Gusto is a cloud-based payroll, benefits, and HR platform designed for small and medium-sized businesses. It handles everything from running payroll and filing taxes to managing health insurance, 401(k) plans, and employee onboarding. For custom web application development, Gusto's API allows developers to build integrations that sync employee data, automate payroll runs, pull compensation information into internal dashboards, and connect HR workflows with other business systems. If you are building an operations platform, time-tracking tool, or employee management system for a company that uses Gusto, the API makes it possible to keep payroll data in sync without manual data entry.
Gusto was founded in 2011 by Joshua Reeves, Edward Kim, and Tomer London under the name ZenPayroll. Reeves had previously started two companies and realized that the payroll experience for small businesses was terrible. Most small business owners either used complex enterprise software designed for large companies or relied on accountants to run payroll manually. ZenPayroll launched out of Y Combinator in 2012 with the goal of making payroll as simple as possible. The company rebranded to Gusto in 2015 as it expanded beyond payroll into benefits administration and HR management, reflecting its broader mission to help small businesses take care of their employees.
Joshua Reeves chose the name Gusto after discovering that the word means "great enjoyment or enthusiasm" in English but also means "taste" in Italian and Spanish. He wanted a name that conveyed the idea of taking pleasure in running a business and treating employees well. The rebrand from ZenPayroll to Gusto was controversial internally because ZenPayroll already had strong brand recognition among startups. But Reeves argued that the Zen name boxed them into payroll, and the company needed a name that could encompass the full HR platform they were building. The gamble paid off as Gusto grew to serve over 300,000 businesses.
Visit: gusto.com