How to cancel ADP payroll

Before you cancel: three things to wrap up

Cancelling is the last step, not the first. Knock out these three and the rest is paperwork.

1. Your final payroll

• Run every payroll you want ADP RUN to handle before you submit the cancellation, including any bonus run or a final check for someone who’s leaving.
• Mind the check date. The day people get paid decides which quarter, and which year, a payroll counts in.³ A pay period ending Dec 31 that pays on Jan 8 belongs to the new year.
• Line it up with your next provider’s first payday so nobody misses a check and nobody gets paid twice. The Switch Planner works backward from that date.

2. Tax filings and year-end forms

• One provider files each quarter. If two providers both file a quarterly return for the same quarter, the second one gets rejected, so agree on who files what.⁴
• Form 941 is quarterly, due by the last day of the month after each quarter ends.⁵ Ask ADP RUN in writing which quarters it will file for you.
• W-2s: 2026 W-2s are due February 1, 2027.⁶ If you leave mid-year for Gusto, Gusto files the full year’s W-2s using your year-to-date numbers, and your old provider shouldn’t file them too.⁴
• See your federal deposits yourself. The IRS suggests employers who use a payroll company enroll in EFTPS, where you can check that deposits were made.⁷

3. Export your records

Download these while you still have full access and keep them in one folder. The IRS asks employers to keep employment tax records for at least four years after the fourth-quarter return for the year is filed.⁸

• Payroll registers and pay stubs for this year and last.
• Year-to-date totals per person, including people who left this year. Your next provider needs these.⁴
• Filed returns and confirmations: 941s, 940, state withholding and unemployment returns, plus tax payment history.⁸
• W-2s, W-3s and 1099s from earlier years.
• W-4s and state withholding forms for every employee.⁸
• I-9s, if your provider stores them. Keep each one for three years after the hire date or one year after the person leaves, whichever is later.⁹
• ADP I-9s and Document Vault files. Access to RUN’s I-9 system ends on the termination date, so download Form I-9s, audit trails and supporting documents first.¹

How to cancel ADP RUN

1. Read your agreement. RUN’s terms renew automatically and allow either party to end them with at least 30 days’ prior written notice.¹ If you signed a separate agreement, its terms are the ones that count.
2. Download everything from the list above, plus I-9s, audit trails and anything in Document Vault. Document Vault content is retrievable for only a limited time after the agreement ends.¹
3. Send written notice with a Service Request. In RUN, select the Service Requests icon in the top navigation, then Add New Request.² Say the date of your last ADP payroll and the date you want service to end.
4. Prefer to talk it through? Chat is at the bottom of any RUN page, with live agents Monday to Friday, 7:30am to 10pm ET. Have your client ID ready.²
5. Ask for written confirmation of your end date and of every quarterly return and W-2 ADP will file for the payrolls it ran.

On ADP Workforce Now or another ADP product? The steps above are for RUN. Your agreement and your ADP rep will have the notice rules for your product.

Notice, fees and timing

• Notice: at least 30 days, in writing, under RUN’s terms.¹ For a January switch, early December gives you room.
• Match the end date to your last ADP payroll. RUN’s terms mention maintenance fees for 30-day stretches with no payroll on some plans, so a tidy end date avoids paying for quiet months.¹
• Keep your own copies. ADP’s terms say it isn’t your record keeper, so the folder you build is the one that counts.¹

Terms vary by plan and by contract. Check your contract, and get the end date and the list of filings ADP RUN will still make in writing.

After you cancel

• A tax agency letter about a period ADP filed? ADP’s support page lists an address for former tax-filing clients to send agency notices.²
• Employee W-2s and 1099s go out by January 31 each year, so confirm who’s sending them for the last year ADP ran.²
• Login trouble after you leave? ADP lists a product login and support line on the same page.²

Switching, not just stopping?

If you’re moving to another payroll provider, cancel ADP RUN last. Here’s the whole move in order:

• Switch from ADP RUN to Gusto, step by step: what to export, timing and Gusto setup.
• Switch Planner, starting from ADP RUN: a dated plan from your team, states and paydays.
• ADP RUN vs Gusto: pricing and features side by side, including where ADP RUN wins.
• Switching payroll mid-year: what carries over and why a quarter start is easiest.

Every business is a little different, so check with your CPA for your situation. Good CPAs love a clean switch, and they’re on your team.

Your next step

Two moves, in this order. First, let the free Switch Planner turn your team, states and paydays into a dated plan. Then open Gusto when you’re ready. You won’t be doing it alone, and we’ll help you get every step right.

FAQ: cancelling ADP RUN