Employee Retention

Small businesses are losing talent and money through employee turnover while a proven solution sits right under their noses—one that their accountants could easily provide, but rarely do. The numbers are stark: companies lose productivity, face constant recruiting costs, and struggle to compete for quality employees. Yet most business owners don’t know that offering benefits could dramatically reduce these problems, and their trusted financial advisors aren’t telling them.

That’s the message from a recent Earmark Podcast episode featuring Justin Kurn, Chief Revenue Officer of Dark Horse CPAs, a firm that doubled revenue from $6 million to $12 million in just one year, and Julia Miller, GM and Head of Product – Benefits at Gusto. Their conversation revealed a massive disconnect between what small businesses desperately need and what they currently receive from their professional service providers.

The Hidden Cost of Employee Turnover and the Benefits Solution

Small businesses lose money due to a problem they don’t fully understand while ignoring a solution that’s both affordable and proven. Employee turnover quietly erodes the bottom line, yet most business owners don’t realize that benefits can solve this crisis.

Research at Gusto reveals numbers that should make every small business owner and their accountant pay attention. “Small businesses that offer 401(k) have 40% lower employee attrition in the first year of employment than small businesses that don’t,” she explains. “Small businesses that offer health insurance have 25% lower attrition in the first year.”

These aren’t small improvements. Employee retention directly impacts profitability. When employees leave within their first year, businesses lose productivity, institutional knowledge, and momentum. They face constant training cycles, disrupted team dynamics, and the opportunity cost of what that departing employee could have contributed.

Yet most small business owners approach benefits with a fundamental misconception that costs them dearly. “Businesses think of benefits as an immediate cost increase to their business when it actually is not,” Kurn observes from his experience working with hundreds of small businesses. The knee-jerk reaction is always the same: business owners assume they’ll need to pay 20, 30, or 40% more in payroll costs to cover employee health insurance and retirement contributions.

But most don’t realize that simply providing access to benefits, even when employees pay the premiums themselves, can be transformative. The value isn’t necessarily in what the employer contributes, but in what they make possible. As Justin points out, when you run the numbers, “if the options are I either give them a raise or I add benefits, benefits is probably the right option,” once you factor in payroll taxes and other considerations.

Perhaps more importantly, offering benefits widens the talent pool available to small businesses. “It’s not that the same candidate stays longer, it’s that a different candidate you didn’t even explore before is coming to you and staying longer,” Justin explains. Skilled employees who can demand and receive comprehensive compensation packages simply won’t consider positions that don’t offer benefits. By not providing these options, small businesses automatically exclude themselves from competing for top talent.

This creates a cycle: without benefits, businesses can only attract employees who can’t demand better packages elsewhere. These employees are often less committed, less skilled, and more likely to leave quickly when something better comes along. Meanwhile, companies offering benefits access an entirely different candidate pool of professionals who think strategically about their total compensation and career stability.

The Massive Advisory Gap and Competitive Opportunity

It’s shocking how few small businesses get the guidance they need. “Ten percent of our customers get benefits-related advice from their accountants,” Miller reveals. “Just imagine what we could do for the small business community in this country if that 10% went to 50%.”

Think about that for a moment. Nine out of ten small businesses struggle with employee retention, losing money through turnover, and missing out on accessing better talent pools, all while their trusted advisors remain silent on a solution that could transform their companies. This is a huge opportunity for accountants who recognize what’s happening.

Dark Horse CPAs understood this shift and built their explosive growth around it. The firm began building its advisory services at the tail end of 2022. They added benefits to their service menu and fundamentally changed how they engage with clients, moving from reactive compliance work to proactive strategic guidance.

Recognizing the trigger points and knowing how to act on them is crucial. Kurn’s team watches for three critical signals: revenue growth, staff growth, and high employee turnover. When they spot these patterns, “it’s a question of, not if, but when,” Justin emphasizes. “If you plant the seed of when, it’s like, ‘well, this is a necessary step in my growth and development as a business.’”

This subtle shift in messaging completely changes the client’s mindset. Instead of viewing benefits as an optional expense they might never need, clients begin to see it as an inevitable step in their business evolution. The conversation moves from “Do I really need this?” to “When should we implement this?”

The beauty of this approach is that it doesn’t require accountants to become benefits experts overnight. “If you focus just on compliance and blocking and tackling, these are not conversations that you’re privy to,” Justin notes. “But if you’re in the seat of the advisor, these conversations do come up either directly or indirectly.” The key is positioning yourself to hear these conversations and knowing when to act on them.

What makes this opportunity even more compelling is most accounting firms aren’t even trying to capture it. While Dark Horse doubled its revenue by embracing advisory services, their competitors remain stuck in the traditional compliance mindset. This creates a massive first-mover advantage for firms willing to make the shift now.

