This article is for admins who want to pay their team members by check and then print those checks.
We let you print checks on your own printer and give them to your team. Some customers can also have Gusto mail checks directly to their team.*
*Only some early-access customers can use Gusto’s check-mailing service. Mailed checks take up to 8 business days to arrive after payday.
You can pay anyone by check, even if they typically get paid by direct deposit. Just choose the check option when running payroll for employees or send a payment to contractors.
Important reminders
We withhold and pay taxes for you. You give out the checks yourself (unless you’re in the check-mailing beta).
The check prints the address you entered as your filing address in Gusto.
You can print checks on two types of paper. Both types include an earnings statement with pay details:
Top (Gusto check stock)
Bottom (blank check stock)
Note: If you verified your bank using Plaid, you cannot use the blank check stock. You’ll need to use Top (Gusto check stock) or manually verify your bank instead. Plaid hides (encrypts) your account number, so it will not print on blank check stock.
If you print checks yourself, you can give them out the same day you run payroll. The check date in Gusto will match that same day only if everyone on the payroll gets paid by check.
If anyone is paid by direct deposit, we’ll set the check date to match when direct-deposit teammates get their pay (even if you gave out physical checks earlier).
Expand the sections to learn more. To search for words on this page, press CMD + F (Mac) or CTRL + F (Windows).
You can set a team member’s default payment method to check. This setting stays until they add a bank account to their profile.
If they already added bank accounts, you need to remove them first to make check the default. If you do not want to remove the bank account, you can change their payment method to check for just one payroll. Learn how in the Pay by check for one payroll or payment section of the article.
To remove active bank accounts:
Go to People.
Click on the team member’s name.
Under Information, click Pay.
In the Payment section, click Edit next to any bank account.
Click Remove account at the bottom of the page.
If you do not have this option, you may not have the required permissions. The team member can also manage their own bank info (including removing their bank account).
Repeat this for any active bank accounts.
When you change a payment method during payroll, it only affects that single payroll. Future payrolls use the team member’s default payment method.
To change an employee’s payment to check:
Go to Pay.
Click Run payroll under the payroll you want to run (regular, off-cycle, extra pay, or others).
Next to the person’s name, scroll to the right until you find the Payment type column.
Click the dropdown arrow to change the payment type to Check.
You can switch it back to direct deposit the same way.
If you want to change multiple people at once, click the box to Select all. Then, click the dropdown next to Actions and select Payment method to choose a method. Click Update.
After you click Submit, you’ll choose how to deliver the checks. You can print them yourself or have us mail them (if you’re in the beta).
To change a contractor payment to check:
Go to Pay.
Click Pay a US contractor.
Next to the person’s name, find the Payment method column.
Click the method until it changes to Check.
You can switch it back to direct deposit the same way.
Click Continue.
After you click Submit payment, you’ll choose how to deliver the checks. You can print them yourself or have us mail them (if you’re in the beta).
If you pay any team members by check, you need to print and give them out yourself (unless you’re in Gusto's check-mailing beta).
You can print checks at the end of a payroll run or do it later.
At the end of payroll, we prompt you to print checks for team members.
To print checks at the end of a payroll run:
At the end of a payroll run, after you click Submit payroll, the Print checks page opens.
If available, you can join our check-mailing beta or learn more about it.
Review who needs checks and the payment amounts.
Choose a printing format (type of check stock):
Top (Gusto check stock)
Choose this if you have Gusto check stock that we pre-printed with your company and bank info.
Learn how to buy our check stock in the Check stock Gusto supports and where to buy it section of the article.
Bottom (blank check stock)
Choose Bottom (blank check stock) if you have blank check stock and want us to print your company and bank info.
Note: You cannot use the Bottom (blank check stock) check type if you verified your bank account using instant bank verification (Plaid). Plaid encrypts account numbers, so they will not print on this check type. Use Top (Gusto check stock) or manually verify your bank account instead.
We’ll ask you to enter the first check number — this is optional.
Click View printable checks to open the PDF with check information and earnings statements.
For Bottom (blank check stock): Save the PDF — check numbers will change if you regenerate the PDF.
