You can pay a team member outside of your normal payroll schedule by running an off-cycle payroll. This is useful when you need to pay someone early, fix a past payroll mistake, or issue a payment outside your regular cycle. There is no extra fee, and it won't affect your regular payroll.
To add or change your pay schedule, go to this article.
Eligible off-cycle bonus and correction payrolls may also qualify for Same-day Pay or Instant Pay, so your team can be paid the same day or within minutes. Dismissal payrolls are not eligible. See Direct deposit payment speeds in Gusto for eligibility and cutoff times.
Note: The format is the video is in legacy view. Your Gusto experience may look different than what is shown in this video. For spreadsheet view, see the steps below.
Before you start running an off-cycle payroll, keep in mind:
By default, off-cycle payrolls use the same taxes and deductions as your regular payroll. Defaults vary based on the off-cycle reason you select and can be adjusted during setup.
Off-cycle direct deposit payments usually arrive within two business days, depending on your company's direct deposit speed. If you're paying by check, you're responsible for issuing the check to the team member.
Time tracking hours do not apply to off-cycle payrolls. Time off is not accrued on off-cycle payrolls. Approved time off during the selected pay period will be paid out, except on extra pay off-cycles.
Overtime and bonuses impact each other when they apply to the same pay period. If a team member works overtime and also earns a bonus, the overtime rate may change. You may see overtime adjustments depending on when the bonus is paid.
Gusto only handles child support payments on regular, transition, or dismissal payrolls — not off-cycle payrolls.
Want to pay a bonus using the 22% flat tax rate? Run an extra pay payroll instead.
Paying more than one person? Use the Bulk edit option to save time.
If a team member has a garnishment, check with the garnishment agency before running an off-cycle payroll. They may have specific requirements.
Run an off-cycle payroll when:
A team member needs to be paid early
You're giving a bonus or extra pay outside of regular payroll
You need to reimburse someone for an expense
You missed severance or regular pay on a final dismissal payroll
You need to correct a payroll error
Here are common off-cycle scenarios and how to handle each one.
Use this when you know what a team member should take home and you want Gusto to calculate the gross pay.
To set up a net-to-gross payroll:
Go to step 2 of the off-cycle payroll.
In Advanced settings, next to Pay type, select Edit.
Choose Pay type: A net pay amount.
Use this when you want to enter pay before taxes.
To enter gross pay:
On step 1, for Why are you running this off-cycle payroll?, select Other.
Enter the amount in the Gross earnings field. This will allow you to enter a specific gross amount, rather than hours.
Note: Extra pay and correction payrolls also let you enter gross pay, but the fields are labeled by type — for example, Correction payment, Bonus, or Commission.
Use this when you need to reimburse a team member and no wages or taxes are involved.
To run a reimbursement-only payroll:
On step 1, for Why are you running this off-cycle payroll?, select Other.
Enter the amount in the reimbursement field.
Use this when you've recorded a payroll payment as a check but want to issue the net pay by direct deposit instead.
Do not reverse the original payroll — it correctly reports wages and taxes. To move the payment to direct deposit:
Run a new off-cycle payroll.
On step 1, under Why are you running this off-cycle payroll?, select Other.
Enter the original pay period for the check payment.
On the next page, enter the team member's net pay from the original payroll as a reimbursement amount.
Set Pay by to Direct Deposit.
If it's past the termination date, the employee will no longer appear in regular off-cycle payrolls. Use this process to pay a dismissed employee severance or other missed wages.
In the left menu, click People.
Click the Dismissed tab.
Click the employee’s name.
Under Information, click Pay.
Scroll to the Recent paystubs section.
Click Run off-cycle payroll.
Click + Other Earnings.
Enter the work period.
Enter the payment date.
Choose how deductions and contributions should be handled.
Review or edit tax withholding rates.
In the Hours and additional earnings section, click + Other Earnings.
Scroll down and enter the severance amount in the Severance field. This option only shows if the employee has been dismissed.
Severance pay will not count toward an employee’s 401(k) if the plan is managed outside of Gusto or through an integrated provider.
(Optional) Click Add Personal Note to include a message about severance on the paystub.
Click Save & Continue.
Click Submit Payroll.
Note: The Severance field only appears if the employee has already been dismissed in Gusto.
