Employees have access to their paystubs on their own time. Prior to using this software, our finance manager was having to print and hand them out. It seemed to be a lot of work for her so we found this software. Once the employee creates their own account, they can log on and print them off or view the pay stubs. They can also save an electronic version that they can save on their computer if they would like. We can also track our own benefits, including how much we pay on our medical insurance and how much PTO we have. This gives employees more access to what is available to them. Performance reviews are available to view if the employer chooses to upload them. Employees can view the reviews and print them off when they may need them. We also like having the ability to choose a charity to donate to and the donations are built into the W2. This gives employees the ability to choose and makes them more likely to donate. The software tracks the donations, making it easier on the employee when filing income tax. I also liked that they communicate very well with the employees using the software. We receive updates when our supervisor approves our time off. We receive emails when we are going to receive our pay. In the pay emails, the software provides a summary of benefits earned, deductions, and pay for that pay period.
I felt pressured to sign up for Gusto wallet when I initially signed up. It was pushy and some may feel like they have to sign up for the account. The account can provide a savings but that is something I use my bank for. The fees were somewhere around 3% and if I understood correctly, the employee may elect to receive their paycheck in advance with that fee. I think this may be beneficial to some but not most. I just feel like some people may not realize and there are fees. This is the only thing that was questionable to me. Once set up is complete, I don't feel pressured day to day. They also offer a card option but before I signed up for the card, I checked and couldn't find any ATMs in the area where I live. I would have to travel outside of my town to find an ATM that would not charge fees. I do not like that they advertise getting paychecks up to two days early. This was deceiving and may not be the case. It depends on the payer and the employer. Employees may only sign up to receive their check early to find out they may not receive it early. This was the only thing that I disliked so far. Overall, the software has provided us benefits in all of the areas that we were lacking.
Our employees were using a time clock software and were putting their time into another HR software. This redundancy seemed to be excessive and would require more time of our employees. This software is linked to our time clock so employees are not required to input the time. They are able to see their PTO and the software also tracks PTO in a more efficient manner. Our employees are able to track their own time in real time. Our previous HR software would only update time at payroll dates, making it much more difficult for employees that don't have enough time to cover their absences. We also found that the employees have access to their paystubs which is helpful. Our finance manager only works two days out of the week so employees would sometimes have to wait three or more days for paystubs. This software provides access for those employees to print or save the paystubs on their own time. We also receive emails detailing our pay and deductions which is helpful to see without having to pull up the entire pay stub. We also receive email confirmations when PTO is approved and if there were any adjustments made by our supervisor.
-Makes payroll as simple as possible. Small business owners don't have to hire a bookkeeper to process the payroll. -Cost--sometimes half the cost of other payroll processors (I have a blogpost about this on my site). Also love flat fees-- you really know what you're paying for the service without surprise W2 processing fees etc (like other payroll providers). -Friendly customer service. -Gusto is easy to get ahold of in business hours (no long wait times, etc).
Length of setup - feels like could be even more streamlined. There's a checklist when you start setting up, but I've had it happen working with 2 companies where we entered all the data requested and had marked all our action items, only to have a new action item pop up after logging out. This can feel annoying and a bit overwhelming to a business owner who has already gathered a ton of information to get payroll processing started.
Only true problem is listed above. Probably wouldn't be terrific for a larger company (over 10 employees) because the whole concept is based on streamlining payroll. One feature we love is setting payroll to auto cycle for salaried employees, and auto syncing with QuickBooks Online accounts--saves a lot of time and energy.
I've been using Gusto for almost three years now to take care of my payroll (I started back when they were still known as ZenPayroll). It absolutely could not be easier to do payroll than the way that they do it. TO be honest I haven't tried any other service but I don't see how it could be more simple. It's hassle free and spot on. If I remember correctly getting set up was fairly painless. The ability to add employees, add commissions or bonuses each payroll cycle and to incorporate benefits (which they continuously add more of) is great. I just love how easy and little time it takes to run payroll with Gusto (did I mention it was easy?).
There are two things I wish could be different and neither has anything to do with Gusto's performance. They both have to do with the cost. One thing I don't like is that you have to pay each month for each person you add to your account whether they are salaried employees or independent contractors. Salaried employees - I get it. No qualms with that. You provide a service, I pay for it. Done deal. But with independent contractors, if I use someone and pay them through Gusto, and then end the contract with that provider, I don't want to keep paying a monthly fee to have that person set up in my payroll account. I realize I can remove them but what if I want to hire that person again down the road. I have to do the entire on-boarding process again. I think that we shouldn't have to pay for any independent contractors that aren't getting paid that month. Secondly, I like that Gusto started offering benefits. But when they did, they increased their pricing. I personally did not have a use for the benefits they were offering yet I still had to pay the new, higher price. It would be great if they could offer tired pricing depending on what services a company is using. Someone using the benefits should pay a little more than someone who isn't making use of the benefits.