Unselect Fit to Page or Scale to Page in your printer settings ( sometimes selected by default) to avoid printing issues.
Load your check stock into your printer.
Print the PDF onto your check stock.
Sign the checks and give them to your employees with their paystubs.
If you forgot to print checks or need to reprint them, you can access any past payroll to print checks.
To print checks from a past employee payroll:
Click Pay.
On the right side, click View pay history.
Click the payday you need.
On the summary page, scroll down to the What the team takes home table.
At the bottom of the Net pay column, click Print checks.
Choose a printing format (type of check stock):
Top (Gusto check stock)
Choose this if you have Gusto check stock that we pre-printed with your company and bank info.
Learn how to buy Gusto's check stock in the Check stock Gusto supports and where to buy it section of the article.
Bottom (blank check stock)
Choose this if you have blank check stock and want us to print your company and bank info.
Note: You cannot use this check type if you verified your bank account using instant bank verification (Plaid). Plaid encrypts account numbers, so they will not print on this check type. Use Top (Gusto check stock) or manually verify your bank account instead.
We’ll ask you to enter the first check number — this is optional.
Click View printable checks to open the PDF with check information and earnings statements.
For Bottom (blank check stock): Save the PDF — check numbers will change if you regenerate the PDF.
Unselect Fit to Page or Scale to Page in your printer settings ( sometimes selected by default) to avoid printing issues.
Load your check stock into your printer
Print the PDF onto your check stock.
Sign the checks and give them to your employees with their paystubs.
If you forgot to print US contractor checks or need to reprint them, you can access any past contractor payment to print checks.
To print checks from a past US contractor payment:
Go to Pay.
Click View pay history.
Click US contractors.
Click the payday.
Scroll to the bottom of the summary page, and click Print Checks.
Choose your printing format for the checks you’re handling on your own:
Top (Gusto check stock)
Choose this if you have Gusto check stock that we pre-printed with your company and bank info.
Learn how to buy Gusto's check stock in the Check stock Gusto supports and where to buy it section of the article.
Bottom (blank check stock)
Choose this if you have blank check stock and want us to print your company and bank info.
Note: You cannot use this check type if you verified your bank using instant bank verification (Plaid). Plaid encrypts account numbers, so they will not print on this check type. Use Top (Gusto check stock) or manually verify your bank account instead.
We’ll ask you to enter the first check number — this is optional.
Click View printable checks to open the PDF with the check information and earnings statements.
For Bottom (blank check stock): Save the PDF — check numbers will change if you regenerate the PDF.
Unselect Fit to Page or Scale to Page in your printer settings ( sometimes selected by default) to avoid printing issues.
Load your check stock into your printer
Print the PDF onto your check stock.
Sign the checks and give them to your US contractors.
We can print and mail your team’s paychecks. Check mailing is free during the beta. We’ll waive the service fee while you’re testing out this new feature.
Note: Check mailing is only available for customers in our early-access check-mailing beta. Companies with a Chase or JPMorgan bank account cannot participate in the beta.
You select the team members you want us to mail checks to regularly.
Your team gets their paychecks within 5 – 8 business days via first-class mail.
Check mailing is free during the beta. After the beta ends, we’ll add check-mailing fees to your monthly invoice.
Funds
Checks use your company’s default bank account in Gusto. Your bank withdraws money when the check gets cashed.
Electronic signature
We use an e-signature based on the signer’s name. You cannot upload an image of your own signature.
Check with your bank.
Some banks do not accept printed checks or may flag them as fraud. Let your bank know you’re using a check printing service.
If you have access to the beta, you can join from your Pay settings page.
To join the check-mailing beta:
Go to Pay.
Click Pay settings.
Under General, find the Check-mailing section and click Join the beta.
If you do not see this, the check-mailing beta is not available to you right now.
Read about how check mailing works, and click Continue.
By clicking Continue, you agree to the Gusto Terms of Service.
Select which team members should regularly get checks mailed to them. You can change this when running payroll if needed.
Click Continue.
Enter the first and last name of the signatory. We’ll use this as your e-signature on the paychecks.
