San Francisco, CA
2011
Enterprise (1,000+ employees)
Gusto is an all-in-one payroll and HR platform for small and medium-sized businesses, and for the accounting firms that serve them. Gusto Pro brings that same platform to the firm side: one system where accountants manage clients’ payroll, benefits, and HR while growing their own advisory practice.
For firms, Gusto solves for payroll that runs without exceptions to clean up, compliance and tax filings that happen automatically, and a single system to standardize on so a growing book does not mean growing overhead. It also surfaces advisory opportunities, like retirement plans and health insurance, across a firm’s entire client base automatically.
What Gusto offers small business clients:
Payroll: full-service payroll, automated tax filing, multi-state support, contractor and W-2 pay, next-day deposit
Hiring and HR: applicant tracking, offer letters, I-9 verification, employee self-service, PTO management, org charts, performance and compensation tools
Benefits: health insurance, 401(k), HSA/FSA, workers compensation, R&D tax credits
Time tracking and integrations: native time tracking, syncing with QuickBooks, Xero, and FreshBooks, and API access for Slack and AI tools
AI tools: AutoPilot for automated payroll runs, and Advisory Opportunities that flag advisory-ready moments across a firm’s client base
Firms serving clients with 1 to 50 employees see the most value. Gusto is built to be a partner, not just a vendor, with revenue share in perpetuity and dedicated support that grows with the firm.
Small Firms; Medium Firms; Large Firms
Not provided
Monthly/Annual Subscription
Not provided
2011
$49/mo
With Gusto, hiline has been able to cut time spent on payroll tasks by 50 percent. As a result, they’ve migrated 100 percent of their HR and payroll customers over to Gusto.
Little Fish Accounting experienced huge revenue growth and client gains after getting People Advisory certified.
Gusto’s Payroll Transfer Automation lets you import employee details from ADP Run, QuickBooks Online Payroll, and QuickBooks Desktop Payroll—you download payroll files from the old provider and upload them into Gusto. Company info and past payroll totals still need to be entered manually. Gusto Pro partners also get onboarding help and free payroll transfers, plus a dedicated advisor once you begin adding clients.
Yes. Gusto Pro is free to sign up. There’s no cost to create an account, explore the platform, or earn Gusto Academy certifications. When you onboard clients onto Gusto, your own firm gets free Gusto Plus payroll and HR tools, when you onboard at least one client per year to Gusto. See partner terms for full conditions.
Gusto started in payroll, but the platform now covers HR, benefits administration, compliance alerts, and advisory tooling—all managed from one multi-client dashboard. For accounting firms, that means you’re not stitching together separate tools for payroll tax, workers’ comp, 401(k) and retirement offerings, or benefits enrollment. Gusto Pro helps surface advisory opportunities across your entire book, so you can offer higher-value services without adding operational complexity.
Over 23,000 accounting firms use Gusto Pro to manage client payroll from a single multi-client dashboard. The platform gives firms compliance automation and advisory data across their entire book, without toggling between separate tools for each client. Gusto Pro integrates with QuickBooks, Xero, and FreshBooks, so it fits into the workflows most firms already run.
Your clients’ pricing is based on their Gusto plan (Simple, Plus, or Premium) plus a per-employee rate. As a Gusto Pro partner, you select a billing method for each client: client billed with revenue share, client billed with a partner discount, or firm billed. Firm billing lets you pay Gusto directly and set your own rate for the client. You choose the billing method during client setup.
Gusto is built for U.S.-based small businesses. If your clients have W-2 employees or 1099 contractors, Gusto can handle their payroll, benefits, and HR. Gusto can also pay independent contractors in over 120 countries.
Focus on four things: how the platform handles multi-client management (not just single-employer payroll), whether pricing gives your firm flexibility or locks you into per-client retail rates, what revenue share looks like and under what conditions, and what the firm itself pays to use the platform. Gusto Pro is free for accounting firms, offers tiered revenue share, and gives you a single dashboard across your entire book.
