Payroll, benefits, HR and more.
- Payroll
- Benefits
- Team Management
- Accounting & Integrations
- Employees & Contractors
- Account Setup & Maintenance
- State Registration & Compliance
Upload payroll data with a CSV
Upload payroll data with a CSV for payroll or contractor payments. CSV uploads are available for:
- Regular payrolls
- Off-cycle payrolls
- Bonus payrolls
- Contractor payments
How it works
Download Gusto's CSV template or create your own CSV file. Enter payroll details, then upload. You can upload multiple CSVs as long as the columns for each are different. For example, you could upload one CSV with everybody's hours, another with commissions, and a third with reimbursements.
- Gusto's CSV template
- Your employees' or contractors’ names and any payroll details that have already been entered will pre-populate.
- Create your own template
- You'll need to make sure all required fields are filled out, that all column titles match how they're shown in the Gusto template, and that the file type is CSV. You can change the order of the columns and/or remove any that are not needed.
Custom earning types are not supported in the CSV upload.
Read below for more information about the fields you can upload (by payroll or payment type) and formatting guidelines.
Information you can upload (by payroll or payment type)
Regular payroll |
Off-cycle payroll |
Bonus payroll |
Contractor payments |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Required fields
Optional fields
|
Required fields
Optional fields
|
Required fields
Optional fields
|
Required fields
Optional fields
|
Formatting guidelines
Take a look at the columns you can use and how to format them.
| Type | Column title(s) | Details |
| Employee name | first_name: last_name |
Not case sensitive, required
Example: "Smith", "smith", or "SMITH" |
| Social Security Number (SSN) | ssn |
Last 4 digits, preceeded by an asterisk (*), required if there are two employees with the same name
Example: *1234 |
| Job title | title |
Not case sensitive, required for employees with multiple pay rates.
Learn more about multiple-pay-rate formatting below this chart. |
| Pay | regular_hours; over_time_hours; double_ovetime_hours; bonus; commission; paycheck_tips; cash_tips; correction_payment; reimbursement |
Positive numbers, decimals optional
Example: 40.00 |
| Personal note | personal_note |
Can contain numbers and letters
Example: Thanks for giving it 100% |
Multiple pay rates
If an employee has multiple pay rates:
- Job titles must be included in the CSV file and must match the exact job title(s) listed in the employee’s Gusto profile.
- Job titles must be entered in separate rows.
- Any reimbursements, tips, bonuses, commissions, or correction payments must be added to the employee’s primary job. If you're not sure which job that is, download Gusto's CSV template and it will show the job title followed by “(Primary)” for the primary pay rate.
Zeroes and blanks in the CSV file
If you upload a file that contains zeroes, a zero will be populated in payroll and replace any previously entered or uploaded data.
If you upload a field that contains blank values, nothing will be populated in payroll for that field and any previously entered or uploaded data will remain.
Payroll, benefits, HR and more.