The Practical Path to Benefits Advisory Success

Shifting from transactional payroll processing to strategic benefits advisory doesn’t require accountants to become licensed insurance brokers overnight. Instead, you need to understand how to facilitate the process while positioning yourself as the trusted advisor throughout the journey. Dark Horse’s model leverages both technology and authenticity to create genuine value for clients.

Gusto’s platform enables what Kurn calls “self-discovery.” Rather than requiring accountants to lead every conversation and manage every detail, roughly 60% of Dark Horse’s clients actually discover and explore benefits options independently through the platform, then return to their accountants for validation and guidance. “They can self-assess quite often and look for validation from the accountant’s side, and then support during the process,” Kurn explains.

This model works because Gusto’s user experience encourages exploration rather than intimidating users. “Clients dump it onto their accountant because it’s like, ‘I don’t even want to go in here. I don’t even know how to get in here.’ Gusto is different,” Kurn notes. The platform follows an intuitive path that allows business owners to understand their options without feeling overwhelmed by complexity.

But the secret weapon that makes Dark Horse’s approach so effective is authenticity. “The best sales tool or the best advisory tool comes from a place of authenticity,” Kurn emphasizes. Dark Horse uses Gusto benefits for the firm, which means every team member experiences the platform as an end user. When clients have questions about the employee experience, Kurn can show them what they’ll see because he uses it himself.

This authenticity eliminates the biggest barrier many accountants face when considering benefits advisory work: the fear they’ll need to become benefits experts and “sell” something they don’t fully understand. Instead, it becomes a natural conversation: “Do you want to see? I could actually show you what the experience is as an employee. Like, this is what I see because I use it myself,” Kurn explains.

When clients are ready to move forward, Gusto provides licensed human advisors who can partner with accountants to help answer complex questions and guide clients through the selection process. This means accountants don’t have to become benefits experts. They just need to recognize when clients need this guidance and facilitate the connection.

The implementation process minimizes the burden on accountants and business owners. For new benefits offerings, Miller explains that while clients typically shop a few months ahead, the actual implementation can be compressed to about four weeks when necessary. The business owner’s involvement can be minimal. They need to understand what they’re signing up for and sign the necessary documents, but Gusto handles the heavy lifting of carrier coordination, employee communication, and enrollment management.

Most importantly, this advisory approach translates directly into significantly higher revenue for accounting firms willing to make the shift. Kurn’s pricing strategy is straightforward. The firm treats benefits implementation as project-based work with ongoing advisory fees that typically run two to three times higher than transactional services.

“There’s a three times delta between these two things. That’s the value to the firm if you can get into the seat of the advisor,” Kurn emphasizes. This isn’t about charging more for the same service. It’s about providing valuable, strategic guidance that justifies premium pricing.

The Time to Act is Now

This perfect storm of opportunity won’t last forever. Small businesses are struggling with employee retention, losing talented workers they can’t afford to lose. Offering benefits can slash turnover rates by 25% to 40%. Yet nine out of ten businesses don’t get this crucial guidance from their trusted advisors.

For the accounting profession, this is a chance to transform how we serve clients and position our firms in the marketplace. Dark Horse CPAs didn’t just stumble into doubling their revenue; they recognized their clients’ need for strategic guidance.

But this window won’t stay open indefinitely. As more accounting firms recognize this opportunity and begin offering benefits advisory services, the competitive advantage will diminish. The firms that act now, while 90% of their competitors remain stuck in transactional mode, stand to capture significant market share and establish themselves as the go-to advisors for growing businesses.

Start by implementing Gusto benefits for your firm to gain authentic experience with the platform. Begin watching for those trigger points Kurn identified: revenue growth, staff growth, and high employee turnover. When you spot these signals, initiate the conversation using “when” language rather than “if” language.

Most importantly, don’t let fear of the unknown hold you back. You don’t need to become a benefits expert overnight. You need to become the trusted advisor who recognizes when clients need this guidance and connects them with the right resources. The expertise already exists through platforms like Gusto’s licensed advisors. Your role is to facilitate access to it while providing the strategic oversight your clients depend on.

The small businesses in your portfolio are waiting for this guidance, whether they realize it or not. They’re struggling with employee retention, losing sleep over recruiting costs, and missing out on talented candidates who won’t even consider positions without benefits.

Don’t let this massive opportunity pass by. Listen to the full Earmark Podcast episode to hear Justin Kurn and Julia Miller’s complete playbook for transforming your practice through benefits advisory services. Your clients need this guidance, the data proves its effectiveness, and your competitors might not be providing it yet. Will you be among the first to capture it? Or among the last to realize what you missed?