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API Reference

Create a new pay schedule

post
https://api.gusto-demo.com/v1/companies//pay_schedules

If a company does not have any pay schedules, this endpoint will create a single pay schedule and assign it to all employees. This is a common use case during company onboarding.

If a company has an existing active pay schedule and want to support multiple pay schedules, this endpoint will create a pay schedule that is not assigned to any employee.

Be sure to check state laws to know what schedule is right for your customers.

If an onboarded company misses their first pay date, Gusto will automatically adjust the pay schedule to the next available pay date.

Webhooks

  • pay_schedule.created: Fires when a pay schedule is successfully created.

Related guides

scope: pay_schedules:write

Path Params
string
required

The UUID of the company

Body Params

Request body for creating a pay schedule. Required when a company has no pay schedules (onboarding) or when adding an additional schedule. Be sure to check state laws to know what schedule is right for your customers.

  • anchor_pay_date: The first date that employees on this pay schedule will be paid (first company payday).
  • anchor_end_of_pay_period: The last date of the first pay period; can be the same as anchor_pay_date.

string
enum
required

The frequency that employees on this pay schedule are paid with Gusto. Only weekly, bi-weekly, twice per month, and monthly are supported on create and update.

  • Every week: Weekly pay.
  • Every other week: Biweekly pay.
  • Twice per month: Two pay dates per month. Provide first_pay_period_pay_day and second_pay_period_pay_day for a regular schedule, and add first_pay_period_end_day and second_pay_period_end_day for a flexible schedule. Legacy day_1/day_2 are still accepted separately. Use 31 for the last day of the month.
  • Monthly: One pay date per month; require day_1 (1-31).
Allowed:
date
required

ISO 8601 date (YYYY-MM-DD). Required for anchor and period dates in create, update, and preview requests.

date
required

ISO 8601 date (YYYY-MM-DD). Required for anchor and period dates in create, update, and preview requests.

integer | null
deprecated

Legacy field, retained unchanged for compatibility. The first pay day for Monthly and regular Twice per month schedules, or the first pay-period end day for flexible Twice per month schedules. Prefer the explicit pay-period fields. Do not combine day_1/day_2 with explicit fields in a request.

integer | null
deprecated

Legacy field, retained unchanged for compatibility. The second pay day for regular Twice per month schedules, or the second pay-period end day for flexible Twice per month schedules. A value of 31 means the last day of the month. Prefer the explicit pay-period fields. Do not combine day_1/day_2 with explicit fields in a request.

integer | null

The first pay day (1-31) for Monthly or Twice per month. For Twice per month, provide both pay-day fields together. Pay days alone configure a regular schedule; adding both explicit period-end days configures a flexible schedule. Omitted fields preserve existing values on update or persisted preview. Pay days on an existing flexible schedule cannot both be cleared. Do not mix explicit fields with day_1/day_2.

integer | null

The second pay day (1-31) for Twice per month. Provide both pay-day fields together. Pay days alone configure a regular schedule; adding both explicit period-end days configures a flexible schedule. Omitted fields preserve existing values on update or persisted preview. Pay days on an existing flexible schedule cannot both be cleared. A pay day may fall in the following month. Do not mix explicit fields with day_1/day_2.

integer | null

The last day (1-31) of the first pay period for a flexible Twice per month schedule. On create or conversion, both explicit period-end days are required. On an existing flexible schedule, omitted values are preserved and changing them requires a matching anchor_end_of_pay_period and anchor_pay_date. Do not mix explicit fields with day_1/day_2.

integer | null

The last day (1-31) of the second pay period for a flexible Twice per month schedule. A value of 31 means the last day of the month. On create or conversion, both explicit period-end days are required. On an existing flexible schedule, omitted values are preserved and changing them requires a matching anchor_end_of_pay_period and anchor_pay_date. Do not mix explicit fields with day_1/day_2.

string | null

A custom pay schedule name; defaults to the pay frequency description when null or omitted.

When null or omitted, the system generates a description from the pay frequency and pay days (e.g. "every 1st and 15th of the month" for twice-monthly, "every 11th of the month" for monthly, "every Friday" for weekly). The response returns this generated value in custom_name when no custom name was set. When provided, the value you set is stored and returned.

string
enum

The day of the week that this pay schedule's workweeks start on, used for regular rate of pay overtime calculations.

Allowed:
Headers
string
enum
Defaults to 2026-06-15

Determines the date-based API version associated with your API call. If none is provided, your application's minimum API version is used.

Allowed:
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