Gusto time tracking

Track what you bill clients in Keito. Pay your team through Gusto.

Gusto handles payroll for employees. Keito handles the billable hour tracking, project billing, and client invoice preparation that sits upstream of it — keeping the two workflows distinct and accurate.

$49 USD
Flat team plan from
0
Per-seat fees
14 days
Trial workspace
app.keito.ai / billing

Billing review

Summit Digital

Client billing

$18.4k

Client hours

243h

Billable

78%

Team members

8

Client hours captured

Development and strategy work

Live

Billing manager review

Approved by client and project

Done

Client invoices prepared

Keito billing → client invoice

Next
01

Built around the work before the invoice

Payroll and client billing are different records — Keito handles the billable time layer, Gusto handles the payroll layer.

Keep delivery context attached to time

Group work by client, project, issue, branch, or repository reference so time reports explain what changed, not just who was online.

Review engineering work before billing

Use approvals and project summaries to catch unassigned work, non-billable research, and time that needs a clearer client note.

Report the work in client language

Export clean summaries that connect delivery activity to project budgets, retainers, and invoices without exposing internal noise.

02

Billing and payroll separation

Keep client billing and Gusto payroll as two separate, accurate records

Many growing teams run Gusto for payroll and later discover they also need a structured way to track billable client hours. The temptation is to add billable time tracking to Gusto — but Gusto is designed for payroll, not client billing. Mixing the two creates problems: employees log hours for payroll, clients need different billing records, and the review step for billing accuracy never gets built. Keito provides the dedicated billing layer: team members log client hours with project and billing context in Keito, the billing manager reviews and approves, and client invoices are prepared from clean billing records — while Gusto continues to manage payroll independently.

Log client billable hours in Keito with project and billing context separate from payroll hours

Review and approve billable time before invoice preparation — a step Gusto payroll does not include

Invoice clients from approved Keito billing records while Gusto continues managing payroll runs

Workflow fit

Client billing records

Keito keeps gusto time tracking connected to client, project, billable status, approval, and invoice context before the work reaches finance.

Log client billable hours in Keito with project and billing context separate from payroll hours

Review and approve billable time before invoice preparation — a step Gusto payroll does not include

Invoice clients from approved Keito billing records while Gusto continues managing payroll runs

03

What Keito adds to gusto time tracking

Developer-friendly time context

Keito is designed for technical teams that need billing records to reflect real delivery work without pushing every developer into finance tooling. The Keito CLI, GitHub Action, and Agent Skill log time from the terminal, CI jobs, pull requests, and AI coding sessions directly.

  • GitHub Action logs time from issues and PRs
  • CLI tracking for terminal and CI sessions
  • Repository and issue references on invoices

Review layer for client work

Managers can separate billable implementation, non-billable discovery, support, and internal work before reports leave the team.

  • Approval workflow
  • Billable status by task
  • Client-ready exports

Billing and project reporting in one flow

Use tracked engineering work for invoice backup, project profitability, and retainer reviews without stitching together several spreadsheets.

  • Budget and margin context
  • Expense support
  • Flat team pricing
04

Compare the workflow

The difference is not just recording time. It is whether the record can support billing, project decisions, and client conversations.

AreaKeitoTypical setup

Client billing records

Keito provides a dedicated billing workspace where client hours are tracked, reviewed, and approved for invoicing — separate from Gusto payroll.

Tracking billable time in Gusto mixes payroll and client billing into one system, creating review and accuracy problems for both.

Pre-invoice approval

Billing managers review all client time entries in Keito before invoices are prepared, so billing errors are caught before they reach the client.

Without a dedicated billing review layer, invoice disputes are resolved after the fact when the client questions hours.

Team billing cost

Flat-rate pricing lets growing teams add all client-facing staff to the billing workflow without per-seat cost escalation.

Per-seat billing tools add cost every time a new developer or account manager joins the team and needs billing access.

05

Related solution pages

06

Useful reading

Frequently asked questions

Can I use Keito alongside Gusto payroll?

Yes. Keito and Gusto serve different purposes. Gusto manages payroll for employees. Keito manages billable client hours, project billing, and invoice preparation. Most teams use Gusto for payroll and Keito for client billing, keeping the two records separate and purpose-built for their respective audiences.

How do I track billable hours separately from payroll hours?

In Keito, team members log client hours with project, task, and billable context specifically for billing purposes. These are separate from Gusto's payroll time records. Billing managers review client hours in Keito, approve the billing record, and prepare invoices — while Gusto's payroll run covers total hours worked including non-billable internal time.

What do I do if my team uses Gusto but needs to bill clients by the hour?

Set up Keito alongside Gusto: team members use Gusto for payroll and Keito for client billing. In Keito, each client has a billing workspace where team members log billable hours by project. At the end of the billing period, the billing manager reviews, approves, and prepares the invoice. The two workflows stay separate and clean.

Does Keito integrate with Gusto?

Keito provides the client billing layer that Gusto payroll does not include. The workflows are complementary rather than integrated at the API level: Keito manages billable client hours and billing approval, Gusto manages payroll. A future integration point would be exporting approved team hours from Keito to inform payroll allocations in Gusto.

What should teams compare before using gusto time tracking for billing?

Before using gusto time tracking for billing, teams should compare whether activity can become reviewed client, project, task, and approval records before anything reaches an invoice. Keito provides that billing layer so integration activity can support client reporting without exposing internal delivery noise.

03

Start solo.Add people when you need them.

Solo includes 1 licensed user, unlimited AI agents, Mac, Windows, and iOS apps, Stripe payments, and standard CSV and Excel exports. Pro adds your team. Business adds integrations, planning, advanced reporting, and stronger controls.

Solo

1 licensed user

For independent consultants, freelancers, and small studios running work with AI agents.

$19USD /mo

Flat workspace price for 1 licensed user

Start Solo
1 licensed user
Unlimited AI agents
Mac, Windows, and iOS apps
Time and expense tracking
Projects, tasks, clients, and budgets
Estimates and professional invoices
Recurring invoices and retainers
Stripe invoice payments
API, CLI, and Jira worklog sync
CSV and Excel data export
Most popular

Pro

Team collaboration

For teams that need shared workspaces, approvals, and team-level project visibility.

$49USD /mo

Flat workspace price with no per-user fees

Start Pro
Unlimited licensed users
Everything in Solo
Team management and invites
Member, Manager, and Admin access
Timesheet and expense approvals
Project-scoped approval workflows
Team capacity and utilization
Per-member billing rates
Task-level member restrictions
Granular manager permissions

Business

Advanced operations

For organizations that need integrations, planning, advanced reporting, and stronger controls.

$199USD /mo

Flat workspace price with no per-user fees

Start Business
Everything in Pro
Xero and QuickBooks Online
Google and Outlook Calendar imports
Airtable one-way imports
Asana time tracking and project sync
Planning and capacity
Detailed time and expense reports
Saved, contractor, and audit reports
Advanced report exports
Custom roles and expense markup
Priority support

Optional Business add-on: Microsoft Entra SSO.

View add-on and pricing
Agents are included

AI agents do not require licenses on any plan.

API on every paid plan

Solo, Pro, and Business can use API keys for agent workflows.

Exports on every plan

Solo, Pro, and Business include standard CSV and Excel data export.

Build a cleaner billing record for professional services businesses using gusto for payroll who also need structured billable hour tracking for client invoicing.

Start with Solo, add people on Pro when you need reviewers or collaborators, and see how Keito turns tracked effort into clearer reports.

Track client hours alongside Gusto