Manage Google Workspace with Gusto

Here’s how to buy a flexible (monthly) Google Workspace plan through Gusto.

You must already own a primary domain—you can purchase one through Google or many other providers. Your company must also have a bank account and company address listed in Gusto to purchase Google Workspace. 

Step 1: Sign up in Gusto

1. Sign in to your Gusto admin account.
2. Go to the App directory.
3. Using the search bar, choose Google Workspace. 
4. Click Get Google Workspace. 
5. Find your desired plan and click Choose plan.
6. Enter your primary domain name.
   • If you don’t have a primary domain yet, you can purchase one through Google or many other providers. 
7. Click Continue.
8. Double-check the domain name you entered and choose Continue.
   • If you receive an error message, click here for a list of domain error messages and next steps. 
9. Now you’ll create an administrator account for your new Google Workspace subscription.
   • Primary email: Create the username you want to use for this Google Workspace account. This will become your Google Workspace admin account email address.
   • Full name
   • Secondary email: This is where Google will send your onboarding email.  
   • Company address: Choose which address you’d like to associate with the Google account. 
10. Click Continue. 
11. Review your plan info and click Complete.
12. Keep your Gusto page open in your browser—after you create your admin password in Google, you’ll return to Gusto to complete step 3 below. 

Step 2: Create your admin password and accept the terms of service 

Google will send your onboarding email to your secondary email address.

1. Go to your inbox for the secondary email you entered in Gusto. 
2. Find the email from Google (subject: “[Action Required] You’ve signed up for a Google product: What’s next?”). Follow the instructions there to accept the Google Workspace terms and conditions and create your password.
3. If there are any other terms of service to accept, Google will have sent you a second email. Follow the prompts in the email. 

Step 3: Verify your domain 

Next, you’ll need to verify your domain. Google includes this security step to make sure no one else can use it. If you don’t verify your domain within 9 days, your Gusto Workspace subscription will be canceled and you will not be billed. 

1. Return to your Gusto window or click here to reopen it.
2. Make sure you’re on the TXT record update tab—this is the easiest way to verify your domain. 
   • If you prefer to verify your domain with a CNAME update instead, choose that tab and follow the instructions there. You only need to use one of these methods to verify your domain. 
3. Click Detailed verification instructions and follow the steps there.

Once your domain is verified, you can follow the last step below to start managing your team’s accounts right from Gusto. 

Google Workspace will be added as a line item on your monthly Gusto bill. Your first month’s bill will be prorated to the day you created your account in Gusto.

Step 4: Activate your Gmail account

Once your Google Workspace plan begins, you can start sending emails immediately. In order to receive emails, you must follow these steps to activate your Gmail account. Once you activate Gmail, you can start receiving emails in about an hour.

Step 5: Set up employee work email provisioning 

To get the most out of your Google Workspace plan, connect Google Workspace to your Gusto App directory. This will let you securely manage your team members’ access to their Google Workspace accounts right from Gusto.

If your company already has a Google Workspace account, you can transfer your billing to Gusto and manage your billing with ease. You’ll be billed for your Google Workspace subscription on your monthly Gusto invoice.

Your Google Flexible plan payment terms will remain the same as they were before. You'll pay Gusto monthly with no annual commitment.  If you're on an Annual/Fixed Term plan, refer to the "Eligibility" section below.

Eligibility and when to transfer your plan

Eligibility 

• First, check your billing details in Google Workspace. If you’re on an Annual/Fixed Term plan payment plan, you’re not eligible to transfer your account to Gusto until 30 days before your renewal date. 
• If you have a legacy G Suite or Google Apps account, you’ll need to convert it to a Google Workspace Business or Enterprise plan before transferring it.
• Ineligible Google Workspace products: Google Voice, Google Vault, and Google Cloud Identity Premium (Google Cloud Identity Free is eligible). If your Google account includes any of these, Gusto does not currently support transferring. 
• Eligible plan types: any Google Workspace Business plan—Business Starter, Business Standard, and Business Plus. If you’re on an Enterprise plan and want to transfer your billing, please reach out to [email protected]. 

How to time your transfer

You can transfer your account to Gusto within 30 days of your renewal date with no extra charge. If you transfer your account outside of the renewal window, you will not receive a refund for any prepaid period of service.

Flexible plan holders can transfer an account at any time (as long as you meet the above eligibility criteria). 

Transfer your Google Workspace account to Gusto 

If your company already has a Google Workspace account, follow these steps to connect your billing to Gusto. 

Admin permissions needed: you must be a Gusto Full Access admin or an admin with the Apps & IT permission. In Google, you must be a super admin.

Step 1: Connect to Google Workspace through the Gusto app directory

Follow these steps if you have not yet connected Google Workspace to your Gusto app directory. If you have already connected Google Workspace to your Gusto app directory, skip to "Step 2: Integrate your Google Workspace billing with Gusto."

