Use Gusto's Onboarding Checklist to Handle New-Hire Paperwork and Compliance

What This Does

At a company with no dedicated HR staff, onboarding paperwork and compliance tracking fall to whoever's running the office. Gusto builds a checklist for every new hire automatically, covering W-4 and I-9 forms, document signing, and state-specific compliance deadlines, and it flags what's missing instead of leaving you to remember it all.

Before You Start

• Your company runs payroll through Gusto ({{tool:Gusto.plan}}, {{tool:Gusto.price}}). Onboarding checklists are included on every tier
• The new hire's basic record (name, start date, role) is already entered in Gusto
• You've decided whether this hire fills out their own information (self-service) or you'll enter it for them (admin-managed)

Steps

1. Find the AI feature

Click People in the left navigation menu, find the new employee in the list, and click the three-dot menu next to their name. Select Open onboarding checklist. To change what appears on every future new hire's checklist instead of just this one, go to People > Hiring, then click Customize templates next to "Onboarding checklists."

2. Tell it what you need

Choose self-service mode if you want Gusto to email the new hire directly so they enter their own SSN, date of birth, and address, and sign their W-4 and I-9 electronically before day one. Choose admin-managed mode instead for roles where you want more hands-on control over each step. Either way, Gusto auto-generates the standard tasks: identity information, tax forms, background check if you've configured one, and any document signing you require.

3. Review and use the result

Before the employee's start date, open the checklist and check the compliance alerts Gusto surfaces there, missing required documents, upcoming e-signature deadlines, and state new-hire report filing deadlines (which Gusto files automatically once triggered). Treat a green checklist as your cue that the hire is actually ready to start, not just that the paperwork was sent.

Real Example

Scenario: A new administrative assistant starts Monday at a 12-person law firm with no HR department.

What you type/do: On Wednesday, you open her onboarding checklist and switch it to self-service mode, so Gusto emails her directly to complete her SSN, address, and W-4 and I-9 signatures before her start date.

What you get: By Friday, her forms are signed and stored in Gusto's portal. A compliance alert flags the state's new-hire report filing deadline, which Gusto handles automatically once you confirm her details, so nothing falls through the cracks before Monday.

Tips

• Set up your onboarding template once, with the tasks and documents your company always needs, so every future hire starts from a checklist you've already trusted rather than a blank one.
• Self-service mode saves you data entry time, but for compliance-sensitive roles or hires who need extra hand-holding, admin-managed mode gives you more control over each step.
• Compliance alerts are a template-based reminder, not legal advice. For anything state-specific and unfamiliar, confirm the requirement against your state labor department's site or Gusto's own compliance guidance before treating the alert as the final word.

An employee's SSN, date of birth, and banking details are the most sensitive data your job handles. Gusto's onboarding flow is built to hold that information securely, which is exactly why it belongs there and not in a general chatbot. Never paste a new hire's SSN, DOB, or full name into ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini "to double-check something," even briefly. If you need AI help thinking through an onboarding question, describe the situation generically instead.

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