Run an off-cycle payroll (for admins)

You might need an off-cycle payroll if:

• An employee needs to be paid early.
• You're giving a bonus or extra pay outside of regular payroll.
• You need to reimburse someone for an expense.
• You missed severance or regular pay on a final dismissal payroll.
• You need to fix a payroll error.

If you need to leave payroll before you're done, the off-cycle payroll will save as a draft on your Pay page under Off-cycle payrolls.

Important: If your employee has a garnishment, check with the garnishment authority to confirm how off-cycle payrolls should be handled.

To run an off-cycle payroll:

1. Sign in to Gusto and go to Pay.
2. Click Run an off-cycle payroll.
3. Choose which bank account to use (if you have more than one).
4. Tell us about the payroll. We'll use the answer to make suggestions for how to treat benefits and taxes for this payroll.
   • Fix a mistake from a previous payroll—best for correcting errors or paying missed wages.
   • Other—can be used for reimbursements, advancements, or any other wages.
5. Choose which employees to pay.
6. Tell us what period the payment applies to. If an employee has time off reported during this time, it'll be included and paid out. But, time off is not accrued on off-cycle payrolls. 
   • Use a pay period based on your regular schedule.
   • Choose dates from a calendar.
7. Enter the date the team should be paid.
   
   • You can pick a date in the past if needed, but you'll need to pay by check. Keep in mind, there might be potential penalties for late tax payments.
8. Give the payroll a name (optional). This can help you maintain good records.
9. Click Continue.
10. Make sure this ad-hoc payroll is set up correctly. Click Edit to change any of the suggestions about:
    • Pay type
      • Hours and earnings (most common). 
      • A net pay amount
    • Deductions and contributions
      • Include = benefits that you manage will be handled like a normal payroll. For benefits managed by Gusto, your standard benefits will not automatically be applied unless you choose them to be included.
      • Do not include = no benefits will be deducted (401(k) may still apply).
        • Important: We cannot turn off 401(k) deductions and contributions due to most plan requirements (including plans with our partners Guideline, Betterment, Human Interest, Vestwell, or others).
        • For 401(k) plans that you manage outside of Gusto, we recommend updating your employees’ 401(k) elections.
    • Tax rate
      • The rate of the regular pay schedule may be applied by default.
11. Click Create payroll. 
12. Next to their name, enter pay info for each employee. Where to enter info based on the column title:
    • Hours: For hourly workers, click Regular hrs, Overtime hrs, Double overtime hrs, or Time off to enter pay details.
      • The legacy view does not allow you to enter hours worked for salaried employees. Switch to the spreadsheet if you need to enter hours for salaried workers.
    • Additional earnings: Use this for salaried or hourly workers to add extra pay like a bonus, cash tips, or other earnings like commission, gross earnings, and paycheck tips.
    • Pay: Use Reimbursement to pay back an employee for something they bought for work. It's not taxed or counted as regular pay.
    • Pay by: Click the options next to pay by to choose how each employee should be paid (check or direct deposit).
    • Action menu: Click the three dots to Add a deduction, view their Benefits, or Skip payroll for a teammate.
      • If direct deposit is not an option, the team member does not have a verified bank account set up in their profile.
13. Click Review summary.To go back and change any of the settings or teammate being paid, click Edit settings.
14. Review all of the payroll's details:
    • Critical info—withdrawal amount, bank account, withdrawal date, and payday.
    • What will get taxed and debited
    • What your employees worked and take home
    • What your company will pay.
15. Click Submit payroll.

You’ll get a confirmation email once it’s processed. 

After submitting

• You’ll see a summary page.
• Click Full Summary to download a PDF report.
  • Only employees with entered payments will get paid, but all will appear on the PDF report.

Need to make changes? Cancel the payroll and run it again.

When it’s time to enter your payroll data, you’ll have the option to do so using the new spreadsheet view or the legacy view. You can switch between views when you're entering employee data—see step 10 below.

