Gusto helps Rockery save money with knowledgeable, responsive tax credit advising.
Strategic advice from tax experts, on demand
As an experienced controller, Lucia knew that tax credits had strategic business implications. So she was glad to have Gusto’s seasoned tax credit experts available to answer questions. Businesses can use federal R&D tax credits to offset payroll taxes or to reduce their income tax liability, and each approach has different advantages based on the company’s finances and operations. Gusto’s experts worked closely with Lucia to find the right approach that balanced risk and rewards.
Talking to them on the phone gave me confidence that we were doing things right. They were super well versed in tax credits. I knew Gusto would help us figure out the best thing to do.
Lucia was also impressed by how quickly Gusto’s experts responded to her questions, especially compared to the previous tax credit service she used.
“Our old tax credit service would take a while to reply whenever I had a question,” Lucia says. “I would have to reach out to them three times to get an answer.”
Not Gusto. “They were super responsive — I really liked working with them,” Lucia says.
Gusto’s customer-centered ethos also shows when it pro-actively informs customers they might be eligible for tax credits they’re not aware of, using timely emails and in-app messages. “Not everybody knows about R&D tax credits.” Lucia says. “Gusto reaches out to businesses and lets them know about it.”
Straightforward, transparent pricing
Compared to her previous tax credit service, Gusto had a transparent pricing structure that gave Lucia peace of mind: The fee for the tax study is 15% of the total credit. “With Gusto, pricing is straightforward,” says Lucia.
Lucia strongly prefers Gusto’s simple pricing approach to other services’, which she found confusing and difficult to manage.
“The other service gave us the credit amount as an advance, and then we had to pay it back,” Lucia said. “Let’s say you qualified for a $10,000 credit. A month later, you would start repaying it in installments. I had to check how many installments I already paid, and how many we were missing. It was just too confusing. I didn’t like that.”
“So we moved to Gusto for R&D tax credits,” she adds.
Money to open new locations and to support hardworking teams
What kind of impact do R&D tax credits have on Rockery’s business?
More capital on hand allows Rockery to invest in growing the business, which just expanded to a new location in Central Texas this year. “Any money we can save is money that we can invest in our company, like opening a new market,” Lucia says.
Rockery has also used savings from R&D tax credits to take care of their teams, giving hourly workers financial support in difficult times.
“During Covid, our business slowed down, so our drivers were getting fewer overtime hours,” Lucia says. “With help from the tax credits, our CEO decided to give our drivers a bonus. This helped us all survive.”
Onward, with Gusto
Going forward, Lucia is excited to work with Gusto, including for future R&D tax credit work. “With Gusto, I can never see moving to another company,” Lucia says. “I’m very happy with Gusto.”