Switching from ADP to Gusto requires more than copying an employee list. You need to preserve payroll and tax records, transfer year-to-date payroll history, rebuild deductions and policies, divide tax-filing responsibilities, and verify that your first Gusto payroll matches your records.
The exact process you’ll use depends on the ADP service you use. Moving from RUN Powered by ADP is different from replacing ADP Workforce Now or ending an ADP TotalSource professional employer organization relationship.
This guide explains how to export your records, use Gusto’s ADP Run transfer workflow, coordinate a mid-year tax handoff, test your first payroll, and end the appropriate ADP services.
For broader planning guidance, see How to Switch Payroll Providers. For a phase-by-phase task list, use the Payroll Migration Checklist.
ADP-to-Gusto migration at a glance
Confirm which ADP products and connected services you use.
Assign owners for payroll, tax, benefits, accounting, and employee communication.
Review your agreements and submit any required termination notice on time.
Select the final ADP check date and the first Gusto check date.
Export payroll, employee, tax, benefits, PTO, and accounting records.
Upload the supported ADP Run reports during Gusto onboarding, when eligible.
Set up the company, employees, tax accounts, pay schedules, and bank account in Gusto.
Transfer and reconcile year-to-date payroll history.
Recreate deductions, benefits, PTO policies, garnishments, and accounting mappings.
Confirm quarterly and year-end filing responsibilities.
Validate and submit the first Gusto payroll.
Make the ADP termination effective and monitor the next several pay cycles.
First, identify the ADP service you are leaving.
ADP offers several payroll, human capital management, outsourcing, and professional employer organization services. They do not share one universal export or termination procedure.
Common services include:
RUN Powered by ADP: ADP’s primary small-business payroll product for employers with one to 49 employees.
ADP Workforce Now: A payroll and human capital management platform positioned primarily for organizations with 50 to 999 employees.
ADP TotalSource: An IRS-certified professional employer organization, or CPEO, that operates through a co-employment relationship.
Connected or separately contracted services: Time and attendance, retirement plans, insurance, workers’ compensation, garnishment services, recruiting tools, and marketplace applications.
Check your invoices, order forms, administrator dashboard, renewal communications, and implementation records. Record the official name of every service and the entity supplying it.
Ending an ADP payroll service may not automatically terminate a retirement plan, insurance policy, workers’ compensation arrangement, PEO agreement, or third-party application.
ADP and Gusto product structures at a glance
Category | ADP | Gusto |
Small-business payroll | RUN Powered by ADP | Simple, Plus, and Premium payroll plans |
Midmarket or enterprise products | Workforce Now and other HCM, outsourcing, and global services | Standard U.S. payroll plans are generally oriented toward small and growing employers |
Public pricing | Prospective customers are generally directed to request pricing | Standard list prices are published for the primary payroll plans |
Payroll tax service | Available through applicable ADP payroll products | Tax calculations, payments, and filings are included in the primary payroll plans, subject to proper tax account setup |
Payroll frequency | Availability and billing depend on the ADP product and agreement | Unlimited payroll runs are included in the primary payroll plans |
PEO relationship | Available through ADP TotalSource | Standard Gusto payroll is not a PEO relationship |
Termination terms | Depending on the product and customer agreement | Gusto’s standard payroll subscriptions are month-to-month |
This is a migration guide rather than a full feature comparison. See Gusto vs Rippling overview for a more detailed evaluation.
How to switch from ADP to Gusto step by step
1. Inventory your ADP services and assign migration owners
Create a list of every service connected to payroll. Include:
Payroll processing
Federal, state, and local payroll taxes
Time and attendance
Benefits administration and insurance brokerage
Retirement plans
Workers’ compensation
Garnishment administration
Recruiting and onboarding
General ledger exports
Accounting, point-of-sale, expense, and HR integrations
Marketplace applications
PEO services, when applicable
Assign one person to coordinate the migration. Name additional owners for payroll, taxes, benefits, accounting, information security, and employee communication.
For each service, document:
The current provider
The governing agreement
The internal owner
The intended replacement
The last day of service
The first day of replacement coverage
The records that must be exported
This inventory helps prevent an employer from ending payroll while unintentionally leaving a separate subscription active—or ending benefits or insurance before replacement coverage starts.
