Set up and manage Gusto Time Tracking

First, make sure that Time tracking is enabled.

1. Click the Settings section.
2. Select the Preferences tab.
3. Click edit next to Time tracking.
4. Toggle to Enabled.
5. Click Save.

Next, set up Time tracking.

1. Clicking the Time tools section and select Time tracking.
2. Click Learn more in the Time tracking for payroll tile.
3. Click Get started.
4. Gusto will automatically check to see if your pay schedule is set up in arrears, a requirement for this feature. 
   • The work week in Time tracking corresponds with your pay schedule. To change the work week, you'll need to update your pay schedule. Make sure it's still in arrears.
   • If you need a new pay schedule to use Time Tracking, follow the instructions to contact us so we can assist.
5. Select which non-exempt (eligible for overtime) employees will be tracking their time in Gusto by clicking + next to their name.
   • Only non-exempt (eligible for overtime) employees with a Gusto login are eligible – these can be non-exempt hourly or salaried employees.
     • To give an employee login access, add their email in the People section.
     • For salary non-exempt (eligible for overtime) employees, only overtime hours are synced to payroll.
   • Employees and managers will receive Gusto Time Tracking welcome emails.
6. Click Next.
7. If you already have Managers set up in Gusto, they’ll be automatically assigned to their direct reports. You can use the drop-down to assign existing managers to employees who do not yet have them. Then click Next.
   • Managers will not see employee compensation.
   • If you do not have managers assigned in your account, an admin of the company with the required permissions will need to approve hours.
8. Set the overtime rules for your state.
   • Overtime laws are based on the state where your employees work. Reference our Help Center for state-by-state overtime laws.
   • If you have employees in states with different overtime rules, create default rules you'd like here, then add rules for other states in time tracking Settings after setup.
9. Set rules for changes.
   • Select Yes if you'd like to require employees to leave a note explaining changes made to their hours.
10. Make sure the pay period, employees, and overtime rules are accurate in the My Team and Settings tabs.

To review or edit the start of workweek after setup is complete, navigate to the Payroll section and select Payroll settings. From there, head to the Pay schedule section. 

Gusto Time Tracking is now enabled. If you have employees with multiple pay rates, review this article to understand how their hours will translate to the run payroll flow.

Important: At this time, approving hours is purely a visual-aid for admins to identify hours that are approved by a manager. Unapproved hours will still sync to payroll and it is up to an admin to overwrite/correct hours that are synced.

Add overtime rules

1. Click the Time tools section and select Time tracking.
2. Click the Settings tile.
3. Under “Overtime rules", click Create new set of rules.
4. Nickname the set of rules.
5. Set the overtime rules.
6. Click Save.

Ensure that all employees have the correct set of compliance rules assigned to them. 

Assign overtime rules to employees

If you have employees in states with different overtime rules, assign the appropriate set of rules to them by following these steps:

1. Click the Time Tools section and select Time tracking.
2. Click the Settings tile. 
3. Under the People section, click edit.
4. Select the set of overtime rules that should apply to the individual.
5. Click Save changes.

Once you've set up Gusto Time Tracking, admins can add and remove employees, as well as assign overtime rules and managers for specific individuals. 

For information on how employees enter hours, head to this article.

Add or remove employees 

1. Click the Time Tools section and select Time tracking. 
2. Click the Settings tile. 
3. Under the People section, click +Add or remove people.
4. To add or remove an employee from Gusto Time Tracking:
   • To add an employee: Click + next to their name in the left-hand column.
     • Only non-exempt (eligible for overtime) employees with a Gusto login are eligible – these can be non-exempt hourly or salaried employees.
     • If an employee is enrolled after a pay period has already passed, Time Tracking will be available to them beginning the following pay period.
   • To remove an employee: Click x in the right-hand column next to their name.
     • Removing employees from this feature will take effect on the following pay period. 
5. Click Save.

Once an employee has been added, they'll be able to track time, and edit hours their hours as needed—this can't be turned off.

