In by far its biggest-ever acquisition, Gusto announced Aug. 27 it is buying Guideline in a landmark deal intended to deliver one modern product to handle payroll, retirement benefits, health insurance, HR, time tracking, and compliance—built expressly for small businesses. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
“Small businesses deserve world-class retirement benefits. That’s why we’re thrilled to share that we signed an agreement for Guideline to join Gusto. While the agreement is still subject to final approvals, we couldn’t be more excited about what’s ahead,” said Joshua Reeves, CEO and co-founder of Gusto in company news post announcing the deal.
Founded in 2016, Guideline is a financial technology company providing a simple, affordable, and integrated system for retirement plan setup, participant enrollment, recordkeeping, investment management, and compliance. The San Francisco-based company has over 400 employees.
Gusto, founded in 2011, is an all-in-one software platform that helps businesses, particularly small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) and startups, manage payroll, benefits, and human resources. Dual-headquartered in San Francisco and Denver, Gusto has more than 2,800 employees and over $500 million in annualized revenue as of 2023.
Gusto and Guideline already have a history together, and both companies were built on the belief that small businesses deserve access to the best technology and services to build their business. Reeves noted that Guideline was “already the most popular retirement product on Gusto by far, and we believe it’s simply the best out there—intuitive to employers, and loved by employees.”
Reeves recently told CNBC that Gusto is in expansion mode, with plans to add 150,000 new clients this year. “That’s a small number relative to the 6 million employers in the U.S., and we have work to do,” he said, noting Gusto’s customer count sits above 400,000 today. The CBNC piece revealed that Gusto hopes to sell Guideline services to more of its clients after the deal closes, without worrying about revenue sharing. It will also pursue expansion in states that have passed mandates for employers to provide workers with retirement plans.
With its 65,000+ customers, Guideline has helped more than a million people—who work at businesses, startups, and franchises across industries—to save for retirement (with $20 billion in assets). By combining smart technology with dedicated service, Guideline saves small businesses time and money—enabling them to deliver retirement benefits that are truly accessible and impactful. And its intuitive, user-friendly interface makes it easy for employees to understand, engage with, and grow their savings.
“I remember spending time with Kevin Busque, Guideline’s CEO & Co-Founder, in 2016, when Guideline was just getting started. He passionately described how modern technology could finally enable end-to-end automation for 401(k) solutions, and if this could be coupled with incredible service and an easy-to-use, intuitive user experience, the resulting product could democratize access to retirement benefits for millions of people,” Reeves said.
“This is a full circle moment. Gusto was our first fully integrated payroll partner and played a huge role in the validation of Guideline,” said Busque said in a post about the deal on the Guideline website. “Just as importantly, our missions have always been aligned in championing small and growing businesses. As longtime partners, I have great admiration for what Josh and the rest of the Gusto team have built. Now as teammates, I can’t wait to see what we accomplish together.
Moving forward, Guideline and Gusto will continue to build products for small businesses to take care of their teams.
“By coming together, we’ll make it easier than ever for small businesses to stay compliant, offer high-quality benefits, and give their teams a real path to financial security,” Reeves said. “This means business owners will be able to set up all their benefits in one place, employees will onboard and update their benefits using a single app, and compliance requirements, taxes, and payments will be easily managed on a single dashboard.”
Reeves noted that Gusto maintains its belief in giving its customers the freedom to choose the tools that work best for them. “We’ll continue to support other retirement benefits providers on our platform, just as we always have,” he said. “We will always provide customers with a choice so they can use the software that best meets their specific needs.”
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