivated so you’ll need to do one or more of the below:
   • Add a new bank account (if you only had one on the account)
   • Set a new default bank account (if you have more than one, and the default was deactivated)
   • Pay the outstanding balance to unblock payroll.. 
4. Click Next. The next steps are different based on your answer.
   • Add a new bank account.
     • Choose how you want to verify your new bank account:
       • Connect bank account with Plaid (instantly)
         • Once verified, you’ll have the option to pay the outstanding balance by ACH debit or wire transfer (quickest option).
       • Verify manually with test transactions (takes ~2-3 business days)
         • Enter your account details and we’ll make two small transactions. Once they reach your bank account, come back and confirm the amounts to finish this step.
         • Pay the outstanding balance with a wire transfer. The bank account won’t be verified until the tests clear, which means you can’t use it to pay your balance right now.
   • Use a pre-existing bank account (after setting a new default account)
     • Tell us how you want to pay the balance, you’ll usually have a few options:
       • ACH debit
         • Takes a few business days
       • Wire transfer
         • Quickest way to unblock payroll
5. For ACH debit, choose which verified bank you want to pay the balance from, and click Continue.
6. For Wire transfers, click Continue and read the important info. You’ll need to send the wire ASAP. Gusto’s fee is $5 per wire—bank fees vary. 
   • We cannot do anything on our end until the wire is received. Usually wires are instant, but there’s no guarantee we’ll receive it the same day you send it.
   • We’ll provide the info for you to give to your bank. Here are our wire requirements:
     • The total amount you send must match the amount in the instructions
     • The originating bank account must be based in the US
     • You must be authorized to use the bank account on behalf of [company name]
7. Click Download PDF to save and give your bank the wire transfer details from Gusto. 
8. Confirm the details of the wire, and Submit. It may take time to get from your bank to ours—check the status in Pay history

If you still need help, message us from the in your account.