Manage company bank account details (for admins)

Summary

Admins can manage company bank account information, change the bank account information, and learn more about bank transactions you may see hit your account.

Users Intent

Context Variations

Content

This article is for admins who need to add or edit their company’s bank account information in Gusto.

If you’re an employee or contractor, you can learn how to update your bank details here.

Expand the sections to learn more. Use CMD + F (or CTRL + F) to search for words in the article.

Add a company bank account during onboarding

When you set up your Gusto account, we’ll ask for a default company bank account to debit for wages, taxes, and your monthly Gusto fee. You can add other bank accounts later and individually select which bank account to use on payrolls and contractor payments.

Bank account requirements

The account must be a US-based checking bank account
- It cannot be the same as a team member's bank account.
Credit payments, credit cards, and savings accounts are not accepted.
Alphanumeric account numbers (with both letters and numbers) are accepted.

Add a default company bank account—you can update this later

Click Step 7: Bank account.
Click the Add Bank Account button.
- If this button does not work, try refreshing the page a few times until you can click it.
Select how you want Gusto to verify your bank account:
- Verify account with Plaid—you'll be asked to link your bank account to Gusto so we can instantly verify your bank.
  - Reminder: If you verify with Plaid, you cannot use "Bottom (blank check stock)" to print checks you may write. Account numbers are encrypted and will not print to this type of check.
- Manually verify your account—if your bank is not eligible to connect through Plaid, or you've decided not to instantly connect, you'll need to enter your bank information manually. We'll then send two test transactions, which usually take 2–3 business days to hit your account. You'll need to come back to Gusto to enter these amounts.
  - Click the checkbox to acknowledge this change may block payroll for up to 2 business days until bank verification is complete.
  - Heads up: You may be asked to wire funds to Gusto cover your first payroll if you choose to manually verify your bank account.
Click Continue.

After the account is verified it will automatically be set as your default bank account.

You can add additional bank accounts, but you'll need to wait until you've finished setting up your account (completed onboarding) and been approved.

If the account has not been verified yet, here's how to update the details (if needed):

Next to "Add Company Details", click the Actions button.
Select Review.
In the left-side menu, click Bank Account.
- You'll be taken to a page asking you to enter test bank transaction amounts.
Click Back.
Enter your new bank account details and proceed.

Enter test transaction amounts in Gusto

Once you've entered your bank details, you'll need to enter the test transaction amounts in Gusto.

Sign in to Gusto.
Click your name at the top right of Gusto and select Settings.
Go to the Plan & billing tab.
Scroll to the “Bank accounts” section and find the bank account.
Under the “Status” column, click Confirm test transaction to enter the two amounts.

If you're having issues verifying the account:

Make sure the bank account information is entered correctly in Gusto.
Check your bank transactions again to make sure they're entered correctly in Gusto.

What's next?

Add your pay schedule to Gusto.

Add, change, or remove a bank account (after onboarding)

We need to verify your new bank account before you can use it to pay your team in Gusto.

Reminders

Until we verify your new account, we’ll use the bank elections you have in place when processing a payment (either manually or using Payroll on AutoPilot®).

If you’ve already processed a payroll, adding a new account while the money is in-flight will not change which bank account we used. If the account on file returns a bank error after we process a payroll, we’ll charge you a debit failure fee and may move you to a slower direct-deposit speed.

If you qualify, you can use instant bank verification to set up right away. Otherwise, we’ll send two test transactions to your bank account for verification. This may take 2 – 3 business days.

If you have tax-advantaged accounts with Gusto — including Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs), Health Savings Accounts (HSAs), Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts (DFSAs), or commuter benefits — you’ll see a non-refundable $1 test debit under “MBI/Med-I-Bank.”
If you offer an HSA, you’ll see an additional $0.01 test debit.

Company bank account requirements

Must be a US bank checking account
- It cannot be the same as an employee’s or contractor’s bank account.
Credit payments and credit cards are not accepted.

Before you add multiple bank accounts or change your default account

Review these important details about permissions, default accounts, and payment processing.

Permissions: You can add, remove, or assign bank accounts to specific payrolls or payments if you have at least one of these permissions:
- “Full access” admins
- Admins who can “Run payroll”
- Admins who can “Pay contractors”
Remember the last 4 digits of bank accounts: If we’ve verified multiple banks for you, remember the last 4 digits when assigning a bank to specific payrolls/payments. At this time, you cannot add nicknames to bank accounts.
Default bank info
- We use your “default” bank account for:
  - Your monthly invoice
  - General payroll and contractor payments (unless you choose a different bank)
  - Workers’ comp debits (from NEXT insurance)
  - Tax-advantaged accounts: FSA, HSA, DCFSA, and commuter benefits
  - Payroll on AutoPilot®, unless you set up a different bank account (learn more in the Add more bank accounts section of the article)
  - Refunds or debits related to wage corrections, tax reconciliations, cancellations, and more
- If you change your default bank account, we’ll keep using your current default bank account for all standard debits (examples listed in the bullet above) until we fully verify and set up the new account.
  - Once we verify it, we’ll use the new default bank account for all of the above.
Payroll reversals: If we need to debit or credit funds to your company because of a reversal, we’ll use the bank account linked to that payment (as long as the bank account is still active in Gusto).
- If you’ve removed the account, we’ll send the money to your default account.
Companies still onboarding: You cannot add more bank accounts until you finish setting up your account completely, and we approve it.

