Accountants are wearing more hats than ever—and clients are taking notice. Small businesses still rely on their accountants for essential services like bookkeeping, tax preparation, and running payroll. But increasingly, they’re also turning to their accountants for strategic guidance on how to run their business, grow their team, and take care of their people.
To help you deliver on that expectation, we’re introducing a new tool in Gusto Pro that makes it easier to kick off benefits conversations with your clients—starting with health insurance. With data-driven triggers and affordability insights, you can proactively support clients with guidance they’ll value and remember.
Accountants are becoming strategic advisors
In June 2025, we surveyed 1,248 small business leaders for our Beyond the Books: How Accountants Can Help Accelerate Small Business Growth report. The takeaway? The role of the accountant is changing and expanding.
Nearly half of businesses now turn to their accountants for strategic financial advice, and many also seek support with back-office services like payroll, benefits, and HR planning. And when firms offer that kind of support, it pays off: small businesses receiving strategic guidance are significantly more likely to recommend their accountant to others.
That demand is growing fast. Since 2021, the share of businesses interested in strategic services who also said they’d be willing to pay more has increased across the board. Support around HR and workforce strategy, such as compensation planning or benefits guidance, saw the sharpest rise. In fact, a quarter of these businesses said they’d pay at least 10% more for that kind of help.
The opportunity to guide on health insurance
Small businesses want to offer benefits—but they don’t always know where to begin. That’s where you come in.
Only about 1 in 4 businesses today receive any guidance from their accountant on how to offer health insurance. But those that do overwhelmingly find it helpful: 60% of small business leaders said their accountant’s guidance influenced their decision on what to offer. Among the newest businesses (less than two years old), that number jumps to nearly 85%.
By simply helping your clients understand what’s possible, you can unlock new value in the relationship—and help them take care of their team.
What we heard from accountants like you
To better understand how we could support firms in delivering benefits guidance, we spoke directly with our accountant partners. While every firm has a unique approach, four consistent themes emerged:
Benchmarks build confidence. Accountants told us they’d feel more comfortable initiating benefits conversations if they could show clients how they compare to similar businesses in size and industry.
Cost estimates are essential. Many firms wanted a quick way to see whether health insurance costs might be in the right ballpark for a client—before investing time in discussing benefits with their clients.
Affordability is the starting point. When it comes to benefits, the first question clients ask is usually, “Can I afford it?” Accountants needed a way to accelerate that conversation.
Support matters. Firms appreciated having the option to bring in a licensed Gusto benefits advisor when their clients were ready for expert help or needed more personalized guidance.
These insights became the foundation for the new health insurance opportunity tool in Gusto Pro: a way to identify good-fit clients, estimate costs, and take the next step—all from Gusto Pro.
What’s new in Gusto Pro
We’re rolling out a new tool in Gusto Pro to help you identify and guide clients who may be ready for health insurance.
Smart client opportunities
Your Client Tab will now surface recommendations for clients who may be a good fit for health insurance, based on Gusto’s data from 400,000+ businesses. These insights take into account company size and industry to show how your client compares to their peers.
Affordability assessment
For each opportunity, you’ll see a simple cost range for offering health insurance, based on your client’s current team and payroll.
We know that when it comes to benefits conversations, one of the most common ways accountants help their clients is by assessing affordability—so we’ve built that right in. The tool pre-fills your client’s payroll data from Gusto (and revenue from QuickBooks Online, if connected) to show payroll costs as a percentage of revenue, a common and easy-to-understand metric. You can even adjust the numbers to explore different scenarios and see how the range changes.
With both a lower-cost and a higher-coverage option, you can start meaningful conversations using real numbers—not guesswork.
If your client is ready to go from estimate to actual quotes, you can explore plan options together directly from your client’s Gusto account. Just click “Explore plans” to see real quotes in minutes.
Pro tip: Stay helpful—and compliantNot a licensed broker? No problem. You can still be a valuable resource for your clients by sparking the conversation and guiding them to the right support.Check out our Benefits & Compliance Guide for Accountants to learn what you can say (and what to avoid) when discussing health insurance. It’s designed to help you stay compliant while still adding value, highlighting Gusto’s solutions, and referring clients to a licensed advisor when they’re ready. |
Multiple ways to take action
Once you’ve reviewed the opportunity, you can move the conversation forward in the way that works best for you and your client:
Download a one-page PDF with cost estimates to start the discussion
Schedule a call with a Gusto benefits advisor—for you, your client, or both
Refer your client to a Gusto advisor for personalized support
This new tool makes it easier than ever to start the conversation—and deliver value in just a few clicks.
Help clients take the first step
Ready to help your clients explore health insurance for their team? Log in to Gusto Pro today and check your Client tab for new health insurance opportunities.
If you don’t see one, it simply means there are no recommendations at this time based on our data. But that doesn’t mean you can’t start the conversation. Whether it’s about affordability, talent retention, or future planning, benefits guidance isn’t a one-time task—it’s a relationship-building opportunity.
And we’re just getting started. In the coming months, we’ll be adding more insights and smart triggers to help you identify opportunities across a broader range of benefits. That way, you can continue delivering proactive, strategic support to your clients.
For accountants: Unless you hold appropriate insurance licenses, you must limit your guidance to general affordability discussions and connecting clients with licensed professionals. Do not recommend specific plans, carriers, or coverage levels.
Cost estimates: All cost ranges shown are estimates based on aggregated data and are provided for discussion purposes only. Actual premiums will vary based on plan selection, carrier, location, employee demographics, and other factors. These estimates are not quotes and should not be represented as such to clients.
No guarantee of results: The identification of potential opportunities does not guarantee eligibility, affordability, or availability of health insurance options for any specific business. Final determination requires evaluation by licensed insurance professionals.