2. Review your agreements and submit notice by the deadline
Gather your:
Signed order forms and service agreements
Current invoices and fee schedules
Renewal and price-change notices
Payroll tax authorizations
Benefits and insurance agreements
Retirement-plan documents
Workers’ compensation information
Marketplace application agreements
PEO agreement, when applicable
Look for the contract term, renewal provisions, required notice channel, notice deadline, effective termination rules, final billing terms, and any obligations tied to a promotion or implementation arrangement.
Public ADP materials do not specify a single cancellation fee, notice period, or cancellation method for every customer and product. Your signed documents and account-specific instructions control.
Contact ADP early enough to confirm the process in writing. Submit any required notice by the contractual deadline, even if the effective termination date is later.
Do not wait until after your first Gusto payroll to send a notice that is due earlier. Instead, separate these two events:
Notice date: When you formally tell ADP that you intend to terminate.
Effective termination date: the date on which ADP stops providing the specified service.
Request written confirmation of both dates.
For a fuller cancellation workflow, see How to Cancel ADP Payroll Services.
3. Select the final ADP and first Gusto check dates
Build a written schedule that includes:
Final pay period processed in ADP
Final ADP check date
First Gusto pay period
First Gusto check date
Payroll submission deadlines
Employee onboarding deadline
Tax-account setup deadline
Benefits and retirement transition dates
ADP notice and effective termination dates
Use check dates—not only the dates employees worked—to define the payroll handoff.
For federal employment-tax purposes, the date wages are paid generally determines the quarter in which the wages are reported. State and local treatment can differ, so confirm account-specific requirements.
Do not authorize the same live payroll through both systems. A parallel payroll should compare draft calculations without allowing both providers to withdraw funds, pay employees, or remit taxes.
4. Export your records before access changes
Do not base your recordkeeping plan on continued access to the ADP portal. Download the records you need before the effective termination date.
Reports for Gusto’s automated ADP Run transfer
Gusto’s payroll transfer automation accepts two specific ADP Run reports:
Employee Summary report in PDF format
Payroll Details report in PDF format
Use the current instructions in Gusto’s help center when generating the reports. The Employee Summary should include all employee statuses and all employees. Because one report may omit people paid or terminated during earlier quarters, you may need more than one Employee Summary report.
The Payroll Details report should cover the check dates required for the current-year payroll history.
Uploading another report title or file format may cause the automated import to fail.
These two reports support Gusto’s import workflow. They are not a complete business archive.
Additional records to preserve
Export or request copies of:
Business legal name, address, and employer identification number, or EIN
Federal tax deposit schedule
State withholding and unemployment account numbers
State unemployment tax rates
Local payroll tax accounts
Active and dismissed employee rosters for the current year
Employee names, addresses, Social Security numbers, hire dates, and work locations
Compensation, classifications, pay rates, and schedules
Year-to-date gross and taxable wages
Federal, state, and local withholding totals
Social Security and Medicare wages and taxes
Federal and state unemployment wages and taxes
Pretax and post-tax deductions
Employer contributions
Payroll registers and pay statements
Forms 941, 940, W-2, W-3, and 1099
State and local returns
Tax-payment confirmations
PTO policies and balances
Garnishment and child-support orders
Benefits elections
Retirement deductions and employer matches
Workers’ compensation classifications
General ledger mappings
Relevant audit and approval records
Store the files in an access-controlled location. Payroll reports can contain Social Security numbers, compensation, bank information, and other sensitive data.
ADP Workforce Now records
ADP Workforce Now supports both standard and custom reporting, but the available fields, permissions, and report names may depend on the employer’s configuration.
Ask your Workforce Now administrator or ADP representative to identify the reports that contain:
Employee demographic and compensation data
Year-to-date wages and taxes
Deductions and employer contributions
Tax deposits and filings
PTO balances
Benefits information
General ledger mappings
Do not assume that the ADP Run automated import also works for Workforce Now.
5. Start Gusto onboarding and use the transfer workflow when eligible
Gusto’s payroll transfer automation supports employers and accountants moving from ADP Run during initial account setup.
