Gusto Review

Product:
Vendor:
Founded:
Headquarters:

Gusto
Gusto
2012
San Francisco, CA

Ownership:
Customers:
Deployment Model:
Free Trial:

Private
200,000
Cloud
Yes

Product Overview

Gusto is an online core payroll system that also includes benefits management and compliance. It provides unique benefits for small businesses, such as:

• Accessible from any device, including mobile devices
• Ability to set up payroll automatically via Payroll on AutoPilot feature
• Ability to handle tax filings and payments so businesses don’t need to worry about being compliant
• Employee self-onboarding (can fill out payroll and benefits forms online themselves)
• No manual data entry, as data from each platform are synced together
• Supports payroll in all 50 states
• Integration with over 100 third-party software solutions

Features

Gusto includes many features in payroll, benefits and compliance.

Payroll:

• Automatically files and pays federal, state and local payroll taxes on behalf of the business, as well as reports any new hires to the government
• Ability to select and change frequency of payroll
• Ability to run payroll during the off cycle (e.g., bonuses or reimbursing employees)
• The ability to pay contractors in more than 80 countries
• PDF reports on payroll history, bank transactions, tax payments and more
• Ability to deduct charitable donations from employees’ paycheck at their request
• Electronic signatures
• Electronic paystubs (employers have the option to add personal notes to paystubs)
• Ability to calculate net-to-gross payments
• Integrates with other software, such as When I Work, Boomr, Xero or Quickbooks
• Lifetime access to paystubs (employees can access paychecks and W-2s even after leaving the company)
• Reminders of employees’ birthdays with tips on celebrating
• Check printing, such as custom checks, blank checks and checks that include employee’s earning statement at top or bottom of the page
• Ardius, a Gusto company, scans payroll and expense data each year to identify potential research & development (R&D) tax credits
• Tax registration in all 50 states

Compliance:

• Apply for and pay workers’ compensation insurance
• Instant workers’ compensation claim estimate with a final quote within two business days
• Compliance checklist that’s regularly updated if new requirements set by federal, state or local agencies

Benefits:

• Ability to work with Gusto’s brokers to select the best benefits plan
• The ability to integrate with an existing broker
• Employee self-enrollment in health insurance plans via individual Gusto accounts
• Automatic deductions for health insurance and other benefits each time payroll is run
• Compliance with HIPAA, ERISA and Affordable Care Act
• Notification of open-enrollment reminders
• Gusto Wallet app that helps employees track their paycheck, savings and banking and provides emergency funds via the Cashout feature

We also want to mention Gusto’s security features. There is a two-factor authentication when logging in from mobile devices, as well as 256-bit SSL encryption. Gusto also checks current payroll against previous transactions for any unusual activity.

Additional features include:

• Centralized online employee records
• 401(k) feature for employees to enroll in retirement plans and update contributions
• Hiring and onboarding
• Document management/electronic signatures
• Team management
• Performance reviews (e.g., manager reviews, self evaluations)
• Actionable insights and custom reports

Target Market

Gusto serves over 200,000 small businesses in a wide variety of industries.

We’ve listed some of their customers below:

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Implementation/Integration

Customers start with a one-month free trial of Gusto (after filling out an online form). Once the trial ends, their bank account is debited each month. Subscription is a on a month-to-month basis, and the cost can scale with the business (hiring or losing employees).

For companies switching from another software vendor, Gusto can import the old payroll data into its system.

Customer Service & Support

Gusto provides an online Help Center for users to browse through articles and FAQs on payroll, taxes and other topics. They can also leave a message via the Help button.

In addition, Gusto works with the IRS on the company’s behalf if there’s any payroll tax problems or other issues.

Pricing

Gusto has three pricing tiers.

• Simple – The Simple plan has a base rate of $40 per month, plus $6 per employee, per month. It includes full-service payroll in all 50 states, employee self-service, paid time-off policies, two-day direct deposit, standard employee onboarding, integration with accounting and time-tracking software, health insurance administration, Payroll on Autopilot, Gusto Wallet, employee offer templates, document management features and basic support (e.g., 24/7 help center, phone, email or chat support during regular business hours).
• Plus – The Plus plan has a base rate of $80 per month, plus $12 per employee, per month. It adds on multi-state payroll, next-day direct deposit, custom paid holidays, time-off requests, project tracking, expense management, job postings, applicant tracking system, email provisioning/deprovisioning, customizable employee onboarding features, workforce cost reports, custom reports and full support (e.g., extended live support hours).
• Premium – The Premium plan is intended for larger teams that want advanced features and services. Additional features include an HR resource center, advice from certified HR experts, compliance alerts, performance management, personalized priority support (e.g., access to a dedicated customer success manager, direct phone and email with expedited responses), full-service payroll migration, integration with an existing health insurance broker and employee surveys and insights. Prospects are encouraged to contact Gusto for pricing.

There’s a Contractor plan for companies that want to pay their 1099 contractors. It has a base rate of $35 per month (although that is free for the first six months) plus $6 per contractor, and it includes unlimited contractor payments, contractor self-service and 1099 form creation and filings.

The Contractor plan doesn’t support international contractor payment – companies that want this feature will need to upgrade to any of the four pricing tiers. Note that there’s 1.5%-2% administration fee for paying international contractors.

Gusto offers additional options for employee benefit and insurance.

• 529 college savings plan – There are also no set up fees required, but there’s a $18 a month minimum, plus $6 a month per participant.
• Health savings accounts – HSAs costs $2.50 per participant, per month (there’s no minimum fees)
• Flexible spending accounts – FSAs costs $20 per month minimum, plus $4 per participant, per month.
• Dependent care flexible spending accounts – This benefit also costs $20 per month minimum, plus $4 per participant, per month.
• Commuter benefits – This benefit allows employers to help their employees cover commuting costs. It’s priced at $20 per month minimum, plus $4 per participant, per month.
• Broker integration (for Plus plan users) – This feature costs $6 per month per eligible employee.

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Shortcomings

Gusto isn’t intended for large businesses. Also its benefit features is only available in 38 states and Washington D.C. (Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin.), but plans to provide this feature to additional states is in the pipeline.

Screenshots

About

ZenPayroll was founded in 2012 by three men with a mission to “put people first.”

In September 2015, it rebranded itself as Gusto, and began offering payroll, compliance and benefits in one package.

Headquartered in San Francisco, Gusto opened a second office in Denver in mid-2015. It also has investors such as Google Capital, Dropbox, Instagram and Eventbrite, to name a few.

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