Gusto Now Lets You Form an LLC and Open a Business Bank Account Before Your First Hire

Payroll software is moving earlier in the life of a business. At its Fall Showcase on October 22, 2026, Gusto announced that owners can form an LLC and open a business bank account inside Gusto, before they hire anyone. Both are in limited beta and, according to the company, will open to everyone soon. Gusto also announced a state compliance product, new payroll options and ways to connect its data to Claude and ChatGPT. Here is what was announced, what was left out, and what to check before you move any part of your business setup into one platform.

What Gusto announced for new businesses

The headline is the start-a-business package. Gusto says owners can form an LLC and open a business bank account in the product and track their money before they hire. Both are in limited beta. Banking is provided by Increase Bank, Member FDIC, and Gusto's page states that it is "a financial technology company, not a bank."

Gusto's announcement does not list prices for any of the new products. It links to a pricing page instead. That matters, because formation services and banking can carry state filing fees, registered agent costs and account fees that vary by provider.

Gusto Business Compliance: the part many owners miss

For businesses that already have employees, the more practical addition may be Gusto Business Compliance. Gusto says it covers three jobs:

• State tax registration, which matters most when you hire in a new state.
• Annual report filing, the yearly state filing that keeps an LLC in good standing.
• Government mail monitoring, so notices from state agencies do not sit unopened.

Missed annual reports and unopened agency mail are common ways small businesses fall out of good standing without realizing it. A tool that tracks them in the same place as payroll is the kind of automation owners ask for. The announcement does not give fees or a date for general availability, so ask Gusto for both before you rely on it.

New payroll features

Gusto also listed a set of payroll upgrades:

• Multi-location payroll that runs one payroll for hourly workers across state or city lines and handles taxes for each work location.
• Automated hours collection that flags unusual entries and routes payroll to a quick review and sign-off.
• Same-day pay for off-cycle bonuses and corrections, for eligible teams.
• Custom semi-monthly pay schedules and mailed paper checks with delivery tracking.
• Contractor payments in the US and in supported countries abroad, with invoice ingestion that prefills paysheets for review.
• Project tracking that tags hours to projects, clients and tasks so you can see the labor cost of each job.

The project-tracking feature is worth a closer look if you bill by the job. Knowing the true labor cost behind each client helps you price work and check margins, which feeds directly into your profit and loss statement.

Connecting payroll to Claude and ChatGPT

Gusto says owners can connect it to Claude, ChatGPT and other AI tools to ask payroll and team questions, prepare payroll and generate reports. The company says owners approve every change before it takes effect. Developers can use Gusto's MCP server or install a command-line tool. Before each payroll, an agent can prepare what it can and send a prioritized list of decisions that need the owner's approval.

The approval step is the safeguard to keep. An AI tool that can prepare payroll should not be able to finalize it without a person checking the numbers, because payroll errors turn into tax penalties and unhappy employees. Test any connection on a single pay run, review the totals line by line, and leave approval permissions with an accountable person.

Benefits and HR additions

Gusto's benefits and HR announcements include:

• "Gus," an AI benefits assistant that gives guidance and builds a submission package, which a licensed advisor reviews before it is finalized.
• Gusto 401(k), health reimbursement arrangements that let an employer set a monthly allowance, and employee-paid voluntary life and disability coverage.
• A guided benefits renewal with side-by-side comparisons and access to a licensed advisor.
• A handbook builder, document generation, employment-law-change alerts and access to human HR experts.
• HR Partners, a fractional HR professional, and a Professional Employer Organization (PEO) option for owners who want to hand off much of the day-to-day HR, payroll, benefits and compliance work.

Accountants get a redesigned Gusto Pro dashboard, a multi-client MCP, an expanded partner program and solo advisory tools such as calculators for S corp election and reasonable compensation. That last item is relevant to owners too: the S corp question depends on your numbers, and our guide on LLC vs S corp explains the trade-offs.

Chris Cosgrove, Gusto's chief product officer, said in the announcement: "Small business owners wear every hat, and they shouldn't have to carry every burden too."

What owners should check before switching

1. Is it available to you yet?

LLC formation and banking are in limited beta. If you are forming a business this month, you may not get access, and your timeline should not depend on a beta waitlist.

2. What does it cost?

No prices were published in the announcement. Compare the total against doing it separately: a state filing fee for your LLC formation, a registered agent if you need one, and a standalone business bank account. Ask for fees on formation, annual reports and any bank account minimums or monthly charges.

3. Who holds your records?

If one vendor handles your formation documents, bank account and payroll, switching later becomes harder. Keep your own copies of your articles of organization, operating agreement and EIN confirmation letter, and confirm you are the named owner of every account.

4. Is the bank covered?

Gusto states banking is provided by Increase Bank, Member FDIC. FDIC insurance covers the bank's deposit accounts up to the limits in force, so confirm how your balances are held and what coverage applies before you keep large balances there.

5. Does the compliance product cover your states?

Business Compliance is described around state tax registration and annual reports. Ask which states are supported, and whether Gusto files on your behalf or only reminds you.

Who this helps most

The package is aimed at owners who want one dashboard for the first year: formation, a bank account, payroll, benefits and compliance. It may suit a solo founder hiring a first employee, a business hiring across a state line for the first time, or an owner who keeps forgetting annual reports. It is less compelling if you already have a lawyer-drafted operating agreement, a banking relationship you like and an accountant who handles filings.

One thing is not new: you remain responsible for compliance. A software platform can remind you and file for you, but missed filings, wrong tax registrations and misclassified workers remain the owner's problem. If you use contractors, read our guide on independent contractor vs employee before relying on any tool to classify them for you. Gusto's own page notes its content is not tax, legal, benefits, financial or HR advice.

The bottom line

Gusto's Fall Showcase shows where small business software is heading: one platform for forming, banking, paying and staying compliant. The pieces for new owners are still in limited beta and unpriced, so treat this as something to watch and test rather than something to plan around today. If you hire across state lines or struggle with annual reports, ask Gusto for Business Compliance pricing now. If you are about to form an LLC, price the formation and bank account separately and compare.

Photo by Amy Hirschi on Unsplash