Once that step is complete, you’ll add employee information, such as pay rate, direct deposit details and any withholdings, into Gusto. The best payroll software for your company depends on your business size and needs. Top payroll services for small businesses include ADP RUN, Paychex Flex and Gusto. In addition to smooth integration, your Gusto account could get you discounts on some popular apps. For example, at the time of this writing, it’s offering three months free to restaurant scheduling software 7shifts, 25% off Breezy HR plans and many more.

Domestic and International Contractor Payments

Gusto’s tech teams regularly test its software to prevent problems and outages and it has an on-site security team ready to take action in case any issues arise. Gusto xcritical scammers uses industry-standard encryption to keep data secure, plus it monitors your account and will alert you when it suspects any fraudulent activity has taken place. Admin can also make use of Gusto’s default expense categories or create their own.

1. Employees can upload a receipt and add a memo, so it’s clear what the payment is for.
2. Gusto files employee W-4s and contractor W-9s as part of their profile setup, and it creates and distributes W-2 and 1099 forms each January for tax returns.
3. Gusto enables HR teams to pay employees one-off, reimbursable expenses for things such as work-from-home stipends or travel expenses.
4. The main dashboard displayed pending time off requests for review but clicking on that to-do item brought us to the main time off page in the platform.
5. Features including background checks and benefit enrollment are paired with cloud-based services such as e-signatures and state tax registration to create a streamlined onboarding experience.

Gusto allows employees to access and manage their own information by offering individual profile accounts. Users can download the Gusto mobile app, or sign in from the web, to view payday data, edit tax details, see available PTO and even clock in and out right on their phone. In addition, the platform shares income insights and personal tax documents such as W-2s. OnPay is an all-in-one payroll and HR solution that is designed specifically for small businesses. The platform differentiates itself by providing an error-free tax guarantee and robust benefits administration features. While OnPay does offer straightforward, comprehensive pricing, the plans are not customizable, so it won’t work for businesses that need more flexibility in choosing which features they want or need.

We found time off policies easy to set up, and we like that Gusto suggests time off policies to include. Gusto has its own native applicant tracking tool available to Gusto Plus and Premium customers, but if you choose the Simple plan, you can integrate an external ATS, such as JazzHR or Greenhouse. Gusto is a full-service payroll and HR platform designed to grow with U.S.-based startups and small businesses. Gusto syncs payroll, taxes and wages data directly to QuickBooks to make accounting even easier. Gusto also has built-in ACA, COBRA, HIPAA and ERISA compliance for benefits administration.

Gusto Payroll Certification

Default categories xcritical cheating include “Car and Mileage,” “Meals and Entertainment” and many more. To get the best possible experience please use the latest version of Chrome, Firefox, Safari, or Microsoft Edge to view this website.

While the initial setup can be time-intensive, depending on the number of employees, once all the information is recorded, the software’s automations take over and help streamline the process. After that point, you’ll simply need to input employee hours weekly or biweekly and Gusto will run payroll. You can give access to your company’s Gusto administration to an employee within your company or someone outside your company.

It costs $10 per month for up to five employees, plus $1 per additional employee per month. When a new employee signs their offer letter, Gusto facilitates the rest of the onboarding process to ensure they get properly set up for their new job even before day one. It even provides the option to send a digital welcome card to help the new employee feel welcomed. In the employee profile section, we could easily change personal information, but only the admin can change things such as job title and compensation. In the pay tab, we didn’t see a financial goals tool, and when trying to set up the paycheck splitter, the “add bank account” button wasn’t responsive.

As the admin, you can see an overview of any active benefits your company offers. This overview shows the benefit’s terms and details as well as the number of eligible and enrolled xcritical official site employees. Gusto software incorporates plenty of personalization components as well, helping to acclimate new hires and integrate them into the team. From sending digital offer letters to setting birthday reminders, the platform allows you to connect with employees even from a distance.

Gusto is designed with dynamic startups and growing small businesses in mind. It was born out of a need in the market for payroll solutions that included businesses with heavy contractor-based workforces, and it’s still one of the best solutions around for that type of business. Based on what we were able to play with in the platform, Gusto guides you through payroll and benefits management in a way that makes these processes less overwhelming. You can be sure you’re doing things in the right order without missing a step.

How to provide access to Gusto

Gusto facilitates payroll for employees and contractors, plus employee benefits, such as health, retirement and more. The platform even includes extras, such as automated charitable donations and a wallet that helps employees have more control over how and when to use their money. Forbes Advisor evaluated Gusto’s platform to help you decide if it’s right for your business. ADP’s small business solution, RUN, caters to companies with fewer than 50 employees. Plans can be customized to fit your needs and come with features such as automatic tax filing and reports, easy employee payroll and available add-ons for marketing and legal assistance. ADP’s pricing structure is more complex than Gusto, and the additional costs can increase quickly, with extra fees for benefits administration and time tracking.

If you pay anyone by check, you have to manually print checks Gusto generates. It doesn’t have an option to automatically print and mail physical paychecks. Gusto enables HR teams to pay employees one-off, reimbursable expenses for things such as work-from-home stipends or travel expenses. Gusto comes with a few more perks that make the platform versatile and attractive to companies—and employees—across industries. No matter which plan you choose, you can always switch to a different Gusto plan or cancel any time if your business changes. For those looking to manage only contractors, Gusto has a Contractor plan that’s $6 per month per person.

Gusto files employee W-4s and contractor W-9s as part of their profile setup, and it creates and distributes W-2 and 1099 forms each January for tax returns. You can also elect to have Gusto automatically file a new hire report in an employee’s state when you hire them. Next, Gusto provides a brief questionnaire that will help you decide on which of its three plans is the best fit for your business needs.

It has an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau (BBB), although neither Gusto nor ZenPayroll is accredited with the organization, which is a paid service. It launched as ZenPayroll in California in 2012 as part of the startup incubator Y Combinator, and it’s been available in all 50 states since 2015. It’s been backed by reputable investors valued at $9.5 billion as of August 2021. Gusto customers can contact customer support via chat, email or phone. Gusto’s phone support is only available Monday through Friday from 7 a.m.

So, anyone you hire for HR, accounting or bookkeeping can get the information they need without going through you. Testing Gusto out from the employee’s point of view, we were able to easily update our personal details, view and enroll in benefits and more. Gusto helps get new employees onboarded quickly, whether they are working in person or remotely.