Create and manage offer letters

Once you create an offer letter template, you can use it every time you want to make a job offer to a prospective employee. It can be customized quickly for each offer you send out before having the employee sign it.

1. Click the Company section and select Documents.
2. Click the "Offer template" tile.
3. Click Build your template.
4. Name your offer letter template.
5. Select whether you'd like to use your own offer letter template or Gusto's.
   • Keep in mind: you'll have the option to customize all templates before sending.
6. Click Create template.
7. Customize your template: highlight the sections that change for each candidate (like title or compensation) and use the smart text drop-down to create fields that you can quickly update for each new hire.
   • Smart text fields will be automatically populated for each offer letter you send.
   • Be sure to include a smart text field for both the employer and employee signature.
   • Insert smart text
     • Within the text editor, click where you’d like to insert a smart text field.
     • Click on the + Insert smart text dropdown.
     • Click on a field to insert.
       • If you add Manager as smart text, you'll later be required to select a manager when you onboard the team member. 
   • Insert custom text
     • If you cannot find the smart text field you want, you can create custom text fields. When you're ready to send an offer letter, you'll fill out custom fields yourself.
     • Example: In the existing offer template text, add something like, "[INSERT RELOCATION PACKAGE]."
     • Note: This does not create a "smart text" field that will populate during step one of sending the offer. You will manually fill in the placeholders during step two, "Edit template," where you can edit all parts of the offer letter.
8. Click Save & continue.
9. Ask the person in charge of hiring to sign the template.
   • This is typically your CEO, owner, or head of HR.
10. Click Save & continue.
11. Click Use this offer template now if you’d like to extend an offer immediately.

This offer letter template will now be stored in your Documents section for you to customize and send out anytime in the future. You can also review or manage your offers from the People section of your account. 

FAQ

Q: I already have my own offer letter template, can I just upload that? 

A: While you can't upload your own template, you can certainly copy and paste your preferred text to create a custom offer template in Gusto.

If the offer letter has not been sent

1. Click the People section and select Hire and onboard.
2. Click the Tools tab at the top of the page.
3. Select the Offer Letters tile.
4. To the right of the employee’s name, select the symbol under Actions.
5. Click Update & finish.
6. Make the desired changes and submit. 

If the offer letter has already been sent

1. Click the People section and select Hire and onboard.
2. Click the Tools tab at the top of the page.
3. Select the Offer Letters tile.
4. To the right of the employee’s name, select the symbol under Actions.
5. Select Update offer.
   • This will void the original offer letter link sent to the employee.
6. Click Yes, I need to update this offer.
   • This will move the employee’s name under the Not Sent header.
7. To the right of the employee’s name, select the symbol under Actions.
8. Click Update & finish.
9. Make the desired changes and submit.

If the offer letter has already been signed by the employee.

Once an offer letter has been signed by an employee, it cannot be edited or deleted from the employee’s account. You'll need to have the employee sign a new offer letter outside of Gusto. This can then be uploaded to the Documents tab of the employee’s profile.