Church payroll the modern way.

Create more time to spend with your congregation, using Gusto’s easy-to-use platform. Whether your team is local or remote, clergy or non-clergy employees, we’ve integrated all the tools, resources, and support you need to hire and manage your team, run payroll, and stay compliant.

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Designed to save you time and money.

We’ve made church payroll and HR so streamlined and easy to use that customers save an average of $3,600 a year after switching to Gusto. (source)

Payroll software for the people.

Gusto’s cloud-based software makes managing your team seamless—whether they’re in-office, remote, or contracted. Take care of your people without all the paperwork.

We’re behind you all the way.

Gusto offers dedicated customer support and personalized guidance as you grow and evolve—along with all your changing HR and payroll needs—for one clear price.

85% of businesses surveyed say Gusto is easy for their employees to use.*

Businesses save over $2,300 a year running Payroll & HR administration after switching from Intuit (QuickBooks) to Gusto.**

Ranked Best overall payroll software for small business users by Fit Small Business

*Source: Techvalidate. Based on an average of 552 Gusto businesses surveyed.
**Source: Techvalidate. Based on an average of 423 Gusto businesses surveyed 8/22, saving $300 a month. Respondents were enrolled in Gusto’s prior pricing plans, which are no longer available to new customers as of July 11, 2022.

We love Gusto! It’s all around performance is great, payroll is straightforward, and managing employees is so much easier than with previous providers!

Vice President,
Arise Community Church

After switching from ADP

Great support, easy to use, and able to grow with our Ministry.

CFO,
Trinity Baptist Church of Columbia County, Incorporated

Gusto is an innovative company that strives to create value-add features and functionalities while still maintaining a great price point. Even as a non-profit organization, I still feel like we’re getting an enterprise-level solution with a lot of flexibility and a non-profit level price.

Executive,
Bethel Church Austin, Inc.

All in one

Everything you need to grow and thrive.

Gusto makes church payroll services easy for institutions by bringing together all the tools you need on one modern system. Manage the entire employee lifecycle—from onboarding new hires to providing benefits like retirement. Integrations with the 401(k) providers you already use ensure that your HR, IRS, and 401(k) data is in sync. Ask how you can earn up to $16,500 in tax credits over the plan’s first three years.

User-friendly

Empower your people.

New hires love having access to their information without needing to ask HR. Our modern, easy-to-use design means they’ll have no trouble logging in, finding the information they need, making updates, changing 401(k) contributions, discovering tool integrations, and more. Skip the paperwork (and outsmart the IRS) with self-onboarding features, e-signatures, online training, and automatic state tax registration.

Dedicated support

Help when you’re in need.

Gusto’s software easily adapts when your team changes or your congregation grows. We provide continuing guidance on church payroll services, church accounting, bookkeeping, and HR. Enjoy free access to our online resources, proactive compliance alerts, and our best-in-class support team, which is just a call, chat, or email away. Depending on your tier, we also provide CSMs and HR professionals who understand your specific needs.

Learn more about Gusto’s Dedicated HR Support

Great for contractors

Combine W-2s, 1099s, and any other tax forms.

Whether they’re local, remote, or even international, you can manage contractors just as easily as W-2 employees. They can self-onboard and check their IRS information on our online system, and they’ll appreciate getting our automatic alerts when you’ve sent their paycheck or their direct deposit hits their bank account. Gusto automatically fills income tax forms and calculates payroll taxes, so nothing is overlooked.

What does HR do in a church?

The same things it does at a traditional business or nonprofit organization. Depending on the size of your church, HR can be important for staying compliant, maintaining the health and morale of church employees, and managing church payroll services, and more. Read up on how Gusto’s HR experts can help strengthen your organization.

Do churches need payroll and HR software?

While your focus should be on guiding your congregation, it’s important to have someone looking after the integrity of your finances. Even one DIY HR mistake has the potential to undo all your team’s hard work. For example, are you handling federal taxes correctly for clergy housing allowances? Are unemployment taxes and payroll tax filing different for religious organizations? Are you required to deduct tax payments for social security or Medicare? What parts of your organization are tax-exempt? Learn more about how your church can benefit from Gusto’s full-service payroll system and HR features.

How much does Gusto cost?

We have a clear pricing model so you can stay organized without worrying about any surprises. Gusto’s payroll solutions start at just $39/month, plus $6/month per user. That puts your total cost for everything Gusto offers at $45/month. To see all of our plans and the features they include (such as automated notifications, time tracking, employee benefits, health insurance, workers’ compensation, and more), check out our pricing page.

How do I pay remote employees and contractors?

As your organization grows, you may find yourself hiring employees and independent contractors from all across the country. You generally pay state income taxes in the state(s) where your employee or contractor works, but providing payroll services and sending out biweekly paychecks to workers in numerous different situations can be tricky depending on which state they live in, whether they’re full-time or part-time, changing FLSA tax laws, and whether your company’s state has a reciprocal agreement with your worker’s home state. Learn more about how to pay out-of-state workers.

What’s the best payroll for a church?

There are many questions to consider when choosing a payroll service: What’s included in the pricing? Do they offer management software, or just payroll processing? Do they operate in the areas that you do? Do they offer lifetime access? We’ve created a handy comparison sheet so you can see how Gusto stacks up to other payroll providers.