Regular payrolls are tied to your company's pay schedule and pay periods. Only admins with payroll processing permissions can run payroll. Upcoming payrolls appear in the Pay section with the run-by date and payday.
Gusto will prompt you to run payroll when it's time. Submit your payroll by 4 pm PT on the run-by date shown in Gusto. This date is calculated based on your check date and your company's direct deposit processing speed.
Regardless of when you submit, we won't debit your account until after 4 pm PT on the payroll deadline date. If you submit early and need to make a change, you can cancel and resubmit the payroll at any point before the debit occurs.
If you have hourly employees: Make sure all hours for the pay period have been worked before you process payroll. If your pay period end date falls after your payroll deadline, your team's hours won't be fully accounted for. Make sure your pay schedule is set up so the pay period ends before your payroll deadline.
If you have salaried employees only, or if no changes need to be made: You can submit payroll at any point before the deadline — you don't need to wait until the run-by date.
Your bank account must have enough funds to cover net payroll and taxes by 4 pm PT on the payroll deadline date. If funds are not available by that time:
A $100 processing fee will be charged.
Payroll processing will be blocked until the automatic re-debit clears.
Access to next-day and two-day payroll speeds may be temporarily suspended.
Pro Tip: Use Instant Bank Verification to help prevent funding errors and fees.
Note: If you need to change the dates of a pay period or run an additional payroll at the same time as your regular payroll, run an off-cycle payroll instead.
If you want payroll to run automatically on your pay schedule, enable Payroll on Autopilot.
To run a regular payroll in the spreadsheet view:
Find the pay period you want to process and click Run payroll. Review the Payroll deadline and Payday shown on the payroll tile.
Add or update pay details for each team member. You can edit columns and data in the spreadsheet as needed.
Enter hours as a decimal. For example, 1 hour and 15 minutes = 1.25.
If a team member has multiple jobs or pay rates, click the arrow to the left of their name to view each job and enter data.
On the Gusto mobile app, tap Edit next to the team member's name. Tap X or Done to save.
Note: If you don't see an employee on the spreadsheet, double check they are assigned to the correct pay schedule, their start or dismissal date is correct, and they have not been skipped by mistake.
When finished, click Review summary.
Above Payroll details, review any flagged pay changes or trends. Click Edit or Dismiss for each flagged item.
Review the withdrawal amount and payroll summary. 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.
Important: You must have the full withdrawal amount available in your bank account at the time of processing. Failed debits may result in additional fees on your next invoice.
Click Submit payroll in the bottom right of your screen.
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. Click See printable checks to download.
If you already issued payment outside of Gusto or want to use your own checks, click Done.
On the confirmation page:
To view a full report, click See the full summary.
To print checks, scroll down to the Employee hours and earnings section and click Print checks.
To download reports, click Export payroll details or Download cash requirement report.
To cancel the payroll, click Cancel this payroll. You cannot undo this action, but payroll information will be saved.
We'll email you confirming your payroll was processed.
Note: To switch to the legacy view, click Switch to legacy view in the top-right corner of the payroll screen. Click Switch to spreadsheet view to go back. To set a default view, click Need help? at the top of the page, then Payroll spreadsheet, and choose your preferred experience under Choose your default.
Use the sections below to find guidance on specific payroll situations. If your scenario involves a one-time or special payment, see Choose the right earnings field for help selecting the correct column.
Enter hours as a decimal in the Regular hours column. For example, 1 hour and 15 minutes = 1.25.
For overtime, enter hours in the Overtime hours or Double overtime columns. If a team member is not eligible for overtime, those columns will show N/A.
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.
Pro Tip: If you use Gusto Time Tracking, hours sync automatically to payroll — including calculated overtime. Approved time off (PTO and sick) and holiday hours also sync automatically. You do not need to enter these manually.
Use this when a team member is set up with more than one pay rate. Multiple pay rates for salaried employees are not supported.
To enter hours for a team member with multiple pay rates:
In the payroll spreadsheet, click the arrow to the left of the team member's name to expand their jobs.
Enter regular hours next to each job type.
To add overtime, click +Overtime under the job type and enter hours in the Overtime (1.5x) or Double overtime (2x) fields.
Note: Paid time off hours use the first pay rate. To use a different rate, edit the first pay rate to the desired amount before running payroll.