The workflow can import supported employee and prior-payroll information from the required reports. It does not complete the entire migration.
You must still review or separately configure:
Deductions
Employer contributions
Recurring earnings and reimbursements
Garnishments
PTO policies and balances
Benefits
Retirement arrangements
Accounting mappings
Integrations
Employee permissions
Contractor history
The automated upload is available during onboarding. After company setup is complete, historical employee payroll generally must be recorded through Gusto’s non-Gusto payroll workflow.
Contractor payment history follows a separate process and should not be assumed to transfer with employee payroll.
6. Set up the company, tax accounts, and workers
Enter or confirm the company’s:
Legal and trade names
EIN
Business and mailing addresses
Bank account
Pay schedules
Federal tax deposit schedule
State and local tax account numbers
State unemployment rates
Work locations
Workers’ compensation information
Accounting preferences
Gusto needs the appropriate state and local account information to file and pay applicable taxes. Tax registration assistance may be available as a separately priced service, but employers should not assume that opening a Gusto account automatically registers the business in all required jurisdictions.
Add:
Every active employee
Dismissed employees paid during the current calendar year
Contractors whose current-year history must be recorded through the applicable contractor workflow
Employees can complete portions of onboarding, including personal information, withholding elections, and direct deposit details. Do not assume that unmasked banking information or current withholding elections will automatically transfer from ADP.
7. Transfer and reconcile year-to-date payroll history
Year-to-date payroll, or YTD payroll, is the cumulative payroll activity from January 1 through the latest completed check date.
A business switching after January 1 must provide the history already created during the calendar year. Depending on the transition date, the setup may require:
Totals for completed quarters
Individual check-date details for the current quarter
Employee-level wages and withholding
Employer taxes
Tax deposits and payment dates
Pretax and post-tax deductions
Employer benefit and retirement contributions
Reconcile the information at both the company and employee levels.
Compare:
Gross pay
Taxable wages
Federal withholding
State and local withholding
Social Security and Medicare
Federal unemployment tax, or FUTA
State unemployment tax, sometimes called SUTA or SUI
Deductions
Employer contributions
Reimbursements
Net pay
Investigate every unexplained difference before running live payroll.
This step is complete when Gusto’s imported or entered totals agree with the ADP source reports and tax-payment records.
8. Confirm the payroll-tax and year-end handoff
The tax handoff is especially important during a mid-year or mid-quarter change.
Under Gusto’s onboarding workflow:
The prior provider handles completed quarters.
Gusto handles the quarter containing the first Gusto check date and subsequent quarters.
Only one provider should file a particular quarterly return.
Before the first Gusto payroll, obtain written answers to these questions:
Which completed federal, state, and local returns will ADP file?
Which deposits has ADP already made?
Which quarter will Gusto begin filing?
Does ADP hold any transition-quarter unemployment tax money that must be refunded or coordinated?
Who will respond to notices concerning payrolls processed by ADP?
Who will prepare Forms W-2?
Who will prepare Forms 1099-NEC for contractors?
What must ADP do to prevent duplicate year-end filings?
Gusto’s setup instructions state that Gusto should issue Forms W-2 after all previous payroll information is entered. Make sure ADP does not file W-2s covering the same wages.
Contractor history uses a separate workflow, so confirm 1099 responsibility rather than assuming the employee-payroll import resolves it.
9. Recreate deductions, benefits, PTO, and accounting rules
Historical totals do not recreate the rules that generate future payroll.
Set up each applicable:
Medical, dental, vision, life, or disability deduction
Health savings or flexible spending account deduction
Retirement contribution and employer match
Garnishment or child-support order
Commuter deduction
Union or other post-tax deduction
Recurring reimbursement, bonus, or commission
Workers’ compensation configuration
Recreate PTO and sick-leave policies. Verify:
Accrual rate
Waiting period
Balance cap
Carryover
Negative-balance rules
Current employee balances
Rebuild departments, locations, job codes, projects, and permission levels as needed.
A general ledger mapping assigns payroll expenses and liabilities to the appropriate accounting accounts. Test the accounting export or integration before the first live payroll so wages, employer taxes, benefits, and liabilities post to the intended accounts.
