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Payroll transfer automation

Updated 09/29/2025 12:32:58 PM by brynn.flaig@gusto.com
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Summary

Learn more about the Payroll transfer automation process.

Solution

Payroll Transfer Automation (PTA) helps automatically transfer company, employee, and past payroll data into Gusto. This saves time, reduces mistakes, and helps your firm and clients get started with Gusto quickly.

Reminders

  • PTA only supports employers coming over from QuickBooks Online Payroll, QuickBooks Desktop Payroll, and ADP Run.
  • PTA only transfers employee details automatically (for now). The company and payroll info gets entered manually.
  • Employees should review their personal details and complete any federal, state, and local withholding tax info, as well as their bank account details.
Required documents

Each provider has specific reports for employee data and another for historical payroll data that Gusto can accept and process. If you try to import a report type that Gusto does support, the import will fail, and you'll be asked to try again.

The table below shows the reports that we'll ask for to export and import to Gusto for employee information.

Provider Employee report name
QuickBooks Online Payroll "Employee Details" (PDF only)
QuickBooks Desktop Payroll "Customize Report" (CSV only)
ADP Run "Employee Summary" (PDF only, portrait orientation)
Upload an Employee Details report from QuickBooks Online Payroll
  1. In the main menu, click Reports.
  2. Search for Employee details.
  3. Click Customize and choose All Employees and All Locations.
  4. Click Run Report.
  5. Click View next to any Social Security number (you might need to complete 2FA to see it).
  6. Click Export and save it as a PDF.
  7. Upload the PDF file—Gusto only accepts the PDF version of the "Employee Details" report. Other formats will not work.
Upload an Employee Contact List report from QuickBooks Desktop Payroll

Watch this video on how to export the Employee Contact List from QuickBooks Desktop.

 

  1. Click Reports on the main menu.
  2. Hover over "Employees & Payroll" and select Employee Contact List.
  3. Click Customize Report.
  4. Under the Display tab use Search Columns to select the following fields:
    • First name
    • Last name
    • SSN
    • Email
    • Date of Birth
    • Street 1
    • Street 2
    • City
    • State
    • Zip
    • Hire Date
    • Release Date
    • Salary
    • Workers' Comp Code (applicable to WA only)
    • Earning Rate(s)
    • Job Title
  5. To pull both active and terminated employees on the same report:
    • Click the Filters tab.
    • Select Active Status.
    • Click Remove Selected Filter.
  6. Select Ok.
  7. Save it as a CSV file.
  8. Upload the CSV file—Gusto only accepts the CSV version of the "Employee Contact List" report. Other formats will not work.
Upload an Employee Summary report from ADP Run

Here's how to download the Employee Summary report from ADP Run—make sure to set it to portrait orientation:

  1. Click Reports and select Run single report.
  2. Search for "Employee Summary", and then click Employee Summary. 
  3. In the upper-left, click Edit to choose report options.
  4. Select the current year, the most recent quarter, All under "Status", and All under "Employee".
  5. Click View report. 
  6. Click Download and download as a PDF with a portrait orientation. It'll default to landscape, so you'll need to change this. 
  7. Upload the PDF file—Gusto only accepts the PDF version of the "Employee Summary" report with a portrait orientation. Other formats will not work.

This may miss some employees who were paid/terminated in previous quarters, since you need to select a specific quarter. You might need to pull multiple summaries because of this issue. 

Contractor details

  1. Contractors will pull on the "Employee Summary" report listed above.
  2. The report does not contain the following: 
    • SSNs
    • Multiple pay rates
    • Account numbers for direct deposit will be masked 

 

Details

 

Symptoms

 

Keywords: Payroll Transfer Automation ravideo

Related Solutions

  • Add new employees to Gusto
  • View, download, and customize reports in Gusto (for admins)
  • Enter previous payrolls during account setup (for admins)
  • Integrate with QuickBooks Desktop
  • Payroll transfer automation: Import previous payroll records
Solution ID
241107121237530
Last Modified Date
09/29/2025 12:32:58 PM
Taxonomy
  • Accountant partners > For your clients > Add or refer new clients
Collections
  • Accountants
  • External
  • Support Agent

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