Export payroll to Gusto, ADP or QuickBooks Payroll

Overview#

TradesWork turns clock-ins and job statuses into hours, overtime and pay codes. When a week is approved, you download a payroll file in your provider's format and import it there. File export works today for Gusto, ADP (paydata batch) and QuickBooks Online time activities, plus a generic format for other systems. Direct sync with Gusto and ADP (no file) is partner pending.

Before you start#

• Settings › People › Payroll (rules, codes, rates): Owner or Admin. Pay rates are visible only to Owners and Admins; technicians never see them.

• Approving timesheets and exporting: Owner, Admin or Accounting.

• Have ready: your overtime rules, each person's hourly rate, and your provider's employee ids (Gusto employee id or ADP File #). ADP users also need their company code and Hours 3 / Earnings 3 codes.

Steps#

1. Set your pay rules#

1. Open Settings › People › Payroll.

2. In Workweek and overtime:

   • Pay period: Weekly or Every two weeks; for two weeks, set A day that starts a pay period.

   • Workweek starts: the day your workweek begins.

   • Overtime rules: pick a preset: Federal (FLSA): over 40 h a week; California: over 8 h a day or 40 a week, double time over 12 h and on the 7th day; Daily over 8 h and weekly over 40 h (e.g. Alaska, Nevada); Colorado: over 12 h a day or 40 a week; or Custom (then fill Weekly overtime after, Daily overtime after, Daily double time after and the 7th-day rule).

   • Round clock times to: or No rounding.

   • Paid holidays (YYYY-MM-DD, comma separated): regular hours on these days export as holiday hours.

   • Flag drives longer than (minutes).

3. Press Save payroll settings.

2. Time codes and earning codes#

1. Time codes: drive and on-job time come from job statuses. Add non-job codes (for example Continuing education) and breaks with New code, Label, Kind and Paid, then Add code. Unpaid codes (like meal breaks) don't count toward hours.

2. Earning codes: enter the codes your payroll system uses for regular, overtime, double time, holiday and tips (generic export), and for ADP the ADP company code, ADP double time code, ADP holiday code and ADP tips earnings code.

3. Pay rates and payroll ids#

1. In Pay rates and payroll ids, for each person enter Hourly pay, Burdened rate (pay plus taxes, benefits and overhead, used for job costing) and Payroll id.

2. Press Save on each row.

4. Approve and export#

1. Open Schedule › Timesheets. Review anything under the exceptions list and GPS flags.

2. Tick submitted weeks and press Approve selected.

3. In Payroll export, pick your format: Generic (one row per earning), Gusto hours upload, ADP paydata (Co Code / Batch ID / File #) or QuickBooks Online time activities. A note under the buttons explains that format.

4. Fix anything listed under Fix these before exporting: (for example an empty earning code).

5. Press Download CSV (or Download XLSX).

6. Import it in your provider:

   • Gusto: Payroll › Run payroll › Import hours › upload the CSV.

   • ADP Run: Payroll › Import › choose the file.

   • QuickBooks Payroll: import the time activities file in QuickBooks.

7. Check one employee's hours before you submit payroll there.

8. Back in TradesWork, press Mark period as sent to payroll.

Settings that change this#

• Settings › People › Payroll: rules, codes, rates and ids.

• Settings › Integrations › GPS: GPS checks on timesheets.

• Settings › People › Technicians: scheduled hours (not pay).

Tips#

• Overtime is never stacked: hours counted as daily overtime don't count again toward weekly overtime.

• Gusto export leaves zero tips blank so they don't overwrite tips already entered in Gusto.

• QuickBooks Payroll applies its own overtime, and tips aren't part of a time import: enter the tips total as paycheck tips there.

• Add burdened rates if you want labor cost on every job.

Troubleshooting#

• The provider rejects the file → employee ids don't match. → Add each person's Payroll id (Gusto employee id or ADP File #). ADP also needs your company code.

• "Nothing approved in this period yet." → no weeks are approved. → Approve submitted weeks first.

• Fix these before exporting → a required code or id is missing. → Fill it in Settings › People › Payroll, then come back.

• Accounting can't open Payroll settings → that page is for Owners and Admins. → Accounting approves and exports on Timesheets.

FAQ#

Does TradesWork run payroll or pay employees? No. It prepares the hours file; your payroll provider runs payroll.

Can it sync directly with Gusto or ADP? Not yet. Direct sync is partner pending. Use the file export.

Can I re-download an old period? Yes. Pick the period on Timesheets; the export history lists past exports with who made them.

Coming from ServiceTitan#

ServiceTitan's Technician Timesheet Export and payroll adjustments live under Payroll. In TradesWork, timesheets are under Schedule › Timesheets and the export is on the same page. Pay rules and rates live in Settings › People › Payroll. Payroll history doesn't move from ServiceTitan; set up rates fresh.