This article is for admins who upload payroll data to accounting software like NetSuite, Zoho, Microsoft, Sage, Ledger, or Map.
Gusto’s General Ledger Mapper lets you customize how your payroll data exports to your accounting software. Map your Gusto expenses to your chart of accounts, then download payroll or payment reports as CSV files mapped to your chart of accounts. Upload these files to your accounting software. The files work best with NetSuite and Zoho Books, but you can alter them after downloading to work with other accounting software.
Looking for an API integration with your bookkeeping solution instead? View the available apps in the App directory.
If you want to download an Excel file without mapping, run a ledger report from the Reports section.
To start using the General Ledger Mapper, you need to upload your chart of accounts to Gusto, then map it to your Gusto expense categories.
To upload your chart of accounts to Gusto:
In your general ledger software, download your chart of accounts as a CSV file. Make sure the first column lists account codes and the second column lists account names.
Go to the App directory.
Under Categories, choose Accounting.
Under General Ledger Mapper, click Learn more.
Click Connect.
Click Upload CSV.
Choose the file with your chart of accounts, and then click Open.
Before you export reports, we need to understand how you manage your chart of accounts. The Mapping tab of the General Ledger Mapper lists each of your Gusto expense categories. You need to match them with their corresponding general ledger accounts.
By default, you see all your general ledger accounts for mapping. If you only want to use one account for all earnings and benefits, click the toggle next to Display all accounts. This shows fewer accounts, which works better for simpler reporting needs.
To map your chart of accounts:
Click the Bank Account section to begin mapping.
Under Generic Account, click Select.
Choose the account that the Gusto category corresponds to. We save your progress as you go. Here are a few ways you can map accounts more quickly:
Map multiple items to the same account at once: Check the box next to each item you want to map. Click Actions and choose Edit account type. Type the account name to select it. Click Submit.
Show only unmapped categories: Next to Actions, click the filter icon. Choose Display unmapped accounts only, then click Apply.
Clear your selections: Uncheck the box next to an item, or click Clear all.
Repeat until you select an account for each Gusto category.
If you want more detailed reporting, you can map your chart of accounts by job codes, departments, or projects. Expand the sections for next steps.
You can map your chart of accounts by job codes if you have multiple employees in the same role or employees who split time between different roles. Choose one category to map by: projects, jobs, or departments.
Before you map by jobs, make sure each employee is assigned to at least one job.
For salaried employees: Edit their job title.
To assign hourly employees to jobs:
Go to People.
Click your employee’s name.
Under Information, click Pay.
In the Compensation section, click Add Earning Type or Pay Rate.
Select the earning type or pay rate.
From the dropdown list, select a job title.
If the job title you want does not exist, type a new one to create it.
Add amount, earning period, and default hours per pay period.
Click Save.
Hourly employees can have as many pay rates or jobs as you’d like. If an employee has multiple jobs, their paystub lists each job and its earnings.
These steps apply mappings for all employees you assigned a job title to in Gusto.
For contractors and employees without job titles, we map their expenses based on the settings you choose under Default Company Mappings. Two main categories for contractor payments are Bank Account (or Clearing Account if you use Xero journal sync) and Contractor Payment (under the Wages and Salaries section).
To map your chart of accounts by employee job codes:
Go to the App directory.
Choose the General Ledger Mapper.
Go to the Settings tab.
Next to Journal entry consolidation, click Edit.
Select by job.
You can map by only one category: projects, jobs, or departments.
Click Submit.
Go to the Mapping tab.
Review or select your accounts under Default Company Mappings Accounts.
For each job you want to map, click Override to customize the mappings by Gusto category.
If multiple jobs share mappings, there will not be separate line items when synced to your accounting software. Instead, the job wages will be combined.
Repeat for each job you want to map.
We sort these transactions by job when you download a payroll or payment’s general ledger report. If any jobs do not have an override, we sort them based on the default chart of accounts mappings.
Department mappings let you add more detail to your reporting. Use department mappings when you want to better understand the payroll expenses for a specific department or division.
With department mappings, you can use different accounts for payroll items within a department. You can send the earnings of one department to one account and the earnings of a second department to a different account. This expands the entry we send to your accounting software.
