Karbon launches beta Gusto integration for payroll workflows

Karbon has launched a beta integration with Gusto for accounting firms, bringing payroll workflow management into its practice management platform.

The integration creates payroll work items in Karbon from Gusto pay schedules and keeps due dates aligned between the two systems. It also tracks approvals and client tasks in real time, giving firms a single view of payroll activity alongside other client work.

Accounting and bookkeeping firms often manage payroll in one system and broader practice work in another, creating manual handoffs between teams and tools. Karbon's link with Gusto is meant to reduce that coordination by placing payroll deadlines, approvals and client requests inside the same workflow used for other assignments.

Features include automatic syncing of Gusto clients into Karbon contacts, prebuilt payroll workflow templates and automatic creation of work items when a new pay cycle starts in Gusto. Client-facing tasks, such as timesheet approval and payroll sign-off, are also generated automatically at the relevant stage of each cycle.

Payroll due dates appear in Karbon's Work dashboard and My Week view alongside other deadlines, with adjustments for bank holidays. The integration is intended to help firms monitor recurring payroll runs, Gusto onboarding and annual compliance tasks, including time tracking, time off and expense requests.

Gusto serves more than 500,000 small businesses, and thousands of accounting and bookkeeping firms recommend and manage the platform for clients. Karbon said a significant share of its US customers already use Gusto for client payroll, making the partnership a way to connect two systems that many firms already rely on.

The integration is available in beta to Karbon customers in the United States. The company has customers in 40 countries and employees across the US, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the United Kingdom.

Workflow shift

The launch comes as accounting firms look to reduce the number of separate systems used to manage client work. It also reflects the growth of payroll as a recurring service line, particularly as firms expand into advisory work and assume greater responsibility for routine client processes.

Karbon said customers report saving an average of 18.5 hours per employee per week by using its software to manage their practices. It said reducing manual payroll coordination could extend those time savings to a function that firms handle frequently and under tight deadlines.

Mary Delaney, Chief Executive Officer at Karbon, described payroll as a central part of firm operations and a major opportunity for accounting practices.

"Payroll is one of the most valuable service lines a modern firm can build, and Gusto is one of the most loved platforms for delivering it. It's already the system of choice for a huge share of Karbon firms running payroll for their clients," Delaney said.

"This partnership brings that experience directly inside Karbon, giving firms a single, connected view of every client payroll cycle, with approvals, deadlines and client tasks living where the rest of the firm's work already does," she added.

Gusto also casts the integration as a response to the operational burden firms face when payroll sits outside their main practice management system. Payroll work is repetitive and time-sensitive, and firms must track each cycle closely to avoid missed deadlines or incomplete approvals.

Bridgette Haymaker, General Manager and Vice President of Product Management at Gusto, said the link addresses those issues directly.

"Payroll is one of the highest-frequency, highest-stakes services accounting firms deliver for their clients. When that workflow lives in a separate system from everything else the firm manages, it creates real coordination overhead," Haymaker said.

"Connecting Gusto's pay schedule and client data directly into Karbon means fewer dropped deadlines and less manual work - and for the firms building payroll into a true advisory service line, that matters," she added.