If you leave payroll before finishing, we save your off-cycle payroll as a draft on the Pay page under Off-cycle payrolls. We save drafts after step 2, once you finish the basic and advanced settings.
If you’re paying anyone by check, run the off-cycle payroll
To run an off-cycle payroll with the spreadsheet view:
On the right side of the page under More options, click Run an off-cycle payroll.
If you’re in the Gusto mobile app: Tap See more options. Select Run an off-cycle payroll.
Select why you’re running this payroll. We’ll suggest tax and benefit settings based on your selection:
Fix a mistake from a previous payroll — pay missed wages. You can add hours or gross wages.
Give extra pay — for bonuses, commissions, or other pay on top of regular wages. If you select this reason, you won't be able to add gross wages or hours. If you need to enter gross earnings, select Other instead.
Pay reimbursements, advances, or other wages — for reimbursements, advances, or other wages.
Other — for anything not covered above.
Add who you want to pay individually or choose Select all. You can search, filter, or select names.
Enter the pay period this payment applies to. Choose from:
Use a pay period based on your regular schedule
Choose dates from a calendar
Select the pay date. We show the soonest available date based on your direct deposit speed. If you pick a past date, you must pay by check. Late payments may result in tax penalties.
(Optional) Give the payroll a name to help with recordkeeping.
Select Continue.
Review the advanced settings, which determine how pay is calculated on the next page. Select Edit to adjust any setting:
Pay type — choose how you’ll enter each team member’s pay:
Hours and earnings — enter gross pay before taxes, just like a regular payroll.
A net pay amount — enter what each team member takes home after taxes. Use this for lump-sum payments like bonuses or severance.
Deductions and contributions — choose whether to include standard deductions and company contributions:
Don't include — blocks all benefit deductions and contributions that can be blocked.
For 401(k) plans managed outside of Gusto, you can update your employees' 401(k) elections with your provider.
For the Gusto 401(k) powered by Guideline and integrated 401(k) plans with Betterment, Human Interest, Vestwell, or other partners, we cannot turn off integrated deductions.
Include — applies all regular deductions and contributions. Gusto-managed benefits only apply if you choose this option.
Tax rate — we apply the regular pay schedule rate to regular wages by default. For extra wages, select Edit to apply the supplemental tax rate (22%).
Select Create payroll. This takes you to the spreadsheet where you'll add pay details.
Add pay details for each person.
For a one-time earning, like a bonus, commission, correction payment, or custom earning, enter the amount in the matching column in the team member's row. If the earning repeats every payroll, add it to the team member's profile instead. If you do not see the column you need, select Columns above the spreadsheet to show it.
To switch to the legacy view, click Switch to legacy view in the top-right corner. Click Switch to spreadsheet view to go back.
If a team member has multiple jobs or pay rates, select the arrow to the left of their name to view their jobs and enter data.
On the Gusto mobile app, tap Edit next to a team member's name to update hours or earnings. Tap X or Done to save.
Choose a bank account if you have more than one set up.
Select Review summary.
Review the withdrawal amount and payroll summary.
Important: You must have the full withdrawal amount in the bank account at the time of processing. Failed debits may result in additional fees on your next invoice. If a debit fails, contact Gusto support.
Expand What will get taxed and debited, What your employees worked and take home, or What your company will pay to review the breakdown for each.
Select Submit payroll.
If you're paying anyone by check, you'll be prompted to review check formatting:
If you have not paid these team members yet, select where checks should print — Top (Gusto check stock) or Bottom (blank check stock). If you select blank check stock, enter the starting check number. Select See printable checks to download.
If you already issued payment outside of Gusto or want to use your own checks, select Done.
On the confirmation page:
To view a full report, select See the full summary.
To print checks, scroll down, click What the team takes home, then click Print checks in the bottom-right corner.
To download reports, select the Tax breakdown section to get a cash requirements summary, a CSV, payroll details export, and more.
To cancel the payroll, select Cancel this payroll. You cannot undo this action.
We'll email you confirming your payroll was processed.
Use the sections below to understand what each column in the spreadsheet represents.
Total pay — gross wages (salary or hours worked) plus bonus, commission, and additional earnings.
Note: Total earnings (shown at the top of the spreadsheet) = total pay plus reimbursements.