Payroll is such a simple task that it is not a worry at all when it comes up. IN 2 minutes it's completely done. And if I ever receive anything in the mail regarding my payroll (either from the state or the IRS) I simply take picture of the letter, email or chat with their customer service and it gets taken care of. SO the benefits - practically no headaches with regards to payroll and major time saved.
Gusto used to feel like a small, honest company in the sea of costly, monopolistic technologies. The prices were fair, and the company was honest. It won our trust.
Not dependable. Gusto doubled the price the moment they ate up the competition. It was a blow to us and our companions who chose to build on this product when it was sill unpopular and incompatible with several tax systems, because we believed in it so much.
We currently use Gusto for domestic payroll and taxes. While it's helping there, it put a strain this year by doubling the prices.
Gusto recently switched to US-based support, at least for the support tier that I access as an accountant user. Given that I am often calling about complicated details related to my clients' payroll administration, the change has been quite helpful to me. Beyond that, I'm happy with the wide range of reporting I can access and Gusto's ability to integrate with QuickBooks Online. The platform provides value for money spent.
On the downside, navigation can be confusing at times, and some reporting, for instance most recently reporting related to R & D credits has also been confusing for me to deal with.
I refer clients to Gusto when they need a reasonably priced and reliable payroll solution.
I like Gusto's step by step guide to payroll. If you can follow directions, you as a business owner can do payroll. For small business owners and solopreneurs, I think that payroll can be "scary" and there are so much negative information about doing payroll "wrong" or hiring employees, that many business owners postpone taking this step for as long as possible. But, Gusto takes the worry out of that. It's really comforting to know that you're in compliance and small players have access to benefits and features that help us compete with larger companies for talent. I like the document review process. The onboarding process is really easy to set up and help your employees feel welcome as well as ensure that you're in compliance. Gusto connects you with relevant benefits like FSA and 401k which can make it easier to attract and retain talent. The benefits process is very easy and the pricing is straight forward. You can offer benefits at a reasonable price and offer more as your company grows.
It would be nice if Gusto can have a better time tracking feature. And that you can pay your gusto bill from a different account that the account where payroll is run. The popups on the dashboard that you've already dismissed that keep coming back are slightly annoying.
Gusto has helped me implement payroll, finally, which is making my tax liability a lot easier. becoming an employee of my own business has helped me separate myself from the business and helped the business stand on it's own two feet.
Setting up a new payroll account was exceptionally easy. I had been using another service for many years, and I'm so glad I switched to Gusto. During the set-up process, I had tons of support and reassurance. The user interface is simple and practical. My employees love the cheerful notifications they get each pay date. They enjoy the Gusto app, and all the individual account features. They can quickly and easily access and edit their information, from pay stubs to updating their profiles. From the employer's standpoint, I couldn't be happier. The onboarding process is straightforward, payroll processing is a snap, and I've reduced our payroll processing costs by nearly half. I highly recommend Gusto!
Compared to our previous payroll service provider, which I used for at least 12 years, I can't think of anything that Gusto doesn't do BETTER. So relative to the other service, there's nothing that I dislike about Gusto. Literally, everything about Gusto is better than the service I had in the past. If I were to suggest improvements, I would say better follow-up on questions about benefits options. I responded to solicitations about health insurance benefits with some questions, and there has been no response. But again, this is a minor issue compared to the massive improvement in service and cost I experienced after switching to Gusto from PrimePay.
Practical and easy solution for small business payroll processing. Our previous provider did not have an easy user interface. Most of our employees had difficulty accessing their own information and pay statement. Reporting was clunky. Gusto is also significantly less expensive than our previous provider. The pricing structure is simple. Our last provider nickel-and-dimed us on everything, along with surprise charges.
Very user-friendly interface. Our employees give me feedback all the time about how much they like going into Gusto and how easy it is to use. Gusto is always trying to up their game as well. They're always looking for how to better serve their customers.
I'm only able to do a "severance payroll" at the time that I am terminating an employee in the system. I usually need to do severance payrolls weeks after the employee has already left the company. At that time, Im only given the option of doing an off-cycle payroll which (to me) is not exactly the same.
We came from ADP. None of our employees ever wanted to go in there. They always had questions for me that could have been asnwered in ADP but they rarely felt inclined to go in there. Now that we have Gusto, employees feel encouraged to go into the system and resolve most things on their own without me. That helps save me time and energy. Also, payroll is easier in Gusto than ADP for me. There are less steps that I have to take to complete payroll. Last, but certainly not lease, Gusto is less than a quarter the price of ADP. This was extremely helpful during covid when we needed to keep costs as low as possible.