If you upload payroll data to your accounting software (like Netsuite, Zoho, Microsoft, Sage, Ledger, or Map), you can customize your payroll report format with Gusto’s General Ledger Mapper.
Once you map your Gusto expenses to your chart of accounts, you can download a payroll or payment report as a mapped CSV file that you can upload to your accounting software. The file is formatted to work best with Netsuite and Zoho Books, but it can be altered after downloading to work with other accounting software.
Looking for an API integration with your bookkeeping solution instead? See the available apps in the App directory.
If you simply want to download an Excel file not mapped by your chart of accounts, you can run a ledger report from the Reports section.
To start using the General Ledger Mapper, you’ll upload your chart of accounts to Gusto then map your chart of accounts to your Gusto expense categories. Follow the steps below to get started.
Before exporting the general ledger report, Gusto will need to understand how you manage your chart of accounts.
The Mapping tab of the General Ledger Mapper app lists each of your Gusto expense categories. Follow the steps below to match them with their corresponding general ledger accounts.
By default, all your general ledger accounts are displayed for mapping. If you only want to use one account for all earning types and benefits, click the toggle next to “Display all accounts.” Disabling this will show you fewer accounts to choose from, which is better for users with simpler reporting needs.
If you’d like to map your chart of accounts in even more detail, you can map your chart of accounts by job codes. You can map your chart of accounts by just one category: by projects, jobs, or departments.
Mapping accounts by job codes is useful for businesses with multiple employees in the same role and when some employees work some hours in one role and other hours in another role. This means you can have the earnings of one job go to one account and the earnings of a second job go to a different account. This will expand the entry we send over into the accounting software.
Before you map your chart of accounts by jobs, make sure each employee is assigned to at least one job. Here's how:
For salaried employees: Edit their job title.
For hourly employees:
Hourly employees can have as many pay rates or jobs as you'd like. If an employee has multiple jobs, their paystub lists each job and its associated earnings.
The steps below apply mappings for all employees who have been assigned a job title in Gusto.
For contractors and employees who have not been assigned a job title, their expenses are mapped based on the settings you choose under “Default Company Mappings.” There are two main categories associated with contractor payments: Bank Account (or if using Xero journal sync, this is called Clearing Account), and Contractor Payment (under the “Wages and Salaries” section).
Follow these steps to map your chart of accounts by employee job codes:
These transactions will be sorted by job when you download a payroll or payment's general ledger report. If any jobs do not have an override selected, they will be sorted based on the default chart of accounts mappings.
Department mappings are another way to add additional granularity. Mapping by departments is good for businesses who want to better understand payroll expenses of a department or a division. With department mappings you can use different accounts for the different payroll items within a department. This means you can have the earnings of one department go to one account and the earnings of a second department go to a different account. This will expand the entry we send over into the accounting software.
As an example, I have two departments: Design and Marketing. Before I enabled department mappings, all regular wages earned went to one "salaries and wages" expense account. After enabling department mappings, I can use two expense accounts: a "Sales Wages" expense account and a "Marketing Wages" expense account. When running reports in my accounting software, I will have this additional breakdown.
If multiple departments share mappings, there will not be separate line items when synced to your accounting software. Instead, the department wages will be lumped together.
These transactions will be sorted by department when you download a payroll or payment's general ledger report. If any departments do not have an override selected, they will be sorted based on the default chart of accounts mappings.
Mapping by projects (instead of job codes or departments) is good for businesses who want to see total workforce costs by project in order to make business decisions, such as adjusting hourly rates for clients.
These transactions will be sorted by project when you download a payroll or payment's general ledger report. If any projects do not have an override selected, they will be sorted based on the default chart of accounts mappings.
Once you set up the General Ledger Mapper app and map your chart of accounts, you download any payroll you've run as a mapped CSV file. The file is formatted to work best with Netsuite and Zoho Books, but it can be altered after downloading to work with other accounting software.
Follow these steps to download the general ledger report for a particular payroll.
Once you set up the General Ledger Mapper app and map your chart of accounts, you download any payment you've run as a mapped CSV file. The file is formatted to work best with Netsuite and Zoho Books, but it can be altered after downloading to work with other accounting software.
Follow these steps to download the general ledger report for a particular payment.
Q: If I update my mappings, can I re-download the general ledger report for a payroll?
A: Yes. If you change your mappings, any payroll you download will use the updated mappings. Follow the steps under “Download the general ledger report” to download a report again after changing your mappings.
Q: Does the ledger report book the wage expense as gross wages or net wages?
A: The wage expense is booked as gross wages. The wage expense includes employee pay, employee taxes, and employee deductions. Employer taxes and employer contributions have their own expense line items on the report.
Q: Does the ledger report break out individual taxes?
A: The employer tax has its own line item in your general ledger report. Employee taxes are lumped together with their wages. By transitioning to Gusto, tax payments will no longer come over to your balance sheet as a liability. Taxes are handled on a cash basis instead of an accrual basis—our tax debits for each payroll are considered a closed transaction.
Q: Can I map to individual employee payroll information?
A: Gusto does not currently support mapping for individual employees. Payroll information is pushed over at the company level. However, you can accomplish this by using Departments. Add one employee to each team, which can then map to specific accounts. Post this over to see the individual employee payroll details.
Q: Can I include a third-party tag as a column in the report?
Yes. See below for steps to add a certain column to the report. For example, if you want a "Departments" column, you'll upload a list of departments as tags. Then you'll assign the department tags to each department override. Here's how: