Use Gusto to create, send, and store independent contractor agreements for US-based independent contractors—all in one place. With contractor agreements in Gusto, you can:
Use a free agreement template from Gusto, or upload your own.
Send the agreement to your contractor for online signature.
Store the signed copy for your records.
For now, we do not support agreements for business contractors or contractors based outside the US.
Make sure your agreement:
States the contractor is not an employee.
Lists the services they will do.
Shows how and when they will get paid.
We suggest having a lawyer review your agreement before you send it.
Send a contractor agreement during onboarding, when you first add a US contractor to Gusto. Gusto emails the agreement to the contractor right away. We notify you when they sign it.
To send a contractor agreement when you add an independent US contractor to Gusto:
After you add an independent contractor's personal details, we ask if you want to send a contractor agreement as an "Onboarding option".
Select Send a contractor agreement and click Save and continue.
Tell us about the contractor's role, then continue until you reach the agreement.
Choose a saved template or build a new one:
To use a saved template, pick it from the list.
To build a new one, click Create contractor agreement template. See "Create a contractor agreement template for future hires" below for the full template setup.
Fill in the agreement details:
Add an expiration date for the offer.
List the contractor's responsibilities. Include clear tasks or deliverables when you can.
Choose how long you will work with the contractor—until the work is done, or until a specific end date.
To add fields that fill in automatically (like the contractor's name or email), put your cursor where you want the info to go, click Insert Smart Text, then pick the field. See "Add smart text or custom fields to your template" below for more.
To make changes, click into the contract and type where you want to update the text.
Click Preview to see how the agreement will look.
When the contract looks good, click Save and continue.
To add other documents, select them now and click Save and continue.
Review the contractor's info. Click Edit to make changes.
Add a personal note to include with the agreement (optional).
Click Send contractor agreement to [name].
If your contractor accepts the offer and you let them self-onboard, Gusto creates a Form W-9 for them automatically.
For now, you cannot resend a contractor agreement. To send it again or make changes, create and send a new contractor agreement.
Track every contractor agreement you have started, sent, or signed in one place. Each agreement has a status that tells you what to do next.
To manage contractor agreements and view their statuses:
Go to People.
Go to Hiring.
Next to "Offer and agreements" click See details.
Review the agreements and offers you have sent. Click the three-dot action menu to take action on each one. Here is what each status means:
Not sent
Contracts you started but did not finish.
You can Update & Send, or Delete these contracts.
Sent
Contracts you sent that are pending a decision.
You can View, Update, or Rescind these contracts.
Heads up: Updating an agreement makes the old one invalid. When you start to update an offer, the old link no longer works, and the agreement moves back to the "Unsent" table. When you finish your updates, Gusto sends a new agreement letter.
Accepted
Contracts the contractor signed.
You can View or Download these contracts. You cannot change or delete a signed contractor agreement.
To make changes, have the contractor sign a new agreement outside of Gusto. Then upload the new agreement to the Documents tab in their profile.
Expired/Rescinded
Contracts you sent that the contractor did not accept—either because you rescinded them, or they expired before signing.
To rescind a contract, click the Actions menu next to the contractor's name and select Rescind contract.
We do not notify the contractor that you rescinded the contract, but they can no longer read or sign it.
Build a reusable contractor agreement template once, and use it for every new contractor you hire. You can still customize the text before you send it.
To create a reusable contractor agreement template:
Go to Documents.
Go to Templates.
Click Add template.
Click Build your template.
Give the template a name.
Choose the template type A contractor agreement.
Choose to use your own template, or use the Gusto default template.
You can customize any template before you send it to a contractor.
Click Create template.
Customize the text on the Gusto template, or paste in your own template text.
To set up auto-fill fields (like contractor name or pay rate), see "Add smart text or custom fields to your template" below.
Click Preview to review your finalized template.
Scroll to the bottom of the agreement and click Save & continue.
Have the person in charge of hiring sign this template. This is usually your CEO, Owner, or Head of HR.
Click Save & continue.
Now you can use this template to invite new contractors to your team. The template stays in Documents > Templates if you want to make changes later.
Manage your saved contractor agreement templates from the Templates page. From here, you can edit, delete, send a new offer, or preview a template.
To edit, delete, send a new offer, or preview contractor agreement templates:
Go to Documents.
Go to Templates.
Next to the template name, click the three-dot action menu and choose:
Edit template
Customize the text on the template as needed.
To set up auto-fill fields (like contractor name or pay rate), see "Add smart text or custom fields to your template" below.
Delete
If any agreements that use this template are in progress or pending, you cannot delete the template here. Once those agreements are accepted, rescinded, or expired, you can delete the template. To delete a sent agreement, go to Hiring > Offers.
Make offer (send agreement)
This starts the onboarding process—add your new independent contractor and send the agreement.
Show template
Preview the template as it will appear to the contractor.
Use smart text to auto-fill parts of a contractor agreement (like name or pay rate). If smart text does not have the field you need, add a custom placeholder you can fill in later.
Make sure your contract has smart text for both the employer and contractor signatures so they can sign the agreement.
Add smart text (auto-fill)
Highlight the part of the contract that changes for each person.
Click Insert Smart Text.
Pick the field you want, like contractor name, rate, or start date.
Add a custom text field (manual fill-in)
If smart text does not have the field you need, make your own placeholder text. Custom fields do not auto-fill—you type the info yourself in step 2 ("Edit template") when sending the agreement.
Type something like "[INSERT DESCRIPTION]" where you want to fill in details later.
Quick answers to common questions about contractor agreements in Gusto.
Q: Can I send a contractor agreement to an existing contractor?
A: No. You can only send a contractor agreement when you add someone to Gusto for the first time.
Q: Can I edit or delete a signed contractor agreement?
A: No. Once a contractor signs an agreement, you cannot change or delete it in Gusto. To make changes, have the contractor sign a new agreement outside of Gusto. Then upload the new agreement to the Documents tab in their profile.
Q: Can I send a contractor agreement to a business or to a contractor outside the US?
A: Not yet. For now, contractor agreements in Gusto are only for individual contractors based in the US.
Q: What happens if the contractor does not sign before the agreement expires?
A: The agreement moves to the Expired/Rescinded status. To send a new agreement, create and send a new one—you cannot resend the original.
Q: Can I resend a contractor agreement?
A: No. To send it again or make changes, create and send a new contractor agreement.