Add more bank accounts

Before you can add more bank accounts, you’ll need to have added one verified bank account, completed your Gusto onboarding, and gotten approval from our team. Once that’s complete, you can add more bank accounts.

To add more bank accounts:

Sign in to Gusto.
Click your name at the top right and select Settings.
Go to the Plan & billing tab.
Scroll to the “Bank Accounts” headline and click Add bank account.
- If you do not see this option, you may not have added one verified bank account, completed your Gusto onboarding, and gotten approval from our team. You need to complete these steps before you can add more bank accounts.
Choose whether you’d like to Connect Instantly (by securely signing in to your bank with Plaid) or Connect Manually (1–2 business days).
- Some customers can only connect manually using test transactions.
- If you verify with Plaid, you cannot use “Bottom (blank check stock)” to print checks you write. Plaid encrypts account numbers, so they will not print on this type of check.
If connecting manually, enter the new routing number and account number.
Click the checkbox to acknowledge that this change may block payroll for up to 2 business days until we complete the bank verification.
- Until we verify the new account, we’ll use the bank elections you have in place when processing a payment (either manually or using Payroll on AutoPilot®).
  - If you’ve already processed a payroll, adding a new account while the money is in-flight will not change which bank account we used.
Click Continue.
Review the timeline — we’ll test your account with two small transactions.
- Don’t want to wait? Click the Verify with Plaid instead link.
Once you see the transactions in your bank (this can take a few days), return to this part of your profile to confirm the amounts.
Click Go to Gusto Home to return to your Home page.

If we’ve verified multiple bank accounts in Gusto, remember the last 4 numbers of the bank account(s) you want to use when making payments. At this time, you cannot add nicknames to accounts.

Change the default bank account

We use your default bank account for:

Your monthly invoice
General payroll and domestic contractor payments (unless you choose a different bank)
All international contractor payments
Workers’ comp debits/premiums (from NEXT insurance)
Payroll on AutoPilot®, unless you set up a different bank account (learn more in the Add more bank accounts section of the article)
Refunds or debits related to wage corrections, tax reconciliations, cancellations, and more

How to change your default bank account

Until we fully verify and set up the new bank account, we’ll use your current default bank account for all standard debits and payrolls you’ve already processed. If the account on file returns a bank error at the time we processed a payroll, we may move you to a slower direct-deposit speed.

To change your default bank account:

Sign in to Gusto.
Click your name at the top right and select Settings.
Go to the Plan & billing tab.
Scroll to the “Bank Accounts” headline, find the bank account you want to make the default account, and click the three-dot menu in the Actions column.
- If we have not yet verified another bank account, you’ll need to add, verify, and set an alternate bank account as the default before you remove the current default account.
Choose Set as default.

Assign a bank account to a Payroll on AutoPilot (for multiple bank accounts only)

If your company uses Payroll on AutoPilot®, we’ll debit from your default bank account unless you assign a different account.

How to assign a specific bank account for Payroll on AutoPilot®

To assign a specific bank account for Payroll on AutoPilot®:

Sign in to Gusto.
Go to Pay and select Pay settings.
- If you do not see this section in your account, you may not have the required permissions.
Next to the AutoPilot section, click Edit.
Select the bank account you want from the dropdown box.
Click Save.

After you save, Payroll on AutoPilot® will debit funds from the bank account you selected.

Delete a bank account

If you delete a bank account with scheduled future payments, we’ll warn you that we’ll cancel those payments. You’ll need to reschedule them.

To delete a bank account:

Sign in to Gusto.
Click your name at the top right and select Settings.
Go to the Plan & billing tab.
Scroll to the “Bank Accounts” headline, find the bank account you want to remove, and click the three-dot menu in the Actions column.
- If we have not yet verified another bank account, you’ll need to add, verify, and set an alternate bank account as the default before you delete this account.
Click Delete.

FAQs

Q: Can I add multiple company bank accounts?

A: Yes. You can add multiple bank accounts and choose which one to use for payroll(s) and contractor payments.

Q: I paid people from the wrong account. What do I do?

A: If we have not debited your account yet, you can cancel the payroll or contractor payment and reschedule it from the correct bank account.

If we’ve already debited the account, contact your bank to transfer the necessary funds into that account.

Q: Can we split the payments between multiple bank accounts?

A: No. All payments come from one bank account. If you want to split payments, run multiple payrolls, and select a different bank account for each one.

Q: Can we have a bank account associated with each employee?

