📝 Overview

If you've already paid workers through Gusto this calendar year, we need that payroll data before your first run with us. This guide explains how to share it, either by adding us as an admin or by downloading and sending reports yourself.

⏱️ Before You Begin

Keep your Gusto account active while your payroll data is being transferred. Maintaining access allows you to:

Download additional reports if needed
Run additional payrolls if necessary

Do not close or cancel your account until we confirm it's safe to do so.

🧠 Why We Need Your Payroll Data

Migrating your historical payroll data ensures that worker tax payments and reporting are accurate. Without it, tax filings and year-end forms could be incorrect, which affects both you and your workers.

This applies to both active and terminated workers who were paid during the current calendar year.

📊 Data Requirements by Worker Type

Here is what we need from you, broken down by worker type:

W-2 Employees

Wages broken down by type (hourly, salary, commissions, etc.)
Both employee and employer taxes broken down by type
Deductions broken down by type
Employer contributions broken down by type
Pay period for each check date
A year-to-date report for all payrolls run in the calendar year

⚠️ Pay stubs don't always show employer taxes, so they may not be usable for migration purposes. Make sure your reports include employer tax data.

1099 Contractors

Check dates and associated pay periods
Payment amounts by type (service, commission, tips, etc.)

Download contractor reports as a CSV or PDF.

🔑 Option 1: Grant Us Admin Access (Recommended)

The easiest way to share your payroll data is to add us as an admin in Gusto. Our team can then download the reports we need directly.

Sign in to Gusto as the Primary Administrator.
Go to the Settings section.
Click the Gusto Admins or Permissions tab. The tab title may vary by account.
Click Add or edit admins in the Gusto admins tile.
Click Add new admin toward the top-right of the page.
Select Not an employee and Other collaborator.
Enter the following details:
- First name: Payroll
- Last name: Admin
- Email: [INSERT EMAIL HERE]
Select Full Access Admin.
Scroll to the bottom and click Add admin.

🛠️ Option 2: Download Reports Yourself

If you prefer to download and send reports directly, follow the steps below. The reports you need depend on where you are in the calendar year.

What Reports Are Needed

Current quarter: One report per individual payroll run, with a check date that falls within the current quarter
Prior quarters: One quarterly summary report per closed quarter, showing year-to-date amounts per quarter

🧠 Example: Your first payroll with us is planned for 8/30. You've processed payroll during Q3. You'll need a report covering each Q3 payroll run, plus quarterly summary reports for Q1 and Q2.

Steps: Download the Payroll Journal

Click the arrow to learn more

Log in to your Gusto account.
In the left menu, click Reports.
Under Summary Reports, select Payroll Journal.
Set the date range to Quarterly and select All employees.
Select the following additional options by checking each box:
- Detailed employee info
- Detailed employment info
- Employee earnings breakdown by job
- Employer tax breakdown
- Employee tax breakdown
- Deductions and contributions
- Details totals
- Reimbursements
Click Generate Report.
Click Download CSV to save the file.
Repeat for each quarter, then email all reports to [INSERT EMAIL HERE].

⚠️ You'll need a quarterly report for each completed quarter of the current year, showing year-to-date amounts per quarter. You'll also need a separate report for each individual payroll run in the current quarter.

📆 Weekly Payroll Employers

If your business runs payroll on a weekly schedule, follow this two-step process:

Submit initial data: Send us all payroll data accumulated so far for the calendar year. This lets us start the migration on our end right away.
Submit final payroll data: After your last weekly payroll with Gusto, send us that final payroll report as soon as possible.

🧠 Example: You run payroll every Monday for a Friday check date. Send us all payroll data except for the current week's run. We'll get started on the migration. Once your final weekly payroll has been run, send us that payroll report no later than Friday so we can complete the migration and have you ready to run your first payroll the following week.

❓ Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Find answers to common questions or additional details that may not be covered in the main instructions.

Click the arrow to view frequently asked questions