Manage projects and track project time

1. Sign in to your Gusto account.
2. Click the Time tools section and select Time tracking.
3. Click the Projects tile under Time tracking.
4. Here’s how it works:
   • When you have new projects or clients, add them to Gusto.
   • Your team tracks how much time they spend on projects and tasks.
   • Get a report showing costs by project, task, employee, and time period.
5. Click Create project
6. Add a Project name.
7. Add a task associated with the project (optional).
8. Enter a description (optional).
9. Click Create project.

Once your project has been created, employees can track their hours to it. From there, you'll approve or deny their hours, then process payroll as normal.

Edit a project

1. Sign in to your Gusto account.
2. Click the Time tools section and select Time tracking.
3. Click the Projects tile under Time tracking.
4. Click the three dots next to the project you want to edit.
5. Select Edit project.
6. Make the necessary changes, and select Update project.

Delete a project

Deleting a project will also delete past reporting data. At this time, there's not a way to archive a project.

1. Sign in to your Gusto account.
2. Click the Time tools section and select Time tracking.
3. Click the Projects tile under Time tracking.
4. Click the three dots next to the project you want to delete.
5. Select Delete project.
6. Click Delete.

Add a task

1. Sign in to your Gusto account.
2. Click the Time tools section and select Time tracking.
3. Click the Projects tile under Time tracking.
4. Click the three dots next to the project you want to add a task to.
5. Select Edit project.
6. Under the Tasks section, click into the "Select or type to create new tasks" box.
7. Either select or create a new task.
   • If creating a new task, hit enter on your keyboard to add the task to the list.
8. Click Update project at the bottom.

Delete a task

Deleting a task from a project will also delete past reporting data.

1. Sign in to your Gusto account.
2. Click the Time tools section and select Time tracking.
3. Click the Projects tile under Time tracking.
4. Click the three dots next to the project you want to add a task to.
5. Select Edit project.
6. Under the Tasks section, click the x next to the task you wish to delete.
7. Click Update project at the bottom.

Why track workforce costs in Gusto?

• Track all the details in one place - your team tracks time spent on projects right in Gusto. A project can be anything from a day-to-day task to a job for a client. Salaried employees can add detailed notes to their time entries.
• View costs by time period, employee and more - break down costs by project, task, or employee over customized time periods. You’ll see wages, taxes, workers’ comp, benefits, and more.
• Improve productivity and client relationships - reliable workforce costing data helps you understand employee efficiency and build client trust with detailed invoices.

Here's what's included

• Unlimited projects and tasks
• Employee project tracking and task tracking
• Support for hourly and salaried employees
• Project insights in real-time
• Workforce costing report

Not included at this time: manager approvals, location tracking, contractor project tracking, and overhead or material cost tracking.

Here's how it works

1. When you have new projects for clients, add them to Gusto by creating a project.
2. Your team can track time by project and task, and add detailed notes.
   • If they're tracking time for payroll as well, they'll select which projects they're working on when clocking in and out.
   • Both non-exempt and exempt employees can include notes detailing the time spent on the task.
3. See project insights in real-time.
   • View total hours and filter across employee, project, and task for any date range.
   • Generate a report to see costs calculated from processed payrolls.

Project insights in real-time

1. Click the Time tools section and select Time tracking.
2. Click the Projects tile.
3. Select the Insights tab.
4. Click the Filter button.
5. Choose which data you wish to view and select Filter.

A table will generate with the information you selected. If you need to download the table, select the Download button. 

For a full detailed report on project tracking, follow the steps in the workforce costing report dropdown below.

FAQs

Q: I have non-exempt employees who track time for payroll. How does this work for them?

A: Non-exempt employees still clock in and out as usual. Projects are tracked independently, in a separate tab of the Time tracking section.

Q: Can I see real-time workforce costs for my projects?

A: For now, you're only able to view real-time project hours that have been tracked by your team in their hours section. You can see up-to-date workforce costs for a given project after you've run payroll. 

Q: How does this work for employees who track time for payroll, projects, and tasks?

A: Employees who track time for payroll and projects can select which project and task they're working on when clocking in and out.

Q: How does this work for employees who only track time to projects?

A: Employees who track time for projects but not payroll will be able to track project and task time using a separate weekly timesheet in the Time Tracking section of their account. If you add the employee to time tracking for payroll, the weekly timesheet will be replaced by the ability to select a project from a dropdown menu whenever an employee clocks in and out. Project and task hours tracked on the old timesheet will still be reflected in workforce costing reports.

Once projects have been created, and employees have tracked hours to them, you’ll need to process payroll for the applicable date range before running a workforce costing report for that timeframe.  

At this time, Gusto Project Tracking is not compatible with pay schedules set up by "employee type". 

To run the report after processing payroll(s):

1. Sign in to your Gusto account.
   • Make sure you’re viewing your admin profile.
2. Click the Time tools section and select Time tracking.
3. Click the Projects tile.
4. Click Generate report on the right-hand side.
5. Select the other details you’d like in the report:
   • What would you like to see in the report?
   • What information do you want the report to contain?
   • When and who should be included?
   • The report will default to being grouped by project.
   • What format you’d like the report in?
6. Click Generate report.
7. Click Download CSV in the top-right corner of the screen.

To run a new report grouped by project, but with different information, start the process again.

If you have an accounting integration with QuickBooks Online or Xero, you can group your payroll information by project with your chart of accounts. 

Mapping by projects (as opposed to job codes or departments) is good for businesses with multiple people in the same role and when some employees work hours in one role and other hours in another role.

Project mapping is not available for Aplos, Freshbooks, or QuickBooks Desktop.

Map your chart of accounts by projects

If you use QuickBooks Classes, you can also map your projects to Classes in step 9 below. The same expense account can be used for each team and have an assigned QuickBooks Class—this keeps the reports in QuickBooks much cleaner and easier to understand.

1. Make sure you've already:
   • Connected to QuickBooks Online or Xero from Gusto.
   • Mapped your chart of accounts.
   • Created project-specific accounts in your accounting software.
   • Set up time tracking by project for your team. 
2. In your Gusto admin account, head to the App directory and choose your software (QuickBooks Online or Xero).
3. Go to the Settings tab.
4. Next to "Journal entry consolidation," click edit.
5. Select by project.
   • You can map your chart of accounts by just one category: projects, jobs, or departments.
6. Click Submit.
7. Go to the Mapping tab.
8. Scroll to the “Mappings by project” section. For each project you want to map, click Override. 
9. If your company uses QuickBooks Classes, you’ll first have the option to choose a Class to map the project to.
   • When exported, the payroll entry will tie to your dimensional reporting needs in QuickBooks Online. 
10. For each of the project's line items, choose the account you want it to correspond with. 
11. Your progress is saved as you go. When you’re done mapping, click the x icon to return to the main Mappings page.
12. Repeat for each project you want to map.

If multiple projects share tracking categories, there will not be separate line items when synced to your accounting software. Instead, the project wages will be lumped together.

These transactions will be exported by project to your accounting software account. If any projects are left unmapped, they will sync based on the original chart of accounts mappings.