How to export your data from Gusto

Gusto has no single 'export all data' button — admins pull payroll, HR, tax, and time data as separate standard or custom reports from the Reports section, downloadable as CSV, PDF, or Excel (.xlsx).

Formats: CSV, PDF, Excel (.xlsx)Plan: Any plan, but some reports are plan-gated (e.g. Time Off Requests and Custom Fields reports require Plus or Premium)Role: Admin with reporting permissions (some fields, like bank account numbers, require Full Access admin)

✓ Verified against Gusto's official documentation, September 2026

Step by step

1Sign in to Gusto as an admin and click Reports in the left menu; ask your primary admin for reporting permissions if you don't see it.
2For a full employee directory, run the Employee Summary standard report and download it as CSV or PDF.
3For complete payroll history, run the Payroll Data Export report to download an Excel workbook with tabs for employee info, work locations, payroll info, earnings, taxes, and deductions, by year.
4For per-payroll detail, go to Reports > Payroll Journal, set the Date Range, and click Download to save as CSV or PDF.
5For accounting-import-ready data, use the General Ledger report (after setting up the General Ledger Mapper and chart-of-accounts mapping) or go to Pay > Pay History, open a payroll, and click Download for a full earnings/taxes/deductions breakdown.
6For tax records, go to the tax documents area to view and download quarterly tax packages, W-2/W-3, and 1099 forms.
7For anything not covered by a standard report, go to Reports > New Custom Report, choose columns and a 'Break down by' and 'Time period', then download; save it as a template if you'll need it again.
8Repeat for Contractor Information, Contractor Payments, Time Off Balances, and Time-Tracking Hours reports before you cancel, since these are separate reports.

What the export includes

✓Employee/contractor personal and employment details: name, Gusto ID, department, emails, home address, DOB, start/termination date, job title
✓Compensation, payment info, employee type/status, manager, and withholding data
✓Payroll journal data: earnings, taxes, deductions, and net pay per pay period
✓General ledger journal entries: account type, description, debits, credits
✓Time off balances/requests and time-tracking hours (Plus/Premium)
✓Tax filings: W-2, W-3, 1099, and quarterly/annual forms
✓Benefits deductions and elections

What it doesn't include

✗A single combined export file — every report must be pulled separately
✗Bank account details and SSNs in the Contractor Information report (excluded by default; you must contact Gusto to get them)
✗Bank Transactions report cannot be downloaded as CSV
✗Payrolls Prior to Gusto report cannot be downloaded as CSV
✗Custom Fields report (only available on Plus/Premium)
✗Documents/attachments uploaded to employee profiles are not part of the standard reports

Before you start

⚠There's no bulk 'export everything' feature — plan to run each relevant report one at a time
⚠Payroll Journal and Year-to-Date reports may not generate correctly for companies with more than 500 active/dismissed employees and contractors combined
⚠Expenses report date range is capped at 90 days
⚠General ledger reports run by check date only — no custom date ranges or multi-payroll batches
⚠Which fields you can see in reports depends on your admin permission level; Full Access admins see everything
⚠After you cancel, admins and employees can still sign in to view forms, reports, employee information, and past payrolls
⚠Gusto usually can't fully delete a profile once someone has been paid or has tax forms on file, due to compliance requirements; full data-deletion requests go through Gusto's Privacy Request Portal and are reviewed case by case

Where to take your data

Free and cheaper tools that can take a Gusto export. See all Gusto alternatives →

Rippling

Alternatives Gusto vs Rippling

Use the Payroll Data Export (Excel) and Payroll Journal (CSV) reports as source data; Rippling does not auto-import Gusto files, so historical payroll and employee data are mapped/entered manually during Rippling's guided setup.

Justworks

Alternatives Gusto vs Justworks

Use the Employee Summary and Payroll Journal CSV/PDF exports as reference when Justworks (a PEO) sets up your account, since there is no direct automated Gusto import.

Wave Payroll

Use the Employee Summary CSV to manually re-enter employee and compensation records in Wave, which has no direct Gusto import tool.

Exporting from Gusto: common questions

Can I export all my Gusto data in one click?+

No. Gusto doesn't offer a single full-account export. You download each report you need (Employee Summary, Payroll Data Export, Payroll Journal, General Ledger, tax forms, etc.) separately from the Reports section.

What happens to my Gusto data after I cancel my account?+

You and other admins can still sign in and view company forms, reports, employee information, and past payrolls after cancellation, and employees/contractors can still view their paystubs and forms.

Can I get Gusto to permanently delete my company's data?+

Not fully in most cases. Gusto keeps certain records for legal and tax reasons and usually can't delete a profile once someone has been paid or has tax forms on file. You can submit a deletion request through Gusto's Privacy Request Portal, which is reviewed by their privacy team.

Which report should I download for a complete payroll history?+

Run the Payroll Data Export report — it downloads an Excel workbook with tabs for employee information, work locations, payroll information, earnings, taxes, and deductions, covering all payrolls by year.

Which format should I use — CSV, PDF, or Excel?+

Most Gusto reports let you choose; CSV is best if you need to manipulate data or import it elsewhere, PDF is best for records/compliance copies, and Excel workbooks (like Payroll Data Export) are used when a report needs multiple linked data tabs.

Is there a size limit on payroll reports?+

Yes. The Payroll Journal and Year-to-Date reports may not work correctly once a company has more than 500 active and dismissed employees/contractors combined.