This article is for employees who need to set up their Gusto account.
Your employer must give you access before you can set up and access your Gusto profile. If you’re not sure which email address your employer has added to your profile, ask them to confirm.
After your employer adds you to Gusto, you’ll get an email. This email will ask you to:
Fill out your personal details for payroll purposes.
Sign required forms electronically, including:
Direct deposit authorization
Form I-9
Things to know
If you have multiple Gusto accounts under one email, you may need to switch between them.
If you cannot sign in, confirm your email address with your employer and get help signing in here.
Expand the sections to learn more. Use CMD + F (or CTRL + F) to search for words in the article.
Watch this video to learn how to set up your Gusto employee account. Your Gusto experience may look different from what is shown in this video.
To set up your employee account:
Sign in to Gusto using the link in your welcome email.
If you cannot find your welcome email, verify your email address with your employer and get help signing in here.
If you have not set up a password yet and are asked to enter one, click Forgot password? to reset it.
Click Let’s Get Started.
Enter your Social Security number (SSN), birthday, and home address.
Once you enter these details, only a company admin can update your name, SSN, and birthday. Contact your employer if you need to edit these.
Select your employment eligibility for Form I-9. Need help? Read this article for guidance.
Click Save and Continue.
Enter your federal and state filing statuses.
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) updated Form W-4 on January 1, 2020. Read our blog to learn how to fill it out.
You can also use the IRS worksheet, withholding estimator, and FAQs to help determine your federal tax withholding.
Click Save.
Enter your direct deposit information. If you prefer to get paid by check, change the Payment Method to Check.
Click Save and Continue.
Click Sign Form next to each form:
Form W-4: Employee Tax Withholding: This form determines your income tax withholding.
Form I-9: Employment Eligibility Verification (if applicable): This form determines your eligibility to work in the US.
Employee Direct Deposit Authorization (if applicable): This form allows us to transfer money to your bank account for payments and from your bank account if we need to correct or reverse a payment.
Click Save and Continue.
After you complete these steps, your payroll administrator will receive an email. Once they review and approve your information, you can log in to your Gusto account to view your paystubs, download forms, and update other details.
You can set up your Gusto employee account using the mobile app. Follow these steps to download the app, create your account, and complete your onboarding checklist.
To set up your employee account using the mobile app:
Check your email for an invitation from Gusto. Make sure it’s the email address your employer used when they added you.
If you cannot find your welcome email, verify your email address with your employer and get help signing in here.
Click Get started.
Click Get the app.
If you prefer not to download the app, click the Get started on web link below the button.
In your app store, click Download next to the Gusto mobile app.
Click Create an account.
Enter the email you gave your employer. It’s the same email we invited you to use for onboarding.
Click Continue.
We’ll send a verification link to your email if your employer has it on file.
Not seeing the email?
Confirm your employer has the correct email on file.
Check your inbox and spam folder. Wait 5-10 minutes before resending.
Click Open my inbox or open your email in another way.
Click Verify email.
The verification link expires 24 hours after it’s sent. If it expired, request a new link from the email you received.
Click Let’s get started.
Create a password that’s at least 8 characters long, enter it again, and click Set my password.
Review your onboarding checklist and complete each section:
Enter your personal details
Select tax withholdings
Set up your paycheck
Sign your documents
Introduce yourself
Expand the sections to continue through your onboarding checklist.
After you verify your email and create a password, you’ll enter your personal details.
To enter your personal details:
Click Enter your personal info.
Click Continue.
Enter your legal first and last name and any preferred names or pronouns, then click Continue.
Enter your phone number, choose if you want coworkers to see it, and click Continue.
Enter your birthday, choose if you want coworkers to see the month and day (never the year), and click Continue.
Enter your Social Security number and click Continue. Make sure this is 100% accurate.
Enter your permanent US home address (this cannot be a PO box) and click Continue.
Confirm your work address and click Continue. If the address is wrong, contact your employer immediately.
Your work address is where you physically work or clock in. If the listed address is not where you work, your employer may need to take action to make sure you’re taxed properly.
(Optional) Enter your emergency contact information and click Continue.
To skip this step, click I’ll set this up later below the button.
Click the dropdown, select your work eligibility, and click Continue.
Review your information to make sure it’s 100% accurate. Click the pencil icon to edit anything.
Click Save.
After setting up your account, you can edit your personal details at any time.
Your employer withholds a portion of each paycheck to pay your income taxes. Use the IRS calculator to help determine your withholdings. You can also use our paycheck calculators to estimate your take-home pay and withholdings: one for salaried employees and one for hourly employees.
To select your tax withholdings:
Enter your withholdings.
Click Continue.
Choose how you want to receive payment. If you choose direct deposit, have your account and routing numbers ready.
To set up your paycheck:
Click Continue.
After you watch the video, click Skip.
Select how you want to be paid:
Gusto Wallet debit card: Learn more in this article..
While you wait for your card, we’ll ask how you want to be paid (direct deposit or paper check).
Direct deposit to your existing bank account
Paper check
Verify your bank with Plaid to use it right away, or enter your routing and account numbers for manual verification (this takes a few days).
You can add more bank accounts later.
Select your account type (checking or savings) and click Continue.
Name your bank account and click Add account. This name will appear on your paystub so you can identify the account.
Choose whether to set up a Gusto savings goal for rainy days, vacations, and more.
If you choose to set this up, you can enter the details on the following screens or set it up later.
Click Continue.
Review your paycheck expectations and click Continue.
Review your personal information for accuracy. If everything looks correct, click Continue.
Click Accept terms to accept the terms and agreements.
You need to sign a few documents to complete your onboarding. These documents confirm your tax withholdings, work eligibility, and payment method.
To sign employee documents:
From the onboarding checklist, click Sign employee docs.
View and sign all documents waiting for you. You’ll typically sign:
Employee direct deposit authorization form
Form I-9 (work eligibility)
Form W-4 (tax withholding elections)
You may need to sign more documents, like offer letters and employee handbooks.
Click Continue.
Use the Gusto mobile app to introduce yourself to your new team on your first day.
To introduce yourself to your team:
From the onboarding checklist, click Introduce yourself.
Write a note to your new coworkers. We’ll share it with them on your first day.
If you do not want to leave a note, click Skip.
Share some fun facts about yourself with the team.
To skip this step, leave the answers blank and click Skip.
Once you complete everything in the checklist, click Finish.
Click Continue.
A company admin will review your account. Once they approve it, you’ll have full app access to manage your paystubs and more.
Once a company admin approves your account, you can manage your information and access features.
Here are some things you can do in Gusto:
View your payroll and year-end forms
View your employee details
Change your payment method to direct deposit or check
Change your password
Update your email address
Add or update your profile photo
Go to the Personal details section of your employee profile, and click the circle icon next to your name to upload a photo or import one from LinkedIn.
*Request vacation or sick time off (if your company manages time off in Gusto)
*View your benefits (if your company manages benefits in Gusto)
*View your company org chart (available to companies on the Plus or Premium plan)
*Check with your payroll administrator if you’re unsure which features your company uses Gusto to manage.
Information you can view in your employee profile:
Role details: Job title, department, work email, manager, and direct reports
Work details: Worker type, country, work address, and start date
Pay details: Payment method and bank account
Compensation details: Type, job title, wage, default hours, and effective date
Personal details: Preferred name, legal name, pronouns, SSN, birthday, phone number, address, emergency contact, and personal and recovery emails
Tax elections: Federal filing status and elections, and state filing status and elections.
To view these details in your employee profile:
Sign in to your employee profile.
In the left menu, click My profile.
Click Work, Pay, or Personal, to review your information.