1. Sign in to your Gusto admin account.  
2. Go to the App directory.
3. Click Provisioning apps.
4. Choose Google Workspace.
5. If your company already has an account, click Connect.
   • If your company doesn't have an account yet, click Get Google Workspace.
6. Click Continue in the pop-up. 
7. Choose the account you use for your company’s workspace.
   • If yours isn’t listed, click Use another account. 
8. Enter your admin password and click Next.
   • If the next page shows a 400 error, you’ll need to set Gusto as a trusted app in Google Workspace. Then return to step 1 to resume connecting your company’s accounts.
9. Click Allow.
10. You’ll be redirected to Gusto. 
    • To set up billing, click Continue. Skip to step 4 below to integrate your billing with Gusto. 
    • If you don't want to set up billing, click Set up billing later. Head to this article to start matching or creating your team members' email accounts. 

Once you connect Google Workspace is connected to Gusto, follow the steps below to integrate your billing. 

Step 2: Integrate your Google Workspace billing with Gusto 

Once you’ve connected Google Workspace to your Gusto app directory, follow these steps to integrate your billing. 

1. Head to the Google Workspace app in your Gusto app directory:
   • Sign in to your Gusto admin account.
   • Go to the App directory.
   • Search for and select your Google Workspace app.
2. Click Set up Google Workspace billing.
3. Click Let’s go. 
4. Under “Copy the Gusto public identifier,” click Copy code. You’ll enter this in your Google Admin console.
5. In a new browser tab, sign in to your Google Admin console.
6. Click here to go to the transfer token page in Google Workspace. 
   • If you do not see the transfer token page and are using Google Chrome, make sure you're logged in to the Chrome profile associated with your admin account. 
7. Under “Enter Reseller's Public Identifier,” paste the code you copied in Gusto. 
8. Click Confirm Reseller Identifier. 
9. Check the box to agree to the terms and conditions.
10. Click Generate Transfer Token.
11. Click Copy code. You’ll paste this in Gusto. 
12. Return to Gusto. Under “Transfer Token,” paste the code you just copied in Google. 
13. Click Continue. We’ll check if your account is eligible to transfer. 
14. Click Submit. 
    • If you're connecting to Google Workspace for the first time, you can now start matching or creating your team members' email accounts. This lets you securely track and manage your team members' access to their Google Workspace accounts right from Gusto. 

Click the Billing tab to see your Google Workspace invoice info in Gusto. Google Workspace will be added as a line item on your monthly Gusto bill. You’ll pay Gusto directly for your subscription.

When you first transfer your billing, it's prorated for that month: If you transfer your billing to Gusto on the first of the month, Gusto will invoice your next Google Workspace bill in full. If you transfer your billing after the first, you’ll receive two prorated bills for that month: one from your previous billing method for the first part of the month until your transfer, and one from Gusto for the rest of the month after your transfer. 

If you no longer want to be billed for Google Workspace through Gusto, follow the steps below to transfer your billing back to Google. You’ll then be billed separately by Gusto and Google for your respective accounts. 

The Google Workspace integration will still be connected to Gusto for provisioning employee accounts, unless you fully disconnect the integration or cancel Google Workspace.

Here's how to transfer your Google Workspace back to Google:

1. Sign in to your Gusto admin account.
2. Go to the App directory.
3. Select Google Workspace.
4. Click the Billing tab.
5. Select Transfer billing to Google. 
6. Fill out your reason for transferring.
7. Click Continue.
8. Click Transfer my billing.

If you transfer your billing to Google on the first of the month, Google will invoice your next Google Workspace bill in full. If you transfer your billing after the first, you’ll receive two prorated bills for that month: one from Gusto for the first part of the month until your transfer, and one from Google for the rest of the month after your transfer. 

You have 30 days from the day you transfer to set up your new payment details in Google. Your account will be active during this time and you can manage your subscription in the Google Admin console. 

Canceling your Gusto account

If you cancel your Gusto account, we’ll transfer your Google Workspace billing management to Google at the end of your Gusto billing cycle.  

Check your Google settings

If you’re experiencing connection issues between Gusto and Google Workspace, check the settings in your Google admin console. Reseller access and API access are enabled by default and the integration will be interrupted if you’ve disabled them. 

Here’s how to check the reseller access setting: 

1. Sign in to your Google Workspace admin console.
2. Click Account Settings.
3. Choose Account Management.
4. Find “Reseller Access” and make sure its checkbox is checked.
5. Click Save changes.

Then check your API access:

1. Sign in to your Google Workspace admin console.
2. Click Security.
3. Choose API Controls.
4. Find “Enable API access” and make sure its checkbox is checked.
5. Click Save changes.

If either of these settings remains disabled, Gusto can’t access your Google account details or offer billing support. Your account would transfer back to Google on its renewal date. 

Google Workspace troubleshooting resources

Start here for popular help articles from Google. 

Account access

• Sign in to your Admin console
• Recovering administrator access to your account
• Username and Password Guidelines
• Can't sign in to your Google Account
• Set up Google Workspace on an iOS device

Admin permissions 

• Who is my administrator?
• Administrator privilege definitions

Gmail, calendar, and groups 

• Manage your Gmail Account
• Gmail sending limits in Google Workspace
• Gmail messages are missing
• Check Gmail through other email platforms
• Getting started with Google Calendar
• Migrate mail, contacts & calendars
• Create a group in your organization

Support

• How to contact support

If you need help related to your Google Workspace app in Gusto (including transferring billing to Gusto, provisioning accounts, or Gusto billing), email us at [email protected].