Switch from QuickBooks Payroll to Gusto, step by step

This is the step-by-step move. Weighing whether to switch at all? Our QuickBooks Payroll vs. Gusto comparison covers pricing, features and where QuickBooks Payroll shines. Gusto is the payroll product we use and recommend.

What to export from QuickBooks Payroll first

Download these while you still have full access, and keep them in one folder. You’ll want them for Gusto setup, your CPA and your records.

• For Gusto’s import (QuickBooks Online): the Employee Details report as a PDF, and Payroll Summary by Employee. Include former employees in the summary.¹
• For Gusto’s import (QuickBooks Desktop): the Employee Contact List as a CSV, and the Payroll Summary as CSV or Excel.¹
• Filed tax forms and payments. In QuickBooks Online Payroll, go to Payroll, then Payroll taxes, then Filings, and open Archived forms and filings under Resources. Tax payments are on the Payments tab under Payment history. Forms Intuit files show up about 35 days after a quarter ends.³
• Year-to-date totals for every person paid this year, including people who left.
• Employee info: addresses, pay rates, deductions and anything else you’ll re-enter in Gusto.

Timing around paydays and quarter ends

• The check date decides the quarter. A pay period ending Dec 31 that pays on Jan 8 is a 2027 payroll.⁴ Decide which provider runs it before you set your Gusto first check date.
• One filer per quarter. Gusto files from the quarter of its first check date. QuickBooks Payroll files the quarters before that.⁵
• Easiest starts: the first payday of a quarter, and best of all the first payday of January. Mid-quarter works too; it just means a few more numbers.
• Mid-year switch? Gusto files the full year’s W-2s, so keep QuickBooks Payroll’s year-to-date reports and proof of this year’s tax payments handy.⁵

Giving notice or cancelling, without overlap

• Order of operations: last QuickBooks payroll, first Gusto payroll, then cancel QuickBooks Payroll after its final filings are done.
• QuickBooks Online Payroll: Settings, then Subscriptions and billing, then Cancel in the Payroll section. Intuit asks a few questions in an online form, and the answers can’t be edited after you submit, so have your last payroll date handy.²
• Year-end heads-up: Intuit charges $150 if you ask it to prepare year-end filings or W-2s after cancelling some plans. Staying on through January lets the service you already pay for handle 2026.²
• Full Service users: keep the bank account open until Intuit has debited the last tax amounts. Intuit emails within 3 business days, and again when it’s complete.²
• Records stay reachable. You can still get to your payroll data for one year after cancelling QuickBooks Online Payroll. Download what you need anyway.²
• QuickBooks Desktop Payroll: Employees, then My Payroll Service, then Account/Billing Info, then Cancel Service. Print or save every tax form you need first.²
• Keeping QuickBooks for your books? Gusto connects with QuickBooks, so payroll can keep flowing into your accounting.⁶

How Gusto setup works

1. Tell Gusto who you pay. Employees, contractors, and yourself if you’re on payroll.⁷
2. Company and federal tax info. Legal name and FEIN exactly as the IRS has them, company type, Form 941 or 944, and your deposit schedule.⁷
3. Connect your bank. Verified instantly or with small test deposits.⁷
4. Pay schedule and first check date. Pick your first Gusto payday, ideally the first one after your last QuickBooks Payroll payroll.
5. State tax details. Withholding and unemployment account numbers and your current rates for each state.⁸
6. Bring over earlier QuickBooks Payroll payrolls, if you’re switching mid-year. Gusto can read two QuickBooks Payroll reports and fill in your history during onboarding. Upload separate reports for each quarter. It doesn’t set up deductions, so add those yourself.¹ Switching with a January first payday? There’s usually nothing to bring over.⁴
7. Invite your team. Everyone adds their own W-4 and bank account by email invite.⁹
8. Sign Form 8655 and run your first payroll. Form 8655 lets Gusto file and pay payroll taxes for you.⁷

Your QuickBooks Payroll-to-Gusto step list

1. Pick your first Gusto check date. The first payday of January is the cleanest. The Switch Planner works backward from it.
2. Download your QuickBooks Payroll reports from the list above.
3. Open Gusto through our referral link and work through setup at your own pace.
4. Invite your team a week or two before the first Gusto payday.
5. Run your last payroll on QuickBooks Payroll, then get written confirmation of which returns and W-2s QuickBooks Payroll will file.
6. Run your first payroll on Gusto.
7. Cancel QuickBooks Payroll once its final filings are done and you’ve saved copies. Here’s how to cancel QuickBooks Payroll.

Prefer a tick-box version? The switching checklist saves your progress. Switching at the turn of the year? See switch payroll before January 1.

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: moving from QuickBooks Payroll to Gusto