Pro Tip: If you're on the Plus or Premium plan, use Gusto Time tracking to sync hours automatically.
Holiday hours do not subtract from regular hours — enter them separately. If a pay period contains 80 regular hours and eight holiday hours, enter 80 in Regular hours and eight in Holiday hours. Gusto calculates the total pay across both columns.
The Holiday hours column only appears when a holiday policy occurs during the pay period.
Note: At this time, accounting firm profiles cannot be merged. Firm members who work for multiple firms need to have separate emails associated with each firm.
If you have an unpaid time off policy set up: Enter unpaid hours in the Other time off column.
If you do not have an unpaid time off policy set up: Deduct the hours directly from the team member's regular hours.
For hourly team members, enter only the actual hours worked.
For salaried team members, deduct eight hours for each full workday of unpaid time off.
Add a personal note on the pay stub to explain the adjustment. If a team member took an entire pay period as unpaid time off, skip them on that payroll instead.
Adding a bonus in regular payroll taxes it at the regular rate, not the IRS recommended supplemental withholding rate of 22%. If you want to apply the 22% rate, run an extra pay payroll instead. extra pay payroll article
To add a bonus, enter the amount in the Bonus column next to the team member's name. Bonuses appear as a separate line item on the pay stub.
Note: If a team member has an active garnishment, check with the garnishment authority to confirm any specific requirements for garnishing the bonus.
To add a one-time commission, enter the amount in the Commission column. Commission wages are taxed at the regular rate and appear as a separate line item on the pay stub.
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.
Gusto does not support commission draws.
Cash tips — use when the team member has already been paid. Gusto calculates and withholds taxes 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.
Both tip types are taxed as regular wages and appear as separate line items on the pay stub.
Use this table to determine which field to use for one-time or special payments.
Payment type
Field to use
Notes
Bonus (regular tax rate)
Bonus
Taxed at regular rate; separate line item on pay stub
Bonus (22% supplemental rate)
Taxed at the supplemental 22% rate
One-time commission
Commission
Taxed at regular rate; separate line item on pay stub
Expense reimbursement
Reimbursements
Not taxed
Annual or irregular one-time payment
Correction payment
Always included in regular rate of pay and overtime calculations
Tips already paid
Cash tips
Taxes calculated only
Tips not yet paid
Paycheck tips
Paid and taxed in this payroll
Custom payment type
Custom earnings
Requires setup first
Use a personal note to explain a bonus, adjusted wages, or other special payment. Personal notes cannot be added retroactively — add them while processing payroll.
To add a personal note, click the Personal note cell next to the team member's name and enter a description.
Important: If you're paying bonuses, reducing wages, or making special payments, you must add a note explaining how total pay was calculated. Without an explanation, a team member could file a wage complaint.
You can review and update a team member's pay details while running payroll. Click the team member's name to open their pay details. You can update:
Payment method and bank account
Compensation details (pay type, wage, job title, hours, effective date)
Important: Changes made here update the team member's profile — not just the current payroll. These changes apply to all future payrolls. If you need a one-time change, use the one-time earnings or one-time deductions fields in the main payroll screen instead.
To apply your changes, click Update in the bottom-right corner of the modal.
Admins with the required permissions can skip a team member or an entire payroll at no additional cost. Before you skip, keep these things in mind:
Skipping a team member means they will not get a pay stub for that payroll. Paying a team member $0 produces a $0 pay stub.
Skipping works for regular and dismissal payrolls.
Skipped payrolls cannot be undone. If you need to pay a team member for a skipped payroll, run an off-cycle payroll.
Skipping a team member only affects that one payroll instance. To skip them again, repeat the process in a future payroll.
Skipped team members remain on your invoice. Dismissed team members do not.
If the payroll you want to skip is blocked by a transition payroll after a pay schedule change, you must run or skip the transition payroll first.
In your web browser
To skip payroll for one team member:
Find the pay period and click Run payroll.
In the Actions (⋮) column, click the icon next to the team member's name.
Click Skip on payroll.
Finish running payroll.
In the Gusto mobile app
Open your Gusto mobile app and sign in.
Find the pay period and tap Run.
Find the name of the employee you're skipping and tap Edit.
Scroll down and select Edit.
Tap Confirm.
In your web browser
To skip payroll for multiple team members:
Find the pay period and click Run payroll.
Click the checkbox next to each team member you want to skip. To skip all team members, click the checkbox next to the Employees column header.