1. Click the Time tools section and select Time tracking. 
2. Confirm the pay period selected is the one for review, or edit from the drop-down.
3. Employee's total hours will appear to review. Click view for additional detail about the time reported.
4. Toggle to approved when hours are confirmed. This can be done in the top right corner of the employee pay period view, or from the main page.
   • View edits made to an employee's hours by scrolling to the bottom of the pay period's hours and clicking the "Version history" drop-down.
5. Click Sync Hours to Payroll when all hours have been confirmed and approved.
   • You can continue to sync hours until payroll has been run.

When you go to Run Payroll, employee’s synced hours will appear. If you need to edit hours from the Run Payroll screen, you can do so but they will not be updated in the time tracking log for you or the employee.

Important: At this time, approving hours is purely a visual-aid to identify hours that have been approved. Unapproved hours will still sync to payroll and it's up to an admin to overwrite/correct hours that are synced.

Several states require that employees be given an unpaid meal break after working a certain number of hours each day. Make sure to check your state laws before creating break rules.

• Administrators with the required permissions can set up meal breaks. 
• If Time Tracking is not part of your Gusto product plan, you can upgrade at any time.
• Meal break rules only apply to employees

Note: Gusto currently only supports unpaid breaks, if you wish to add paid breaks instead, you'll need to use a manual workaround, such as customizing an additional pay rate to report the paid break separately.

To set up meal breaks:

1. Click the Time tools section and select Time tracking.
2. Click the Settings tile.
3. Click edit next to "Missing break alerts."
4. Toggle to Enabled to flag missing breaks.
5. Enter the break rules for non-exempt employees based on your state laws.
   • How many minute breaks
   • For every [X] hours and minutes worked
6. Click Save.

You’ll see an alert on employee timesheets when they've reported too many hours worked without a break.

Domestic contractors must have an hourly rate (rather than a fixed wage) assigned to use contractor time tracking. Multiple rates for domestic contractors are not supported. Time tracking for International contractors is not supported at this time. 

This feature is available on Plus and Premium plans—you can upgrade at any time.

1. Click the Time tools section and select Time tracking.
   • If you’re brand new to Time tracking, click the Learn more button and select Get started. You’ll be walked through the remainder of the setup steps here.
2. Click the Settings tile.
3. Scroll down to the People headline.
4. Click +Add or remove people.
5. Search for a name.
   • Only employees and contractors with an email linked to their Gusto account appear here. To add an email to someone's account, go to their profile by clicking the People section and selecting Team members.
6. Select the person.
7. Click Save.

Contractors added will be able to track their hours worked right from their Gusto account. Once hours have been reported, you can sync your contractor hours by clicking the Payroll section and selecting Pay contractors.

1. Click the Time tools section and select Time tracking. 
2. Click the My team's hours tile.
3. Click the For contractors tab.
4. Choose a date range.
5. Review total hours or click View for more details about the hours reported.
   • If a contractor isn't listed, you may need to add them to Time Tracking first.
6. Once reviewed and approved, click sync hours to payments.
   • This will save the hours reported by your contractors, and sync it to your Pay contractors tab.
7. Once in the Pay contractors section of your account, you can begin processing payment(s).

If you’ve previously synced hours for a time frame but don’t want to issue a payment for the whole time frame, return to the Time tracking section, update the dates to only the ones you intend to pay for, and click sync hours to payments again.

Follow the steps below to disable Gusto Time Tracking. 

1. Click the Settings section.
2. Click the Preferences tab.
3. Scroll to the Time Tracking headline and click edit.
4. Toggle to disabled. 
5. Click Save. 

Note: Disabling Gusto Time Tracking will affect all employees enrolled. If you're looking to remove an employee from time tracking, follow the steps in the manage employees dropdown above.

Q: Will employees and managers be notified about deadlines?

A: Employees will receive an email on the final business day of the pay period reminding them to get their time entered. Managers will receive an email the business day after the pay period ends reminding them to review hours.

Q: Can employees track breaks during their shift?

A: While Gusto doesn't account for time not worked during breaks, employees can indicate they were not working during that time.

• For example, an employee would have two shifts for the day: 8:00am - 12:00pm, 12:30pm - 5:00pm.

Q: Can I use Gusto Time Tracking and Autopilot together?

A: Gusto recommends not using these features together - allowing time for managers and admins to review and approve hours before processing payroll.

Q: How will Gusto Time Tracking affect an employee’s default hours?

A: Time Tracking will overwrite the default hours with the clocked hours.