Gusto

Gusto has become the payroll platform of choice for US-based agencies under 100 employees. Running payroll is one of those tasks that agencies can't afford to get wrong — missed tax filings or late payments create real problems — and Gusto automates the entire process: calculating wages, withholding taxes, filing state and federal returns, and depositing paychecks on schedule. For agency owners who used to spend hours on payroll each month, the time savings alone justify the subscription.

Agencies that work with a mix of full-time employees and freelance contractors particularly benefit from Gusto's dual approach. You can manage W-2 employees and 1099 contractors in the same platform, with Gusto handling the different tax treatment automatically. At year-end, Gusto generates and files all necessary tax documents for both groups. The employee self-service portal reduces HR questions by letting team members access pay stubs, tax forms, and benefits information independently.

Compared to BambooHR, Gusto leans more into payroll and benefits than HR management. BambooHR offers stronger performance reviews, employee surveys, and custom reporting, while Gusto's payroll engine is more robust. For agencies that need both, the two integrate cleanly. The main limitation for international agencies is that Gusto only processes US payroll — agencies with employees in Europe or elsewhere will need a global payroll solution like Deel or Remote alongside Gusto.