How Gusto Helps Dark Horse CPAs Streamline Benefits Management, Saving Its CPAs and Clients Time

Dark Horse CPAs began partnering with Gusto to provide its clients with payroll services in 2021. A big reason for the decision? Not only is Gusto easy for both its CPAs and their clients to use – but it also provides them with efficiencies across the board. 

So when Dark Horse’s clients started asking about providing health insurance and other benefits to their teams, Gusto was the easy choice.

Gusto provides Dark Horse’s CPAs with a fully integrated platform for payroll, health insurance, and other benefits. The firm uses it for their own staff, making it easy for CPAs to recommend it to their clients. Justin Kürn, Chief Revenue Officer at Dark Horse CPAs, shares: 

• “I can’t think of what we did before we started using Gusto because it was such an antiquated process. So we looked to Gusto, a company we were already working with, to help facilitate our benefits integration, streamline the benefits administration, and reduce errors … After setting it up, the Gusto user experience for both the internal operations and the employees was far superior to what we had in the past.” 
• “Benefits administration, if not integrated, takes a lot of time. When a client comes to us intending to start offering benefits or sharing their struggles with how they're currently administering benefits, it’s easy to recommend Gusto – ‘We want you to operate in the most efficient way possible in a singular system. Gusto provides that.’” 

How Gusto Supports Dark Horse’s CPAs with Health Insurance Expertise

Accountants are typically not experts in health insurance administration. In fact, many CPAs struggle when their clients ask them about it, as they’re not licensed benefit advisors. 

In the past, when clients asked Justin about offering health benefits, he would tell them to speak to a benefits administrator, unable to provide further guidance. However, offering health insurance and other benefits is a key financial decision – so he and the Dark Horse team wanted to be able to point clients in the right direction. 

That led them to Gusto. Through Gusto’s licensed benefits advisors, clients find it way easier to choose the right plans for their employees and their budgets.

• “In the past, we tried to punt the conversation. Now, there is a level of authenticity in our approach because we share, ‘Have you explored using Gusto? It's actually what we use as a firm and we highly encourage you to check it out.’... Gusto is simple to use, simple to understand, simple to navigate, and support is excellent.” 

• “Clients have the money to offer health benefits and they want to do it for their employees, but they don't have the time or the expertise to figure it all out, and so it leads to a lot of delays. With Gusto, they don't have to hire an actual individual to manage that process. They can either self-manage, or because of the integration and support with a firm like Dark Horse, they can monitor and maintain it without the need of a full-time staff member.” 

Another critical aspect for both Dark Horse and its clients? Benefits administration and management – which are vital to providing positive employee experiences. If employees constantly need help navigating the platform, it’s no longer an efficient and time-saving solution. Justin shares:

• “The user experience for a business owner, which is what the business owner is generally thinking about first, is incredible. But the employee side, which may be a secondary consideration, is also super important in the overall experience. The employee experience is excellent. The operational experience is excellent. And that is why we share with clients that we use Gusto and why they should use Gusto for their benefits integration.”  

How Dark Horse Has Doubled Its Client Advisory Services Revenue

Providing deeper strategic guidance to clients has been a game changer for Dark Horse. With Gusto’s help, its CPAs have shown the massive value of providing advisory services around all of the financial aspects of their clients’ businesses – including offering benefits like health insurance and 401(k) plans.

The firm is now on track to double their client advisory services revenue in 2024, going from $8 million to $16 million in just one year. This has helped cement client advisory services as one of the firm’s top priorities moving forward. Justin shares:

• “We were very, very pleased and surprised with how easy health benefits administration was with Gusto … That helped us create a no-brainer conversation. Why would I not recommend this to our clients? We're using it ourselves, and it’s been an exceptional experience.”