Rate — pulled from the team member's profile. To edit pay rates, click the team member's name to open their profile.
Regular hours — shows default hours from the profile or hours synced from Gusto Time tracking. If you use Gusto Time tracking, hours sync automatically to payroll, including calculated overtime — you do not need to enter these manually. You may see alerts for unapproved or unsynced timesheets. If you have time permissions, click Sync hours from approved timesheet to import hours for the current pay period.
Overtime hours / Double overtime — shows N/A if the team member is not eligible for overtime. If eligible, enter hours manually, or let Gusto Time Tracking calculate and sync overtime automatically. For weekly or bi-weekly schedules, you can record overtime hours based on the week worked when included earnings exist. Regular hours and other included earnings may also need to be recorded by week to pay overtime accurately.
Break premium hours (required in some states, California for example) — break premium is extra pay owed when a required break does not occur based on the team member's assigned policy. Pay one additional hour at the team member's regular rate for each missed meal or rest break. Law limits break premium pay to two hours per workday.
PTO hours — shows approved time off requests, or N/A if not enrolled in a policy. If you use Gusto Time Tracking, approved PTO syncs automatically. Click to manually add hours if needed. Hover to see the current policy balance. You may see alerts for pending time off requests — if you have time permissions, click Review time off requests.
Sick hours — shows approved sick requests, or N/A if not enrolled in a policy. If you use Gusto Time Tracking, approved sick time syncs automatically. Click to manually add hours if needed. Hover to see the current policy balance.
Holiday hours — displays only when a holiday policy occurs during the pay period. Holiday hours sync automatically and do not subtract from regular hours.
Other time off — enter time off for all other policy types, paid or unpaid.
Click here for more information on time off policies.
Bonus — adds supplemental wages taxed at the regular rate. Bonuses appear as a separate line item on the pay stub. To apply the IRS recommended supplemental withholding rate of 22%, run an extra pay payroll instead.
Cash tips — use when the team member has already been paid. Gusto calculates taxes owed on the tip amount only.
Paycheck tips — use when the team member has not been paid yet. Gusto pays the amount in this payroll and calculates taxes.
Service charges — set up a custom earning type to report service charges.
Commission — adds one-time commission wages as a separate line item on the pay stub. Gusto does not support commission draws.
Pro tip: If you use Payroll on Autopilot with commission-only employees, you must enter commission before the payroll runs. Commission-only employees are set to $0 salary by default and will not be paid if no amount is entered.
Correction payment — use for additional earnings not captured in other columns. Gusto always includes wages entered here in the regular rate of pay and overtime calculations.
Custom earnings (if set up) — use when you created custom earnings. If only one custom earning exists, the column uses that earning's name.
Owner's draw (if applicable) — pays owner wages not subject to payroll tax filing or deposits. Owners pay taxes on these wages at the individual level via annual tax returns.
Reimbursements — shows recurring reimbursements. Click to add one-time reimbursements. Reimbursements are not taxed.
Deductions — shows recurring deductions. Click to add one-time deductions.
Just need to change a benefit amount on a past payroll? Adjust the benefit instead of running a new off-cycle payroll.
Personal note — adds a note on the team member's pay stub. If you're paying bonuses, reducing wages, or making special payments, add a note explaining how total pay was calculated. A team member could file a wage complaint if the calculation is not explained.
Payment type — defaults to the team member's chosen method. You can switch between Direct Deposit and Check. If only Check is available, the team member has not set up direct deposit.
Actions (⋮):
Benefits — view deductions and company contributions.
Skip on payroll — skip that team member for this payroll.
Tax overrides (accountants only) — set one-time and recurring tax withholding overrides.
The spreadsheet has two layers:
Active state — navigating the grid and cells
Edit state — navigating within a cell's content
Mouse behavior:
Click a cell to enter the active state.
Double-click a cell to enter the edit state.
Start typing while a cell is active to enter the edit state.
Known limitations:
You cannot copy and paste cells in bulk.
You can only copy and paste when a cell is in the edit state.
To navigate the grid without a mouse, use the keyboard shortcuts below.