Click Actions at the top of the spreadsheet and select Skip on payroll.
Select Yes, skip on this payroll.
Finish running payroll.
In the Gusto mobile app
To skip payroll for multiple team members in the mobile app:
Open your Gusto mobile app and sign in.
Find the pay period and tap Run.
Scroll down to the list of team members. Tap the three dots icon.
Tap Select team members.
Tap the checkbox next to each employee you're skipping.
Select Actions.
Tap Skip on payroll.
Select Yes, skip on this payroll.
Skipping an entire payroll means no team members will be paid for that payroll.
In your web browser
To skip an entire payroll:
Find the pay period you want to skip.
Next to the Run button, click Skip.
In the Gusto mobile app
Open your Gusto mobile app and sign in.
Find the pay period and tap Skip. Select Yes, skip to confirm.
If it's a late or upcoming payroll, tap the three dots icon first. Select Skip payroll. Select Yes, skip to confirm.
If a payroll is less than three months late
Scroll to Late payrolls.
Click Skip all late payrolls.
If a payroll is more than three months late (archived)
In your web browser:
In the top-right corner, click View pay history.
From the US payrolls tab, scroll to Archived payroll.
Check the box next to the payrolls you want to skip.
Use the Actions (⋮) column to skip the selected payrolls.
In the mobile app:
Open your Gusto mobile app and sign in.
Scroll down to the Late section and tap pay history.
Select archived.
Choose Select all.
Tap Actions.
Select Skip.
Tap Skip archived payrolls.
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.
To switch to the legacy view, click Switch to legacy view in the top-right corner of the payroll screen.
Note: In the legacy view, time off hours must be added on the first step of payroll.
To run a regular payroll in the legacy view:
Find the pay period and click Run payroll. Review the Payroll deadline and Payday.
If you have multiple bank accounts, select which one to process payroll from.
Adjust salaries or hours worked. Use the search, sort, filter, and bulk edit tools to manage multiple team members.
Enter hours as a decimal. For example, 1 hour and 15 minutes = 1.25.
If a team member has multiple pay rates, their row will show a total hours figure. Click the total hours amount to open a modal where you can enter regular hours, overtime, and double overtime for each job type by week.
Pay rates are pulled from the team member's profile. To change compensation, go to People and select the team member's name.
To add tips, break premium hours, or reimbursements, click the corresponding link under the team member's name.
To add a bonus, commission, or other one-time earnings, click +Other earnings, select the earning type, enter the amount, and click Save.
To change the payment method for this payroll, click Direct Deposit or Check.
To add a note to the pay stub, click Add personal note and enter a description.
Click Continue.
Adjust time off for the pay period, then click Continue.
Review all payroll details and the wage and tax debit preview.
To make adjustments, click Go back.
To submit, click Submit payroll in the bottom right of your screen.
If you're paying anyone by check, confirm your delivery method:
To handle checks yourself, click Handle it yourself, then View printable checks, then Done.
To have Gusto mail the check, select that option and click Confirm.
Review your payroll summary. From here you can download pay stubs, export payroll details, and print checks.
We'll email you when payroll is processed. To cancel, click Cancel this payroll on the confirmation page.
If you're an accountant using Gusto Pro, you can run payroll for your clients directly from your partner dashboard without signing in to each client account separately. Once you're in a client's account, the run payroll experience is the same as the steps above.
To run a client payroll from your partner dashboard, follow these steps:
Under Client payrolls, find the client you want to run payroll for.
Click the client's name to go to their account dashboard, or click Run payroll to go directly into payroll.
Follow the steps in the spreadsheet view or legacy view sections of this article to complete payroll. The view defaults to whichever was last used for that client.
Pay attention to the payroll deadline shown on the payroll tile.
When finished, click your name in the top-right corner and select Switch to accountant profile to return to your partner dashboard, or select Switch company to go directly to another client.
Note: The Client payrolls queue shows upcoming and missed payrolls across all your clients. Check the Missed tab regularly to stay on top of overdue payrolls.
Pro tip: As an accountant, you have access to tax override options during payroll. In the Actions menu next to a team member's name, select Tax overrides to set a one-time federal or state income tax override for that payroll. To set up a recurring override, go to that team member's profile under People. Learn more about tax overrides.
From your partner dashboard, you can manage and run payrolls for all your clients in one place.