Integrate with Guideline

You must have Full Access admin permissions in Gusto to set up the integration. 

1. Sign in to your Gusto admin account.
2. Go to the Benefits tab.
3. Under "Financial Health," click Traditional or Roth 401(k)
4. Select Guideline 401(k). You will be redirected to Guideline's website, where you can either set up a new plan or transfer your existing plan to Guideline. 

The new 401(k) benefit will appear in the Benefits section of your Gusto admin account after the plan's start date. Once the plan starts, you can view enrollment and contribution data in Gusto. You may see limited information before your plan’s start date. 

Important: Employee elections will sync to Gusto a few days before your plan's first check date. Contact Guideline if you have questions about this timeline

After you set up an integration between Gusto and your 401(k) provider, you can view your plan details in Gusto after the plan's start date. If you have questions about your plan or need to make changes, contact your provider directly.

1. Sign in to your Gusto admin account.
2. Click the Benefits tab.
3. Under "Active Benefits," click Guideline 401(k).
4. Use the tabs at the top of the page to navigate 401(k) plan information.
   • Overview: Plan information and current account balance.
   • Employees: Enrollment details.
   • Contribution History: Year-to-date and per payroll history.

To view Guideline deductions and contributions, run a payroll journal in your admin account.

Running payroll after the plan's start date

After the plan's start date, running payroll in Gusto will automatically deduct employee contributions and record company contributions. The day after the check date, Guideline debits the company for both the employee deductions and company contributions. Guideline invests the funds in employees’ 401(k)s the following day. If you have questions about debits or plan funds, contact Guideline. 

Troubleshoot missing payroll deductions

There are a few reasons why there may not be payroll deductions:

• Your plan may not have started yet—check your Guideline account to confirm the start date.
• The employee may not yet be eligible for the benefit per your plan's eligibility settings.
• The employee has not enrolled.
• Your company may have run payroll before the enrollment or deduction change was processed. 
• Taxes are applied before deductions. The employee may have had $0 in net pay after taxes.
• Reimbursements are not eligible for 401(k) deductions. 
• The employee may have reached the IRS annual contribution limit. Once they do, the 401(k) is no longer listed in the employee's Gusto account—refer to your Guideline account or the year-to-date tax summary to confirm. 

New hires 

Gusto automatically sends eligible new hires' info to Guideline. Once the employee is eligible, Guideline emails them with instructions to log in and opt in or out of the benefit. 

If contributions have not yet started for a new hire, they may not yet be eligible to enroll per your company's plan settings. This could also be because the new hire enrolled after your payroll admin had already run payroll for the pay period. 

If contributions have not started for a new hire: They may not be eligible to enroll yet, or they may have enrolled after payroll was processed

Dismissals

The dismissal date automatically syncs to Guideline. After their last day of eligibility, Guideline will send the employee their options to roll over their 401k to another provider or maintain it with Guideline.

Regular 401(k) contributions will be made on a dismissal payroll.

Note: Severance payments are not eligible for 401(k) deductions. You must use the Gusto-provided severance earnings type to automatically block deductions and contributions for severance payments. 

Change contributions or policy settings

Reach out to Guideline to change any of your company's policy settings. 

Important: Changing deductions or the company match for a specific payroll is not permitted. Guideline plan documents require that employee deductions and the company match cannot be blocked on any payroll, including off-cycle payrolls.

Over contributions

If your company over-contributes to plans, the surplus is most commonly applied to the plan's "Surplus Cash" account in Guideline. This is to mitigate the risk of having to pay taxes on the over contributions and will be used towards the next payroll's contributions.

Loans 

If your plan allows participants to request loans, employees can contact Guideline to apply. Guideline will notify employees when they reach the repayment stage and provide instructions. If Guideline collects loan repayments through payroll deductions, the employee will see post-tax loan deductions on their paystubs. Refer to the terms of your loan or contact Guideline to confirm the repayment method. 

Form 5500

If your plan has fewer than 100 participants, Guideline files Form 5500 on your company's behalf. If your plan has 100 participants or more, Guideline does not manage the Form 5500 audit. Click here to learn more from Guideline.

Payroll data not syncing

In order for payroll data to sync, Gusto must be set as your payroll provider in Guideline. If you’ve changed your payroll provider since starting your 401(k), update your provider in your Guideline account. Contact Guideline if you have any questions about this process.

Q: Does Guideline support CalSavers, OregonSaves, etc.?

A: Guideline offers plans in these states that satisfy state requirements. Guideline plans offer several advantages over state plans (support for Safe Harbor, higher contribution limits, lower participant fees, etc.). Contact Guideline to learn more.

Q: Can I set up flat dollar amount contributions?

A: Guideline allows flat dollar amount contributions only for plans without a company match. Contact Guideline to activate dollar amount contributions.

Q: Can I change an employee’s deductions on a past payroll?

A: No. Once an employee has received their pay, deductions cannot be retroactively changed.

Q: Can employees make 401(k) contributions for prior years?

A: No. See this resource for more information.

Q: If I enter Guideline 401(k) benefits on a non-Gusto payroll, will Guideline debit my account?

A: In most cases, yes. If you are entering a non-Gusto payroll with Guideline contributions that do not need to be debited, contact Guideline before processing the non-Gusto payroll.

Q: Why was my employee’s paycheck missing 401(k) benefits?

A: See "Troubleshoot missing payroll deductions" for more information.

Q: I have a question about a notification in my Guideline portal. Who should I contact?

A: Contact Guideline for more information. 

Q: I have a question about an employee’s enrollment or election synced to Gusto. Who should I contact?

A: Contact Guideline for more information. 

Q: I have a question about plan funds. Who should I contact?

A: Contact Guideline to discuss plan funds or debits for plan funds.

Gusto and Guideline work together to help you manage your plan. Here’s how Gusto and Guideline can help.

When to contact Gusto 

Contact Gusto for questions about:

• 401(k) calculations on payroll
• Why 401k deductions were not applied
• Payroll corrections with Guideline 401(k)

Examples:

• “How was my employee’s 401k deduction calculated?”
• “Why weren’t there deductions on my employee’s check?”
• “My employee was overpaid and I need to reverse their payroll.”

When to contact Guideline

Contact Guideline for questions about:

• Your 401k plan
• Syncing benefits to Gusto
• Plan funds, including debits
• Employee eligibility
• Changes to your 401k plan

Examples:

•  “When does our plan begin?”
• “Our company set up a new Guideline plan. When can I expect our benefits to reflect in Gusto?”
• “My employee enrolled but their benefits have not synced to Gusto yet. When will their benefits sync?”
• “My employee updated their elections in Guideline. When will the new amounts sync to Gusto?”'
• “Why was I debited this amount for 401k funds?”
• “When can my new hire enroll?”
• “We would like to update the employer match” 

How to contact Guideline

Admins: Contact Guideline directly at [email protected] or call (888)-228-3491, extension 2.

Employees: Email [email protected] or call (888)-344-5188.