10. Prepare employees and validate the first payroll
Tell employees about the transition before invitations or payroll notifications arrive.
Include:
The first paycheck date processed through Gusto
The account-setup deadline
Instructions to confirm personal and direct deposit information
Instructions to review withholding elections
Where future pay stubs and tax documents will appear
A reminder to download the needed ADP records
An internal contact for questions
A notice could read:
We are moving payroll from ADP to Gusto beginning with the paycheck dated [DATE]. You will receive an invitation to complete your Gusto account. Please verify your personal information, tax elections, and direct deposit details by [DEADLINE]. Download any ADP records you want to retain before [DATE].
Before submitting payroll, compare the Gusto draft with your approved payroll worksheet and ADP source records.
Check:
Employee status
Pay schedules
Hours and rates
Salary amounts
Overtime
Bonuses, tips, and commissions
Federal, state, and local withholding
Social Security and Medicare
Pretax and post-tax deductions
Garnishments
Employer taxes
Benefits and retirement contributions
PTO balances
Net pay
Accounting entries
Document legitimate differences caused by new elections, changed rates, a different pay period, or another approved change.
Confirm the submission deadline associated with your account’s direct deposit schedule and make sure sufficient funds are available before approval.
11. Make the ADP termination effective and monitor the transition
After satisfying the contractual notice requirement, coordinate the effective termination date with the first Gusto payroll and any remaining ADP obligations.
Request final written confirmation of:
Products and services are being terminated
Effective termination date
Final payroll processed through ADP
Remaining tax deposits and filings
Year-end form responsibilities
Outstanding balances, charges, or credits
Status of benefits, retirement, workers’ compensation, and add-ons
Administrator and employee access
Procedures for future tax notices or corrections
After the first Gusto payroll:
Confirm that employees received the expected pay.
Verify that deductions reached the correct recipients.
Review payroll tax liabilities.
Reconcile accounting entries.
Check PTO balances.
Monitor benefit and retirement contributions.
Repeat the review during the next several pay cycles.
Switching from ADP to Gusto mid-year
You can switch payroll providers during the year, but the new provider needs the complete current-year history.
Prevent duplicate quarterly filings.
The quarter that contains the first Gusto check date is generally assigned to Gusto as part of its onboarding workflow. That means Gusto must have already processed the wages, taxes, and deposits for that quarter.
Do not allow both providers to file the same quarterly return. Duplicate filings can be rejected and may lead to notices or corrections.
Review unemployment taxes
FUTA and state unemployment taxes have annual wage bases. Without complete YTD wages, a new system may calculate tax as though employees had not accumulated taxable wages earlier in the year.
Ask ADP and Gusto how collected but unremitted unemployment taxes for the transition quarter will be handled.
Coordinate year-end forms
Make sure all current-year employees are included, including anyone dismissed after receiving wages.
Verify:
Employee names and Social Security numbers
Check dates
Taxable wage totals
Withholding
Employer taxes
Tax deposits
Pretax deductions
Retirement contributions
Employer-sponsored coverage information, when applicable
Resolve discrepancies during onboarding rather than waiting until January.
Consider—but do not require—a quarter boundary.
January 1 creates the cleanest current-year payroll breakpoint. The beginning of another quarter can also simplify the division of quarterly returns.
Neither date is mandatory. A mid-quarter transition is workable when complete records are supplied and the providers agree on filing responsibilities.
Special considerations when leaving ADP TotalSource
ADP TotalSource is a certified professional employer organization, not just a payroll application.
A PEO relationship involves co-employment, under which the customer and the PEO share specified employer responsibilities. Ending that relationship may affect more than payroll software.
Before leaving TotalSource, determine how the transition affects:
Federal and state payroll tax reporting
State tax and unemployment accounts
Health and ancillary benefits
COBRA or state continuation administration
Workers’ compensation
Retirement plans
Handbooks and HR services
Employment practices support
Open claims, agency notices, or audits
Standard Gusto payroll should not be treated as an automatic replacement for every PEO function.
Create a service-replacement table naming the organization responsible for each function after the change. Confirm that replacement insurance, benefits, workers’ compensation, and administrative services begin before the corresponding TotalSource service ends.