Check the box to confirm that the person is an authorized signatory and can sign and verify checks sent to employees and contractors.
Click Complete setup.
At the end of your next payroll run, we’ll ask you to choose who delivers the checks (you or Gusto).
You need to pay at least one employee by check for the Print checks page (and this beta) to appear.
To join the check-mailing beta at the end of a payroll run:
At the end of a payroll run, after you click Submit payroll, the Print checks page opens.
In the banner titled Gusto can now mail checks for you, click Join the beta.
If you do not see this, the check-mailing beta is not available to you right now.
Read about how check mailing works, and click Continue.
When you click Continue, you agree to the Gusto Terms of Service.
Select which team members should regularly get checks mailed to them. You can change this when you run payroll, if needed.
Click Continue.
Enter the first and last name of the signatory. We’ll use this as your e-signature on the paychecks.
Check the box to confirm that the person is an authorized signatory and can sign and verify checks sent to employees and contractors.
Click Complete setup.
Choose how to deliver checks for the current payroll run. Confirm the information appears correct and review the estimated delivery date for checks we mail.
To change who delivers one or more checks, click the dropdown to update it to the company or Gusto.
Click Confirm.
We mail checks to the team members you selected. You print and give out any others. You can also do this later from the Employee hours and earnings section of this payroll in your payroll history.
Review the debit amount for checks we mail and their estimated delivery date.
If you’re printing any checks yourself, choose the printing format (type of check stock) and click Print checks. Or, click Done.
After joining the check-mailing beta, you can change which team members get checks mailed automatically.
To edit these team members:
Go to Pay.
Click Pay settings.
Under General, find the Check mailing section.
Next to Default team members, click Edit.
Update who gets checks mailed, and click Save.
You can change the person whose e-signature appears on mailed checks.
To change the signatory:
Go to Pay.
Click Pay settings.
Under General, find the Check mailing section.
Next to Signatory, click Edit.
Update the signatory and click Save.
You can leave the check-mailing beta at any time.
To leave the check-mailing beta:
Go to Pay.
Click Pay settings.
Under General, find the Check-mailing section, and click Leave the beta.
We will not save your current check-mailing settings for future use.
If you’re sure you want to leave the beta, click Yes, leave the beta.
Use this check-mailing beta feedback form to let us know about your check-mailing service.
We support two types of check stock. Both include the employee’s pay details (earnings statement):
Bottom (blank check stock)
Top (Gusto check stock)
Expand the sections to learn more about each type.
Bottom (blank check stock) best for accountants or people who manage multiple companies and want to use one kind of check paper for all of them:
We fill in your company and bank info.
We create the check numbers — learn more about how check numbers work below.
The check prints at the bottom of the PDF.
Only use this type if you did NOT connect your bank with Plaid. Plaid hides account numbers, so they will not print on this check type.
If you used Plaid, use the other check stock or manually verify your bank account instead.
We recommend purchasing this specific blank check stock for compatibility with our PDF format.
To buy blank check stock:
Scroll to the third option, Check on Bottom.
Click Add to Cart and proceed to checkout.
We generate a new PDF with new check numbers each time you click Print checks in Gusto:
The first time you download a check PDF, it starts with check number 0001.
Each time you re-download, the number goes up by one.
Example: If your first PDF has 4 checks (0001–0004), the next PDF starts at 0005.
We use this method to prevent you from printing multiple checks with the same check number.
Top (Gusto check stock) works best if you have check stock that already includes your company and bank info:
Your custom check stock includes the check numbers.
The check prints at the top of the PDF.
You can customize this check stock.
We recommend purchasing Gusto check stock (a custom check stock) and envelopes for compatibility with our PDF format.
To buy Gusto check stock:
In Step 1, pick your color and pattern.
In Step 2, under Check style, click the tab by Software.
Find and select Gusto Software.
Finish your order and click Add Order to Shopping Cart.
Use code Gusto1523 at checkout to get 15% off.
To buy envelopes compatible with Gusto check stock:
Choose #9 standard double-window envelopes.
Click Add to Cart.
Use code Gusto1523 at checkout to get 15% off.