How to get paid through Gusto (for US contractors)

You can get paid by your client (or employer) through Gusto, at no cost to you. Right now, Gusto does not support prepaid debit cards for contractor payments.

Paystubs and payment timing

Paystubs depend on when your employer submits the contractor payments.
If you do not see your paystub or have questions, ask your employer first.
Direct deposit timing on payday depends on your bank’s processing time.
- Your money might arrive anytime during the day, and banks have until end of day to deposit funds.

For admins

If you manage contractors, see this article to learn how to pay them. Employers can issue payments by direct deposit or check, and can also record historical payments made to contractors for annual reporting.

Set up direct deposit in Gusto

Add your bank account at any time, and change your payment method from check to direct deposit.

Sign in to Gusto.
Click My profile.
Go to the Pay section.
In the “Payment” section, click edit.
Enter your routing number, account number, account type, and display name.
- For security, you may need to enter your 2-step verification code and your full current bank details again. If you get stuck, troubleshoot 2-step verification issues here, or contact us from the section of your account.
Click Save.

Gusto will send a small test deposit to verify your bank account—no action needed from you. You will be paid by direct deposit on future payments that have not already been submitted.

You can find the direct deposit authorization form under Documents in your account.

Change your payment method to check

If your payment method is set to direct deposit, you can be paid by check instead—you'll just need to remove all bank accounts in your profile.

Sign in to Gusto.
- Learn how to add or split payments on the mobile app.
Click My profile.
Select the Pay section.
Next to the bank account you're using for direct deposit, click Edit.
Scroll all the way down, and click Remove Account.
- We'll send you code via text or email. Enter this code in the pop-up screen in your Gusto account.
Repeat this process if you have multiple bank accounts (for US employees only).

You'll be paid by check moving forward (for all payrolls submitted after this change was made), and that check should come directly from your employer.

Troubleshoot incorrect direct deposit account numbers

After you've entered your account and routing number for direct deposit payments, we'll verify your bank account with a one cent test transaction.

Verification can take a few days—payments may not go through on payday unless the specific account has been verified.
Bank errors—if we receive a bank error at any point, the bank information may need to be updated and verified. Update the information as soon as possible.
- You and your employer will be notified that we cannot process the test transaction, and both of you will get additional reminder emails every three business days.
- If no action is taken within 12 business days, we'll return any direct deposit payments back to the company's bank account.
Account number formatting—Gusto accepts alphanumeric routing and account numbers but does not support account numbers with dashes, semicolons, commas, question marks, etc.

Once the bank account information is updated, we'll automatically resend any payments to the updated direct deposit account in the next few business days.