The partnership reflects Karbon’s strategy of connecting the accounting profession’s most-used tools into a single AI operating system for the firm. Modern accounting firms are consolidating around fewer, better-connected tools, and payroll is something firms touch every month for every client.

Karbon customers report saving an average of 19.9 hours per week per employee by running their practice through Karbon, and removing the manual coordination that surrounds every payroll cycle directly extends that story. It also supports the profession-wide shift toward Client Advisory Services, where firms are increasingly taking ownership of client payroll as a service line and need payroll workflows inside the practice management tool rather than siloed in a separate system.

"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,” said Bridgette Haymaker, GM & VP of Product Management at Gusto. “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."

The Karbon and Gusto integration is available today in beta to Karbon customers in the United States. General availability is on track for mid-2026.

About Karbon

Karbon, a global leader in AI-powered practice management software for accounting firms, provides an award-winning, collaborative cloud platform focused on streamlining work and communications within a firm and its clients. Karbon drives unprecedented value for its customers evidenced by its #1 ranking on G2 and customer-reported savings of 19.9 hours per week per employee. Founded in 2014, Karbon has customers in 40 countries with employees across US, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the United Kingdom. Karbon is well-funded and backed by Tidemark and Five Elms.

• The integration gives firms a single, up-to-date view of payroll work alongside the rest of their client work, without duplicate entry
• Automatically creates payroll work in Karbon from Gusto pay schedules, with deadlines kept in sync
• Tracks approvals and client tasks in real time, so firms can see the status of every payroll cycle