This article is for admins who want to create and share custom documents with their team.
You can only use custom documents on Plus or Premium plans. If you do not see the option, you can upgrade your plan at any time.
With custom documents, you can:
Upload PDFs
Add fill-in-the-blank fields
Send documents to new hires, current team members, or everyone
Ask team members to acknowledge or sign the document
Do not use custom documents for forms that contain personally identifiable info (PII), like:
I-9s (Gusto already creates I-9s for new hires that can be signed electronically)
W-4s
You can still upload completed and signed copies of these forms to a team member’s profile. Just do not use the custom documents workflow for this purpose.
You can upload some document types, but not others.
Save and upload all documents as PDFs.
Employee handbooks
If you have a Priority support plan, you can request an employee handbook from your HR Resource Center in Gusto. You must be the designated HR Resource Center admin to contact the HR Pros.
IP agreements
Waivers
Documents that need an employee or employer signature
Form acknowledgements
You can ask employees to acknowledge forms without mapping fields when you upload the document.
Some government forms (like Forms W-4 and I-9)
We support these documents during employee onboarding, not through custom documents.
Employment agreements
Job applications
Tax forms, including state withholding forms
Forms with personally identifiable info (PII) like I-9s or W-4s.
You can still upload completed and signed copies of these forms to a team member’s profile. Just do not use the custom documents workflow for this purpose.
Radio buttons (also known as option buttons)
Prefilled text or highlighted fields
You cannot remove or cover these after uploading the form.
Security settings (like password-protected files)
Hyperlinks to outside resources (like employee training videos)
Custom documents are read-only once you finalize them.
We help you digitally manage the documents your team needs.
You can only use custom documents on Plus or Premium plans. If you do not see the option to add a custom document, you can upgrade your plan at any time.
To add a custom document:
Go to Documents.
On the right side, click Add Document.
Select the file you want to upload — review the What you can upload as custom documents section of the article to confirm it’s supported.
Upload one document at a time.
The file must be a .pdf file and less than 10MB.
Name the document — recipients will see this name.
If recipients need to fill out or sign the document, check the box under Recipient actions.
If they do not, you’ll skip the mapping steps that follow.
Click Continue.
Your document will appear once it’s processed (usually within a minute).
Map the document by dragging and dropping fields from the right side of the page. All fields except the checkbox and text are required.
See the table below for field descriptions.
Click Save & Continue once you’ve completed the mapping.
Preview your mapped document. This shows how the final document will look.
Text in [brackets] is what the recipient fills out.
Text with an asterisk (*) is autofilled.
To make edits, click Back. Otherwise, click Continue.
Select what kind of document this is. You cannot change this later. Only team members with an email linked to their Gusto account can get this document. Choose one:
Team document: A shared document for multiple recipients
Individual document: A customized document for a single recipient
Choose who receives the document. For individual recipients, enter a name. For a team document, choose one or both:
Future hires — choose from the options below.
All future hires
You can always customize an individual’s onboarding documents while adding them in Gusto.
Specific types of hires — send the document to specific:
Departments
Job titles
Primary work locations
What to expect:
New hires who match these settings will have the document pre-selected during onboarding. You can also choose not to send the document to someone.
You can select multiple variables. This is how the logic applies them:
AND → Applies when using different attributes (Example: Department + location)
OR → Applies when using the same attribute (Example: Multiple departments)
If you use the setting below, the document will automatically be selected (during onboarding) for employees who are in NY and in Eng or Product departments.
Department = Eng, Product
Location = NY
Current team members — choose from:
All current team members
The document will be sent immediately to all current team members.
Specific individuals or departments
The document will be sent immediately to the selected people or departments.
Click Send document.
Once sent, you can view the document on the Documents page of your admin profile or in the team member’s profile.
Next time you add someone to Gusto, you can also choose this document for them to fill out or sign.
Important: Once a team member signs a form, you cannot edit it or remove it from their profile. You can archive the form to avoid additional signings, but any signed agreement will remain visible in Gusto accounts.
Requested fields
The person signing the form manually completes these fields.
Signature
The person signing enters this field.
Text
Custom field to enter information not captured from the other mapping options
Example: Employee title
Text (Optional)
The document signer can enter information or leave this field blank.
Initials
The person signing enters their initials.
Checkbox
Optional selection field
You’ll see this as a checkmark during the preview stage.
Admin fields
You complete this information as the account admin mapping the form.
Automatic fields
This information will autocomplete based on the signer’s existing information in Gusto.
Signing date
The date the person signs the form
Company name
If you have a trade name on file, we use that name. If not, we use the legal company name.
Auto fields
We automatically fill these fields with information from the person’s Gusto account.
We autofill Social Security numbers (SSN) and Employer Identification Numbers (EIN) for contractors (individual and business). If these do not apply, the document shows “N/A.”
Team members get an email when they have a document to acknowledge or sign in Gusto. We send this email once.
If you want to remind them, follow up with them directly.
From the Shared document page, you can:
Preview the document
Download the document
Rename the document
Update recipients
View which recipients have signed or acknowledged the form
To manage your custom documents:
Go to Documents.
Under Team, click Shared.
Click the Active tab.
Find the document you want to manage.
Under the document’s Actions column, click the three-dot menu.
Click View document details.
Use the options to preview, download, rename, update recipients, or view the signature status.
If you no longer want to share a document with recipients, you can archive it. At this time, you cannot fully delete custom documents.
Once you archive a document, you can no longer send it to recipients. You cannot reverse this action.
To archive a document:
Go to Documents.
Under Team, click Shared.
Find the document you want to archive, but do not click the title — instead, under the Actions column on the right side, click the three-dot menu.
Click Archive document.
If a recipient already signed an archived document, their signed copy stays on their Documents page. If they have not signed it, we remove the document.
If you downgrade your plan and have custom documents:
You and your team keep access to signed documents and those awaiting signatures.
Team members can still complete documents.
You cannot create new custom documents.
When you click Add Document, you will not see the New Document option. We take you to the Offer Letter flow instead.
We keep all your existing data.