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Gusto helps tech-driven construction platform reduce tax liability with R&D tax credits

Published December 16, 2022

Rockery, an app-based platform for sourcing construction materials, got peace of mind from Gusto’s easy-to-understand pricing for tax credit services.

See if you qualify for R&D tax credits

With Gusto, Rockery:

Got strategic advice from tax credit experts, on demand

Gained peace of mind, with Gusto’s straightforward pricing approach

Unlocked capital to expand locations and invest in their teams

About Rockery

Where: Central Texas
Industry: Technology and construction
Employees: 12 employees
Joined Gusto: April 2019

Rockery is a platform where builders can order heavy building materials like rock and gravel, directly from a mobile app. When professionals have a paving or landscaping project, for example, they place orders with Rockery, which matches the job with one of its many suppliers. Rockery’s drivers deliver the materials to the site. 

In 2019, Rockery started working with Gusto when they began hiring drivers as employees. 

“We needed help with federal and state compliance, plus payroll,” says Lucia Gracia, Controller at Rockery.

“We pay our drivers every week, and it’s so easy to run payroll. I don’t have to worry about anything.”

Gusto’s reports features also help the Rockery team find information quickly when they need it. “If I ever need a document, it’s there,” Lucia says. “Whenever we need reports for workers comp or finding out the cost of labor for a presentation to investors, we can just download the report. I love it.”

Lucia was familiar with federal research and development tax credits because she used another tax credit service in the past. But this year, she chose to go with Gusto’s experts because of their experience, responsive customer service, and transparent pricing framework. The result? She earned valuable tax credits to reduce Rockery’s income tax bill. 

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 Gracia

Controller, Rockery

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.”

Do you qualify for
an R&D tax credit?

Find out now