The accounting profession is facing an existential threat. Qualified practitioners are retiring faster than newcomers can replace them, and legacy billing models are eroding under the weight of automation. Yet for an astounding 86% of small businesses, the accountant remains the most trusted advisor — an indispensable partner for financial health.
Gusto is betting it can help reconcile these pressures. Today, the company unveiled a redesigned Gusto Pro aimed at helping accounting firms scale their impact — even as the sector grapples with mounting client demands and fewer available resources.
"It's not a momentary dip in talent; it's a broader, industry-wide inflection point," says Bridgette Haymaker, Head of Accountants at Gusto. "Firms are stretched thin, yet business owners need ever-more sophisticated guidance. Gusto Pro's redesign is about unlocking new ways for firms to operate, so they can keep delivering value without burning out."
Breaking a Painful Cycle
Most firms find themselves in a paradox: more clients, more complex regulatory requirements, yet fewer accountants to handle the load. The result is a painful cycle: constant firefighting that distracts from profitable advisory services. Gusto believes the solution starts with automating repetitive tasks, enabling accountants to redirect their time into high-impact consulting work.
Three Core Innovations
Proactive Issue Detection
A centerpiece of the new Gusto Pro is a unified alert system that flags risks before they snowball—whether in payroll, compliance, or broader client activities. Instead of only learning about an error once it's triggered a notice or impacted payroll, accountants can see red flags across the platform:
"Previously, we only caught mistakes when it was too late," explains Wyatt Kneaper, Managing Partner at The Lighthouse Group. "Now, Gusto Pro notifies us of looming issues anywhere in the platform—like anomalous payroll patterns, potential misclassifications, or expiring compliance documents—days or even weeks in advance. It's a total shift from firefighting to prevention."
Cross-Client Efficiency
Old-school workflows force accountants to navigate scattered tools and handle each client's needs in isolation. Gusto Pro now offers dedicated 'hubs'—like a Payroll Hub, Employee Hub, and revamped Client Hub—so users can oversee and act on crucial items across multiple clients from a single interface:
- Payroll Hub: Monitor upcoming runs, check for missing data, and process or approve payroll at scale.
- Employee Hub: Easily manage new hires, track offboarding tasks, and ensure everyone is set up correctly for benefits and compliance.
- Client Hub: Dive deeper into a specific client's situation—whether that means reviewing historical data, setting up new services, or resolving support tickets—all without hopping between screens.
"In the past, we'd tackle these tasks one client at a time," says Julie Herres, Founder at Greenoak Accounting. "Now I can manage dozens of accounts in minutes. That's a huge shift for our operational efficiency."
Tailored Experiences by Role
Every aspect of Gusto Pro now adapts to each team member's role and responsibilities. From payroll specialists to compliance experts to advisory leads, the platform delivers relevant information and capabilities throughout the entire experience - not just on the dashboard. This deep personalization ensures everyone can work efficiently within their specific function while maintaining a holistic view of client needs.
"The platform understands how different team members work," notes Melanie Lusnak, Manager at Aprio. "Whether someone's processing payroll, reviewing compliance, or developing advisory recommendations, they see exactly what they need to focus on. It's made our entire team more effective."
Building Toward Advisory
Traditional billing models—charging by the hour for lower-value tasks—are steadily losing ground to automation. But that also presents a significant growth opportunity. Gusto's updates encourage firms to leverage freed-up time and deliver "people advisory" services, from workforce expansion guidance to compensation benchmarking.
"Our goal is to help firms pivot away from being stuck in day-to-day busywork," says Ayush Saraswat, Product Lead at Gusto. "If an accountant can confidently run payroll for 100 clients without manual intervention, imagine how much more advisory work they can take on."
Eventually, Gusto plans to integrate deeper analytics and additional automation features—enabling accountants to pull insights from a wide pool of data, flag new opportunities for cost savings or service expansions, and bring those insights straight to clients. Early testers report doubling the number of client accounts they can manage while boosting client satisfaction and advisory revenue.
Looking Ahead
Gusto plans to deepen this strategy with enhanced analytics and AI-driven insights. Early adopters report doubling their client capacity while boosting revenue in higher-margin advisory services. This new version of Gusto Pro begins rolling out over the next few weeks, with general availability slated for early next quarter.
For a profession at a crossroads, Gusto's move could be transformative. "The reality is, we can't keep putting out fires if we hope to thrive," says one early adopter. "Gusto Pro makes our routine work far more efficient and helps us see where we can truly move the needle for our clients. In a market this turbulent, that's game-changing."
Ultimately, Gusto's bet is that by streamlining the fundamentals, accountants can reimagine how they serve—and charge—clients. If it succeeds, the accounting industry might just find its way out of a dangerous rut, evolving from a resource-strapped field into a forward-looking advisory force that meets modern business challenges head-on.