Payroll and benefits provider Gusto announced that it will be acquiring Ardius, a company that automates tax compliance specifically for tax credits related to research and development. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed. This marks Gusto’s first acquisition.

Following the acquisition, Gusto will absorb the entire team at Ardius while it will continue to operate as an independent entity. Ardius's abilities to extract data from payroll data providers and convert them to verifiable tax documents will complement Gusto’s capabilities and extensive trove of payroll data. With the acquisition, Gusto can expand into automating its customers’ R&D tax credit compliance.

Gusto (formerly known as ZenPayroll) is a cloud-based, all-in-one platform provider of payroll, benefits, time tracking, team management, and compliance services. Gusto has a history of continuously developing its platform outside of its core payroll function. The platform launched benefits services in 2015 and added time tracking, payroll integration with accounting software, and HR and compliance management in 2018. The company currently has offices in San Francisco, Denver, and New York, and its platform integrates with more than 100 third-party service providers.