Use this article to report employee payrolls you ran outside of Gusto. Reporting these payrolls keeps your tax records and W-2s accurate. To report historical contractor payments made outside of Gusto, go to this article.
If you manage clients through Gusto Pro, follow these steps before reporting a non-Gusto payroll on a client's behalf.
Sign in to your Partner Dashboard at gusto.com/pro.
Click the client's company name to open their account.
Follow all steps in this article as normal — we save all changes to that client's account.
Processing multiple clients? Work through one client at a time. Keep a running checklist with: client name, prior payroll provider, check dates entered, and whether you chose for us to handle tax payments.
SUI wage base tip: If an employee crossed their state unemployment (SUI) wage base with the prior provider, enter the exact wages paid. This helps us correctly calculate the remaining SUI liability. Pull this from the prior provider's quarterly payroll summary.
Not sure whether to report or run off-cycle? If the payroll is from the current open quarter and taxes haven't been paid yet, run an off-cycle payroll instead. Use this article only for prior quarters.
Admins with the correct permissions can report non-Gusto payrolls for any wages paid outside of Gusto.
Payroll from a previous quarter or calendar year: Enter it as a non-Gusto payroll using these steps. You can only add non-Gusto payrolls after the check date has passed.
Payroll from the current quarter (taxes not yet paid): Run it as an off-cycle payroll with the correct check date instead.
Note: If you're still setting up your Gusto account and need to enter payrolls from earlier in the year, use the historical payroll setup flow during onboarding instead.
Important: To generate W-2s, your company must run at least one regular Gusto payroll in the calendar year. Enter all wages before we file — we cannot include late or missing entries in filings. Enter payroll information as close to real-time as possible to avoid incorrect filings and late tax payments.
Non-Gusto payrolls appear in your payroll history, but we do not generate pay stubs for them.
Gather earnings and tax reports from your previous provider, or collect old pay stubs, before you start.
Add all employees to Gusto first — including former employees and new hires.
Enter payrolls in order from oldest to newest check date so we can calculate taxes as accurately as possible.
Follow these steps to enter a non-Gusto payroll in your account.
Sign in to Gusto and go to Pay.
On the right, click See more options, then Record non-Gusto payments. If you already started a payroll, click Continue to edit.
Review what to expect, then click Report non-Gusto payroll.
Answer the setup questions and gather what you need:
Collect pay stubs or employee earnings reports from your previous payroll provider.
Make sure all employees on these payrolls are added to Gusto.
Make sure all employee addresses are updated in Gusto.
Click Continue.
Enter the pay period start and end dates. These are the dates when employees actually worked.
Enter the check date — the date employees were paid. The check date determines the tax quarter and when taxes are due.
Select the employees who were paid in this payroll. If you don't see someone's name, their hire date may be after the check date — update it in their profile if needed. A warning appears if you select employees without an original W-2 on file.
Click Save and continue.
Enter hours and amounts from pay stubs:
Net earnings and hours
Gross earnings and hours
Additional earnings (bonuses, cash tips, commissions, paycheck tips)
Deductions
Reimbursements
Click Save and continue.
Review the tax amounts we calculated. To make changes, click View/Edit employee tax amounts.
Click Looks good.
Choose which taxes you still need to pay — we'll pay them for you.
Click Save and continue.
Review and submit. If you still need to pay taxes, choose a debit date so we can collect the funds and pay the taxes on your behalf.
Important: Since you backdated this payroll, your tax payments may arrive late. If you choose for us to debit and pay the taxes, those payments may also arrive late. By submitting this payroll, you agree that you're responsible for any penalties and interest. You'll need to work directly with the agency to resolve those amounts.
Expand What was taxed and What your employees worked to confirm the details.
Click Submit payroll.
If you requested it, we'll debit your account and pay the taxes on your behalf.
If those payments arrive late, you may receive a tax notice with penalties. You'll need to work directly with the tax agency to resolve them.
We'll review how this payroll affects your taxes overall and email you about any other debits or refunds we need to process.
If you made tax edits, added leave, or entered payroll for a prior year, a member of our support team may need to review the payroll before we process it.
If you need to correct or remove a non-Gusto payroll after submitting it, contact Gusto support. You cannot edit a submitted non-Gusto payroll on your own.
Note: Corrections to non-Gusto payrolls may affect your tax calculations and filing history. If the payroll involves taxes that have already been paid, our support team will walk you through the next steps.
To reach us, sign in to your Gusto account and click the help icon in the top-right corner of the page.
Q: What is a non-Gusto payroll?
A non-Gusto payroll is a payroll or payment you processed outside of Gusto and then recorded in the system. These payrolls appear in your payroll history, but we do not generate pay stubs for them.
Q: What details do I need to enter a non-Gusto payroll?
You need the pay period, check date, wages, employee and employer taxes, deductions, and contributions.
Q: Do non-Gusto payrolls affect taxes?
Yes. We calculate taxes based on the information you enter, and you'll confirm which taxes you still need to pay.
Q: What if I enter payrolls late?
You may owe penalties or interest if tax deadlines have passed. Agencies will notify you directly, and your company is responsible for paying them. If you're entering a payroll for a quarter that has already closed and we filed the original return, we'll amend the filing to include the added wages.
Q: Can I run a non-Gusto payroll for the current quarter?
If the payroll is from the current quarter and you haven't paid taxes yet, run an off-cycle payroll with the correct check date instead.
Q: Can Gusto create W-2s for prior-year non-Gusto payrolls?
No. We cannot create or correct W-2s if we did not generate the original W-2s for that year.
Q: Can I cancel a non-Gusto payroll?
No. Once you submit a non-Gusto payroll, you cannot cancel it yourself. If you entered one by mistake, contact Gusto support — we can review and correct it for you.
Contact us if you can't enter payroll details in Gusto or need to edit an already-reported payroll.
To contact us, sign in to your Gusto account and click the help icon in the top-right corner of the page.