1. Home
  2. Payroll Software
  3. Gusto Reviews
  4. User Review of Gusto
Gusto gets it done! Easy, affordable, and manages multi-state employees too.
October 25, 2022

Gusto gets it done! Easy, affordable, and manages multi-state employees too.

Matthew Birchard | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User

Overall Satisfaction with Gusto

Gusto provides payroll for our company, and we originally switched to it for improved ease of use compared to our prior payroll provider, whom we had to call into each pay period. Gusto, being natively online, is modern and overall better than who we'd used previously. We saved about 50% as well. We also went remote fully prior to the COVID-19 pandemic setting in. During the pandemic, we had an employee move out of state, and Gusto proved to be super easy to setup for the new state, including ensuring we were properly set up to pay local city taxes in addition to the new state taxes. As the company owner, I've hired employees and contractors since using Gusto, and have converted some contractors to full-time employees. Gusto makes this easy as well, and having an intuitive platform that I trust to calculate deductions and everything else, frees my time up to do paying work. Oh, and Gusto is fully integrated into my bookkeeping software, QuickBooks Online, so when I approve a payroll, there's nothing more for me to do from a bookkeeping standpoint.
  • Handles federal, state, and local tax withholdings
  • Easy onboarding of contractors and W-2 employees
  • Real-time access to paystubs and W-2s
  • Intuitive, natively online platform
  • Seamlessly integrated with QuickBooks Online
  • Some items take too many clicks to get to, like paystubs
  • I'd like to permanently skip some features I don't use, like sick time tracking
  • At times, reminders can become redundant
  • I like that Gusto handles all of the federal, state, and local tax withholdings and payments. This really is the basics of a payroll system, but I'm a small firm, yet I pay employees across 4 different states. Gusto makes it easy.
  • Gusto integrates with QuickBooks Online, and that's key for me. Once I approve a payroll, there's nothing else I need to do to keep my bookkeeper happy. Before Gusto, I had to make manual entries, and that was a pain and just busy work in hindsight.
  • Gusto is natively online. I can manage employees and payroll from anywhere with an internet connect, even my phone.
  • I currently pay $57 a month to pay employees in 2 states. I used to pay $147 a month with ADP, and the Run system I was on with ADP paled in comparison to Gusto's ease of use.
  • As the owner, I love that I can login and adjust withholdings, or split paychecks across multiple accounts at any time, without waiting for changes to take effect after hitting submit.
  • I can approve payroll in about 5 clicks, but could cut down on this by switching to Gusto's AutoPilot if I wanted. I don't mind the 5 clicks though, gives me the control I like.
  • RUN Powered by ADP®
This system allowed us to approve payroll online, which was an improvement from the prior ADP system where we had to call in via phone to dictate hours and pay for employees. But, RUN was clunky, and seemed cobbled together. It was also expensive for what it provided. Also, I ended up with stacks of paystubs and reports that were mailed to me each pay cycle. None of my employees wanted a paper copy, so this, along with the plastic security envelopes, just stacked up and became a hassle to deal with. When I transitioned to Gusto, employees got their own login to view their paystubs if they wanted, and I cut down on all the paper and plastic waste (I had to eventually shred it all). And Gusto has much better ease of use at less than half the price I was paying for the RUN by ADP system.

Do you think Gusto delivers good value for the price?

Yes

Are you happy with Gusto's feature set?

Yes

Did Gusto live up to sales and marketing promises?

Yes

Did implementation of Gusto go as expected?

Yes

Would you buy Gusto again?

Yes

I have recommended Gusto to multiple colleagues! For anyone just starting out, or managing a smaller team, Gusto should be your first choice for payroll. It's very affordable, yet full featured. Keeps you compliant from a tax perspective, will track benefits if you want to, provides real-time access to any report of document you may need, as well as allowing for easy employment of staff across multiple states. In the era of WFH and work from anywhere, Gusto gives you the freedom to manage payroll from anywhere with an internet connection as well.

Gusto Feature Ratings

Payroll Management
9.5
Pay calculation
10
Benefit plan administration
8
Direct deposit files
10
Salary revision and increment management
10

Using Gusto

1 - Owner/General Manager
1 - If you're not an idiot and you can use a computer and understand a website, Gusto is the right choice for you! It helps to have a basic understanding of payroll and tax functions, but setup is super easy and Gusto guides you through this. Once set up, there's very little required to "support" Gusto. You need to approve payroll if you want to get paid, but that's about it!
  • Paying myself and staff
  • Federal, state, and local tax withholdings and payments
  • Tracking of retirement benefits
  • Setting up additional states to hire staff across the country. In the work-from-anywhere era, we've employed people in 4 different states. Gusto made this very easy for us.
  • I can literally run payroll from my phone. Super easy.
  • Integrating with QuickBooks Online made my bookkeeper happy and saved busy work.
  • More full featured benefits tracking
  • Tracking of sick days (we don't bother keeping track now)
Unless they break it, I'm never leaving. It's just too easy. Gusto is also really affordable, and for what I pay, it's worth having the historical record within the system. I like that I can go back and pull up W2's for year's past. This sort of easy access reporting, has been helpful especially when getting reports for PPP loans.