A: No, but you can assign employees to departments and set up pay schedules for each department. Then you can link a bank account to each pay schedule.

Q: Does Gusto support alphanumeric bank accounts?

A: Yes. We accept bank accounts with both letters and numbers.

Q: I cannot print checks because of an “issue with bank verification.” What does that mean?

A: If you verify with Plaid, you cannot use “Bottom (blank check stock)” to print checks you may write. Plaid encrypts account numbers, so they will not print on this type of check. Use the other check stock type we offer.

Bank statuses in Gusto and what they mean

Here’s a quick guide to each bank status and any actions that may be needed. You can manage your bank accounts by going to Settings section and selecting the Plan & billing tab.

If you do not have this tab, work with your primary administrator to get the access (or permissions) you need.

Active accounts can be used, but inactive accounts cannot.

Status	Description
Connected	Active, connected to Plaid
Verified	Active, Plaid connection recommended
Unverified	Inactive, re-verify the account
In progress	Inactive, test transactions are in progress
Disconnected	Active, no longer connected to Plaid
Deactivated	Unusable account

Bank transactions and code glossary—how transactions look in your bank account

We'll initiate 3 separate debit transactions from your company's bank account after each payroll is submitted:

One for employee pay (who are being paid by direct deposit)
One for your employee reimbursements
One for all payroll taxes

These transactions will happen at the same time, ahead of your paydate (the debit date depends on your direct deposit speed).

Employee pay and reimbursements will be sent by direct deposit to their bank accounts, and we'll send your payroll tax amounts to the applicable state and federal agencies.

You may also see debit transactions from your company's bank account for:

Contractor payments
Employee or contractor payment reversals
Monthly invoices
Historical tax payments
Tax reconciliation payrolls (when needed)

You can run a "bank transactions" report to view bank transactions and an "agency payments" report to see taxes we've paid on your behalf. Check out this list of the types of reports you can run.

Bank codes related to debits and/or credits from Gusto

Code	Transaction Type
EBV	Electronic Bank Verification - Credit Test Transaction
NET	Debit Net Pay
TAX	Debit Tax
CON	Credit Contractor Pay
ICD	International Contractor Pay
HPT	Debit Historical Payroll Taxes
BBV	Bank Verification Debit
BVC	Bank Verification Credit
FRP	Credit Flex Repayment (Modern Bank)
FPP	Credit Flex Pay Principal (Modern Bank)
FPF	Credit Flex Pay Fee (Modern Bank)
TLR	Credit Tax Liability Refund
CSC	Credit Child Support Garnishment
REM	Debit Reimbursement
TCD	Debit Tax Correction
FEE	Debit Payroll Fee
CND	Debit Contractor Pay
RFD	Debit Refund
PDR	Debit Employee Wages
DDR	Debit Donation
CSD	Debit Child Support Garnishment
DOV	Debit Overpayment
FPD	Flex Pay Debit (Modern Bank)
PAY	Credit Employee Pay
INV	Credit Payroll Fee - Invoice Refund
SAV	Credit Employee Savings
CRF	Credit Contractor payment refund
DCR	Credit Donation
PAR	Credit Wages Refund
TRC	Credit Tax Refund
TAX DEP	Tax Department Payment
IEE	Credit Internal Error Expense (concessions)
TXP	Credit Tax
TPI	Credit Tax Penalty
WPF	Wire Payment Fee
ITC	Credit Internal Transfer Contractor Pay
ITE	Credit Internal Transfer Employee Pay
ITT	Credit Internal Transfer Tax Payment
ITF	Credit Internal Transfer Fees and Penalties
ITV	Credit Internal Transfer Verification
ITI	Credit Internal Transfer Invoices
ITO	Credit Internal Transfer Other
ITP	Credit Internal Transfer Overpayment
ITG	Credit Internal Transfer Child Support Garnishment
COV	Credit Overpayment
PRS	Credit Partner Revenue Share

View other bank transactions

Right now, other bank transactions only show payments made to Gusto for outstanding balances.

View the transaction status for outstanding balances

To view the transaction status for outstanding balances:

Sign in to Gusto.
Go to Pay.
Click Pay history at the top-right.
Click the Other tab.
Review the details of the transactions:
- When it started
- The transaction type
  - For now, this only includes outstanding balances.
- A description
- The funding type (ACH, Wire, and others)
- Status (see details below)
- Total amount
Use the links in the Status column to take actions like:
- Pay balance
- Check wire status
- See wire instructions
Complete any action you need to take.

What each transaction status in Gusto means

Here’s a quick guide to each transaction status in Other transactions and its meaning.

Status	Description
Submitted	Submitted for processing or review
In progress	Transaction or request is underway but not complete yet
Action required	Action is required on your end to complete the transaction or request
Unpaid	There has been an unpaid balance on your account for over 3 months. Contact us for next steps. To contact us, sign in to your Gusto account and click the help icon in the top-right corner of the page.
Complete	Transaction or request is complete

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