Coordinate a TotalSource exit with ADP, Gusto, benefits and insurance professionals, and qualified tax or legal advisers.
What happens to ADP records after cancellation?
Do not assume administrators or employees will retain every document after service ends.
ADP says former employees who previously registered can try to access their information, but the former employer may have removed the account. That does not guarantee continued access to every pay statement or tax form.
Before cancellation, preserve:
Payroll registers
Tax deposits and returns
Forms W-2, W-3, 1099, 940, and 941
State and local filings
Employee-level wage and tax history
Forms W-4
PTO and deduction records
Benefits and retirement records
Garnishment orders
Accounting exports
Approval and audit records
Forms I-9 when ADP stored them for the company
The IRS generally requires employers to keep employment-tax records for at least four years. Form I-9 follows a separate rule: keep it for three years after the employee’s hire date or one year after employment ends, whichever is later.
Other states, benefits, insurance, litigation, or industry requirements may require longer retention.
Gusto plans and pricing
Plan | Standard monthly price | Selected payroll and HR scope |
Simple | $49 plus $6 per person | Single-state payroll, unlimited payroll runs, tax filings and payments, reports, onboarding, and basic PTO policies |
Plus | $80 plus $12 per person | Adds multistate payroll, time tracking, and additional payroll and HR tools |
Premium | $180 plus $22 per person | Adds services such as a dedicated adviser, HR resources, custom reporting, priority support, and migration and account-setup assistance |
Gusto’s standard payroll subscriptions are month-to-month and include unlimited payroll runs.
The listed subscription prices do not necessarily include:
State tax-registration services
Insurance premiums
Retirement-plan administration
Bring-your-own-broker services
Workers’ compensation premiums
Global services
Other optional products or add-ons
Published list prices alone do not establish that Gusto will cost less than ADP. Compare equivalent employee counts, states, payroll schedules, benefits, time tracking, HR services, integrations, implementation support, and contract obligations.
Gusto may be a good fit for an employer that wants published payroll plan prices and payroll-connected HR tools. ADP may remain a stronger fit when an organization needs a particular enterprise configuration, a managed outsourcing arrangement, global services, or a PEO relationship.
Frequently asked questions
How long does it take to switch from ADP to Gusto?
There is no universal timeline. Timing depends on contractual notice, report availability, tax-account setup, bank verification, employee onboarding, benefits, and whether the business is leaving payroll software or a PEO. Complete each setup and reconciliation step before the first Gusto payroll deadline.
Can Gusto import payroll history from ADP?
Gusto’s payroll transfer automation accepts an ADP Run Employee Summary PDF and a Payroll Details PDF during onboarding. It does not automatically configure deductions, contributions, benefits, PTO policies, accounting mappings, integrations, or contractor history.
Can I switch from ADP to Gusto mid-year?
Yes. Provide complete year-to-date wages, taxes, deductions, contributions, deposits, and check-date history. Confirm which provider will file each quarterly and annual return to prevent duplicate filings.
Will employees retain access to ADP pay stubs and tax forms?
They may retain some access if they registered previously, but access is not guaranteed. ADP says a former employer may remove an employee’s account. Employers and employees should download the required records before the service ends.
Does ADP charge a cancellation fee?
Public sources do not establish one universal fee for every ADP product and customer. Charges, notice periods, renewal terms, and effective dates may depend on the customer’s order form and service agreement.
How much does Gusto cost compared with ADP?
Gusto’s Simple plan costs $49 per month plus $6 per person. ADP generally directs prospective customers to request pricing. Compare equivalent services and any implementation, year-end, benefits, time, support, or contract costs.
Can Gusto handle multistate payroll?
Gusto offers multistate payroll with Plus and Premium plans. Simple is positioned as a single-state payroll plan. Employers must still obtain and enter the required tax account information; registration assistance may cost extra.
Is moving from ADP TotalSource the same as switching payroll software?
No. TotalSource is a PEO that involves co-employment and may include services such as payroll, benefits, workers’ compensation, and HR support. Employers should arrange replacements for every applicable PEO function, rather than treating the change as a payroll data import alone.
