Level up with accountant certifications built just for you.

From fundamental skill building to master-classes on monetization, our courses can help you deliver more value than ever before. Plus, earn CPE credits, badges, swag, certificates, and more.

Gusto Payroll Certification

Gusto Payroll Certification teaches you critical skills to help manage payroll confidently in Gusto.

Start Payroll Certification

People Advisory Certification

Use your accounting skills and Gusto’s insights to turn payroll into a path toward people operations advising.

Start People Advisory Certification

People Advisory Accelerator

This course teaches you to monetize and market your People Advisory offerings to increase firm revenue.

Start People Advisory Accelerator

Learning Track: Payroll Essentials

Get Gusto Payroll Certified.

Designed for bookkeepers and accountants who are new to running payroll on Gusto’s platform, Gusto Payroll Certification helps you master critical payroll management skills and earn up to 4.0 CPE credits.

Build foundational knowledge of Gusto tools and features

Master skills like time tracking, creating pay schedules, and filing payroll tax forms

Learn how to optimize workflows with advice from seasoned pros

Get certified

People Advisory CertificationPayroll Certification is just another way Gusto partners with my firm to create a great experience for my team and my clients as they learn how to manage payroll.

CEO
Caldwell Consulting & Training

Learning Track: People Advisory

Become a Certified People Advisor.

Designed for accountants looking to offer their clients more than payroll, People Advisory Certification teaches you how to combine your financial expertise with Gusto’s people platform to provide valuable advisory services to clients and their employees. Learn at your own pace and earn up to 5.0 CPE credits.

Apply a People Advisory lens across the payroll process

Deliver data-backed insights and recommendations

Advise across each phase of the employee lifecycle

Get certified

Here’s a tip! Check out our People Advisory Live Certification for an interactive introduction to people operations advising.

People Advisory CertificationPeople Advisory Certification expanded my team’s expertise and gave us deeper insight into what clients and their employees value.

Director of Business Development
Aprio Cloud

Learning Track: Practice Management

Monetize your firm’s advisory capabilities with Accelerator.

Designed for firm leaders and top-level accountants, the Accelerator Program is a hands-on course that guides you through launching a People Advisory practice at your firm. Whether you take courses live or on your own, you can earn up to 4.0 CPE credits.

Frameworks for service packaging, staffing, and pricing

Easily implemented marketing tools and templates

Conversation starters and sales training

Take the course

Here’s a tip! Once complete, make sure your whole team has taken the People Advisory Certification course.

People Advisory AcceleratorWith Gusto’s Accelerator program we can now charge three times more than what we were charging before.

Founder and CEO
Reconciled

Make your
certification official.

With all the skills you’ll be learning, we recommend setting aside 5-6 hours to complete each certification program. As a thank you, you’ll be rewarded for your hard work.

Get an official enamel pin for each certification, plus a digital badge you can add to your website or email signature

Get a signed certificate recognizing your accomplishment

Collect hard-earned CPE credits (varies per certification)

What’s the difference between these courses?

Gusto Payroll Certification is perfect for accountants and bookkeepers who want to familiarize themselves with Gusto to run payroll for their clients. It teaches you critical skills to manage payroll more confidently and unlock the true power of Gusto.

The People Advisory Certification covers People Advisory fundamentals. It’s great for aspiring advisors who want to learn to advise clients on payroll, benefits, and people operations.

The Accelerator Certification is a little more specialized and was built to help firm leaders package, staff, price, and deliver People Advisory as an additional service at their firms. It’s a powerful addition to the People Advisory Certification course but can be taken on its own as well.

What topics does each course cover?

Good question! Gusto Payroll Certification breaks down how to use Gusto to effectively and efficiently run payroll for your clients. Work at your own pace through 9 different modules. Gusto Payroll Certification will cover onboarding and offboarding employees, understanding pay schedules, tracking time, processing payroll, and filing payroll taxes. You’ll learn how to create efficient workflows, master what to do in Gusto, and apply a few tips and tricks along the way.

People Advisory Certification covers 5 comprehensive modules on payroll, benefits, and HR. You’ll learn how to help clients protect their businesses and teams, uncover workflow efficiencies, and strengthen employer-employee relationships.

The Accelerator Program is all about monetization and marketing. The first section will teach you how to package, staff, and price People Advisory as a new service offering. After that you’ll get marketing frameworks and learn how to use value-selling in client conversations.

How much time do these courses take to complete?

We recommend setting aside 4-6 hours to complete the eLearning versions of these courses. They are all self-paced so you can move through them as fast or as slow as you like.

Check out our Instructor-led trainings by visiting the ‘Upcoming Trainings’ section on the Gusto Academy homepage.

Which course should I take first?

If you’re still new to advisory services, the People Advisory Certification course is a great place to start. But there’s no one-size-fits-all way to complete these trainings. The Accelerator Program dives deep into the business and revenue impact of People Advisory and can be a good jump-start for leaders.

How much do these courses cost?

All of our certifications are free for Gusto Partners. Non-Gusto partners can quickly become a Gusto Partner to get access today!

Do I get CPE credits? What are the details?

Absolutely. You get 4.0 CPE credits for Gusto Payroll Certification, 5.0 CPE credits for People Advisory Certification, and 4.0 CPE credits for the Accelerator Program. That’s 13.0 credits total if you complete them all! Here are the details:

Gusto Payroll Certification

Delivery method: QAS Self-study
Field of study: 4.0 Computer Software & App
Prerequisites: None
Program level: Basic
Advanced preparation: None

People Advisory Certification

Delivery method: QAS Self-study
Field of study: 5.0 Management Services
Prerequisites: None
Program level: Basic
Advanced preparation: None

People Advisory Accelerator Program

Delivery method: QAS Self-study
Field of study: 4.0 Management Services
Prerequisites: None
Program level: Basic
Advanced preparation: None

How do I access these courses?

All courses are available to Gusto partners in Gusto Academy—just log in with your Gusto partner credentials to access them. You can also find the link to the platform in your Gusto Pro portal. Look for “Education” under the Professional Growth tab. If you’re not yet a Gusto partner, become one and get the course for free! (Hint, hint, nudge, nudge.)

What do I need to do to prepare?

There are no preparation requirements—just bring yourself and a willingness to learn. You’ll want a computer to take the course. And maybe keep a notebook and pen on hand if you like to take notes.

Can I take these courses if I’m not a Gusto Partner?

All three certifications are only available for accountants who work with Gusto.
That said, we’d love for you to become a partner. On top of free access to valuable certifications and trainings, we provide an incredible platform for managing your clients’ payroll and so much more. Check it out.

So much more than certifications.

With Gusto’s partner program, you get access to powerful data, tools, and training to help you provide your clients with financial expertise, People Advisory services, and more.