Here's how to run an off-cycle payroll with the spreadsheet view: 

1. Sign in to Gusto and go to Pay.
2. On the right side of the page under “More options,” click Run an off-cycle payroll.
3. Tell us why you’re running an off-cycle payroll—to fix a previous payroll, or for another reason.
   • We use this information to make suggestions.
4. To add employees to this payroll, click the search bar under “Who do you want to pay?” You can select people one at a time, or under “Groups,” you can select all employees who have a certain pay schedule. 
5. Choose your pay period. The pay period is the timeframe in which the employee worked to earn this payment.
   • If you choose Use a pay period based on your regular schedule, you’ll be prompted to select from your recent pay periods.
   • If you select Choose dates from a calendar, you’ll be prompted to select the desired day or days. 
   • If you enter a timeframe in which an employee has requested time off, the off-cycle payroll will include and pay out the time off.
   • Off-cycles do not accrue time off.
6. Select the payment date.
   • If you need to run a payroll with a check date in the past to report missed wages appropriately, check out our article on recording past payrolls.
7.  Click Continue.
8.  Review the advanced settings for this payroll. These will be used to calculate payroll on the next page. To adjust any setting, click Edit. Here is each setting and its available options: 
   • Pay type: This setting determines how you’ll enter each team member’s pay on the next page. You can either enter each person’s hours and earnings (default), or their total net pay amount.
     • Hours and earnings: You’ll enter what each team member makes before taxes, just like a regular payroll.
     • A net pay amount: You’ll enter what each team member will take home after taxes. You might use this for lump-sum payments, like bonuses or severance.
   • Deductions and contributions: This setting determines whether the typical deductions and company contributions will be included on this payroll.
     • Don’t include: Selecting this will block all benefit deductions and contributions that can be blocked.
       • For 401(k) plans managed outside of Gusto, we recommend updating your employees’ 401(k) elections.
       • For integrated 401(k) with Guideline, Betterment, Human Interest, Vestwell, or other partners, Gusto cannot turn off integrated deductions due to 401(k) requirements.
     • Include: Selecting this will include all regular benefit deductions and contributions.
       • If your benefits are managed by Gusto, your standard benefit will not automatically be applied, unless you choose to include them.
   • Tax rate: This is the pay schedule rate that will be applied to regular wages. The rate of the regular pay schedule is applied to regular wages by default. For extra wages, click Edit if you’d like to apply the supplemental tax rate (22%). 
9. Click Create payroll.
10. Now you’ll add the payroll details for each person. You can edit the columns and data in the spreadsheet as needed. Click here for information about navigating the spreadsheet and column descriptions.
    • If you’re in the spreadsheet view and would like to use the previous experience: Click Switch to legacy view in the top-right corner of the page. You can switch back by clicking Switch to spreadsheet view.
    • If an employee has multiple jobs or pay rates: Click the arrow to the left of their name to view their different jobs and enter data.
    • If you're on the Gusto mobile app: To edit an employee's hours or earnings, tap Edit next to their name. Once you make your edits, tap X or Done—either will save your changes.
11. If you have multiple bank accounts set up: Select which bank account you’d like to process this payroll from.
    • If you do not see this option, head to this article to learn more.
12. When everything looks good, click Review summary.
13. Look over the withdrawal amount and payroll summary. 
    • Important: You must have the full withdrawal amount available in the bank account at the time of processing payroll. Failed debits may result in additional fees on your next invoice. 
    • Open the dropdowns for information on taxes, what each team member will take home in wages, and the company costs.
14. Click Submit payroll.
15. If you’re paying anyone by check, now you’ll be prompted to review check formatting. You can also print checks in the next step.
    • If you’ve already paid these employees or want to use your own checks, click Done.
    • If you have not paid these employees, select where on the page you’d like checks to print: Either the top (this will be Gusto check stock), or the bottom (blank check stock). If you select the bottom (blank check stock), you’ll be asked which number the first check should start at. 
    • Click See printable checks. Printable checks will be created for you to download.
16. On the confirmation page, you can download several different reports, print checks, or cancel the payroll. Here’s how: 
    • To view a full report, click See the full summary. 
    • To print checks: Scroll down and click What the team takes home. In the bottom right corner of that section, click Print checks.
    • To download different reports: Click the Tax breakdown section. You can get a Cash requirements summary or a CSV, export payroll details, and more.
    • To cancel, click Cancel this payroll.

We’ll email you confirming your payroll has been processed.

Note: If an employee has an active garnishment, you may need to check with the garnishment authority to see if there are specific requirements for garnishing the off-cycle payroll.