How to import Gusto payroll into QuickBooks Online

Why a bank-import CSV doesn't work for payroll

QuickBooks Online's bank-import tool expects a flat list of Date, Description, Amount rows — fine for a PayPal or Shopify payout, where money just moves in or out. Payroll is different: one pay run touches several accounts at once — wage expense, employer tax expense, tax withholding liabilities, deduction liabilities, and your checking account — and every one of those has to net to zero. That's a double-entry journal entry, not a transaction list, and QBO's bank importer has no way to represent it.

Option 1: Build the journal entry by hand

Free, but easy to get wrong — and QBO won't tell you if it's wrong.

1. In Gusto, go to Reports → Payroll Journal and export the report for the pay run you're booking.
2. For each employee, pull four numbers off their row: Gross Pay, Employer Taxes, Employee Taxes, and Deductions (401k, health insurance, etc.).
3. Confirm Gross Pay minus Employer Taxes minus Employee Taxes minus Deductions equals Net Pay for that employee — Gusto's own numbers should already tie out, but this catches an export mistake before it reaches your books.
4. Debit Payroll Expenses: Gross Wages for the total gross pay across everyone.
5. Debit Payroll Expenses: Employer Payroll Taxes for the total employer tax amount.
6. Credit Payroll Liabilities: Employer Taxes Payable for that same employer tax total — it's an expense the moment it's incurred, but a liability until you actually pay it to the taxing authority.
7. Credit Payroll Liabilities: Employee Tax Withholding for the total withheld from employee paychecks — this was never the employee's money to begin with, it's owed to the taxing authority on their behalf.
8. Credit Payroll Liabilities: Deductions Payable for any 401k/health/other deductions withheld, owed to the plan provider.
9. Credit Cash - Payroll Checking for the total net pay — the actual cash that left your bank account.
10. If you track departments, split every line above by department (QBO's Class field) instead of one company-wide line.
11. Before saving, add up every debit and every credit column separately. If they don't match to the penny, the entry is wrong — QuickBooks will let you save an unbalanced journal entry without warning you.
12. In QuickBooks Online, go to + New → Journal Entry (or bulk-import via Settings → Import Data → Journal Entries on Advanced) and enter the lines above.

Option 2: Skip the manual math

Changed your mind? How to undo an import

Our apps never touch your QuickBooks file, and your original export is never changed. This export converts into journal entries, which become real entries in your books once you import them. To take them back out of QuickBooks Online:

1. Find the journal entries the import created: open the Journal report for the dates you imported, or search for journal entries in that date range.
2. Open each entry and choose More → Delete at the bottom of the screen.
3. If you work in QuickBooks Online Accountant, you can remove many entries at once with its batch delete/void tool instead.
4. Fix whatever needed fixing, convert your original export again, and re-import.

Tip: run the Journal report again afterward to confirm nothing from that batch is left.

Frequently asked questions

Can I import a Gusto Payroll Journal CSV the same way as a bank export?
No. Bank imports are a flat transaction list; payroll needs a balanced double-entry journal entry touching several accounts at once, which a bank-import CSV can't represent.

Which QuickBooks Online plan can bulk-import journal entries from a CSV?
Only QuickBooks Online Advanced has a native journal-entry CSV importer. Other tiers need manual entry or a third-party importer like Transaction Pro or SaasAnt.

What accounts does a payroll journal entry debit and credit?
Gross wages and employer taxes are debited as expenses; employee withholding, employer taxes payable, and deductions are credited as liabilities; net pay is credited to your payroll checking account.

How do I know if my journal entry is right?
Gross pay minus taxes minus deductions should equal net pay per employee, and total debits must equal total credits for the whole entry — QuickBooks won't warn you if either is off.

Convert other exports

• PayPal → QuickBooks
• Shopify Payouts → QuickBooks
• Stripe → QuickBooks
• Square Transactions → QuickBooks
• Amazon Settlements → QuickBooks
• Etsy Payments → QuickBooks
• eBay → QuickBooks