Paychex / Legacy Accountant Payroll vs Gusto Payroll & Benefits
Estimate what moving from Paychex / Legacy Accountant Payroll to Gusto Payroll & Benefits costs over 12 to 36 months, including the one-time switch. Then remap your exported CSV headers.
Why teams look at this switch: Per-pay-run processing fees, W-2/1099 filing charges & manual PTO tracking
Cost calculator
CSV header mapper
Rename exported Paychex / Legacy Accountant Payroll column headers to the names Gusto Payroll & Benefits expects. It runs in your browser. Only headers change and values are kept.
Renamed headers do not make a file import-ready. Compare the result with Gusto Payroll & Benefits's import template and create any custom fields there first.
| Paychex / Legacy Accountant Payroll column | Gusto Payroll & Benefits column | Field type |
|---|---|---|
| First_Name | first_name | Suggested |
| Last_Name | last_name | Suggested |
| SSN_TaxID | tax_id | Suggested |
| Hourly_Or_Salary | compensation_type | Suggested |
| Pay_Rate | rate | Suggested |
| Bank_Routing | routing_number | Suggested |
When moving to Gusto Payroll & Benefits makes sense
- Your main cost driver is Per-pay-run processing fees, W-2/1099 filing charges & manual PTO tracking, and your volume is past the break-even point above.
- Your team can finish the CSV import and onboarding within the switching budget you entered.
- You have checked that Gusto Payroll & Benefits's plan covers the integrations and compliance rules you need.
When staying on Paychex / Legacy Accountant Payroll is the better call
- The one-time migration, re-integration or retraining cost is larger than 12 to 24 months of savings.
- You are inside a multi-year Paychex / Legacy Accountant Payroll contract with early-termination fees.
- Your workflow relies on add-ons or features Gusto Payroll & Benefits does not support yet.
How the result changes with volume
Twelve-month totals at half, default and double volume, using the default pricing model and a $150 switching cost.
| Volume (Team Employees) | Paychex / Legacy Accountant Payroll | Gusto Payroll & Benefits | 12-month difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| 50% volume (8) | $197/mo | $88/mo | +$1,158 |
| Default volume (16) | $309/mo | $136/mo | +$1,926 |
| 200% volume (32) | $533/mo | $232/mo | +$3,462 |
Questions
How is the total cost of Paychex / Legacy Accountant Payroll and Gusto Payroll & Benefits compared?
Each side's monthly cost is multiplied by the months in the horizon, and the one-time switching cost is added to Gusto Payroll & Benefits. At the default volume (Team Employees: 16), the model gives about $309 per month for Paychex / Legacy Accountant Payroll and $136 per month for Gusto Payroll & Benefits.
How do Paychex / Legacy Accountant Payroll CSV headers map to Gusto Payroll & Benefits?
The mapper renames Paychex / Legacy Accountant Payroll columns (First_Name, Last_Name, SSN_TaxID, Hourly_Or_Salary, Pay_Rate, Bank_Routing) to Gusto Payroll & Benefits columns (first_name, last_name, tax_id, compensation_type, rate, routing_number) in your browser. Custom fields must exist in Gusto Payroll & Benefits before you import.
When should a company stay on Paychex / Legacy Accountant Payroll?
Stay if the one-time switching, integration or contract-exit cost is larger than the savings over the horizon you care about. The calculator shows that case as a negative result.