For example, say you have two departments: Design and Marketing. Before you turn on department mappings, all regular wages go to one “Salaries and wages” expense account. After you turn on department mappings, you can use two expense accounts: “Sales Wages” and “Marketing Wages.” When you run reports in your accounting software, you get this breakdown by department.
To map your chart of accounts by department:
Go to the App directory.
Choose the General Ledger Mapper.
Go to the Settings tab.
Next to Journal entry consolidation, click Edit.
Select by department.
You can map by one category: projects, jobs, or departments.
Click Submit.
Go to the Mapping tab.
Review or select your accounts under Default Company Mappings Accounts.
For each department you want to map, click Override to customize the mappings by Gusto category.
If multiple departments share mappings, there will not be separate line items when synced to your accounting software. Instead, the department wages will be combined.
Repeat for each department you want to map.
We sort these transactions by department when you download a payroll or payment’s general ledger report. If any departments do not have an override, we’ll sort them based on the default chart of accounts mappings.
Use project mappings when you want to view total workforce costs by project to make business decisions, like adjusting hourly rates for clients.
To map your chart of accounts by projects:
Go to the App directory.
Choose the General Ledger Mapper.
Go to the Settings tab.
Next to Journal entry consolidation, click Edit.
Select by project.
You can map by one category: projects, jobs, or departments.
Click Submit.
Go to the Mapping tab.
Review or select your accounts under Default Company Mappings Accounts.
For each project you want to map, click Override to customize the mappings by Gusto category.
If multiple projects share mappings, there will not be separate line items when synced to your accounting software. Instead, the project wages will be combined.
Repeat for each project you want to map.
We sort these transactions by project when you download a payroll or payment’s general ledger report. If any projects do not have an override, we’ll sort them based on the default chart of accounts mappings.
Once you set up the General Ledger Mapper and map your chart of accounts, you can download any payroll you ran as a mapped CSV file. The file works best with NetSuite and Zoho Books, but you can alter it after downloading to work with other accounting software.
To download the general ledger report for a payroll:
Go to Pay.
On the right, click View pay history.
Find the payroll you want to export and click View details.
Click Download.
If you cannot find the Download button: Make sure you set up the General Ledger Mapper in the App directory and mapped your chart of accounts. Go to the Set up the General Ledger Mapper section of the article.
Once you set up the General Ledger Mapper app and map your chart of accounts, you can download any payment you ran as a mapped CSV file. The file works best with NetSuite and Zoho Books, but you can alter it after downloading to work with other accounting software.
To download the general ledger report for a payment:
Go to Pay.
On the right, click View pay history.
Go to the Contractor payment history tab.
Find the payment you want to export and click View details.
Click Download.
If you do not see the Download button: Make sure you set up the General Ledger Mapper in the App directory and mapped your chart of accounts. Go to the Set up the General Ledger Mapper section of the article.
Q: If I update my mappings, can I re-download the general ledger report for a payroll?
A: Yes. If you change your mappings, any payroll you download will use the updated mappings. Go to the Download a payroll’s general ledger report section of the article to download again after you change your mappings.
Q: Does the ledger report book the wage expense as gross wages or net wages?
A: The ledger report books the wage expense as gross wages. The wage expense includes employee pay, employee taxes, and employee deductions. The report shows employer taxes and employer contributions as separate expense line items.
Q: Does the ledger report break out individual taxes?
A: The employer tax has its own line item in your general ledger report. The report combines employee taxes with their wages. When you use Gusto, tax payments do not appear on your balance sheet as a liability. We handle taxes on a cash basis instead of an accrual basis. We consider our tax debits for each payroll a closed transaction.
Q: Can I map to individual employee payroll information?
A: We do not currently support mapping for individual employees. We send payroll information at the company level. However, you can do this by using Departments. Add one employee to each department and then map each department to specific accounts. Upload this data to view individual employee payroll details.
Q: Can I include a third-party tag as a column in the report?
Yes. Follow the steps below to add a specific column to the report. For example, if you want a Departments column, you upload a list of departments as tags. Then you assign the department tags to each department override.
To add a third-party tag column:
Go to the App directory.
Choose the General Ledger Mapper.
Go to the Settings tab.
Next to Journal entry consolidation, click Edit.
Select a journal entry consolidation option.
Click Override for any of the consolidated mappings.
Follow the prompts to import a CSV with your chosen tags. We provide a template file.