Keyboard shortcut
Result
Arrow keys
Move through cells
Tab
Move forward through cells
Shift + Tab
Move backward through cells
Enter
Enter edit mode (keeps existing content)
Space bar
Enter edit mode (keeps existing content)
Any single character
Enter edit mode (replaces existing content)
Home
Jump to first cell in row
End
Jump to last cell in row
Ctrl + Home
Jump to first cell in grid
Ctrl + End
Jump to last cell in grid
Page Up
Move focus to the top row in the visible set
Page Down
Move focus to the bottom row in the visible set
Keyboard shortcut
Result
Enter
Move down one cell. If interactive elements are present, focus moves to the first interactive element.
Escape
Return focus to the cell for grid navigation
Arrow keys
Move cursor through cell content
Tab
Move forward through cells while remaining in edit mode
Shift + Tab
Move backward through cells while in edit mode
You can change the spreadsheet structure. We recommend keeping payroll-data columns visible.
Hide columns:
Click Columns above the spreadsheet, then deselect the columns you want to hide.
Or click the down arrow in a column heading and choose Hide.
To unhide, click Columns and reselect the column.
Reorder columns:
The checkbox column and employee name column cannot be moved. To reorder other columns:
Drag and drop a column heading.
Or click the column heading down arrow and select Move left or Move right.
Resize columns:
Hover over the edge of a column heading and drag left or right.
Double-click the right edge to auto-fit the longest content.
Click the column heading down arrow, select Resize, and enter a width in pixels.
Pin or unpin columns:
Click the column heading down arrow and select Pin or Unpin. Preferences are saved going forward.
If you leave payroll before finishing, we save your off-cycle payroll as a draft on the Pay page under Off-cycle payrolls. We save drafts after step 2, once you finish the basic and advanced settings.
To start an off-cycle payroll in the legacy view:
Go to Pay.
Click Run an off-cycle payroll.
Select why you're running this payroll. We use your selection to suggest tax and benefit settings:
Fix a mistake from a previous payroll — pay missed wages.
Note: This option does not allow you to enter gross pay. Select Other if you need to enter gross earnings.
Give extra pay — for bonuses, commissions, or other extra pay.
Pay reimbursements, advances, or other wages.
Other.
Choose who you want to pay. Select team members one by one or click Select all.
Choose the pay period:
Use a regular pay period, or
Pick custom dates from the calendar.
Select the pay date. We show the soonest available date based on your direct deposit speed. If you choose a past date, you must pay by check. Late payments may result in tax penalties.
(Optional) Name the payroll to help with recordkeeping.
Click Continue.
These settings control how we calculate pay.
Pay entry type:
Choose how you want to enter pay:
Hours and earnings (gross pay) — enter pay before taxes.
Net pay amount — enter take-home pay after taxes. Use this for lump-sum payments like bonuses or severance.
Deductions and contributions:
Choose whether to include regular benefit deductions and company contributions. You might include them if you missed a team member on payroll or need to catch up on deductions. To fix a prior pay period's benefits, make a benefit correction.
Don't include — blocks deductions and contributions that can be blocked.
For 401(k) plans managed outside of Gusto, update elections with your provider.
For the Gusto 401(k) powered by Guideline and integrated plans like Betterment, Human Interest, Vestwell, or other partners, we cannot turn off deductions.
Include — applies regular deductions and contributions. Gusto-managed benefits only apply if you choose this option.
Tax withholding rate:
We apply the regular tax rate from your standard pay schedule by default. For extra wages, click Edit to apply the supplemental 22% tax rate.
Click Update settings.
Next to each team member, enter pay based on the columns below. For full column descriptions, see the spreadsheet column descriptions section above.
Hours (hourly team members only) — enter regular, overtime, double overtime, break premium, or time off hours.
Additional earnings — add bonuses, commissions, tips, or gross earnings.
Reimbursement — pay back work expenses. Reimbursements are not taxed.
Pay by — choose check or direct deposit. If direct deposit is not available, the team member does not have a verified bank account.
Actions (⋮) — add a deduction, view benefits, or skip this payroll.
To submit the payroll:
Choose a bank account if you have more than one.
Click Review summary and check the withdrawal amount, pay date, team member take-home pay, and company costs.
Click Submit payroll.
We'll email you when payroll is processed.
On the confirmation page, click Full summary to download a PDF. We only pay team members with entered amounts, but all team members appear on the report. To make changes, cancel the payroll and run it again.